Development of sentinel lymph node biopsy technique in patients with salivary gland cancer using the IDEAL framework.

Background: Salivary cancer is rare and comprises a variety of histological subtypes and clinical behaviors. There is no agreed method of estimating the risk of occult metastasis or managing the clinically N0 neck.Sentinel node biopsy (SNB) may offer a solution but previous studies have not produced a reliable imaging protocol.

How satisfied are head and neck cancer (HNC) patients with the information they receive pre-treatment? Results from the satisfaction with cancer information profile (SCIP).

Recent UK government recommendations state that high quality information must be provided for cancer patients. The objectives of this study were firstly, to explore how satisfied head and neck cancer (HNC) patients were with information provided about their illness and treatment, in order to identify areas of improvement. Secondly, to assess the extent to which satisfaction with information before treatment was predictive of long-term outcomes.

Follow-up after unilateral nephrectomy in children: is an estimate of glomerular filtration rate necessary?

Objective: To determine the need for an estimate of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in the follow-up of children undergoing unilateral nephrectomy for benign renal disease.

Patients And Methods: Forty-four children (21 girls and 23 boys) undergoing unilateral nephrectomy for benign renal disease over a 3-year period were reviewed for the underlying diagnosis and indication for nephrectomy, imaging before and after surgery, postoperative GFR and final outcome. The follow-up included ultrasonography (US) of the contralateral kidney at 3 and 12 months and an estimate of GFR before discharge at > or = 1 year.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumour of the duodenum in a 7-year-old boy.

We report a 7-year-old boy presenting with an acute upper gastrointestinal (GI) haemorrhage subsequently diagnosed to have a very rare duodenal gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST). Endoscopy, pertechnetate and red cell scans were negative. Abdominal US detected a 17-mm mass lesion of the third part of the duodenum.

Autosomal recessive spinocerebellar ataxia and peripheral neuropathy with raised alpha-fetoprotein.

We describe three patients from two families with progressive spinocerebellar ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, raised alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and hypercholesterolaemia. Two siblings had identical clinical features, with late childhood onset of symptoms and slow progression, requiring crutches to walk at ages 37 and 38 years. Another patient developed ataxia aged 13 years and became wheel-chair bound by 20 years of age.

Quality of life and urinary incontinence.

Quality of life assessments have become increasingly important for the assessment of urinary incontinent women. The advent of validated condition-specific questionnaires with proven reliability and sensitivity to clinical change has encouraged their inclusion in clinical trials of continence care. Only by fully understanding the impact of urinary incontinence on quality of life of women can we hope to improve its treatment.

Computed tomography findings in an inflamed meckel diverticulum.

Meckel diverticulum, the commonest congenital abnormality of the gastrointestinal tract, may be difficult to diagnose. Appearances on CT are often non-specific unless there is connection to the umbilicus or a complication has occurred. We report a case of an inflamed Meckel diverticulum seen on CT.

Using airway pressure.

This is the third part in the series Care is Critical which looks at the more complex technological interventions nurses may now have to deal with on general wards or in the community. This article looks at continuous positive airway pressure, an oxygen delivery system which can relieve significant respiratory distress in some cases. The first two were published on June 25.