The Leucocytozoidae of South African birds. The Muscicapidae sensu latu

The leucocytozoids of the Muscicapidae sensu latu are reviewed and Leucocytozoon phylbscopus of the Sylviinae, L. liothricis of the Timaliinae, L. dubreuili, L. mcclurei and L. shaartusicum of the Turdinae are redescribed. Leucocytozoon francai, L. gbvannolia and L. mirandae are declared synonyms of L. dubreuili. Leucocytozoon timaliae n. sp. is described from a South African babbler

The haemoproteids of the shrikes of the avian family Laniidae (Passeriformes)

The two haemoproteids parasitizing members of the avian family Laniidae are reviewed. Haemoproteus lanii de Mello, 1937 is re-described and a neohapantotype designated; H. lanii var. nucleophilus Helmy Mohammed, 1958 is considered to be the same as H. lanii and therefore the varietal (= subspecific) designation is suppressed; it is confirmed that H. lanuidae Yakunin, 1976 is declared a nomen nudum; Haemoproteus cublae Peirce, 1984 is re-described

The Leucocytozoidae of South African birds. The Coliiformes and Coraciiformes

The leucocytozoids of the avian orders Coliiformes and Coraciiformes are reviewed. Leucocytozoon colius of the Coliidae, L. alcedinis and L. dacelo of the Alcedinidae and L. bucerotis of the Bucerotidae are described as new species. Leucocytozoon eurystomi, L. nyctyornis and L. communis of the Coraciidae, Meropidae and Upupidae respectively are redescribed. Leucocytozoon coraciae, L. francae, L. leitaoi and L. melloi are declared synonyms of L. eurystomi. Leucocytozoon apiaster of the Meropidae and L. musajevi of the Coraciidae have previously been declared nomina nuda

Research designs considerations for chronic pain prevention clinical trials: IMMPACT recommendations

Although certain risk factors can identify individuals who aremost likely to develop chronic pain, few interventions to prevent chronic pain have been identified. To facilitate the identification of preventive interventions, an IMMPACTmeeting was convened to discuss research design considerations for clinical trials investigating the prevention of chronic pain. We present general design considerations for prevention trials in populations that are at relatively high risk for developing chronic pain. Specific design considerations included subject identification, timing and duration of treatment, outcomes, timing of assessment, and adjusting for risk factors in the analyses.We provide a detailed examination of 4 models of chronic pain prevention (ie, chronic postsurgical pain, postherpetic neuralgia, chronic low back pain, and painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy). The issues discussed can, inmany instances, be extrapolated to other chronic pain conditions. These examples were selected because they are representative models of primary and secondary prevention, reflect persistent pain resulting from multiple insults (ie, surgery, viral infection, injury, and toxic or noxious element exposure), and are chronically painful conditions that are treated with a range of interventions. Improvements in the design of chronic pain prevention trials could improve assay sensitivity and thus accelerate the identification of efficacious interventions. Such interventions would have the potential to reduce the prevalence of chronic pain in the population. Additionally, standardization of outcomes in prevention clinical trials will facilitate meta-analyses and systematic reviews and improve detection of preventive strategies emerging from clinical trials

The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set

Background Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables. Methods Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set. Results Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58–0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of ≤5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy

Studies in the taxonomy and ecology of avian haematozoa

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX180307 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Babesia ugwidiensis, a new species of Avian piroplasm from Phalacrocoracidae in South Africa

A new species of haematozoa, Babesia ugwidiensis sp. nov. from a cormorant is described. This is the first species of piroplasm to be recorded from the Phalacrocoracidae and the relationship of this parasite to other Babesia spp. from marine hosts is discussed