Reaching the unreached with polio vaccine and other child survival interventions through partnership with military in Angola

BackgroundGrowing conflict and insecurity played a major role in precipitating polio outbreaks in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. In Angola, the early post-conflict situation was characterized by the presence of many inaccessible zones and districts due to insecurity and poor infrastructure. Partnership with the Angolan Army health service (AAHS) was one of the innovative strategies that the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) introduced into the country to support the polio vaccination campaigns in insecure and hard to reach zones.MethodsBefore embarking on creating a partnership with Angolan military it was essential to make high-level advocacy with top military decision makers to engage the leadership in the process for better and sustainable support to the strategy. The principal supports provided by the AAHS were the administration of oral polio vaccine, vitamin A, deworming agents, social mobilization, monitoring campaign quality, and surveillance. Distribution of logistics using military vehicles and helicopters to hard to reach and insecure zones was also part of the support.ResultsUsing this partnership it was possible to reach a significant number of children in insecure and hard to reach areas with polio vaccine and other child survival interventions. The military partnership also contributed in increasing the demand and addressing rejection for the polio vaccine.ConclusionMilitary is a potentially productive force that can be used for any development activities in any country. The Angolan experience has demonstrated that it is possible to form a partnership with the military for basic health intervention activities with little training and investment.     

Prise en charge nutritionnelle d’une ascite chyleuse

Chylous ascitis is a rare cause of ascitis. Most of the time, it results of retroperitoneal lymph node or duct dissection during abdominal or urological surgery; it is rarely due to lymphatic obstruction (neoplasia). Nutritional damage is major and severely impairs prognosis. Malnutrition is due to the necessity to avoid fatty acid in meal to reduce chylous leakage. Diagnosis is based on patient's clinical history and cytologic and biochemical ascitis analyses. Treatment combines the correction of nutritional status and therapy of the causative disease. Oral diet or enteral nutrition with low content of long chain triglyceride, thus enriched in medium chain triglyceride, is the major therapeutic option of chylous ascitis.     

Hepatic Artery Anatomic Variations and Reconstruction in Liver Grafts Procured in Greece: The Effect on Hepatic Artery Thrombosis

Aims

Variations of the anatomy of donor hepatic arteries increase the number of arterial anastomoses during liver transplantation and, possibly, the incidence of hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT). In this study, we describe the arterial anatomic variations in liver grafts procured and transplanted by a single center in Greece, the techniques of arterial anastomosis, and their effect on the incidence of early HAT.

Pharmacy patron perspectives of community pharmacist administered influenza vaccinations

Background

One approach to boost influenza vaccination coverage has been to expand immunization authority. In 2012, the province of Ontario gave community pharmacists the authority to administer the influenza vaccine.

Outcome of isolated posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at mean 6.3-year follow up: a consecutive case series

Objectives: There is a paucity of reporting on surgical outcomes of isolated posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (PCLR). We hypothesize that isolated PCL injuries failing nonoperative treatment achieve good outcomes and are able to return to sport following PCLR.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed to identify patients with isolated PCL injuries that underwent reconstruction between 2001 and 2014. Patients with multi-ligamentous injury or another concomitant knee pathology were excluded. Medical records were reviewed for demographic, clinical and operative data. Patients were contacted for administration of a telephone-based questionnaire which included the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation form, Lysholm-Tegner scales, Marx activity scale (MAS), return to sport status, and patient satisfaction instruments.

Results: A total of 15 isolated PCL reconstructions in 14 patients with a mean age of 27.5 years (range 17–43) met the study inclusion criteria; mean follow up was 6.3 years (range 1.4–15.2). Pre-operatively, the primary complaint was knee instability in all patients; on physical examination, lack of a firm end point during posterior drawer testing was found in 93% (14/15) of the knees. In total, 12 of 15 knees underwent transtibial, single-bundle PCLR and three of 15 underwent tibial inlay, double bundle PCLR. Graft types included: quadriceps autograft (7/15), Achilles allograft (6/15), and hamstring autograft (2/15). There were no graft failures in our patient cohort. At most recent follow up the mean scores respectively on the IKDC form, Lysholm-Tegner scales and MAS were (standard deviation): 77.3 (16.5), 83.1 (17.9), 6.13 (2.6), and 7.1 (6.0). All fourteen patients were athletes prior to their injury and 79% (11/14) returned to sport and overall patient satisfaction was 9.2/10.

Conclusions: Isolated PCLR provides good outcomes at mean medium-term follow up with restoration of function, high rate of return to sport and overall patient satisfaction.