A sensitive and affordable multiplex RT-qPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 detection.

With the ongoing COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2), there is a need for sensitive, specific, and affordable diagnostic tests to identify infected individuals, not all of whom are symptomatic. The most sensitive test involves the detection of viral RNA using RT-qPCR (quantitative reverse transcription PCR), with many commercial kits now available for this purpose. However, these are expensive, and supply of such kits in sufficient numbers cannot always be guaranteed.

Subclinical Ultrasound Characteristics of Infantile Hemangiomas That May Potentially Affect Involution.

Objectives: Infantile hemangiomas (IHs) are the most common benign tumors in children. Color Doppler ultrasound is a noninvasive imaging modality that can show subclinical anatomic parameters in a wide range of dermatologic conditions. The purpose of this study was to describe the ultrasound characteristics of IHs and look for subclinical features with the potential to influence the involution and therapeutic response.

Why video health education messages should be considered for all dental waiting rooms.

Objective: Video is an effective, accessible, and low cost method of delivering health education messages to a wide audience. Dental waiting rooms provide an opportunity to deliver video oral health education interventions to receptive viewers. In this study we aim to evaluate firstly video oral health education in regards to patient preference, and secondly its ability to change both immediate and sustained self-reported intended health behaviours by patients.

The potential of a lecture series in changing intent and experience among health professionals to conduct research in a large hospital: a retrospective pre-post design.

Background: Promoting research capacity within public health can encourage and engage employees to undertake research, utilising their understanding of the complex needs that exist within the public health system to provide more relevant research outcomes. Despite this, there are a number of reasons cited by health care professionals as to why research is not undertaken, and a lack of support for research participation results in missed opportunities for experienced clinical and public health staff to gain research experience, expand the evidence base, and promote and support research. The aim of this study is to identify if education in research, delivered through a series of lectures at a large tertiary referral hospital, results in an increase in the experience and intent to conduct research.

[Laugier-Hunziker syndrome in a patient with Sjögren’s syndrome: Report of one case].

Laugier-Hunziker syndrome is a rare benign idiopathic condition characterized by acquired macular pigmentation of lips and buccal mucosa, often accompanied with melanonychia. The main concern with this condition is to rule out other differential diagnosis with systemic repercussions and similar hyperpigmentation patterns, such as Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, adrenal insufficiency and melanoma. We report a 58-year-old female with a 20-year history of Sjögren’s syndrome, presenting with melanonychia and hyperpigmentation in the buccal mucosa.

'I can't relate it to teeth': a qualitative approach to evaluate oral health education materials for preschool children in New South Wales, Australia.

Background: Early Childhood Caries is a significant public health issue worldwide. Although much is known about the aetiology of dental caries, there is limited evidence on the understanding of caregivers on readily available early childhood oral health education materials.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to record how parents cope with dental health education materials for preschool children commonly available in New South Wales, Australia.

[Angina after a heart transplant with evidence of late sympathetic reinnervation. Report of one case].

We report a 56 years-old man presenting with chest pain with exercise, seven years after an orthotopic heart transplant. A coronary angiography showed an atherosclerotic lesion in the common left main coronary artery with more than 90% obstruction. The lesion was successfully treated with a transluminal angioplasty with stenting.

A comprehensive approach for evaluating telemedicine-delivered multidisciplinary breast cancer meetings in southern Scotland.

Multidisciplinary team (MDT) meetings for decisions on cancer management are a cornerstone of UK cancer policy. We have proposed a comprehensive methodology to assess the clinical and economic effectiveness of telemedicine in this setting, which is being tested in a randomized breast cancer trial. Pre- and post-telemedicine assessment includes attitudes to and expectations of telemedicine, based on semistructured interviews.

[Prognostic value of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in hypertensive patients. A review].

There is a large amount of information in the literature to state that blood pressure control using ambulatory blood pressure measurement has a better predictive value for future cardiovascular events and target organ damage than casual blood pressure measurements. Clinical studies are currently evaluating if this approach is cost-effective. At the present time, and in the usual clinical practice, the use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is recommended for patients with resistant or difficult-to-control hypertension, for hypertensive patients with previous cardiovascular events or significant target organ damage, for the diagnosis of white coat hypertension, when there are symptoms suggesting hypotension or there is large variability in casual blood pressure measurements.

The public health nursing role: an overview of future trends.

In this article, the authors consider the current state of public health nursing and the function it fulfils. Describing the development of the public health movement and the policies which inform current strategies, they suggest that a more appropriate role is needed for public health nursing to address the needs of the wider community rather than simply acting as a focus for the provision of general practice services.

Simplified method of feeding infants born with cleft palate with or without cleft lip.

Most infants born with a cleft palate with or without cleft lip are undergrown and have histories of difficult feeding. For the past two years, all of the infants born with isolated cleft palate with or without cleft lip, referred to the Boston Floating Cleft Palate Clinic, were fed using a simplified method. A standard nipple that was cross cut and a standard glass baby bottle were used.