The Tallaght University Hospital (Irish: Ospidéal Ollscoile Thamhlachta) is a teaching hospital in County Dublin, Ireland. Its academic partner is the Trinity College Dublin. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital Group.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with increased risk of stroke and mortality. Effective management requires both patient engagement and clear understanding of treatment goals yet evidence suggests persistent gaps in knowledge and involvement in care. Pharmacists are increasingly involved in AF clinics, yet little is known about how patients perceive their role, particularly in the context of potential pharmacist prescribing. To explore patients’ perspectives on the management of AF and the role of pharmacists in an Irish outpatient AF clinic, including attitudes toward potential pharmacist prescribing. A qualitative study was conducted using 15 one-to-one semi-structured interviews with adults aged ≥ 65 years attending a specialist AF clinic at Tallaght University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. Interviews took place between March and May 2025. Participants were purposively sampled to capture a range of clinical and demographic characteristics. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-step reflexive thematic analysis. An inductive approach was adopted. Coding and theme development were conducted iteratively, with a subset of transcripts independently reviewed by supervisors to enhance analytical rigour and consistency. Five overarching themes were identified relating to understanding of AF, pharmacotherapy, satisfaction with care, perceptions of the pharmacist’s role, and views on pharmacist prescribing. Participants demonstrated variable understanding of AF, with limited awareness of stroke risk despite consistent recognition of anticoagulant therapy. Knowledge of anticoagulant safety, particularly bleeding risk, was strong and well retained, whereas understanding of rate-control medicines was limited. Satisfaction with care was high; however, most participants adopted a passive role in decision-making, expressing trust in healthcare professionals. Pharmacists were frequently misidentified as doctors or nurses, reflecting limited role visibility. Once recognised, pharmacist input, particularly in anticoagulant counselling and medication advice, was highly valued. Views on pharmacist prescribing were mixed: while participants acknowledged pharmacists’ expertise in medicines, many preferred doctors to retain prescribing responsibility due to established trust. While patients spoke positively about pharmacists’ input, many struggled to identify the pharmacist within the clinic and were unclear about the scope of their role. Gaps in understanding of stroke risk and broader treatment goals highlight the need for structured patient education. As Ireland considers expanding pharmacist prescribing beyond the current common conditions scheme in community pharmacy, strengthening patient education and fostering trust will be essential to optimise pharmacist-led AF services.
Older adults represent an increasingly significant proportion of Emergency Department (ED) attendances in Ireland, often presenting with complex geriatric syndromes including frailty, cognitive impairment, and multi-morbidity. Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) introduced the Gerontological Emergency Department Intervention (GEDI) team in 2018 to address the needs of this vulnerable cohort through comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA). To characterise the demographics, clinical features, and outcomes of older patients assessed by the GEDI team in TUH ED over a five-year period, and to identify factors independently associated with hospital admission. A retrospective observational study was conducted using routinely collected data on all patients assessed by the GEDI team from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024. Patient demographics, presenting complaints, CGA components (Rockwood Frailty Score, Barthel Index, 4AT, Mini Nutritional Assessment, SARC-F), ED length of stay, and disposition outcomes were analysed. Multivariate logistic regression identified independent predictors of hospital admission. Over the study period, 11,256 ED presentations pertaining to 7,055 older patients were assessed by the GEDI team. The mean age was 81.1 years (SD 6.6); 55
The RSNA Lumbar Degenerative Imaging Spine Classification dataset is the largest publicly available adult MRI lumbar spine dataset for degenerative disease. The dataset includes multisequence, multiplanar MRIs from 2,697 patients through contributions from 8 institutions across 6 countries and 5 continents. ©RSNA, 2026.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:The British Society of Gastroenterology recommend use of structured transition programs to improve control of chronic gastrointestinal disease in adolescents. We sought to determine the impact of attending a structured transition program on engagement of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services and disease outcomes. METHODS:We performed a retrospective multicenter study of patients with IBD prior to and post-transfer to adult services. Patients were grouped into those who attended a structured transition program and those who received standard care, transferred with a referral letter. RESULTS:A total of 282 patients were included: 155 patients in our structured transition program cohort and 127 patients in the standard care cohort. Patients who took part in a structured transition program had significantly better engagement with adult IBD services with significantly lower rates of nonattendance at outpatient clinics 1-year post-transfer (12.3% vs 27.2%, P = .002) and significantly lower rates of disengagement with services (4.2% vs 13.1%, P = .015). There were no significant differences seen in rates of biologic failure, need for steroid/surgery or median fecal calprotectin levels between either group. Attending a structured transition program was the only factor that positively impacted engagement with IBD services in a multivariate analysis (OR 4.08, confidence interval 1.41-11.91, P = .01). CONCLUSION:Structured transition programs in IBD can improve engagement of patients with IBD services with significantly lower rates of disengagement with IBD services seen in our study. Large prospective studies are needed in this field to further investigate this and the impact of these programs on disease outcomes.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance and safety of high molecular weight (HMW) sodium hyaluronate (40 mg/50 mL) for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) in real-world clinical practice. This prospective, multicenter European study was conducted in patients with the clinical diagnosis of IC/BPS. Participants received weekly intravesical instillations for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was responder rate at end of treatment/week 12, defined as any improvement in IC/BPS symptoms on the 7-point Patient Global Assessment (PGA) scale. Secondary endpoints included changes in bladder symptoms and quality of life assessed by visual analog scales (VAS), questionnaires, and voiding diaries at week 12 and 24. Seventy-one (N = 74) patients enrolled were part of the full analysis set (mean [SD] age: 51.8 [16.9] years; 98.6
