An evaluation study examining penile bacterial flora in boys undergoing hypospadias surgery with foreskin reconstruction

Hypospadias surgery with foreskin reconstruction is an increasingly preferred option for the management of this common condition. The objective of this study was to identify the bacterial flora present before and after cleansing of the prepuce as well as 7 d after surgery. Sixty‐three boys aged between 12–14 months, with primary distal hypospadias undergoing tubularized incised plate repair, were recruited between October 2013 and April 2014. Microbiological swabs were taken pre‐ and post‐operatively to identify organisms present under their foreskin at the time of surgery and compared with organisms present 7 d post‐operatively at the time of dressing removal. A parent reported wound infection tool was used to explore parents' perception and management of their son's wound 4 weeks following surgery. Bacterial colonization of the penis was common. Routine cleansing with an alcoholic chlorhexidine solution reduced bacterial flora in 82% of boys with a positive preoperative swab result. Post‐operative colonization of the penis was found in 93% of patients, wound dressing colonization was common. Two parents' reported concerns regarding their son's wound healing. Topical cleansing at the time of surgery is effective in reducing the number of organisms present under the foreskin. Despite recolonization 7 d after surgery, clinical infection remains uncommon. Complication rate 12 months after surgery was very low <2%.     

ESHRE PGD consortium best practice guidelines for organization of a PGD centre for PGD/preimplantation genetic screening

In 2005, the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) PGD Consortium published a set of Guidelines for Best Practice PGD to give information, support and guidance to potential, existing and fledgling PGD programmes. Subsequent years have seen the introduction of new technologies as well as the evolution of current techniques. Additionally, in light of recent advice from ESHRE on how practice guidelines should be written/formulated, the Consortium believed it was timely to update the PGD guidelines. Rather than one document that covers all of PGD, the new guidelines are separated into four documents, including one relating to organization of the PGD centre and three relating to the methods used: DNA amplification, fluorescence in situ hybridization and biopsy/embryology. Here, we have updated the sections on organization of the PGD centre. One area that has continued to expand is Transport PGD, in which patients are treated at one IVF centre, whereas their gametes/embryos are tested elsewhere, at an independent PGD centre. Transport PGD/preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) has a unique set of challenges with respect to the nature of the sample and the rapid turn-around time required. PGS is currently controversial. Opinions of laboratory specialists and clinicians interested in PGD and PGS have been taken into account here. Current evidence suggests that PGS at cleavage stages is ineffective, but whether PGS at the blastocyst stage or on polar bodies might show improved delivery rates is still unclear. Thus, in this revision, PGS has been included. This document should assist everyone interested in PGD/PGS in developing the best laboratory and clinical practice possible.     

A model of movement dysfunction provides a classification system guiding diagnosis and therapeutic care in spinal pain and related musculoskeletal syndromes: A paradigm shift—Part 2

An integrative functional model largely based upon the observation and analysis of the more common features of neuromusculoskeletal dysfunction encountered in clinical practice was presented as a working hypothesis in Part 1.The functional inter relationships between these regional and general features and their contribution to the development and perpetuation of local and or referred spinal pain syndromes was explored.Here we look more closely at clinical patterns of presentation.A simple classification system of clinical subgroups with back pain and related disorders is offered. These more commonly observed dysfunctional postural and movement strategies have been distilled into a number of dysfunction syndromes which will have predictable consequences.In beginning to provide a map of the tendencies towards, or actual, changed postural and movement responses seen in people with spinal pain and related disorders, this model provides a valuable reference for those working in the body work and movement therapies realm. It is a practical and useful clinical tool to assist diagnosis and help better understand the development and perpetuation of most spinal pain and related disorders. In so doing, more rational, functional and effective therapeutic and research interventions can ensue.     

The politics of sex research and constructions of female sexuality: what relevance to sexual health work with young women?

