Framing Concerns about Body Image during Pre- and Post-Surgical Consultations for Head and Neck Cancer: A Qualitative Study of Patient–Physician Interactions

Patients with head and neck cancer report high unmet psychosocial needs as they undergo lifesaving treatments that can significantly alter their appearance and cause functional impairments. This qualitative analysis of recordings of 88 pre- and post-surgical consultations involving 20 patients respond to the need for empirical studies of patient–provider conversations about body image concerns. It indicates that the emphasis on concerns about survival, cure, and physical recovery during clinical consultations may leave concerns about the impacts of surgery on appearance and function unexplored and even silenced. The interviews with patients and medical team members that complement the analysis of the recordings suggest that an emphasis on survival, cure, and physical recovery can respond to the need for reassurance in the context of serious illness. However, it can also be problematic as it contributes to the silencing of patients’ concerns and to a potential lack of preparedness for the consequences of surgery. The results of this study can contribute to raising surgeons’ awareness of the interactional dynamics during clinical consultations. Moreover, the results highlight the unique role that surgeons can play in validating patients’ psychosocial concerns to support patients’ rehabilitation in both physical and psychosocial domains.     

锁定加压钢板治疗老年人桡骨远端骨折32例临床分析

目的:观察锁定加压钢板治疗老年人桡骨远端骨折的临床疗效。方法:回顾性分析本院2001年1月至2006年12月收治的老年人桡骨远端骨折32例的临床资料。结果:术后腕关节功能恢复良好31例,X摄片见骨痂生长的平均时间为(50±10)天,骨性愈合的平均时间为术后(10±2)月。结论:锁定加压钢板治疗老年人桡骨远端骨折疗效好,值得推广应用。     

Assessment of pharmacy students' communication competence using the Roter Interaction Analysis System during objective structured clinical examinations

Objective

To determine the value of using the Roter Interaction Analysis System during objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) to assess pharmacy students'' communication competence.

Methods

As pharmacy students completed a clinical OSCE involving an interview with a simulated patient, 3 experts used a global rating scale to assess students'' overall performance in the interview, and both the student''s and patient''s languages were coded using the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS). The coders recorded the number of utterances (ie, units of spoken language) in each RIAS category. Correlations between the raters'' scores and the number and types of utterances were examined.

Results

There was a significant correlation between students'' global rating scores on the OSCE and the number of utterances in the RIAS socio-emotional category but not the RIAS business category.

Conclusions

The RIAS proved to be a useful tool for assessing the socio-emotional aspect of students'' interview skills.     

大学生中医就医情况及对中医药现状认识情况调查

目的：了解大学生的中医就医情况和对中医药发展状况的认识。方法：采用分层抽样的方法对青海省某大学500名学生进行问卷调查,回收有效问卷486份。结果：34.4%的调查对象以前看过中医,89.9%的调查对象以前用过中药;93.8%的调查对象认为应大力发展中医药,84.8%的认为虚假宣传影响中医药发展,对中医药人才缺乏、支持力度小、群众基础薄弱等观点的认同较低,只有6位学生（1.2%）赞同废除中医。结论：大学生就医买药倾向于西医西药,且对目前中医药发展现状有着深刻的认识,中医机构和专业人士应加大对中医药的宣传和加强行业自律。     

Attitudes of women with chronic pelvic pain to the gynaecological consultation: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: To describe the attitudes that women with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) attending gynaecology clinics have to their consultations and to determine the ways in which their health care can be improved. DESIGN: Qualitative study using semistructured individual interviews. SETTING: UK gynaecology outpatient clinics in district general and teaching hospitals. SAMPLE: Twenty-six women with CPP. METHODS: Semistructured individual interviews were conducted. Data gathering and analysis followed a grounded theory approach. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women's wishes regarding their care and their actual experiences of care. RESULTS: Four main themes emerged. The women wanted (a) personal care, which they often did not receive; (b) to feel understood and to be taken seriously, although they often felt dismissed, which applied both to women with and without an explanation for their pain; (c) explanation as much as cure, but an adequate explanation was often not provided; and (d) to be reassured, which often they were not. Effective reassurance was complex as it included general reassurance and specific reassurance about cause and treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Improvements are needed in the outpatient care of women presenting with CPP. Changes should focus on providing more personal care, so that presenting problems are seen to be taken seriously, findings and management are appropriately explained, and women are more effectively reassured. Interventions need to be developed that meet these needs and tested to determine if they are feasible, acceptable, and improve outcomes.     

Clinical outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 and seasonal influenza in patients with hematological disorders: a retrospective study

Objective: The differences in clinical outcomes in hospitalized patients with hematological disorders (HD) who developed either coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) or seasonal influenza (SI) are not fully understood. To examine these differences, we retrospectively analyzed the baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes of hospitalized patients with HD admitted from 2016 to 2021.Patients and Methods: Patients with HD who developed COVID-19 (in the past 1 year) (n=21) or SI (in the past 5 years) (n=23) in the Department of Hematology/Oncology, Asahikawa Kosei General Hospital were evaluated.Results: The median ages of the patients with HD with either COVID-19 or SI were 80 and 68 years, respectively (P=0.03). The groups showed no significant differences in sex ratio, body mass index, or Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. In the COVID-19 and SI groups, the most common primary diseases were diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (43%) and multiple myeloma (39%), respectively. The median numbers of days of oxygen administration (8 vs. 0 days), quarantine (25 vs. 6 days), and hospitalization (72 vs. 21 days) were significantly higher in HD patients with COVID-19 than those in HD patients with SI (all P<0.001). The overall 90-day survival of patients with HD and COVID-19 was significantly shorter than that of patients with HD and SI (P=0.019). Moreover, patients with HD and COVID-19 had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality (43% vs. 9%; odds ratio, 7.50; 95% confidence interval, 1.26–82.4; P=0.01) compared to patients with HD and SI.Conclusion: Patients with HD and COVID-19 required longer periods of in-hospital medical and showed poorer survival than those with SI. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hematologists should closely monitor the condition of patients with COVID-19 to closely monitor their condition to prevent deaths.     

老年患者医院感染因素临床分析

目的了解老年患者医院感染的发生情况并探讨其相关因素及对策。方法对2025例60岁以上住院患者的临床资料进行回顾性调查分析。结果老年患者医院感染发生率高达5.04%,且随年龄增长而升高;感染部位以呼吸道居多（47.06%）,其次是胃肠道（22.55%）和泌尿道（17.65%）。结论老年患者为医院感染的易感人群,降低其呼吸道感染率是控制医院感染的一个重要内容。应严格掌握侵入性操作的指征,严格按照消毒规范执行各种诊疗操作,合理使用抗生素,以有效预防和控制老年患者的医院感染。