Provision of hepatitis B vaccination for primary care dental staff in Scotland

OBJECTIVES: All dental surgeons should be protected from hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection by immunisation, ideally administered and monitored via occupational health services (OHS). This study examined relevant OHS systems in place for dental primary care healthcare workers (DHCW) across all Health Board Areas (HBAs) in Scotland. It also explored the DHCWs' knowledge of, and access to, these systems in three HBAs. METHODS: Data from senior staff in all Scottish Health Boards and Primary Care Trusts were collected by self-completing questionnaires. Information from DHCWs was collected via telephone interviews with General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) and Community Dental Officers (CDOs) in each of Ayrshire and Arran, Highland and Lothian Health Boards. RESULTS: Thirteen of the 15 HBAs had robust HBV vaccination and monitoring systems. However, only 7/15 (47%) of these covered all DHCWs. Seven HBAs provided vaccination and monitoring for CDOs only, leaving GDPs to undertake these responsibilities for themselves. Of the 105 DHCWs approached, 82 gave an interview. These interviews highlighted major differences between HBAs in relation to access of DHCWs to OHS and indicated that CDOs had greater access than GDPs to OHS. Overall, 31% of DHCWs were not satisfied with the OHS available. CONCLUSION: In order to safeguard both staff and patients, significant further work is required to ensure that all DHCWs have access to appropriate OHS support for provision and monitoring of immunisation procedures and related functions such as management of sharps injuries

Evaluation of the recurrence of denture stomatitis and Candida colonization in a small group of patients who received itraconazole

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to determine the recurrence rate of denture stomatitis and persistence of Candida in 22 patients (5 male and 17 female, mean age 71 years) over a 3-year period. STUDY DESIGN: Denture hygiene practice, denture cleanliness, and the presence of palatal erythema were assessed for each patient at the start of the study (baseline). The oral cavity was sampled for yeasts by imprint culture and denture discs. Ten patients received a capsular form of itraconazole (100 mg twice daily for 15 days) and 12 patients were provided with 100 mg of itraconazole in the form of a mouthwash (10 mL twice daily), which was then swallowed. No further antifungal treatment was administered to any of the patients. Clinical and microbiological assessments were repeated for each patient at 6 months and 3 years after the original appointment. Yeasts were identified by colony color on CHROMagar Candida, germ-tube formation, and API-32C profiling. Selected isolates were then typed by inter-repeat polymerase chain reaction (IR PCR). RESULTS: Candida albicans was isolated at baseline from all patients either alone (12 patients) or in combination with another species (10 patients). Other yeast species recovered were C glabrata (5 patients), C tropicalis (1 patient), C guilliermondii (1 patient), C krusei (1 patient), C parapsilosis (1 patient), C kefyr (1 patient), and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (2 patients). Candida albicans and/or C glabrata were recovered from 11 of the 22 patients after 6 months or 3 years. A complete and consistent change of yeast species from baseline was observed in 6 patients after 6 months and at 3 years. The remaining 5 patients were yeast-free at the follow-up assessments. PCR fingerprinting of C albicans and C glabrata indicated strain persistence over 6 months in 10 patients and in 4 patients after 3 years. A switch in strain type occurred for 1 patient after 6 months and for 3 patients after 3 years. CONCLUSIONS: The recurrence of denture stomatitis in patients who maintained a high standard of denture cleanliness was low. Although itraconazole was beneficial in reducing the fungal load, there may be strain persistence or subsequent recolonization of the oral cavity by a broader range of potentially less sensitive yeast species

Report from the OECI Oncology days 2014

The 2014 OECI Oncology Days was held at the 'Prof. Dr. Ion Chiricuta' Oncology Institute in Cluj, Romania, from 12 to 13 June. The focus of this year's gathering was on developments in personalised medicine and other treatment advances which have made the cost of cancer care too high for many regions throughout Europe.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Genomic Profiling for Clinical Decision Making in Lymphoid Neoplasms.

With the introduction of large-scale molecular profiling methods and high-throughput sequencing technologies, the genomic features of most lymphoid neoplasms have been characterized at an unprecedented scale. While the principles for the classification and diagnosis of these disorders, founded on a multidimensional definition of disease entities, have been consolidated over the past 25 years, novel genomic data have markedly enhanced our understanding of lymphomagenesis and enriched the description of disease entities at the molecular level. Yet the current diagnosis of lymphoid tumors is largely based on morphological assessment and immunophenotyping, with only few entities being defined by genomic criteria. This paper, which accompanies the International Consensus Classification of mature lymphoid neoplasms, will address how established assays and newly developed technologies for molecular testing already complement clinical diagnoses and provide a novel lens on disease classification. More specifically, their contributions to diagnosis refinement, risk stratification and therapy prediction will be considered for the main categories of lymphoid neoplasms. The potential of whole-genome sequencing, circulating tumor DNA analyses, single-cell analyses and epigenetic profiling will be discussed, as these will likely become important future tools for implementing precision medicine approaches in clinical decision-making for patients with lymphoid malignancies