Bilateral facial nerve palsy is a rare condition, representing only 0.3-2.0% of all facial palsy cases. Facial paralysis constitutes the result of a diverse array of systemic disorders and heterogeneous aetiologies and thus represents a diagnostic challenge. This case report describes a previously healthy male who presented to the emergency department numerous times within a few weeks with unrelated non-specific symptoms. These symptoms could not be attributed to any specific aetiology after various radiological and laboratory examinations, and hence presented a diagnostic dilemma until he developed bilateral seventh nerve palsy and was admitted for a further workup.

Radiofrequency (RF) therapy of the lower oesophageal sphincter using STRETTA strengthens the reflux barrier across the gastro-oesophageal junction. Numerous studies have shown improvement in reflux symptoms, reduction in proton pump inhibitor (PPI) dependence and need for surgical treatment for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). We present the largest series from Europe, and aim to assess long term outcomes of STRETTA for patients with medically refractory GORD. Data for all patients who underwent STRETTA from October 2014 till April 2021 were prospectively maintained on a database and was analysed retrospectively. Patients and primary care doctor practices were contacted to obtain information on PPI free period (PFP) after STRETTA therapy, which was defined as the time between STRETTA and recommencement of prescribed and daily consumption of PPI medication. As required medication use was not considered for PFP calculation. Statistical analysis and graphical presentation were carried out using Minitab® and GraphPad Prism®. Mann–Whitney test was used to compare two sets of non-parametric data and a p < 0.05 was considered significant. From 195 patients (median age 55, 116 females (59%)) who underwent STRETTA, PFP data were available for 144 (74%) patients. Sixty-six patients (45%) remained without PPI after a median follow-up of 4.5 years (52 months). Six patients (3%) went on to have a further intervention. There was a significant negative correlation between PFP and age (p = 0.023) with no differences between the genders (p = 0.90). Patients <55 years had a longer PFP than >55 years (p = 0.012). Younger males had a significantly longer PFP than older males (0.03). However, this was not observed in the female cohort (p = 0.14). Our findings suggest STRETTA as a safe and feasible option for treating medically refractory GORD, especially in younger patients. STRETTA does reduce the need for long term PPI and lessens the frequency of further interventions such as surgery. Further studies are required to investigate the mechanisms by which STRETTA is beneficial in the younger patient.

Background: Febrile thrombocytopenia is a common reason for pediatric admission. Though infections are the major cause, noninfectious causes are not uncommon. This study was done to estimate the prevalence of thrombocytopenia as a presentation in pediatric fever cases, to analyze the various etiologies, presentations and relationship between platelet count and the severity of disease and prognosis.Methods: Retrospective observational study done by collecting data from hospital records of children admitted in Velammal Medical college hospital from January 2016 to December 2017. Children in the age group of 6 months to 15 years with fever and thrombocytopenia at admission were included in the study. Children on treatment with anti-platelet drugs, other chronic diseases and infants less than 6 months were excluded.Results: Out of 2523 fever cases admitted, 372 children fulfilled this criterion. 70% had positive dengue serology, other infectious causes were other viral hemorrhagic fevers, complicated enteric fever, scrub typhus and sepsis. The predominant non-infectious causes were hematological malignancies, Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and Hemolytic uremia syndrome.Conclusions: Febrile thrombocytopenia is a common clinical presentation in children in dengue endemic areas. Most viral fevers have leukopenia but presence of thrombocytopenia with warning signs like pain abdomen, vomiting or oliguria should prompt suspicion of dengue. Infections like enteric fever, scrub typhus or chikungunya may also mimic similar findings. Rarely diseases like leukemia, Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Hemolytic uremic syndrome or Sepsis may also present as febrile thrombocytopenia. The need for antibiotics or blood products is very minimal.

Aim The number of international medical graduates (IMGs) in the various surgical specialties in the United Kingdom (UK) has been growing recently. Owing to the differences in the undergraduate medical training between the UK and other countries, it can be very challenging for IMGs to establish themselves in the competitive surgical training programs in the UK. With that in mind, some International Core Surgical Trainees founded the Surgical Society of International Doctors (SSID) as an initiative to connect, support and promote aspiring international surgeons in the UK. Method SSID was formed by recruiting other committee members with similar backgrounds and interests as leads for education, research, networking, and regional representatives. The society currently has 13 active members, a website - www.surgicalsid.com and an active social media presence. Monthly committee meetings and WhatsApp group chats are used to organise and run various society activities. Results The two projects undertaken so far are: Conclusions Our society is expanding with increasing members and growing interest from medical colleagues, and rising followers on the website and social media. We plan to expand our reach with more events, conferences, research collaborations and opportunities for international doctors.

Introduction As the number of international medical graduates (IMG) applying for Core Surgical Training (CST) is growing, the understanding of the portfolio and application system is crucial to succeeding in this competitive application process. We conducted a webinar to grow the awareness of the system, especially amongst doctors still in the process of moving to the UK for surgical training. Method The webinar was part of an online teaching series for IMG doctors run by the SSID society. It was conducted in two separate two-hour sessions using a virtual conferencing tool in September and October 2021. Alongside, it was streamed on Facebook live to grow the reach. The advertising was done via flyers on social media and various WhatsApp groups. Each webinar was delivered by an IMG doctor in CST in the UK where they shared their personal experiences. Feedback was collected after each webinar using an online form generating tool and analysed on Excel. The certificate of attendance was distributed via E-mail. Results The webinar was viewed by 1200 on Facebook Live. Feedback was received from 66 attendees. 96.96% agreed that the webinar improved their understanding of the portfolio and 94.45% agreed they learned about ways to improve their portfolio. 89.39% agreed that they would change their practice after attending this webinar. Conclusions Simple online webinars can improve the understanding of the portfolio requirements for CST amongst IMG doctors. Subsequently, this could allow for early portfolio preparation opportunities, improve application self-assessment scores, and reduce the years needed to get a successful training number.