Commercial influences on patient and public involvement: a renewed call for research and action.

Patient and public involvement is increasingly advocated in health policy, research and practice. Patients and people with lived experience, carers and the general public should have a say in how policy is generated, how services are delivered and how research is conducted. Through this perspective article, we hope to stimulate discussion and debate around industry influence in patient and public involvement, specifically pertaining to patient organizations, which often play a key role in patient and public involvement activities.

Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships, empathy and patient centredness: A prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Ethical erosion literature describes medical students' patient centredness and empathy declines through their clinical years of training. Longitudinal Integrated Clerkships (LICs), an alternate clinical educational design, have been hypothesised to reduce ethical erosion. The authors aimed to measure change in medical students' patient centredness and empathy at an institution with the largest LIC worldwide.

Core medication use in general practice prescriptions: A pilot study evaluating the Drug Utilization 90% Index in Irish general practice.

Aims: The Drug Utilization 90% Index (DU90%), the number of medicines making up 90% of a doctor's prescribing, is a simple tool that can be used to describe core prescribing patterns. This research aimed to pilot the application of the DU90% in the Irish context, to investigate the relationship between the DU90% and prescriber and practice characteristics and prescribing quality.

Methods: Retrospective observational study using anonymous prescription data from a sample of Irish general practitioners (GPs).

Management of bulbar strictures in boys following previous endoscopic treatment of posterior urethral valves.

Introduction: Urethral strictures following endoscopic management of Posterior Urethral Valves (PUV) varies from 0 % to 25 % and occurs due to iatrogenic injury of the urethra.

Objectives: To assess the outcomes of children undergoing urethral reconstruction following an iatrogenic injury during endoscopic management of PUV.

Methods: A retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database from 2015 to 2023 was undertaken of children who were referred following an iatrogenic injury to the urethra from prior endoscopic management of PUV.

An analysis of e-scooter-related trauma in Ireland: an update.

Aims: Electronic (E)-scooters have become increasingly common in Ireland. Our group was the first to publish an analysis of injuries related to these devices in Ireland in 2021. Since then, the use of e-scooters has increased significantly.

Impact of pregnancy termination law reforms in Ireland on pregnancy termination rates in the setting of fetal congenital heart disease: A trend analysis.

Objective: Prior to 2019, termination of pregnancy (TOP) was unlawful in Ireland. We sought to examine the impact of legislative change on TOP for major congenital heart disease (CHD) and its effect on parental decision-making regarding the options of complex surgery, TOP, or palliative perinatal care.

Methods: This was a trend analysis of second-trimester TOP for major CHD before and after the law reforms relating to pregnancy termination in Ireland.

Erratum: Burden of disease attributable to high body mass index: an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.eclinm.

Silicone as a smart solution for simulating soft tissue-an iterative approach to developing a high-fidelity sustainable training model for laparoscopic appendectomy.

Background: Laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is an effective treatment for the surgical care of appendicitis, with this minimally invasive approach allowing patients to typically spend less time in hospital and promptly return to normal life activities. Residents can acquire the competence and confidence needed in a safe learning environment prior to real patient encounters through simulation-based learning of these techniques. We propose a low cost, sustainable, high fidelity simulation-based training model for LA to compliment regular resident practice of these skills.

Chromosome 1 Alterations in Multiple Myeloma: Considerations for Precision Therapy.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable blood malignancy characterized by the clonal expansion of plasma cells and the secretion of monoclonal immunoglobulins. High-risk MM, defined by specific cytogenetic abnormalities, poses significant therapeutic challenges and is associated with inferior survival outcomes compared to standard-risk disease. Although molecularly targeted therapies have shown efficacy in other hematologic malignancies, currently venetoclax is the only targeted therapy approved for MM (t(11;14)).

Barriers and enablers to the management of osteoarthritis in primary care in Ireland from the perspective of healthcare professionals and individuals with osteoarthritis: a qualitative study using the Theoretical Domains Framework.

Objectives: To explore the barriers and enablers to providing and receiving primary care for osteoarthritis (OA) in Ireland from the perspectives of primary care healthcare professionals (HCPs) and individuals with OA.

Design: Descriptive qualitative study incorporating an inductive thematic analysis to identify key barrier and enabler themes and subsequent deductive mapping to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

Setting: Primary care in Ireland.

Coccidiomycosis: ankle septic arthritis with an extended incubation period requiring aggressive multidisciplinary surgical intervention.

Coccidiomycosis is a regional disease with global importance, with both an expanding endemic area and population, as well as increasing travel. Although unusual, it should be considered in patients with a travel history to endemic areas, even when immunocompetent and outside the usual incubation period. We present a case of isolated ankle septic arthritis which required an aggressive multidisciplinary surgical approach as well as antibiotic therapy.

Are spinal cord and medulla samples from embalmed donors suitable for histological examination? A pilot study.

A general belief exists that tissue from anatomical donors, especially from the central nervous system (CNS), may not be suitable for histological investigation. This is based on the idea that fixation routinely used in embalming whilst optimal for enabling dissection, insufficiently preserves tissue architecture at the cellular level. However, anatomical donors represent a precious resource for microscopical investigation, provided that preservation is sufficient to enable recognition of structures at the histological level.

Autoimmune Hepatitis and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Overlap Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Autoimmune hepatitis-systemic lupus erythematosus (AIH-SLE) overlap syndrome is a rare disease entity. In some cases, a delay in the occurrence of overlap is observed, where the diagnosis of one of the conditions precedes the other. However, other patients have features of both disorders simultaneously upon initial presentation, leading to a direct diagnosis of AIH-SLE overlap syndrome.

Plasma levels of matrix metalloproteinases in early psychosis, anxiety and depression: Evidence from the ALSPAC cohort.

Background: Converging evidence supports the role of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) in psychiatric disorders. Originally identified as regulators of the extracellular matrix (ECM), MMPs' functions span multiple processes, including inflammation, synaptic plasticity, neuronal migration, and blood-brain barrier maintenance. Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases (TIMPs) are major regulators of MMPs.

Vertebroplasty for painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures: a protocol for a single-center doubled-blind randomized sham-controlled clinical trial. VOPE2.

Background: One in three women and one in five men over the age of 50 will experience an osteoporotic fracture. Vertebral fractures can be very painful, affect patients' daily function, and in severe cases require hospitalization. Traditionally, fracture pain is treated conservatively with analgesics, and bracing.

A novel blended and interprofessional approach to pediatric emergency training: self-assessment, perception, and perceived long-term effects.

Background: We developed a blended training program at a tertiary pediatric center based on hospital-specific emergency guidelines, profession-specific Virtual Patients (VPs), and interprofessional team training. Using this novel approach, we addressed differing educational needs of medical and nursing staff and intrinsic cognitive overload among participants, aiming for harmonization of in-house emergency proceedings.

Methods: Self-assessments of pediatric emergency knowledge and skills were conducted before (T1) and after (T2) preparation using VPs, as well as after the team training day (T3).

A core outcome set for prophylaxis and perioperative treatment of von Willebrand disease: The coreVWD initiative.

Introduction: Treatment options are expanding for von Willebrand disease (VWD). A core outcome set (COS)-a minimum set of agreed-upon outcomes to be used in every clinical trial for a given condition-provides guidance on which outcomes are most important to measure to ensure necessary data is collected for a variety of stakeholders and enable comparison across products and trials.

Aim: coreVWD aimed to develop a COS for trials for prophylaxis and perioperative treatments for VWD.