Saying sorry - should a 'safe space' be created to allow effective communication between healthcare practitioners and aggrieved parties after an iatrogenic event in South Africa?

The incidence of medical negligence claims is well documented in South Africa (SA). Civil and criminal processes are in place to deal with this, and the matter may be reported to the Health Professions Council of SA (HPCSA). There is a school of thought that suggests that these processes do not provide sufficient relief to an affected party.

CT scan-based 3D fracture mapping in civilian gunshot intracapsular fractures of the femur neck.

Introduction: Displaced intracapsular neck of femur (NOF) fractures secondary to civilian gunshots are rare injuries with universally poor outcomes following surgical fixation. No studies have been published on fracture mapping in NOF fractures secondary to civilian gunshots.

Objectives: We performed CT scan-based fracture mapping to identify the most common fracture patterns in these injuries.

Comparing gene expression profiles of adults with isolated spinal tuberculosis to disseminated spinal tuberculosis identified by FDG-PET/CT at time of diagnosis, 6- and 12-months follow-up: classifying clinical stages of spinal tuberculosis and monitoring treatment response (Spinal TB X cohort study).

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the top ten causes of death worldwide, with approximately 10 million cases annually. Focus has been on pulmonary TB, while extrapulmonary TB (EPTB) has received little attention. Diagnosis of EPTB remains challenging due to the invasive procedures required for sample collection.

Multi-level tuberculosis of the spine identified by 18 F-FDG-PET/CT and concomitant urogenital tuberculosis: a case report from the spinal TB X cohort.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and typically infects the lungs. However, extrapulmonary forms of TB can be found in approximately 20% of cases. It is suggested, that up to 10% of extrapulmonary TB affects the musculoskeletal system, in which spinal elements (spinal tuberculosis, STB) are involved in approximately 50% of the cases.

Intracapsular neck of femur fractures secondary to civilian gunshot injuries: an inter- and intra-observer agreement study on classification and treatment using the AO/OTA classification.

Purpose: Numerous classification systems have been developed for neck of femur fractures, but none have been tested for reliability in gunshot injuries. Our primary objective was to assess the inter-observer and intra-observer reliability of the AO/OTA classification system when applied to intracapsular neck of femur fractures secondary to low-velocity civilian gunshots wounds (GSWs). Our secondary objective was to test the reliability of the AO/OTA classification system in guiding surgeon treatment choices for these fractures.