Dentists' attitudes toward discussing Internet health information with their patients – does professional self‐efficacy matter?

Objective: The present study explored the relation between professional self‐efficacy and the attitudes of dentists toward discussing Internet dental health information with their patients. Methods: Fifty‐seven dentists answered a questionnaire examining professional self‐efficacy and attitudes toward patients wishing to discuss dental health information obtained through the Internet. Results: A correlation was found between professional experience (in years) and professional self‐efficacy [r point by serial (rpb) = 0.27, P < 0.05]. No statistically significant correlation was found between specialty and professional self‐efficacy (rpb = 0.11, P < 0.4), and between professional self‐efficacy and attitudes toward patients who wish to discuss dental health information (rpb = 0.22, P > 0.1). Specialists were more willing to converse with their patients than nonspecialists. Most participants did not find discussing information from the Internet to be time‐consuming. Conclusions: This pilot study's results indicate that a) Specialists in dentistry were more willing to discuss Internet dental health information with their patients than nonspecialists; b) Dentists with high professional self‐efficacy had a positive attitude toward patients who wish to discuss Internet dental health information with them; and c) Further studies are needed to investigate and validate the results of the present study. Practice Implications: High professional self‐efficacy may improve general dentists' attitudes toward patients who wish to discuss Internet dental health information. The dental community should seek to expand the professional self‐efficacy of its members in order to enable them to adequately deal with patients' needs.     

Pegfilgrastim overdose: case report and review of the literature

Single-dose pegfilgrastim is commonly used for the prophylaxis of neutropenia in patients receiving myelotoxic chemotherapy. We report a case of a 69-year-old man who was treated with chemotherapy for small-cell lung cancer and mistakenly self-administered a 36 mg overdose of pegfilgrastim, a sixfold increase over the scheduled dose.     

The Peritoneovenous Shunt: Expectations and Reality

Since the introduction of the LeVeen modification of the peritoneovenous shunt (PVS) in 1974, these devices have been placed in a relatively large number of patients. The most common indication has been for medically intractable ascites in the setting of chronic liver disease. A review of a series of studies shows that we can expect approximately an 18% perioperative overall mortality rate, a 46% survival rate at 21 months, and loss of ascites in 59% of the survivors at 18 months. The PVS has not been shown by prospective trials to prolong survival significantly in patients with either intractable ascites or the hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), although it may shorten hospitalizations, compared with medical controls. A few well-documented cases of reversal of the HRS have been documented. The best results of PVS therapy have been evident in those patients with milder liver disease. The loss of ascites need not correlate with a functioning shunt. Alcohol abstinance is associated with hepatic functional recovery and may relate to the disappearance of renal sodium retention, resulting in shunt occlusion due to low flow. A number of serious complications with the PVS have been described. Nutritional repletion follows successful shunting, but might, in part, relate to simultaneous alcohol abstention. The more common complications of coagulopathy and fluid overload are preventable by total ascitic drainage at the time of surgery. Shunt patency remains a clinical problem. Only 18.6% of the total shunts placed functioned in the survivors at 2 yr. Perioperative infections with staphylococcal and Gram-negative organisms occur. Postoperative bacterial peritonitis or septicemia requires shunt removal for cure.     

Oral health status, salivary flow rate and salivary quality in children, adolescents and young adults with ADHD

Background

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a childhood neurological disorder that presents in 3–7% of school-age children. Studies have shown that children, adolescents and young adults with ADHD are more prone to caries than those without.

Aim

The study investigated a possible relationship between the oral health status of children, adolescents and young adults diagnosed with ADHD, both with and without pharmacological intervention, and the following: salivary flow rate, oral mucosal pH, plaque index (PI), oral hygiene and dietary behaviour.

Study design

DMFT/dmft index (D;d-Decay, M;m-Missing; F;f-Filled,T;t-teeth), plaque index, oral mucosal pH and unstimulated whole salivary flow (USF) were examined in three groups of children, adolescents and young adults: those diagnosed with ADHD with no pharmacological intervention (N = 31), those treated with medications for ADHD (N = 30), and a healthy control group (N = 30). Diet and oral health habits were assessed by means of questionnaires completed by parents.

Results

Mean USF values were 0.72, 0.85 and 1.13 ml/min for participants with ADHD and without medication, with ADHD and with medication, and without ADHD, respectively (p = 0.016). There were no differences in the DMFT/dmft index and in parent reported diet and oral health behaviour between the three groups. Children with ADHD demonstrated a statistically significant higher plaque index (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

The ADHD group, with or without pharmacological intervention, showed higher plaque index and lower USF, but no difference in DMFT/dmft. The ADHD group did not differ from the non-ADHD group in their diet or oral health behaviour as assessed by parent reports.     

Acute urinary retention secondary to uterus didelphys with imperforate vagina

Cyclic dysmenorrhea, unilateral abdominopelvic mass, acute urinary retention and renal agenesis ipsilateral to the pelvic mass in a young woman suggest uterus didelphys with unilaterally imperforate vagina.