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Abstract: Aims: About 17,000 patients receive radiotherapy for pelvic cancer in the UK annually. Up to 50% are left with altered bowel function affecting quality of life. The UK National Cancer Survivorship Initiative Vision acknowledges that the needs of cancer survivors are not being met and challenges professionals to develop new models of care. Materials and methods: A prospective, observational qualitative study was carried out to assess whether nurse-delivered care is feasible for patients with radiotherapy-induced bowel dysfunction. The experience of a senior nurse, directed by an algorithm of investigation with a comprehensive treatment pathway, is reported. Results: Over 12 months, 59 new and 103 follow-up appointments were managed by the nurse. In total, 37 women and 73 men, with a median age of 69 years, were seen; 9 had been treated for gastrointestinal, 33 for gynaecological and 68 for urological cancers, 26 months (median) previously. Sixty minutes (new consultations) (median, range 35–80) and 40minutes (follow-up consultations) (range 20–85) were required. Ordering investigations, treatment initiation, long-term care planning and discharge seemed to be manageable in 83% of patients. Conclusion: An experienced nurse, working within a defined scope of practice, with medical support can manage care in patients with mild or moderate symptoms arising after pelvic radiotherapy. An ongoing randomised controlled trial is assessing patient outcomes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background.—Military hospitals currently use gestational age-specific growth curves based on data collected in Denver, Colo, from 1948 to 1961. A number of population and environmental factors and medical practice changes may make ihese curves nonrepresentative. Objective.—Determine if presently used growth curves represent norms for infants born in military hospitals and create new curves for use in military hospitals. Methods.—Data were collected from medical records of tertiary- and primary-care military hospitals. We created growth curves created for birth weight, length, and head circumference and compared these curves at gestational ages 23–42 weeks to previously published norms and to 1998 national vital statistics. Racial and ethnic differences between groups were compared. A retrospective analysis of blood-glucose measurements for healthy term infants was performed to identify potential safety issues. Results.—Significant increases in growth parameters were noted for infants born in military hospitals. Specific racial and ethnic groups within the military also had an increase when compared with these groups in the United States as a whole. Less than 1% of infants classified as large for gestational age (LGA) according by old standards but average for gestational age (AGA) according to new curves experienced hypoglycemia. Conclusion.—Published growth curves may not represent infants born in military hospitals. Term infants born in military hospitals as a group and in racial and ethnic subgroups are larger than term infants born in US civilian hospitals. Prospective use of curves will help to validate their long-term applicability in military and civilian nurseries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]