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Biomedical subjects

R O Evans

Publications and source records attributed to R O Evans.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Playing with metal: fracture implants and contact sport.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the outcome of athletes returning to contact sport with indwelling fracture implants. METHOD: A retrospective analysis of professional rugby union players competing in the South Wales premier league. RESULTS: Fifteen athletes were identified who had returned to competitive rugby union with retained fracture implants during the period 1990-97. After fracture fixation, the players resumed their preinjury level of contact sport within one to 12 months. Only two athletes suffered complications in relation to the retained implant, whereas the other 13 athletes played for up to six years without symptoms. CONCLUSION: The results from this preliminary series suggest that an early return to contact sport is feasible in selected cases. Avoiding the extended delay associated with implant removal affords not only minimal disruption to competitive participation, but also prevents prolonged financial losses for the professional player.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Can emergency general surgical referrals be reduced? A prospective study.

It has been proposed that early assessment by a senior surgeon would result in a significant reduction in the number of general surgical admissions. A prospective study of 290 surgical patients admitted to a busy district general hospital over a period of 1 calendar month has been performed to test this hypothesis. After admission, all patients were assessed by a senior surgeon who carried out triage for each patient. The commonest diagnoses in descending order of frequency were non-specific abdominal pain, appendicitis, diverticular disease, cholecystitis, head injury and pancreatitis. Twenty-two per cent of emergency admissions underwent emergency surgery. A total of 90.7% of admissions were deemed appropriate, 5.5% were deemed inappropriate and in 3.8% of cases the senior surgeon was uncertain as to whether the patient should be admitted or not. Our data fail to substantiate the claim that a significant reduction in intake size would be achieved by early assessment by a senior surgeon. Assessment by surgeons may mean sacrificing other clinical commitments, and is likely to result in a diminution in the standard of both basic and higher surgical training.

Adolescent↗