Issues arising following a referral and subsequent wait for extraction under general anaesthetic: impact on children

BACKGROUND: Untreated caries in young children can result in a referral for extraction in hospital under general anaesthetic (GA). This study aims to explore the impact of caries during the ensuing wait for GA on children resident in the North West of England. METHODS: The study involved 456 respondents referred to six hospitals in the Northwest of England. Over a two-month period each of these children/ families completed a questionnaire and gave permission to access their referral and consultation notes. RESULTS: Children (6.78 years old: 1.50 to 16.42) had on average five teeth extracted (ranging from one to a full clearance, with all teeth removed). Sixty seven per cent of parents reported their child had been in pain, 26% reported schools days being missed and 38% having sleepless nights. The average time from referral to operation was 137 days. Results indicated that children could be in discomfort during their wait, as pain was experienced, on average, 14 days before the operation. Wait time significantly predicated the number of sleepless nights b = .004, t(340) = 2.276, p = .023. CONCLUSIONS: It is clear that pain, sleepless nights and missed school are a feature during a wait for dental GA and can be exacerbated by an extended wait. These data support the need for not only effective prevention of caries within primary care to reduce wait times and experience of GA but also effective management of pain and infection during a prolonged wait for treatment

Urodynamics in a community-dwelling population of females 80 years or older: which motive? Which diagnosis?

PURPOSE: To determine why community-dwelling women aged 80 years or over were referred for urodynamic evaluation despite their advanced age and which urodynamic diagnosis was made. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred consecutive females (80-93 years) were referred to our urodynamics outpatient clinic for evaluation of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) between 2005 and 2008. Clinical evaluation comprised of a previous history of LUTS, previous medical history of neurological disease or dementia, pelvic floor dysfunction or prior pelvic surgery. Exclusion criteria were complete retention and severe dementia involving failure to understand simple instructions. Assessed items were results of uroflows (free flow and intubated flow), cystometry and urethral pressure profilometry, and final urodynamic diagnosis. RESULTS: The main complaint evoked by the patients was incontinence (65.0%) of which 61.5% was "complicated" and urgency was reported by 70.0%. Interpretable free flow at arrival was very low (44.0%). Prevalence of detrusor overactivity was high, found in 45 patients of whom 16 had detrusor hyperactivity with impaired detrusor contractility. Detrusor overactivity and urgency were strongly associated (p = 0.004). Twenty-five patients had intrinsic sphincteric deficiency alone and 15 detrusor underactivity. CONCLUSION: In this particular community-dwelling with an elderly female population, urodynamics is easily feasible. Incontinence, mainly "complicated" is the more frequent complaint and urgency the more frequent symptom. Urodynamic diagnosis underlines the high incidence of detrusor overactivity as well as impaired detrusor function

Treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine, attenuates the fish hypoxia response

The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) fluoxetine (FLX), the active ingredient of the antidepressant drug Prozac, inhibits reuptake of the neurotransmitter, serotonin (5-HT; 5-hydroxytryptamine), into cells by the 5-HT transporter (SERT). Given the role of 5-HT in oxygen detection and the cardiovascular and ventilatory responses of fish to hypoxia, we hypothesized that treatment of the Gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta, with FLX would interfere with their response to hypoxia. Toadfish treated intra-arterially with 3.4 μg.g(−1) FLX under normoxic conditions displayed a transient tachycardia and a biphasic caudal arterial blood pressure (P(CA)) response that are in direct conflict with the typical hypoxia response. Fish injected intraperitoneally with FLX under normoxia had resting cardiovascular and ventilatory parameters similar to controls. Upon exposure to hypoxia, control toadfish exhibit a significant bradycardia, reduction in P(CA) and an increase in ventilatory amplitude (V(AMP)) without any changes in ventilatory frequency (fV). Fish treated IP with 10 μg.g(−1) FLX showed an interference in the cardiovascular and ventilatory response to hypoxia. Interestingly, when treated with 25 μg.g(−1) FLX, the bradycardia and V(AMP) response to hypoxia were similar to control fish while the P(CA) response to hypoxia was further inhibited. These results suggest that SERT inhibition by FLX may hinder survival in hypoxia