Audit in practice : surveillance for hypoglycaemia in the neonatal paediatric intensive care unit

Hypoglycaemia in neonates is defined as a blood glucose ≤ 2.6 mmol/1. Certain categories of babies are at particularly high risk of developing hypoglycaemia in the first few days of life, and are routinely monitored in the Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit by reagent strips using a reflectance meter. This study shows that the current glucose meter, in use in the entire Department of Health, is unreliable in the detection of hypoglycaemia in neonates, but is accurate for values of blood glucose >3 mmol/1. For this reason, laboratory blood glucose estimation should be used for screening of neonatal hypoglycaemia until such time that a more reliable technique for bedside assay of blood glucose becomes available in the Neonatal Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.peer-reviewe

Contrast radiology of the small bowel

The radiological examination of the small bowel should begin with plain radiography, erect and supine, of the abdomen. The usefulness of the plain films of the abdomen in the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction or perforation is well known. What is not so well established is the most suitable and most informative method for barium small bowel study. The various methods for small bowel examination are discussed and relevant details of techniques given, including the relative respective advantages and limitations. The purpose of this paper is to provide details of techniques and to compare the advantages and limitations of the various methods, and thereby conclude on which should be the method of choice. The radiological examination of the small bowel is considered inadequate in most hospitals, whereas the reflux examination of the small bowel has never become popular in England. On the other hand, it is concluded that the small bowel enema is the most accurate method for small bowel study.peer-reviewe

Radiology of pyloric reflux

Paper read at a special meeting at the New Charing Cross Hospital, London, on the 29th September 1971, to discuss the subject of Pyloric Regurgitation. Up to a few years ago the only radiological examination for the pylorus was the standard Regurgitation barium meal, which cannot show whether or not such regurgitation occurs. Bile regurgitation can be deduced by two methods, namely Isotopes Studies and radiology. From the author`s perspective, the antegrade intubation is the preferred method, whereby the findings can be recorded by one of the following methods: a) Cineradiography b) Conventional radiography c) 70 m.m. Fluorography d) Video-tape. Of these four methods, the author maintains that video-tape recording is the most informative. The full significance of pyloric regurgitation is not known yet and in this regard further studies are required.peer-reviewe

Imaging of adult ocular and orbital pathology - a pictorial review

Orbital pathology often presents a diagnostic challenge to the reporting radiologist. The aetiology is protean, and clinical input is therefore often necessary to narrow the differential diagnosis. With this manuscript, we provide a pictorial review of adult ocular and orbital pathology.peer-reviewe

Suicide in Malta : a preliminary study

This paper was read, in a slightly shorter version, at the 1974 Clinical and Scientific Meeting of the Association of Surgeons and Physicians of Malta. The purpose of this study is to survey the incidence and features of suicide in the Maltese Island, with special reference to the social, psychiatric and forensic aspects. The study covers the period between 1955 and 1972. This is a preliminary report. The processing of the collected data has as yet not been finalised. Certain social factors will need more detailed analysis. However, it was considered useful that the communication of some of the results be made even at this stage. The suicide rate for the Maltese Islands is among the lowest in Europe. In Malta suicide is most frequent in late middle-age and in old age, and is commoner among males than females.peer-reviewe

English reading comprehension assessment in Malta : an evaluation of the use of the Neale analysis of reading ability

English literacy assessments in Malta are mainly based on tests standardised among English speaking populations. Such practice raises questions as to its suitability within the Maltese bilingual context. This study explores the implications of such practice by evaluating the performance of Maltese students on a widely used test, namely the Neale Analysis of Reading Comprehension – Revised (NARA II). The test was individually administered to a total of 224 students, representing developmental processes through three age-groups between 7-14 years, and two different home language backgrounds also reflected in two different types of school, State and Independent. Analysis of variance and correlations were used to highlight differences between the scores of the three age-groups and the two types of school and home background. The results indicate that comprehension levels improved sequentially with age; however, the norms derived from a monolingual English population do not represent appropriately the varying bilingual contexts of Maltese students. Moreover, particular discrepancies in the participants’ scores on the three subscales of the test – namely Reading Comprehension, Reading Accuracy and Reading Rate raise questions about the profile of competencies in English reading comprehension that are being acquired by Maltese students.peer-reviewe

Personality disorders in clinical practice : Axis 1 comorbidity, management/treatment, psychologist boundary issues and self-care

Three thematically linked placement project reports and an exegesis addressing professional/ethical issues in the practice of clinical psychology submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology (Clinical).Doctor of Psychology (Clinical

Psychological sequela in coeliac disease : cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of mood, cognition, and quality of life

"The goal of the thesis was to investigate psychological functioning in CD at different stages of treatment with gluten-free (GFD), both cross-sectionally and longitudinally"Doctor of Psychology (Clinical

Developmental variation in predictors of reading comprehension amongst Maltese students

This study examined cognitive and language skills that are predictive of reading comprehension in Maltese in typically developing students of different ages. A structured random sample of three different grade groups of Maltese state school students, aged between 9 and 12 years participated in this study. This sample was representative of the population. They were administered a Maltese Reading Comprehension test together with three word-level tests (Non-Word Reading, Digit Span, and Rapid Naming), and three understanding-level tests (Jumbled Sentences, Listening Comprehension, and Ravens Progressive Matrices). Statistical analyses indicated that Reading Comprehension scores were primarily related to scores on listening comprehension and syntactic awareness (Jumbled Sentences). However, the youngest students showed greater influence of word-level processes on reading comprehension in contrast to their older peers.peer-reviewe

A DSL for business intelligence monitoring

Social media has provided the business community with a unique and unprecedented opportunity to engage with their customers, critics, competitors, etc. Yet, this comes at the costs of continuously monitoring the various fora where the business name may be mentioned, where questions may be posted, where products may be compared, etc. Effectively dealing with social media in a world where a maximum of a few hours is the expected response time, is a challenging task.peer-reviewe