Utility of ultrasound imaging in the diagnosis of postoperative complications following upper extremity tendon repair.

Operated tendons are impacted by an inciting trauma and the subsequent treatment and will never again appear as they were prior to the insult. Post-operative tendons have unique ultrasound (US) findings that can be helpful to the surgeon in evaluating the success of repair, status of healing and confirmation that the repair remains intact. The advantage of US over physical exam or other imaging modalities is that it offers both static and dynamic assessment.

A feasibility model for restructuring the role of the hand surgeon taking call at a level I trauma center.

Background: The discrepancy between the volume of hand-related consults and the concurrent lack of specialized hand surgeons available continues to strain an overburdened system. Recent attention has focused on the redistribution of this workload towards management in the outpatient realm.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of hand consults for the plastic surgery service over summer and winter intervals at a Level I trauma center.

First-trimester use of antiseizure medications and the risk of miscarriage: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Antiseizure medications (ASMs) during the first trimester of pregnancy have been associated with an increased risk of miscarriage.

Methods: We carried out a population-based cohort study using routinely collected healthcare data from the UK, 1995-2018. Pregnancies were identified in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink and we estimated the HR of miscarriage associated with prescriptions of ASMs during the first trimester of pregnancy, using Cox regression, adjusting for potential confounders, including ASM indications.

Antidepressants in pregnancy: applying causal epidemiological methods to understand service-use outcomes in women and long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes in exposed children.

Background: Antidepressants are commonly prescribed during pregnancy, despite a lack of evidence from randomised trials on the benefits or risks. Some studies have reported associations of antidepressants during pregnancy with adverse offspring neurodevelopment, but whether or not such associations are causal is unclear.

Objectives: To study the associations of antidepressants for depression in pregnancy with outcomes using multiple methods to strengthen causal inference.

An evaluation into the use of procalcitonin levels as a biomarker of bacterial sepsis to aid the management of intrapartum pyrexia and chorioamnionitis.

Background: Procalcitonin is an established biomarker for bacterial sepsis in the nonpregnant population with better diagnostic and prognostic value for bacterial infections.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether procalcitonin levels could be used in the diagnosis and management of intrapartum sepsis in women and their neonates suspected of intrapartum bacterial sepsis.

Study Design: A prospective observational cohort study was conducted at the University Hospitals of Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust.