The development of a nurse-led preoperative anaesthesia screening tool by Delphi consensus.

Background: Low- and middle-income countries have a critical shortage of specialist anaesthetists. Most patients arriving for surgery are of low perioperative risk. Without immediate access to preoperative specialist care, an appropriate interim strategy may be to ensure that only high-risk patients are seen preoperatively by a specialist.

Practical approach to a patient with chronic pain of uncertain etiology in primary care.

Chronic pain of uncertain etiology often presents a challenge to both patients and their health care providers. It is a complex condition influenced by structural and physiological changes in the peripheral and central nervous systems, and it directly influences, and is modulated by, psychological well-being and personality style, mood, sleep, activity level and social circumstances. Consequently, in order to effectively treat the pain, all of these need to be evaluated and addressed.

Should we take a history of prior treatment, and check sputum status at 2-3 months when treating patients for tuberculosis?

Setting: Pinetown, South Africa (1975-1983).

Objective: To determine the value of previous treatment history and sputum smear examination at 2-3 months in predicting treatment failure and relapse in tuberculosis patients treated with four drugs given twice weekly for six months under direct observation.

Design: Four cohort studies among 562 ambulant adults with culture positive pulmonary tuberculosis, designed to test the effectiveness of isoniazid 600-900 mg, rifampicin 600 mg, pyrazinamide 2-3 g, and streptomycin 1-2 g, given twice weekly.

Directly observed therapy for tuberculosis given twice weekly in the workplace in urban South Africa.

Effective models of delivery of directly observed therapy (DOT) for tuberculosis in resource-poor settings are needed. Intermittent chemotherapy may be an important component of DOT delivered in the community as it means fewer visits to supervisors. There is no published evidence on the efficacy of twice weekly therapy given from the start of treatment without an intensive daily phase.