Trauma Unit volumes: Is there a relationship with weather, sporting events and week/month-end times? An audit at an urban tertiary trauma unit in Cape Town

Background: The Trauma Unit at Groote Schuur Hospital is a mature, tertiary, high-volume trauma referral centre. The number of patients being treated in the unit at any given time can vary greatly. There is evidence to suggest that these fluctuations may be related to external and environmental factors, such as time of the day, week and month, local weather and significant home-team sport matches. Objective: The objective of this audit was to determine the relationship between volumes of patients in the unit, and environmental factors. Specifically, we aimed to determine whether the numbers of patients presenting after motor vehicle collisions and interpersonal violence was related in any way to temporal factors (time of day, week and month), weather variables (temperature and precipitation), and whether or not major or home-team soccer matches were being played. Methods: Trauma Unit admission records were examined retrospectively, and the numbers of patients presenting to the unit per shift for a total of 17 months was recorded. Patients were grouped according to their presenting complaints. Weather data, Premier Soccer League and Bafana Bafana match locations and results, and information regarding public holidays and long weekends were obtained for the relevant shifts. Average daily attendances for interpersonal violence (IPV)-related injuries and motor vehicle collisions (MVCs) were compared across the various external factors described. Poisson regression models were fitted using Stata 13 (StataCorp. 2013. Stata Statistical Software: Release 13. College Station, TX: StataCorp LP). and used to express the relative incidence of attendances. These results were expressed using incidence rate ratios (IRRs). Results: In total, 16 706 attendances were recorded over 1 074 shifts. Of these, 7 350 (44%) attendances were due to injuries sustained as a result of interpersonal violence (IPV), and 3 188 (19%) were due to MVCs. Predictors of increased attendances due to MVC-related injuries were week day shifts, and night shifts on long weekends, and on weekends that fell on the last day of the month. Weekend nights shifts were busier than week night shifts from this perspective. Public holiday shifts were shown to have less MVC-related attendances than an ordinary week day. The presence of precipitation was also shown to increase the number of MVC-related attendances. IPV-related attendances were always increased on night shifts compared to day shifts, except on public holidays, long weekends, and on weekends that fell on the last day of the month. All weekend shifts were busier than their corresponding week day shifts from an IPV-related perspective, and this effect was enhanced on weekends that fell on the last day of the month. Long weekends showed very similar trends to ordinary weekends, and public holidays showed similar trends to ordinary week days. Increasing temperatures are associated with increased attendances due to IPV. Soccer matches and their outcomes have no significant effect on attendances due to IPV. Conclusions: Temporal and weather factors can be used to predict which trauma unit shifts will be busiest

What the general dental practitioner needs to know about HPV-related oropharyngeal malignancy.

The rates of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma have continued to rise secondary to the increasing prevalence of the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV-related disease is typically found in younger patients who do not have the traditional risk factors for malignancy. General dental practitioners (GDPs) often examine patients regularly and may therefore have an opportunity to identify oropharyngeal malignancies at an early stage. However, many GDPs are unfamiliar with oropharyngeal anatomy, pathology and clinical examination. This review summarises the key points in identifying patients with oropharyngeal malignancy who necessitate urgent referral

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

Mycophenolate mofetil versus cyclophosphamide for remission induction in ANCA-associated vasculitis: a randomised, non-inferiority trial

OBJECTIVES: Cyclophosphamide induction regimens are effective for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), but are associated with infections, malignancies and infertility. Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) has shown high remission rates in small studies of AAV. METHODS: We conducted a randomised controlled trial to investigate whether MMF was non-inferior to cyclophosphamide for remission induction in AAV. 140 newly diagnosed patients were randomly assigned to MMF or pulsed cyclophosphamide. All patients received the same oral glucocorticoid regimen and were switched to azathioprine following remission. The primary endpoint was remission by 6 months requiring compliance with the tapering glucocorticoid regimen. Patients with an eGFR <15 mL/min were excluded from the study. RESULTS: At baseline, ANCA subtype, disease activity and organ involvement were similar between groups. Non-inferiority was demonstrated for the primary remission endpoint, which occurred in 47 patients (67%) in the MMF group and 43 patients (61%) in the cyclophosphamide group (risk difference 5.7%, 90% CI -7.5% to 19%). Following remission, more relapses occurred in the MMF group (23 patients, 33%) compared with the cyclophosphamide group (13 patients, 19%) (incidence rate ratio 1.97, 95% CI 0.96 to 4.23, p=0.049). In MPO-ANCA patients, relapses occurred in 12% of the cyclophosphamide group and 15% of the MMF group. In PR3-ANCA patients, relapses occurred in 24% of the cyclophosphamide group and 48% of the MMF group. Serious infections were similar between groups (26% MMF group, 17% cyclophosphamide group) (OR 1.67, 95% CI 0.68 to 4.19, p=0.3). CONCLUSION: MMF was non-inferior to cyclophosphamide for remission induction in AAV, but resulted in higher relapse rate. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT00414128.status: publishe