Association between diabetes treatment adherence and parent-child agreement regarding treatment responsibilities.

When primary responsibility for Type 1 diabetes (DM1) treatment adherence transfers from parents to adolescents, glycemic control often suffers. Low rates of treatment adherence during this transition are possibly attributable to decreased parental involvement, disagreements between parents and children regarding treatment responsibilities, and increased family conflict. The current investigation assessed the relationships between each of these variables and glycemic control among youth diagnosed with DM1. Parent and child report questionnaires were completed by 64 parent-child dyads (ages 8-18) with a child diagnosed with DM1. HbA1c readings served as measures of glycemic control. Parental involvement in their children's treatment was reported to decline with age, however absolute levels of parent involvement were not significantly correlated with youth HbA1c levels. Parent-child agreement regarding treatment responsibility and reports of diabetes-related conflict were significant predictors of glycemic control. Results support previous findings implicating parent-child agreement regarding treatment responsibilities and family conflict as predictors of treatment adherence among youth with DM1. The current study found this relationship to be significant for a larger population of children for which past research has failed to find such an effect. Taken together, these findings suggest further research is warranted to identify effective methods for transferring treatment responsibilities from parents to children.

Use of buccal myomucosal flap in secondary cleft palate repair.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the buccal myomucosal flap in secondary repairs of cleft palate. METHODS: Twenty-two patients who underwent secondary palatoplasty between 1989 and 2004 in which a buccal myomucosal flap was used were reviewed retrospectively. All patients had undergone at least one previous attempted repair at other institutions. Indications for the secondary repair included velopharyngeal incompetence and/or oronasal fistula. Patients were evaluated preoperatively for oronasal fistula status, velopharyngeal competence, nasal resonance, speech quality, and nasal escape. RESULTS: The buccal myomucosal flap was used in all patients. The patients' mean age was 8.5 years (range, 1 to 23 years). Correction was indicated in seven patients with velopharyngeal incompetence (32 percent), five patients with oronasal fistulas (23 percent), and 10 patients with both conditions (45 percent). Preoperative assessment revealed four patients (18 percent) with an associated syndrome, 17 of 20 patients with hyperresonance (85 percent), 16 of 20 patients with nasal escape (80 percent), and 12 of 20 patients with poor speech (60 percent). The buccal myomucosal flap technique was used alone in 50 percent of patients, six patients had a staged correction (27 percent) and five patients required multiple procedures (23 percent). All fistulas remained closed. Two patients showed mild velopharyngeal incompetence (p = 0.001) and two patients continued to display hyperresonance (p < 0.001). Speech quality improved to a good level in 17 patients (77 percent) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Palate re-repair combined with a buccal myomucosal flap, occasionally in conjunction with other techniques, is an effective method for correcting failed cleft palate repairs.

Laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy for chronic diverticular disease.

BACKGROUND: The feasibility of laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy for diverticular disease has now been well established. We report herein our experience with laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy in 100 patients who underwent laparoscopic colectomy for chronic diverticular disease. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of a 7-year period from January 1995 to June 2002. Chronic diverticular disease was treated with laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy in 100 patients. The setting was a community hospital. All cases were performed by 1 of 2 colorectal surgeons. All laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy patients received lighted ureteral stents placed preoperatively that were removed at the end of surgery. RESULTS: Mean age was 61.6 years. The male to female ratio was 38:62. The mean estimated blood loss was 138 mL, liquid diet was tolerated for 2.4 days, and hospital length of stay was 4.6 days. The mean operative time for laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy was 196 minutes. Relative complications for laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy are as follows: anastomotic leak in 2 (3.0%) patients, hematuria in 95 (95%) with an average duration for 3.1 days, urinary tract infection in 6 (6%), and ureteral injury in 1 (1%). The mean operating room charges in the laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy patients was dollars 9,643. CONCLUSION: We recommend laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy as the modality of treatment for chronic diverticular disease. Laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy appears to be a reliable, safe, and efficacious treatment modality for chronic diverticular disease. The operative time for laparoscopic sigmoid colectomy is decreasing as surgeons gain more experience.

'You can't tell by looking': pilot study of a community-based intervention to detect asymptomatic sexually transmitted infections.

Innovative and non-stigmatizing interventions are required to reduce ethnic inequalities in rates of sexually transmitted infections among young people. We therefore designed an intervention, 'You can't tell by looking,' which combined health promotion with testing for gonorrhoea and chlamydia using nucleic acid amplification technology and treatment and partner notification delivered in the non-clinical settings. One hundred and eighty-one participants were seen in 13 sessions in local further education colleges. Forty-three percent of participants were from Black Caribbean or Black Other ethnic groups and 39% were Black African: 125 of 181 participants were sexually active and 109 of these (87%) provided a urine specimen. 10/109 (9.2%, 95% confidence interval 4.5-16.2%) samples were confirmed positive for Chlamydia trachomatis and two were also positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Only 7% of those tested found it embarrassing. The intervention was both feasible and acceptable to young people. It could be tested in a wider variety of non-clinical settings and evaluated in a cluster randomized trial.

Intestinal obstruction following biliopancreatic diversion.

In our opinion biliopancreatic diversion patients require particular care, especially in the emergency room setting. Due to the changes in anatomy following surgery, there are many changes in physiology. These changes result in different clinical manifestations than in the general population. Therefore, the combined use of clinical and laboratory findings, abdominal ultrasound and CT scan are invaluable assets in obesity surgery patients presenting with acute abdominal pain.