Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Curriculum (2021) and Oral Surgery Curriculum (2023): A forensic comparison of two documents.

In the UK Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) and Oral Surgery (OS) are distinct specialties governed respectively by the General Medical Council (GMC) and General Dental Council (GDC) respectively. There has always been overlap of training and care between both specialties. The OMFS curriculum was updated in 2021 and the Oral Surgery Curriculum in 2023.

Oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) 'controlled' second-degree places in the UK - there are sufficient numbers (with high application ratios) to meet current and future OMFS recruitment needs in the UK.

In 2008 the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) Review of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) recommended that OMFS specialty training should start with second-degree studies. This recommendation has not yet happened. Currently, no OMFS controlled places at medical/dental schools are directly linked to OMFS Specialty Training (ST) posts.

How does organisational culture facilitate uptake of home dialysis? An ethnographic study of kidney centres in England.

Objective: The proportion of people having home dialysis for kidney disease varies considerably by treating centre, socioeconomic deprivation levels in the area and to some extent ethnicity. This study aimed to gain in-depth insights into cultural and organisational factors contributing to this variation in uptake.

Design: This is the first ethnographic study of kidney centre culture to focus on home dialysis uptake.

Implantable cardioverter defibrillator deactivation and end-of-life: British Heart Rhythm Society practical consensus guideline.

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are implanted in increasing numbers of patients with the aim of treating ventricular arrhythmias in high-risk patients and reducing their risk of dying. Individuals are also living longer with these devices. As a result, a greater number of patients with an ICD will deteriorate either with worsening cardiac failure, another non-cardiac condition or general frailty and will have a limited prognosis.

Hyponatremia incidence after subarachnoid hemorrhage and association with outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Hyponatremia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is common, however the incidence, and association with vasospasm, morbidity, and mortality, has yet to be defined. We aimed to identify incidence of hyponatremia after aSAH, and quantify its association with measurable outcomes.

Methods: A PRISMA-compliant systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted (PROSPERO ID CRD42022363472).

Clinical Spectrum and Prognosis of Atypical Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Caused by Monoallelic Pathogenic Variants of IFT140.

Rationale & Objective: Monoallelic predicted Loss-of-Function (pLoF) variants in IFT140 have recently been associated with an autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD)-like phenotype. This study sought to enhance the characterization of this phenotype.

Study Design: Case series.

Verification imaging in prostate MR-only radiotherapy: Are fiducial markers necessary?

Purpose/objective: MR-only radiotherapy planning exploits the benefits of MRI soft-tissue delineation, whilst negating the registration inaccuracies caused by MRI CT fusion. Fiducial markers have conventionally been used in prostate radiotherapy to reduce on-treatment image matching variability. However, this is an invasive procedure for the patient, and presents technical difficulties in an MR-only pathway as fiducial markers are difficult to visualise on MRI.

Regulatory T cell therapy is associated with distinct immune regulatory lymphocytic infiltrates in kidney transplants.

Background: Adoptive transfer of autologous regulatory T cells (Tregs) is a promising therapeutic strategy aimed at enabling immunosuppression minimization following kidney transplantation. In our phase 1 clinical trial of Treg therapy in living donor renal transplantation, the ONE Study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02129881), we observed focal lymphocytic infiltrates in protocol kidney transplant biopsies that are not regularly seen in biopsies of patients receiving standard immunosuppression.

International web-based survey of patients with non-hydrocephalic symptomatic pineal cysts.

Objectives: To report the results of an international patient-reported survey that adds to the growing body of evidence surrounding the role of surgery in the management of a subset of patients with non-hydrocephalic symptomatic pineal cyst.

Design: An international web-based survey of health outcomes in patients with nhSPC.

Subjects: All survey participants who self-reported a diagnosis of symptomatic pineal cyst without hydrocephalus after radiological imaging.

Self-monitoring of blood pressure following a stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TASMIN5S): a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Blood pressure (BP) control following stroke is important but currently sub-optimal. This trial aimed to determine whether self-monitoring of hypertension with telemonitoring and a treatment escalation protocol, results in lower BP than usual care in people with previous stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA).

Methods: Unblinded randomised controlled trial, comparing a BP telemonitoring-based intervention with control (usual care) for hypertension management in 12 primary care practices in England.

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in children: evaluating the importance of diagnosis and follow-up during childhood.

Vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (vEDS) is a rare inherited connective tissue disorder predominantly caused by pathogenic COL3A1 variants. Characteristic arterial and intestinal fragility and generalised severe tissue friability can lead to clinical events from childhood. We highlight a paucity of literature regarding children diagnosed with vEDS, possibly explained by a restraint in predictive testing, and present data on 63 individuals (23 index cases) with a clinical and genetic diagnosis of vEDS in childhood (<18 years) to address this.

Generation of a selective senolytic platform using a micelle-encapsulated Sudan Black B conjugated analog.

The emerging field of senolytics is centered on eliminating senescent cells to block their contribution to the progression of age-related diseases, including cancer, and to facilitate healthy aging. Enhancing the selectivity of senolytic treatments toward senescent cells stands to reduce the adverse effects associated with existing senolytic interventions. Taking advantage of lipofuscin accumulation in senescent cells, we describe here the development of a highly efficient senolytic platform consisting of a lipofuscin-binding domain scaffold, which can be conjugated with a senolytic drug via an ester bond.

