Are general paediatric surgery outcomes comparable between district general hospital and regional referral centres?

Introduction: This study recorded the complication rates for general paediatric surgery undertaken in our district general hospital (DGH) and compared them with the limited amount of data published in this field. There has been a gradual diminution in the numbers of general paediatric surgeons throughout the UK. The Royal College of Surgeons of England has produced guidelines to safeguard the provision of paediatric surgery in DGHs.

The use of Raman spectroscopy to provide an estimation of the gross biochemistry associated with urological pathologies.

Near-infrared Raman spectroscopy, an optical technique that is able to interrogate biological tissues, has been used to study bladder and prostate tissues, with the objective being to provide a first approximation of gross biochemical changes associated with the process of carcinogenesis. Prostate samples for this study were obtained by taking a chip at TURP, and bladder samples from a biopsy taken at TURBT and TURP, following ethical approval. Spectra were taken from purchased biochemical constituents and different pathologies within the bladder and the prostate.

The use of Raman spectroscopy to differentiate between different prostatic adenocarcinoma cell lines.

Raman spectroscopy (RS) is an optical technique that provides an objective method of pathological diagnosis based on the molecular composition of tissue. Studies have shown that the technique can accurately identify and grade prostatic adenocarcinoma (CaP) in vitro. This study aimed to determine whether RS was able to differentiate between CaP cell lines of varying degrees of biological aggressiveness.