Background This study aimed to identify the most common causes of non-cancer mortality in patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) and compare their mortality risk with the general population. Methodology This study analyzed PAC patients’ data registered in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. We studied the causes of death and investigated their association with age, sex, race, tumor stage at presentation, and treatment modality according to the time interval from diagnosis during which death events occurred. We used the standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Results A total of 67,694 PAC patients’ data were analyzed; of these patients, 64,347 (95.06%) died during the follow-up. Most deaths occurred due to cancer (61,685; 95.86% of deaths), while non-cancer mortality represented only 4.14%. The most common causes of non-cancer mortality were heart diseases (SMR = 2.79), cerebrovascular diseases (SMR = 3.11), and septicemia (SMR = 8.2). PAC patients had a higher mortality risk for all studied mortality causes except Alzheimer’s disease (SMR = 0.5) and homicide and legal intervention (SMR = 2.29). Conclusions Approximately 96% of PAC patients’ deaths are due to cancer. While the dominant non-cancer causes of death include heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and septicemia, with a higher risk of mortality for most non-cancer causes than the general population.

Background: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) are frequent procedures used to relieve the symptoms of hip or knee joint dysfunction, enhance disease recovery, and boost patients' quality of life. Nevertheless, postoperative pain has been a significant disadvantage since it strongly impacts patients' postoperative recovery. Parecoxib has been demonstrated to be useful in the management of postoperative pain in a variety of surgical procedures. While parecoxib can help with postoperative pain, its analgesic and unfavourable effects in TKA/THA patients have not been well studied.Methods: A systematic search of peer-reviewed articles was conducted through the PubMed database, Google Scholar, and Cochrane library to retrieve related studies published in the English language that met inclusion and exclusion criteria. The publication date was restricted to the past 10 years (2012-2022). Results were analyzed using Review Manager software (RevMan version 5.4.1, The Cochrane Collaboration, 2020). The quality of the studies included was assessed using Jadad scores. Risk ratios (RR) standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to analyze the primary and secondary endpoints.Results: Eleven randomized controlled trials covering 1911 patients who underwent TKA/THA were selected. The pooled results indicated that the parecoxib group has lower visual analogue scale (VAS) scores than the placebo group. However, there was no significant difference in the secondary endpoint. The Jadad scores ranged from 3 to 5 and most of the studies were of high quality. Conclusion:The results of our meta-analysis indicate that parecoxib has a better analgesic effect compared to placebo. It alleviates postoperative orthopaedic pain without raising the risk of adverse events.

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The nasogastric tube (NGT) plays a very vital role in the early resuscitation of head injury patients for various reasons. Though considered a simple procedure, it can be associated with multiple dreadful complications. Our patient was a 44-year-old male, referred from a peripheral health center for further management of severe head and faciomaxillary injuries following a motor vehicular accident. On arrival at the hospital, the endotracheal tube and NGT were in situ. A computed tomography scan of the brain revealed the NGT piercing through the cribriform plate of ethmoid and coiling into the cranial cavity with pneumocephalus. The NGT was retrieved under C-arm guidance and his injuries were managed respectively. The patient was discharged after prolong hospitalization with an acceptable outcome. With this case report, we want to remind emergency health care providers to avoid this catastrophic complication of NGT insertion in a faciomaxillary trauma patient by doing it transorally. We report a novel method of safely removing NGT which has not been reported in the past.

Introduction Open injuries have a potential for serious bacterial wound infections and may lead to long term disabilities, chronic wound or bone infection, and even death. This QI study was undertaken to ring in changes to the current management protocol and align them as per WHO guidelines. Method Implementing changes through a Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle post an initial clinical audit among 38 patients of the organization. Re-audits were done to measure the outcome against the standard and establish a new protocol. Results Initial audit showed only a dismal 37% (n = 14) of patients being managed as per WHO protocol. Patient satisfaction percentage (as measured by a questionnaire) was also low with only 54% of patients satisfied with the treatment. Significant variations were noted post implementation of changes after the first PDSA cycle where >90% (n = 35) of patients reported that they noticed better wound healing, transition to optimal performance and were satisfied with treatment outcomes. Conclusions Timely wound dressings, appropriate antibiotic prophylaxis and increased patient’s awareness on wound hygiene through means of regular educational sessions and updated management protocols have led to healthier patients, lesser long term disabilities and happy patients.