Understanding current antenatal Hepatitis C testing and care in maternity services in England.

Objectives: Universal opt-out antenatal screening for Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is not currently recommened and it is recommended that maternity services offer risk-based testing. We aimed to investigate antenatal HCV testing and adherence to testing guidance.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was circulated to maternity service providers between November-December 2020 which included testing policy, training for healthcare staff, and management of women found to be HCV positive.

Evidence-informed recommendations on managing breast screening atypia: perspectives from an expert panel consensus meeting reviewing results from the Sloane atypia project.

Evidence-based clinical guidelines are essential to maximize patient benefit and to reduce clinical uncertainty and inconsistency in clinical practice. Gaps in the evidence base can be addressed by data acquired in routine practice. At present, there is no international consensus on management of women diagnosed with atypical lesions in breast screening programmes.

Characteristics, treatment and care of pregnant women living with hepatitis B in England: findings from a national audit.

Around 0.4% of pregnant women in England have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and need services to prevent vertical transmission. In this national audit, sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory information was requested from all maternity units in England for hepatitis B surface antigen-positive women initiating antenatal care in 2014.

Effect of Hispanic Status in Mechanical Thrombectomy Outcomes After Ischemic Stroke: Insights From STAR.

Background And Purpose: Epidemiological studies have shown racial and ethnic minorities to have higher stroke risk and worse outcomes than non-Hispanic Whites. In this cohort study, we analyzed the STAR (Stroke Thrombectomy and Aneurysm Registry) database, a multi-institutional database of patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for acute large vessel occlusion stroke to determine the relationship between mechanical thrombectomy outcomes and race.

Methods: Patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy between January 2017 and May 2020 were analyzed.

Mechanical Thrombectomy for Distal Occlusions: Efficacy, Functional and Safety Outcomes: Insight from the STAR Collaboration.

Background: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is the standard of care for the treatment of proximal anterior circulation large vessel occlusions. However, little is known about its efficacy and safety in the treatment of distal intracranial occlusions.

Methods: This is a multicenter retrospective study of patients treated with MT at 15 comprehensive centers between January 2015 and December 2018.

International experience of mechanical thrombectomy during the COVID-19 pandemic: insights from STAR and ENRG.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many centers altered stroke triage protocols for the protection of their providers. However, the effect of workflow changes on stroke patients receiving mechanical thrombectomy (MT) has not been systematically studied.

Methods: A prospective international study was launched at the initiation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A brief recent history of the epidemiology of congenital syphilis in the United Kingdom.

Within a century, congenital syphilis has been reduced from a major cause of morbidity and mortality to a condition rarely seen in the UK. Here, newly-derived literature and information searches were used to create a contemporary overview of the epidemic, including its epidemiology. Although constrained by high-quality healthcare services and with an incidence below the World Health Organization elimination threshold, congenital syphilis still has the potential to cause major consequences for the health and life chances of affected infants.

Factors associated with four atypical cases of congenital syphilis in England, 2016 to 2017: an ecological analysis.

Four isolated cases of congenital syphilis born to mothers who screened syphilis negative in the first trimester were identified between March 2016 and January 2017 compared with three cases between 2010 and 2015. The mothers were United Kingdom-born and had no syphilis risk factors. Cases occurred in areas with recent increases in sexually-transmitted syphilis among women and men who have sex with men, some behaviourally bisexual, which may have facilitated bridging between sexual networks.

Simultaneous Determination of Arsenic, Cadmium, Calcium, Chromium, Cobalt, Copper, Iron, Lead, Magnesium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Selenium, and Zinc in Fertilizers by Microwave Acid Digestion and Argon Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry Detection: Single-Laboratory Validation, First Action 2017.02.

A single-laboratory validation method for the simultaneous determination of nutrient and non-nutrient metals in commercial fertilizers was reviewed by the AOAC Expert Review Panel (ERP) and Stakeholder Panel for Fertilizers at the 2017 midyear AOAC INTERNATIONAL meeting. In addition to using 15 of the original 30 fertilizer materials from the previous Method 2006.03 collaborative study, NIST Standard Certified Reference Material 695 and Magruder check sample 2009-06 were also incorporated as accuracy, recovery, and repeatability materials.

