Traditional medicine use in Timor-Leste.

Background: Traditional medicine use is common amongst peoples in developing nations. Timor-Leste is no exception. However little is known about the prevalence, pattern, satisfaction with, cost or type of traditional medicine used in Timor-Leste.

"Emerging Technologies and Medical Countermeasures to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) Agents in East Ukraine".

Since 2014, Ukraine has been beset by an armed conflict with international and internal dimensions. The nature of this conflict is multidimensional, and disaster preparedness and response in this context must be as well. Health experts from Ukraine, the United States of America, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, and Norway convened for an educational event in Dnipro, East Ukraine on November 11-15, 2019.

Neonatal anesthesia in low birth weight babies at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares, Dili, Timor-Leste.

Over a 6-month period, eight neonates weighing less than 3 kg were operated on at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares, Dili, Timor-Leste. Each was operated on for an abdominal condition. There is no postoperative neonatal ventilation, neonatal inotropes, fluid warmers, or parenteral nutrition available at Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares.

Predicting postoperative morphine consumption in children.

Background: Morphine is the most commonly used postoperative analgesic for moderate to severe pain in paediatric patients, but there is little research into predictive factors correlating with postoperative morphine consumption.

Methods: All patients undergoing surgery who received morphine postoperatively over eight months were prospectively enrolled. Data analysed included total morphine consumption to day 3, age, weight, type of surgery, ASA status, preoperative opioid administration, predicted postoperative pain intensity (according to French Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care classification) and surgery duration.

Intraoperative changes in blood pressure associated with cerebral desaturation in infants.

Background: Intraoperative hypotension has been linked to poor postoperative neurological outcomes. However, the definition of hypotension remains controversial in children. We sought to determine arterial blood pressure threshold values associated with cerebral desaturation in infants.

Alternative medicine use at Vila Central Hospital: a survey of 'custom medicine' use in patients and staff a decade later.

A structured questionnaire was administered to 50 medical patients, 50 surgical patients and 50 staff members at Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu. A similar study was conducted 10 years earlier. In the intervening decade, Vanuatu has seen unprecedented population growth, increasing expatriate numbers, and the introduction of mobile phone and Internet networks.

Postoperative pain management in children and infants: an update.

Many factors contribute to suboptimal pain management in children. Current evidence suggests that severe pain in children has significant long-lasting effects, even more so than in adults. In particular, recent evidence suggests a lack of optimal postoperative pain management in children, especially following ambulatory surgery.

Kava drinking in Vanuatu--a hospital based survey.

Kava is an intoxicating non-fermented beverage native to the Pacific Islands. In Vanuatu men traditionally drank kava on ceremonial occasions. Now however men and women drink kava on a casual basis.

Mortality and outcomes of elderly patients admitted to the intensive care unit at Cairns Base Hospital, Australia.

Objective: To determine the survival and outcome of elderly patients admitted to the intensive care unit at Cairns Base Hospital.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients aged 60 years or over admitted to the ICU (a Level 2 general unit) at Cairns Base Hospital, a regional hospital in Queensland, during 2003-2005. Mortality was determined by review of hospital records, the Queensland register of deaths, and direct patient or family contact in November 2006.

Twenty-three years of labour floor records, Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu.

Vanuatu is an island nation in the south-west Pacific. Vila Central Hospital (VCH) is the country's major referral hospital. The handwritten labour floor records from VCH between 1979 and 2001 were examined and collated.

Travel insurance and medical evacuation: view from the far side.

Travel insurers and medical evacuation companies have a responsibility to provide an efficient high-quality service to their clients. These companies often deliver a standard far short of best practice and far short of their promotional brochures. Their services are overdue for governmental review and a lifting of standards.

Population, public health and tubal ligation in Vanuatu.

The association between population growth and public health is often neglected. Between 1989 and 1999 Vanuatu's population grew by 30%. Unless this growth slows existing public health problems will worsen.

Alternative medicine use at Vila Central Hospital Vanuatu: a survey of the use of 'custom medicine' in patients and staff.

A structured questionnaire was developed to assess the use of custom (traditional or herbal) medicine in 50 medical and 50 surgical inpatients and 50 staff at Vila Central Hospital, Vanuatu. Eighty-six per cent of those interviewed had used custom medicine at least once, 60% within the last year. Twenty-one medical patients (42%) had used custom medicine for their current problem, 12% whilst in hospital.