Acceptability and Barriers to Chronic Pain Treatment in Refugee Torture Survivors.

Importance: Chronic somatic pain is prevalent in refugee torture survivors, yet it remains underdiagnosed and undertreated. Understanding the acceptability of and barriers to treatment is essential for facilitating access and improving care in this population.

Objective: To assess the acceptability of treatment for chronic somatic pain and to identify factors influencing treatment access among refugee torture survivors.

Psychological stress, cardiovascular disease and somatic pain in asylum seekers: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

The refugee experience is a known risk factor for psychological stress, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and somatic pain. However, the prevalence and comorbidity of these health outcomes in asylum seekers is not elucidated. Here we performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study in which the forensic medical evaluations of 453 globally representative US asylum seekers were analyzed.

Vaccination in Forcibly Displaced, Pediatric Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Accessing forcibly displaced, pediatric populations for vaccination is challenging, and precise vaccination rates remain largely unknown.

Objective: To estimate vaccination coverage and identify factors associated with vaccination in forcibly displaced, pediatric populations.

Data Sources: Six databases were searched in November 2023-Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane-with no restrictions on language or publication dates.

The psychological impact of displacement and female genital mutilation/cutting.

Although 230 million people worldwide have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), its psychological consequences remain understudied. Asylum-seekers may face unique biopsychosocial burdens when migrating to countries where FGM/C is not a cultural norm. We conducted a retrospective observational study of 50 asylum seekers evaluated at the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights between 2010 and 2020 to characterize the psychological sequelae of FGM/C.

Defining blood deserts and access to blood products for 660 million people: a geospatial analysis of eight states in Northern India.

Introduction: Blood transfusion is crucial, but low-income and middle-income countries like India face a severe shortage of banked blood. This study focuses on the Empowered Action Group (EAG) states in India, where healthcare is limited, and health outcomes are poor. Our objective was to assess the blood banking infrastructure and access to blood products in these states.

An Indian surgeon's perspective on management of asymptomatic gallstones.

Introduction: Cholelithiasis is widely prevalent in India, with a majority of patients being asymptomatic while a small proportion experiencing mild complications. In the laparoscopic era, the rate of cholecystectomies has increased owing to early recovery and fewer complications. In asymptomatic patients, the risk of complications must be balanced against the treatment benefit.

Innovative blood transfusion strategies to address global blood deserts: a consensus statement from the Blood Delivery via Emerging Strategies for Emergency Remote Transfusion (Blood DESERT) Coalition.

In rural settings worldwide, many people live in effective blood deserts without access to any blood transfusion. The traditional system of blood banking is logistically complex and expensive for many resource-restricted settings and demands innovative and multidisciplinary solutions. 17 international experts in medicine, industry, and policy participated in an exploratory process with a 2-day hybrid seminar centred on three promising innovative strategies for blood transfusions in blood deserts: civilian walking blood banks, intraoperative autotransfusion, and drone-based blood delivery.

Breast Conservative Surgery for Breast Cancer: Indian Surgeon's Preferences and Factors Influencing Them.

Background: It is well established that disease-free survival and overall survival after breast conservation surgery (BCS) followed by radiotherapy are equivalent to that after mastectomy. However, in Asian countries, the rate of BCS continues to remain low. The cause may be multifactorial including the patient's choice, availability and accessibility of infrastructure, and surgeon's choice.

Surgical Capacity Building in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Lessons for Thoracic Surgery.

There is great need for intentional investment in capacity building for thoracic surgical conditions. This article provides a brief overview of thoracic surgical capacity building for low- and middle-income countries using the Lancet framework of infrastructure, workforce, financing, and information management. The authors highlight the needs, opportunities, and challenges that are relevant for the thoracic surgical community, as it aims to increase care for patients with these conditions globally.

The need for craniofacial trauma and oncologic reconstruction in global surgery.

The global burden of surgical disease is concentrated in low- and middle-income countries and primarily consists of injuries and malignancies. While global reconstructive surgery has a long and well-established history, efforts thus far have been focused on addressing congenital anomalies. Craniofacial trauma and oncologic reconstruction are comparatively neglected despite their higher prevalence.