A five-year review of anorectal complications seen following radiotherapy for cervical carcinoma was done with the following objectives: 1) to present the profile of patients presenting with anorectal complications following radiation treatment for cervical cancer; 2) to describe the manifestations of these complications and findings on proctosigmoidoscopy with biopsy; and 3) to present the approaches in their management. A total of 116 patients, all with confirmed diagnosis of cervical cancer, were seen over this period. Mean age was 49.5 years. All received external beam cobalt and intracavitary radium. Complications were observed from 10 days to 20 months after treatment. Anal bleeding was the most common complaint (62%), followed by rectovaginal fistula (14%). Residual/recurrent malignancy was noted in seven patients (6%). Treatment modalities varied considerably, ranging from conservative and symptomatic treatment for bleeding, pain, constipation, and diarrhea, to major abdominal procedures for rectovaginal fistula

Human ; Rectovaginal Fistula ; Constipation ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Cobalt ; Pain ; Biopsy ; Diarrhea ; Anus Diseases

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to a) evaluate the knowledge of water refilling station (WRS) owners and operators regarding the proper techniques and procedures applicable to WRS based on the Certification Course for Water Refilling Station and Plant Operators (CCWRSPO); b) assess compliance to regular physical-chemical and microbiological testing of product water and sanitary permit acquisition and c) determine the quality of product water of selected water refilling stations (WRS) in a municipality in Cavite.

METHODS: The study includes WRS owners and operators who participated in the CCWRSPO from 2005 to 2009. A 50-item objective examination administered by the researchers was used to evaluate the knowledge of the respondents. This was formulated based on the objectives of the CCWRSPO. The compliance to legal requirements for WRS was assessed according to the results of the physical-chemical and microbiological tests (Multiple Tube Fermentation Technique and Pour Plate Method) and the presence of an updated sanitary permit. Results of product water analyses were compared to the 2007 Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water. Water refilling stations that failed to meet at least one of the three legal requirements were considered as "non-compliant".

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Results showed that 71.8% of the respondents passed the written examination whereas 28.2% obtained scores less than 50.0%. Chi-square analysis indicated that there was no significant difference between the knowledge of the trainees in 2005 to 2008 and the trainees in 2009. Similarly, majority (78.9%) of the WRS included in the study were found to be non-complaint with the provisions of P.D. 856 and the prescribed standards for water quality. The quality of product water served as an important determinant of the compliance of WRS. Although majority of the water samples tested had acceptable microbiological examination results, 16.9% of the samples exceeded the standards for microbiological water quality. Aside from this, the non-compliance of WRS was attributed to the absence of an updated sanitary permit, which was one of the important indicators of product water quality. Chi-square analysis showed that the trainees who have been operating WRS for only a year after the certification course were less compliant as compared to those operating for two to five years.

Water Quality ; Drinking Water ; Fermentation ; Patient Compliance ; Microbiological Techniques ; Surveys And Questionnaires ; Certification

Locally made radiopaque markers for colonic transit study are presented, specifically on how they were made, and how they compared radiographically with markers available abroad. These markers were produced using locally available materials like barium powder, a feeding tube, cyanoacrylate, and emptied drug capsules. They were then ingested and monitored by X-ray. They were found to be radiographically comparable with imported ones. No adverse events were noted when used in 5 patients: 2 patients with constipation secondary to chronic laxative abuse, 2 patients with reducible complete rectal prolapse, and 1 patient with constipation secondary to short segment Hirschsprungs' Disease. (Author)

Human ; Constipation ; Rectal Prolapse ; X-rays ; Hirschsprung Disease ; Barium ; Laxatives ; Capsules ; Cyanoacrylates ; Radiography ; Rectum

The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development-Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DOST), and the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) signed a Memorandum of Agreement on 1 June 1999, whereby both agreed to support the formation of Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines (EBCPGs) on specific areas of surgical care in the Philippines. The areas were to be specified by the PCS, and those areas should have a reasonably large potential of improving the quality of patient care throughout the country, and can be implemented nationwide in both government and private health facilities The first clinical area selected was on when to refer for preoperative cardiac evaluation for elective noncardiac surgery, and when would the intraoperative presence of a cardiologist be beneficial. A Technical Working Group (TWG) was appointed, which: 1) searched and appraised the evidence; 2) prepared a first draft EBCPG; 3) presented the evidence to a Panel of Experts; 4) supervised the panel using the nominal group technique (6 November 1999 - PCS Building); and 5) prepared the second draft EBCPG based on the consensus recommendations of the panel. All processes strictly conformed to the methods of evidence-based guidelines formation specified by evidence-baesd medicine texts The second draft EBCPG was presented on 11 December 1999 during the 55th Clinical Congress of the PCS, and the final draft approved by the PCS Board of Regents on 29 January 2000 Literature search was conducted through the MEDLINE, COCHRANE Library an the HERDIN Database. A total of 2,156 titles, 427 abstracts and 77 full text articles were appraised. Data from 23 prospective cohort studies were encoded into the software COCHRANE Review Manager (RevMan), Version 3.0 for Windows (updated October 7, 1996). Tables were generated which contained authors, outcome rates, relative risks and the 95% confidence intervals of the relative risks. Three perioperative outcomes were identified-cardiac morbidity, cardiac death, and overall cardiac events

Human ; Risk ; Cardiologists ; Surgeons ; Research ; Publications ; Patient Care ; Health Facilities