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Background: The use of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) has increased considerably since its introduction in 2001, with RAS now being widely accepted as a surgical modality. Current literature surrounding RAS focuses on the surgical team's experience rather than the patient's perspective, with limited qualitative research on post-RAS patient experience. Aim: To explore patient-reported experience following RAS. Methods: Twelve semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted. Interviews were audio recorded with data transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings: Themes included: factors specific to the robotic modality and psychological factors. Participant concerns emanated from their experience of a lack of pre-operative preparation, resulting in feelings of anxiety and some negative perceptions of RAS. Conclusion: Given the limited time for patient preparation for RAS, work developing patient information that is also patient-led would be of benefit. Pre-operative preparation is a key nursing role' and further research could explore nurses' experiences of preparing patients for RAS, facilitators and barriers to providing optimum patient preparation in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There are reported variations in the intraoperative management of Crohn's disease. This consensus statement aimed to develop a standardised protocol for photographic documentation of intraoperative findings and critical procedural steps in ileocolonic Crohn's disease surgery. Methods: Colorectal surgeons with a specialist interest in minimally invasive surgery and inflammatory bowel disease were invited as committee members to develop a survey on the use of photo‐documentation in Crohn's disease surgery. A 15 item survey was developed on ethical considerations and applications of photo‐documentation in audit and quality control, research, and training. Results: There was strong agreement on the potential application of intraoperative photo‐documentation in Crohn's disease for training, research, quality control and tertiary referrals. Reviewers agreed that intraoperative staging required photo‐documentation of strictures, skip lesions, perforations, fat wrapping and mesenteric disease. The necessary steps to be photo‐documented were very specific to Crohn's disease surgery, such as views of anastomosis and strictureplasties, and extent of resection(s). Conclusions: Our consensus statement identified several items for appropriate intraoperative photo‐documentation in Crohn's disease surgery, to be used as an adjunct to accurate annotation of intraoperative findings and procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Since the UK Abortion Act (1967), women have travelled from Ireland to the UK for legal abortion. In 2011 >4000 women did so. Knowledge and attitudes of medical students towards abortion have been published, however, this is the first such report from Ireland. Objective To investigate medical students' attitudes towards abortion in Ireland. Methods All medical students at the University of Limerick, and physicians who graduated from the university within the previous 12 months, were invited via email to complete an anonymous online survey. The questionnaire comprised 17 questions. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed. Results Response rate was 45% (n=169; 55% women; 88.2% <30 years of age; 66.7% Irish; 29.2% North American). Outcomes were: abortion should not be legally available (7.1%), abortion should be allowed in limited circumstances only (35.5%), abortion should be legally available upon request (55%). 72.8% of respondents were moderately/strongly prochoice (74% of women/71% of men/72% and 76% of Irish and North American respondents, respectively). Students aged >30 years were less likely to be prochoice (55%). While 95.2% believed that education on abortion should be offered within medical school curricula, 28.8% stated that they would decline to terminate pregnancies even if legally permitted. While 58.8% indicated that they might perform legal abortions once qualified, 25.7% would do so under limited circumstances only. Conclusions The majority of participants wanted education regarding abortion. Despite being predominantly prochoice, considerably fewer students, irrespective of nationality, indicated that they would perform abortions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare surgeon-performed ultrasound (SPUS) for suspected appendicitis or gallstone disease to the "gold standard" of pathological examination or radiologist-performed ultrasound (RPUS). DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, Embase, trial registries, conference proceedings, and article reference lists were searched to identify trials and/or studies comparing SPUS with pathology or RPUS as the reference standard. Data were abstracted from eligible studies to produce 2 x 2 contingency tables, permitting the calculation of pooled sensitivity and specificity values. RESULTS: Eight studies (1,268 patients) evaluated SPUS for appendicitis. For appendicitis, SPUS had a pooled sensitivity of .92 (95% confidence interval [CI], .887-.939) and a pooled specificity of .96 (95% CI, .946 -.974). SPUS for gallstones was evaluated in 8 studies (1,019 patients). The pooled sensitivity was .96 (95% CI, .934 -.979), and the specificity was .99 (95% CI .983-.998). CONCLUSIONS: SPUS achieves acceptable sensitivity and specificity for both gallstones and appendicitis. However, there was some evidence of heterogeneity. Data regarding cost-effectiveness are lacking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]