The yield of head CT in syncope: a pilot study

Although head CT is often routinely performed in emergency department (ED) patients with syncope, few studies have assessed its value

Focus on: Graduate Skills Students' Views on Graduate Skills

QAA Scotland's Focus On projects aim to help higher education institutions and students' associations with work in their key priority areas. Topics are chosen based on recommendations and commendations from Enhancement-led Institutional Reviews (ELIR). Focus On ties these outcomes to developmental activities, resources and events with which the whole sector can get involved. These are designed to be timely and practical, and help colleagues make a real difference in a short space of time. Focus On: Graduate Skills With debate on apprenticeships and skills high on the agenda in higher education, the Focus On: Graduate Skills undertaken in 2018-19 is relevant and timely. This project builds on previous work on this issue in the Scottish sector, including the Graduates for the 21st Century Enhancement Theme. Based on consultation with the Scottish sector, the focus of the project was on exploring the graduate skills through the lenses of equality and diversity, readiness for employment, and global perspective. QAA Scotland commissioned the authors of this report to research the views of current students on their development of graduate skills. The work presented in this report covers the findings of this research, provides an analysis of student views on the skills they are developing through their studies at Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs), highlighting examples of good practice, and offers insight into potential gaps in provision, suggesting areas for development

Sick sinus syndrome in the West Highland white terrier

Sick sinus syndrome is a clinical term used to describe the clinical signs of sinus node dysfunction. This paper describes the clinical data from nine West Highland white terriers, eight females and one male, in which a diagnosis of sick sinus syndrome was made. The most common clinical signs were episodic weakness and presyncope. Electrocardiographic findings included sinus bradycardia, sinus arrest with or without escape complexes, disturbances of atrioventricular conduction, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, or some combination of these dysrhythmias. The main radiographic changes were mild right-sided cardiomegaly in five cases, and a slight increase in bronchial and interstitial markings in four, but there was no evidence of congestive heart failure in any of the dogs. Echocardiography revealed mild to moderate mitral endocardiosis in three cases with no other significant abnormalities. The dogs' responses to parenteral atropine were variable and were not necessarily related to their response to oral anticholinergic agents. Five of the dogs were initially treated with propantheline bromide, but in only two of them were the clinical signs controlled in the long term. Six of the dogs were successfully treated by the implantation of a transvenous pacemaker