Background: Inadequate postoperative pain control is common and is associated with negative clinical outcomes. The objective is to identify preoperative predictors of poor postoperative pain control in the adult population undergoing inpatient surgery. Methods: Meta-analysis was performed according to MOOSE guidelines. Studies were included if they evaluated postoperative pain using a validated instrument in adults undergoing inpatient surgery and reported a measure of association between poor postoperative pain control and at least one preoperative predictor. Measures of association were pooled using random effects models. Results: A total of 33 studies representing 59,259 patients were included. Significant preoperative predictors of poor postoperative pain included sleeping difficulties (OR 2.32 [95% CI 1.46-3.69]), history of depressive symptoms (OR 1.71 [95% CI 1.32-2.22]), use of preoperative analgesia (OR 1.54 [95% CI 1.18-2.03]), smoking (OR 1.33 [95% CI 1.09-1.61]), -female sex (OR 1.29 [95% CI 1.17-1.43]), presence of preoperative pain (OR 1.21 [95% CI 1.10-1.32]], history of anxiety symptoms (OR 1.22 [95% CI 1.09-1.36)], younger age (OR 1.18 [95% CI 1.05-1.32)], and higher BMI (OR 1.02 [95% CI 1.01-1.03]). Conclusions: Nine significant predictors of poor postoperative pain control were identified and these should be recognized as important factors when developing pre- and peri-operative strategies to improve pain outcomes.

A number of laser facilities coming online all over the world promise the capability of high-power laser experiments with shot repetition rates between 1 and 10 Hz. Target availability and technical issues related to the interaction environment could become a bottleneck for the exploitation of such facilities. In this paper, we report on target needs for three different classes of experiments: dynamic compression physics, electron transport and isochoric heating, and laser-driven particle and radiation sources. We also review some of the most challenging issues in target fabrication and high repetition rate operation. Finally, we discuss current target supply strategies and future perspectives to establish a sustainable target provision infrastructure for advanced laser facilities.

Sistrunk’s procedure for thyroglossal duct remnants has a very high success rate, there remains the occasional patient, however, that will have recurrent disease despite a competently performed operation. Applied anatomy and embryology proffer a solution to this problem. Extending the Sistrunk operation, with an anterior wide local excision remaining within normal tissue, enables removal of the entire thyroglossal tract remnant.

A retrospective case note review was conducted to study our experience using this extended procedure to treat patients with thyroglossal tract disease that had recurred after a previous Sistrunk’s operation.

Six patients aged from five to 33 years were included in the study. There was one recurrence and the complication rate was comparable to the standard operation.

It was concluded that a wide local excision is a valuable extension of the Sistrunk operation for the management of recurrent disease.

We describe multiple cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck in five patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). When associated with CLL, cutaneous squamous cell carcinomata behave in a much more aggressive manner than otherwise expected. Four patients developed local recurrence after primary treatment. All five patients developed lymph node metastases containing squamous cell carcinoma. Three of five patients (60 per cent) had multiple primary lesions.

Whereas the increased incidence of second cancers in CLL and notably of skin cancers is documented, little has been written to describe the aggressive behaviour of these tumours. It is important, when treating these patients, to be aware of the high tendency towards local recurrence and lymph node metastasis and to consider an aggressive management plan and careful follow-up.

The project was a rescue excavation before housing development, mainly between Hadrian's Wall and the Vallum, close to the fort of Petriana at Stanwix. Traces were found of a pre Wall field-system. A minor Roman road was found running parallel to and 80 m south of the Vallum. A substantial Roman boundary of postsettings for posts over 2 m high was found running between, and at right angles to, the Wall and Vallum. In one area south of the Vallum a series of ditches of the second century A.D. suggested meadowland associated with a vicus of the nearby fort. To assist in its conservation the fragmentary remains of the Wall were traced and their position recorded. No trace was found of a Military Way; it may have been obliterated by an historically-recorded medieval road found parallel to and immediately south of the Wall. The position of Milecastle 65 was located by geophysical survey and found by test excavation to survive at foundation-level.