The outcome of elderly patients following removal of indwelling urinary catheter

The objectives of this study were to examine the documented indications for the insertion of the indwelling urinary catheter in elderly patients before admission to Zammit Clapp Hospital, St. Julians and St Vincent de Paule Residence, Luqa and to study the outcome after attempting removal of the indwelling urinary catheter. 64 patients from Zammit Clapp Hospital and 61 patients from St. Vincent de Paule Residence were studied. In 34 patients (24%), no clear reason for catheterisation prior to admission could be identified. In 46 patients (32 %) catheterisation was performed for severe uncontrollable incontinence. In all, 66 patients had their indwelling urinary catheter removed at some stage. Of these a total of 49 patients were continent 15 days after the removal of the catheter, 33 patients were still continent after 3 months and 29 patients remained continent after one year. With regards’ to continence rate, a poorer outcome was noted in patients with a mental score of less than 5/10, when compared to patients with a mental score of more than 5/10. Continence rates were better in patients from Zammit Clapp Hospital than in patients from St. Vincent de Paule residence. In conclusion, attempts should be made to use long term indwelling urinary catheterisation only if other measures fail. This can be achieved by proper multi-disciplinary team assessment and education of the patient or his carers. Full support from social services and provision and advice about the use of continence aids is necessary.peer-reviewe

Analysis of Rediscovered Data from Apollo 17's Lunar Seismic Profiling Experiment: Evidence for Events Associated with Sunrise

No abstract availabl

What mental health services should be available after the postnatal period?

IntroductionMothers with severe mental illness may require mental health support through postnatal services. However, little is known about what services are actually provided to support parents after the postnatal period in Europe.AimsTo explore existing services for parents with severe mental illness after the postnatal period across Europe.MethodsMental health specialists from major cities in nine European countries were asked to identify all health and social services available for mothers with psychosis after the postnatal period. They received two case vignettes and completed a data collection sheet for every identified service. Data analysis used semi-quantitative methods to describe the identified services.ResultsA wide range of different services was identified with no systematic coverage of specific target groups or target problems. Likewise, their scope was extremely diverse, ranging from simple telephone advice to multi-professional support for multiple complex problems. Most services targeted parents or families in general but would at least in principle be available for parents with severe mental illness. A much smaller number specialized on targeted help for parents with mental illness.ConclusionsPatchy and heterogeneous service provision may make it difficult to navigate support systems for both patients and professionals. Systematic research is required, e.g. on the use, the costs, and patient experiences in different types of services, so that service provision can be based on some evidence. Given the differences in service provision across European countries, such research might use international comparisons for evaluating the benefits of different types of services for parents with severe illnesses.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest

Thermal Moonquakes: Implications for Surface Processes

No abstract availabl

TDR-based water content estimation on globigerina limestone through permittivity measurements

Most monuments and historical buildings in the Maltese Islands are made of the local Globigerina Limestone (GL). This type of stone, however, is very delicate and prone to degradation caused by the environmental conditions of the islands. Hence, for the preservation of the Cultural Heritage monuments, it is necessary to promptly assess the health status of these structures and, in particular, their water content (which represents one of the major causes of degradation). Starting from these considerations, in this work, a time domain reflectometry (TDR)-based method for estimating water content of GL is presented. More specifically, the proposed method relies on estimating the water content value of the GL structure from TDR-based dielectric permittivity measurements. To verify the suitability of this system, experimental tests were carried out on a GL sample. The results anticipate the strong potential of the proposed method for practical applications in the Cultural Heritage diagnostics

Roti jduru

Ġabra ta’ poeżiji u proża li tinkludi: Kwartini ta’ C. Cassar – Dak li ħalla l-ħares ta’ Pawlu Cachia – Epigrammi ta’ Peter A. Caruana – Lill-Madonna tal-arju ta’ Mario Agius – Il-fatati li ħatfu lil Ġomu “Xewka” ta’ Ġużè Dimech Debono – Bla mħabba ta’ Ġorġ Borg – Il-bieb ta’ l-infern ta’ P. Jos. Cremona – Roti jduru ta’ C. Cassar.peer-reviewe

Comparison of the cobas 4800 CT/NG test with culture for detecting neisseria gonorrhoeae in genital and nongenital specimens in a low-prevalence population in New Zealand

To assess the clinical utility of replacing microbial culture for Neisseria gonorrhoeae with a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT), we compared N. gonorrhoeae culture with the cobas 4800 CT/NG test for 18,247 urogenital and 666 nongenital samples. For urogenital specimens, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the cobas N. gonorrhoeae PCR were 98.7%, 100%, 95.6%, and 100%, respectively, and for nongenital specimens, the values were 100%, 99.8%, 92.9%, and 100%, respectively. In our test population, 37% (10,185) of patients tested over the study period were screened for C. trachomatis by PCR but were not screened for gonorrhea by culture. Of these, 43 were N. gonorrhoeae positive by PCR and therefore went undiagnosed. The cobas 4800 CT/NG test diagnosed 33% (n=30) more urogenital and 25% (n=3) more rectal gonorrhea infections than culture and, based on the above performance indicators, does not require supplementary testing for urogenital or rectal specimens. The ability to test noninvasive specimens (such as urine and self-taken vulvovaginal swabs) for N. gonorrhoeae will enable more patients to be screened for infection, thus offering significant positive public health benefits. Copyrigh