By examining the relationship between the cultural construction of female sexuality and the lack of potential for many young heterosexual women to be truly sexually healthy this paper submits that messages for women within HIV prevention programmes can be confused, confining and at times dangerous to women's health and well-being. It is suggested that these messages also reinforce a traditional, biologically determined medical understanding of female sexuality that does not take note of social or culturally based research or commentary on female experience or female desire, but rather confines many women to sexual restrictions, doing little to empower women to prevent sexual risk-taking. The ideological basis of the discussion within this paper is informed by the awareness that applications and understandings of 'sexuality'are diverse and contested within sex research traditions and will influence the choice of research concerns. The'deterministic'explanation of sexuality that 'sexuality'(the abstract noun referring to the quality of being 'sexual', Williams 1983) is your fate or destiny and that biology causes the patterns of sexual life, is abandoned in this paper in favour of a search for a definition of sexuality which brings together a host of different biological and mental possibilities which are given meaning only in social relations. This allows for a framework for the study of sexuality that relates it to other social phenomena, particularly economic, political and social structures (Foucault 1979); in other words, a study of the 'social construction'of sexuality. This paper suggests that health care professionals need to develop an awareness of the diversities within female sexuality and gain insight into their own values and assumptions about female sexuality if these are not to inhibit effective approaches and interventions in the areas of HIV and sexual health.     

ESHRE PGD consortium best practice guidelines for amplification-based PGD

In 2005, the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) PGD Consortium published a set of Guidelines for Best Practice PGD to give information, support and guidance to potential, existing and fledgling PGD programmes. The subsequent years have seen the introduction of a number of new technologies as well as the evolution of current techniques. Additionally, in light of recent advice from ESHRE on how practice guidelines should be written and formulated, the Consortium believed it was timely to revise and update the PGD guidelines. Rather than one document that covers all of PGD, as in the original publication, these guidelines are separated into four new documents that apply to different aspects of a PGD programme, i.e. Organization of a PGD centre, fluorescence in situ hybridization-based testing, Amplification-based testing and Polar Body and Embryo Biopsy for PGD/preimplantation genetic screening. Here, we have updated the sections that pertain to amplification-based PGD. Topics covered in this guideline include inclusion/exclusion criteria for amplification-based PGD testing, preclinical validation of tests, amplification-based testing methods, tubing of cells for analysis, set-up of local IVF centre and Transport PGD centres, quality control/quality assurance and diagnostic confirmation of untransferred embryos.     

ESHRE PGD Consortium data collection VIII: cycles from January to December 2005 with pregnancy follow-up to October 2006

The eighth report of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology PGD Consortium is presented documenting cycles collected for the calendar year 2005 and follow-up of the pregnancies and babies born until October 2006 which resulted from these cycles. For the first time, the delivery rates for each indication are presented and also the pregnancy rates for each centre are reported anonymously. Since the first data collections, there has been a steady increase in the number of cycles, pregnancies and babies reported annually. For data collection VIII, 39 centres have participated, reporting on 3488 cycles to oocyte retrieval (OR), along with details of the follow-up on 845 pregnancies and 670 babies born. Five hundred and twenty OR were reported for chromosomal abnormalities, 108 OR for sexing for X-linked diseases, 500 OR for monogenic diseases, 2275 OR for preimplantation genetic screening and 85 OR for social sexing. Data VIII is compared with the cumulative data for data collections I-VII.     

Ethyl chloride spray for musculoskeletal ultrasound‐guided injections: An alternative to subcutaneous injection of local anesthetic solution

Ultrasound‐guided injections such as steroid injections are common procedures involving the musculoskeletal system. They are usually performed after a subcutaneous injection of local anesthetic (LA), which can be painful. In 126 consecutive patients, local anesthesia was performed using ethyl chloride spray prior to a therapeutic ultrasound‐guided injection in joints, tendons, or bursae. Ninety‐nine (78.5%) patients found the use of ethyl chloride spray helpful. The use of ethyl chloride spray is an effective, patient‐friendly alternative to the standard injection of local aesthetic for ultrasound‐guided therapeutic musculoskeletal injections with the advantage of a lower cost of $0.18 per procedure.