Breast and tumor volumes on 3D-MRI and their impact on the performance of a breast conservative surgery (BCS).

Breast conservation rate is being increasingly used nowadays as a marker of breast cancer care among hospitals. Searching for the ideal technique to predict the feasibility of BCS is ongoing. For this matter, the preoperative MRIs of 169 patients operated with radical or conservative surgery were reviewed. We estimated the tumor volume (TV) and breast volume (BV) on enhanced 3D-MRI and compared the tumor-to-breast volume ratio (TV/BV) in both groups. The mean ratio was 9.5% in the mastectomy group and 1.7% in the BCS group. A tumor-to-breast volume ratio less than 4% seemed to favor the adoption of a conservative option. Our data suggest that preoperative 3D-MRI can orient the surgical approach by assessing the TV/BV ratio, increasing lumpectomy rates with clear margins and good cosmetic outcome.

Lebanese students' motivation in medical school: does it change throughout the years? A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Students entering medical school are driven by different types of motivation: autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, or amotivation. Motivation types can influence students' performance, outcome and well-being. To our knowledge, this topic has never been studied in Lebanese medical students. This study aims to identify students' motivation types in the first 5 years of medical school at two Lebanese universities (USJ and USEK). It also aims to determine the predominant motivation type of the whole sample. Results may be the first step towards raising awareness about this topic and implementing actions that enhance autonomous motivation. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed between January and June 2017. A questionnaire was sent to medical students by e-mail. The students' academic motivation was assessed using the Academic Motivation Scale. RESULTS: A higher mean autonomous motivation score was found in each academic year, as compared to the mean controlled motivation and amotivation scores. The highest mean autonomous motivation score was seen among second year students, whereas the lowest score was noted in fifth year students. The highest scores for controlled motivation and amotivation belonged to the fourth-year students, and the lowest to the first-year students. Students who were still satisfied with medical studies had a higher autonomous motivation score. Finally, USJ students who were satisfied with their second year training had a higher mean autonomous motivation score than those who were not. CONCLUSION: This study showed high levels of autonomous motivation in the first five years of medical school. Autonomous motivation was the predominant type in the whole sample. The highest scores of controlled motivation and amotivation were noted in the fourth year. Moreover, high levels of self-determination were seen in students who enjoyed their early contacts with patients through trainings. Actions should be implemented in medical schools to enhance and maintain autonomous motivation, and consequently students' outcome and health-care quality.

Magnesium and Ketamine Reduce Early Morphine Consumption After Open Bariatric Surgery: a Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Study.

BACKGROUNDS: Optimal pain management in bariatric patients is crucial for early recovery. This study aims to evaluate the effects of magnesium and ketamine combination on morphine consumption after open bariatric surgery (primary outcome), as well as on postoperative pain scores and occurrence of side effects. METHOD: A total of 60 patients undergoing elective open gastric bypass were randomized into 3 groups. All patients received the same general anaesthesia protocol. The magnesium and ketamine group (Mg + K) received an IV bolus of magnesium 50 mg/kg and ketamine 0.2 mg/kg followed by continuous infusion of magnesium (8 mg/kg/h) and ketamine (0.15 mg/kg/h) until extubation. The ketamine group (K) received the same bolus and infusion of ketamine, together with a bolus and continuous infusion of normal saline. The placebo group (P) received normal saline. All patients received 48 h of paracetamol 1 g IV q6h and morphine sulphate 0.1 mg/kg subcutaneous q6h PRN. Morphine consumption, VAS pain scores and occurrence of side effects were recorded for 48 h postoperatively. RESULTS: Patients in group (Mg + K) (2.4 ± 2.62 mg) and in group (K) (2.8 ± 2.66 mg) had significantly lower morphine consumption in the PACU compared with the patients in group (P) (4.85 ± 4.51 mg) (p = 0.045). Patients in group (Mg + K) consumed significantly less morphine the first 24 postoperative hours, with a relative reduction of 87% and 21% compared with group (K) and group (P) respectively (p = 0.028). However, this difference was not observed at 48 h. No significant difference was shown between the three groups in terms of nausea and vomiting, time to extubation or excessive sedation. CONCLUSION: The association of magnesium and ketamine bolus followed by infusion in open bariatric surgery appears to be safe and decreases morphine requirements in the first 24 h compared with both ketamine alone and placebo.

Regional analgesia and breast cancer surgery.

Breast cancer surgery is frequently associated with postoperative nausea, vomiting, pain and painful restricted movement. It is well established that thoracic paravertebral block with or without general anesthesia provides better postoperative analgesia and reduces the risk of nausea and vomiting after breast surgery as well as the incidence of chronic pain. Paravertebral block improves the quality of recovery after breast cancer surgery and provides the patient with the option of ambulatory discharge.

Undergraduate medical education in palliative medicine: the first step in promoting palliative care in Lebanon.

Effective delivery of high-quality palliative care requires effective interprofessional team working by skilled healthcare professionals. Palliative care is therefore highly suitable for sowing the seeds of interprofessional team working in early professional undergraduate medical education. Integrating palliative medicine in undergraduate medical education curricula seems to be a must. In this review, we present as an example the Palliative and End-of-Life Care Curriculum (PEOLC) used in Canada for undergraduate medical education and underline the need for such a national curriculum in Lebanon. One must keep in mind that medical education does not stop at the end of the medical school, ongoing learning needs exist. Continuous medical education in palliative care should also be emphasized; the overall goal is promoting palliative medicine. Respecting and protecting human dignity is the right of every patient.

Pain management and health care policy.

Opioid analgesics are essential for the management of moderate to severe pain. In spite of their documented effectiveness, opioids are often underutilized, a factor which has contributed significantly to the undertreatment of pain. Many countries have developed true national policies on cancer pain and palliative care, and in others only guidelines for care have been developed. Ideally, national policies facilitate and legislate not only a patient's right to care, but also the necessary components of education and drug availability which are so critical for the appropriate achievement of public health programs.