Medical and surgical resources
Abstracts of
Cochrane Reviews
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews consists of a rapidly
growing collection of regularly updated systematic reviews of the effects
of health care. They are prepared from analyses of randomised controlled
trials. Evidence is included or excluded on the basis of explicit quality
criteria to minimise bias. Data are often combined into a meta-analysis to
increase the power of numerous small studies, each to small to produce a
reliable result.
Silicone Gel Breast
Implants
This report of the 1998 Independent Review Group succinctly presents
the evidence relating to the safety of silicone gel breast implants. It
includes specific recommendations for their future use. The complete
report can be downloaded in pdf format from this government site.
National Confidential Enquiry into
Perioperative Deaths
The National Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Deaths (NCEPOD) is
a registered charity whose aim is to review clinical practice and identify
potentially remediable factors in the practice of anaesthesia, surgery and
other invasive medical procedures. The aim is to look at the quality of
the delivery of care and not specifically the causation of death. This
site contains the 1996/97 and 1999 reports in PDF format. The reports are
also summarised and the key recommendations included. The 1999 reports
specifically looks at surgery at the extremes of age - both children and
the elderly.
Breast Cancer On-line
This frequently updated site contains clinical reviews, case reports,
pathological images, journal reviews and conference reviews relating to
the management of breast cancer.
Medic8.com
A portal of peer-reviewed medical and surgical websites. The site
is based in the United Kingdom with a significant proportion of listed
sites also based in this country.
BeST
Basic Electronic Surgical Training (BeST) is an online program
providing fully-integrated training at basic surgical level. Based
on the intercollegiate syllabus of the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons, it
contains 18 modules, 93 tutorials and the back to Basics guides to
anatomy, physiology, pathology, investigations and surgical techniques.
Consent
The NHS Plan
identified the need for changes in the way in which patients are asked to
give their consent to treatment, care or research, in order to ensure that
the process becomes properly focussed on the rights of individual patients
and their relatives. The importance of patient-focussed consent procedures
also emerged as a key theme in Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry Report. The
Department’s Reference guide to consent for examination or treatment,
which summarises the current law on consent to treatment, was published in
March 2001. This circular focuses on the action necessary to ensure that
the principles set out in the Reference guide are reflected in day-to-day
NHS practice.

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