Blunt Cerebrovascular Injury in Cervical Spine Fractures: Are More-Liberal Screening Criteria Warranted?

 Retrospective comparative study.  To compare strict Biffl criteria to more-liberal criteria for computed tomography angiography (CTA) when screening for blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI).  All CTAs performed for blunt injury between 2009 and 2011 at our institution were reviewed.

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a statewide assessment of outcome based on risk factors, aneurysm characteristics, and geo-demography.

Objective: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is a devastating illness with nationwide mortality rates reaching almost 50% within the first 30 days. A study was undertaken to evaluate how treatment modality, physical findings, and geo-demography contribute to the outcome of these cases, including complications and disposition status.

Methods: All cases of aSAH in the fiscal year of 2012 (July 2011-June 2012) at the Medical University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health Richland were studied.

Simultaneous determination of arsenic, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, and zinc in fertilizers by microwave acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry detection: single-laboratory validation of a modification and extension of AOAC 2006.03.

A single-laboratory validation study was conducted for the simultaneous determination of arsenic, cadmium, calcium, cobalt, copper, chromium, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, and zinc in all major types of commercial fertilizer products by microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy analysis. This validation study proposes an extension and modification of AOAC 2006.03.

Feasibility, safety, and periprocedural complications associated with endovascular treatment of selected ruptured aneurysms under conscious sedation and local anesthesia.

Background: Endovascular coil embolization of ruptured aneurysms is performed under general anesthesia at most centers for perceived improved image quality and patient safety.

Objective: To report the feasibility of and outcomes associated with endovascular treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms performed under conscious sedation with local anesthetics.

Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2009, 187 patients with aneurysmal SAH were treated with coil embolization at the authors' hospital.

Treatment and outcomes of acute intracranial vertebrobasilar artery occlusion: one institution's experience.

Object: The treatment of acute intracranial vertebrobasilar artery occlusion (VBO) has been described but often with poor results. The authors of this study set out to evaluate their institution's outcomes following multimodal treatment of VBO.

Methods: They retrospectively reviewed their endovascular database for all patients treated for acute intracranial VBO between December 2004 and June 2010.

First reported use of retrievable stent technology for removal of a large septic embolus in the middle cerebral artery.

Background: The treatment of acute ischemic stroke in the setting of infective endocarditis (IE) is not well established. Although there have been a few reports on the use of intravenous thrombolysis, the role of mechanical thrombolysis through embolectomy is unknown.

Case Description: A 78-year-old woman with an acute middle cerebral artery stroke secondary to septic embolization underwent successful stent retrieval of the septic embolus, followed by complete revascularization and neurologic improvement.

Using the abbreviated injury severity and Glasgow Coma Scale scores to predict 2-week mortality after traumatic brain injury.

Background: Prediction of outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains elusive. We tested the use of a single hospital Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) Score, GCS Motor Score, and the Head component of the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) Score to predict 2-week cumulative mortality in a large cohort of TBI patients admitted to the eight U.S.

Use of the microangiographic fluoroscope for coiling of intracranial aneurysms.

Background: Neurointervention is an ever-evolving specialty with tools including microcatheters, microwires, and coils that allow treatment of pathological conditions in increasingly smaller intracranial arteries, requiring increasing accuracy. As endovascular tools evolve, so too should the imaging.

Objective: To detail the use of microangiography performed with a novel fluoroscope during coiling of intracranial aneurysms in 2 separate patients and discuss the benefits and potential limitations of the technology.

After the wave-the Centrelink Social Work response offshore.

Communities worldwide were affected by the tsunamis that struck a dozen Indian Ocean nations on 26 December 2004. More than 300,000 people were killed or left missing as a result of the tragedy. The Australian Government played a key role in the disaster response overseas and in Australia.

Update on parathyroid hormone: new tests and new challenges for external quality assessment.

It is now 43 years since Berson and Yalow published the first radio-immunoassay (RIA) for parathyroid hormone (PTH) [S.A. Berson, R.