ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: This study recorded the complication rates for general paediatric surgery undertaken in our district general hospital (DGH) and compared them with the limited amount of data published in this field. There has been a gradual diminution in the numbers of general paediatric surgeons throughout the UK. The Royal College of Surgeons of England has produced guidelines to safeguard the provision of paediatric surgery in DGHs. There are minimal data on the acceptable outcomes and complication rates for elective general paediatric operations. METHODS: The following operations undertaken by the paediatric urologist in our unit between November 2006 and May 2010 were scrutinised: orchidopexy, laparoscopy for undescended testes, herniotomy and circumcision. The results were compared to those in the literature and current guidelines. Complications were recorded via audit records, clinic letters or records of attendance at the accident and emergency department. RESULTS: A total of 306 paediatric operations (125 orchidopexies, 28 laparoscopies, 41 herniotomies and 51 circumcisions) were undertaken over the 42-month study period. Only 4.5% of cases experienced post-operative complications. The majority of these were testicular atrophy and infection. There were no intra-operative complications. CONCLUSIONS: In our DGH the complication rates for general paediatric operations compare favourably with those set out by the literature and guidelines, which support the training and delivery of general paediatric surgery within DGHs.
Subject(s)
Hospitals, District/statistics & numerical data , Hospitals, General/statistics & numerical data , Postoperative Complications/epidemiology , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Circumcision, Male/adverse effects , Female , Hernia, Inguinal/surgery , Herniorrhaphy/adverse effects , Hospitals, District/standards , Hospitals, General/standards , Humans , Infant , Laparotomy/adverse effects , Male , Medical Audit , Orchiopexy/adverse effects , Retrospective Studies , Treatment Outcome , Wales/epidemiologyABSTRACT
Raman spectroscopy (RS) is an optical technique that provides an objective method of pathological diagnosis based on the molecular composition of tissue. Studies have shown that the technique can accurately identify and grade prostatic adenocarcinoma (CaP) in vitro. This study aimed to determine whether RS was able to differentiate between CaP cell lines of varying degrees of biological aggressiveness. Raman spectra were measured from two well-differentiated, androgen-sensitive cell lines (LNCaP and PCa 2b) and two poorly differentiated, androgen-insensitive cell lines (DU145 and PC 3). Principal component analysis was used to study the molecular differences that exist between cell lines and, in conjunction with linear discriminant analysis, was applied to 200 spectra to construct a diagnostic algorithm capable of differentiating between the different cell lines. The algorithm was able to identify the cell line of each individual cell with an overall sensitivity of 98% and a specificity of 99%. The results further demonstrate the ability of RS to differentiate between CaP samples of varying biological aggressiveness. RS shows promise for application in the diagnosis and grading of CaP in clinical practise as well as providing molecular information on CaP samples in a research setting.