Gender changes in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) in the UK 1996 to 2030. Current trends suggest gender parity of those joining the OMFS specialist list may be achieved by 2048.

In their 2022 paper Newman et al compared gender diversity between UK surgical specialties. It omitted the specialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS), which is one of the ten General Medical Council recognised surgical specialties. When challenged, the authors did not provide data for OMFS.

Spatiotemporal single-cell roadmap of human skin wound healing.

Wound healing is vital for human health, yet the details of cellular dynamics and coordination in human wound repair remain largely unexplored. To address this, we conducted single-cell multi-omics analyses on human skin wound tissues through inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling phases of wound repair from the same individuals, monitoring the cellular and molecular dynamics of human skin wound healing at an unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution. This singular roadmap reveals the cellular architecture of the wound margin and identifies FOSL1 as a critical driver of re-epithelialization.

Aortitis Increases the Risk of Surgical Complications and Re-Operations After Major Aortic Surgery.

Aortitis, defined as inflammation of the aorta, can lead to aneurysms and dissections. Intra-operative sampling is essential for diagnosis, with many cases presenting asymptomatically as clinically isolated aortitis. Previous studies investigating aortitis in major aortic surgery have been limited by low intra-operative sampling.

A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Facilitators to the Uptake of Cardiac Rehabilitation in Octogenarians.

Despite an established evidence-base for cardiac rehabilitation (CR) improving functional outcomes and quality of life and reducing re-hospitalisation, there is limited research on CR for older cardiac patients, who require rehabilitation the most, as they are often very deconditioned due to aortic stenosis (AS). CR uptake in the UK is limited to 52% with national variability of provision and accessibility, and it is a national priority to increase uptake to 85%. Frequently, research has excluded older populations as they are deemed to be too frail or generally not suitable for inclusion.

Enhancing mental health literacy and care through community-driven solutions in rural Bangladesh.

Women in rural Bangladesh encounter significant barriers to seeking mental healthcare, primarily due to stigmatization rooted in a lack of knowledge about mental health. To address this issue, community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been identified as a promising approach. CBPR involves the active collaboration of community members and stakeholders in the research process to tackle pressing community issues.

The education café: A novel model to provide specialist perioperative continuing professional development during theatre downtime.

Recent healthcare staff industrial action disrupted operating theatres activity, delaying procedures, and increasing waiting lists due to cancellations. Strike days have also led to inadvertent idling of theatre practitioners during decreased activity. To maximise paid staff working time during down-times, the Theatres Education Team devised the Education Café for self-directed online specialist continuing professional development activities compiled into menus of QR codes.

Access to specialist plastic surgery in rural vs. Urban areas of Africa.

Introduction: Plastic surgery is an essential yet underdeveloped field in many African nations, especially in rural areas. The demand for plastic surgery is increasing, but differences in access to respective services between rural and urban domiciles remain ever existent, despite the exponentiation of trauma, burns, and congenital disorders. According to this review, urban areas have access to better facilities and specialized surgeons, while rural areas frequently lack infrastructure, educated healthcare personnel, and medical resources.

Olympic distance duathlon and cardiac performance in highly-trained triathletes.

The effects of triathlon exercise on cardiac function are well documented. While Olympic triathlon (swim-bike-run) remains the standard format, increasing concerns about water quality in natural waterways present ongoing challenges for open-water swimming events, highlighting the potential need to consider alternative formats such as duathlon (run-bike-run) in some circumstances. An additional run may increase the overall metabolic and cardiovascular demand compared with the swim in triathlon, leading to reduced future performance.

Empowering professionals: a multidisciplinary approach to supporting people seeking asylum and refugees.

People seeking asylum and refugees living in initial accommodation in the UK can experience significant barriers to accessing care. They often have complex health and social needs and may experience fragmentation in the delivery of services. The Respond Integrated Refugee Health Service, hosted by University College London Hospital and operating across North Central London, has been created to address some of these challenges.

Living with pain and Parkinson's developing an understanding of the impact, trajectory and pain management needs: a qualitative interview study protocol.

Introduction: Pain is reported as one of the most troubling symptoms for people with Parkinson's (PwP); however, the literature exploring their lived experience of pain and how to manage it is limited. Pain affects PwP at all stages of their condition and can fluctuate and change over time. Therefore, it is pertinent to speak to PwP to understand their experiences of pain to inform the development of tailored behavioural interventions to manage pain.

Implementation and impact of NHS-funded tobacco dependence services in England: a mixed-method evaluation protocol.

Introduction: Tobacco smoking remains a leading cause of ill-health, premature mortality and a driver of health inequalities. To support smokers in England, a comprehensive approach to treating tobacco dependence is being implemented. This includes offering support to all people admitted to hospitals, as well as women and pregnant people within NHS settings.

TOURISM study (Treatment Outcomes in UteRIne SarcoMa): a 10-year retrospective evaluation of practice in the UK.

Background: Although rare, uterine sarcomas account for a high proportion of uterine cancer mortality. Treatment options and robust trial data are limited.

Objectives: The TOURISM study (Treatment Outcomes in UteRIne SarcoMa) is a UK-wide study by the National Oncology Trainees Collaborative for Healthcare Research which aimed to characterise this patient cohort.