The Impact of Cervical Spinal Disease on Pharyngeal Swallowing Function.

Purpose: Spinal pathology is very common with advancing age and can cause dysphagia; however, it is unclear how frequently these pathologies affect swallowing function. This study evaluates how cervical spinal pathology may impact swallowing function in dysphagic individuals observed during videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSSs).

Method: A retrospective case-control study was performed on 100 individuals with dysphagia as well as age-/gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) with available VFSS.

The impact of nurse staffing on falls performance within a health care system: A descriptive study.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of nurse staffing on inpatient falls performance across a multi-hospital system.

Background: Evidence to support which staffing variables influence fall performance so that health care organizations can better allocate resources is lacking.

Method: A descriptive study design was used to analyse the impact of nurse staffing and falls performance, with units dichotomized as either high or low performing based on national benchmarking data.

A Systematic Review of Voice Therapy: What "Effectiveness" Really Implies.

Introduction: Behavioral voice therapy guided by a speech-language pathologist is recommended as the main treatment approach for many kinds of voice disorders. Encouraging evidence regard of good outcomes from voice therapy has been found in two previous reviews on broad patient populations. However, no definitive conclusion on the effectiveness of direct voice therapy can be drawn from these reviews due to limitations of the included studies.

The changing profile of pediatric meningitis at a referral centre in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Pediatric meningitis remains a common cause of childhood morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Knowledge of the causative organisms in a region is of importance in guiding empiric antibiotic regimes and immunization schedules assisting decisions on primary health-care interventions.

Methods: This retrospective review of 557 meningitis cases represents a third pediatric survey conducted over a 3-year period (January 2007 to December 2009) at the same institution and after an interval of 14 years.

Pediatric and adolescent imported malaria in Cape Town.

We reviewed 42 cases of pediatric and adolescent imported malaria in Cape Town. Patients were predominantly new and returned immigrants from other African countries. Rapid diagnosis occurred in most cases.