Secondary intracranial infections are common and severe complications in patients with viral encephalitis, contributing to higher mortality, prolonged hospitalization and increased healthcare burden. Evidence on risk factors, pathogen spectrum and resistance patterns remains limited, and predictive models tailored to this population are lacking.

We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study, including 160 consecutive patients diagnosed with viral encephalitis. Clinical, therapeutic, laboratory and microbiological data were extracted from hospital records. Independent risk factors were identified using multivariate logistic and Cox regression. Predictive performance was assessed by receiver operating characteristic analysis. Pathogen distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles were analyzed descriptively.

During a median follow-up of 16 days, 50 patients (31.3%) developed secondary intracranial infections, corresponding to an incidence of 2.9 events per 1000 patient-days. Independent predictors included older age (adjusted OR 1.39 per 10 years, P = 0.021), comorbidities (OR 2.18, P = 0.048), corticosteroid use ≥7 days (OR 2.45, P = 0.025), ≥2 invasive procedures (OR 2.92, P = 0.007) and elevated CSF protein (OR 2.36, P = 0.037). The multivariable risk score achieved an area under the curve of 0.86 (95% CI 0.80–0.92). Pathogen analysis revealed methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (24.0%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (20.0%) as predominant isolates, both showing high multidrug resistance, including carbapenem resistance rates of 70% in A. baumannii.

Secondary intracranial infections occur frequently in viral encephalitis and are strongly associated with host vulnerability. The predominance of MRSA and carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii underscores the urgent need for tailored infection control and antimicrobial strategies in neurocritical care.

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are crucial for achieving gender equality and promoting women’s rights. Across East Africa, there are limited studies about husbands’ knowledge of their partner’s reproductive rights and their associated factors. Hence, this study aimed to assess husbands’ knowledge of partners’ reproductive health rights and associated factors in Central Ethiopia.

A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from March 15 to April 30, 2023, using multi-stage stratified sampling. A structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was utilized to gather the data, and then SPSS version 26 was employed for analysis. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value < 0.05.

The overall good knowledge of partners’ reproductive health rights was found to be 47.8% (95% CI: 43.8, 51.8). Age of the husbands 25–35 years (AOR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.10, 6.6), below primary educational status (AOR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.3,4.3), primary educational status (AOR: 5.98; 95% CI: 3.10, 11.4), secondary educational status (AOR: 2.1; 95% CI: 1.01, 4.3), above secondary education status (AOR: 8.0; 95% CI: 4.3, 15.2), discussion with a partner (AOR: 3.2; 95% CI: 2.0, 5.2), and vehicle as a means of transport (AOR: 3.3; 95% CI: 2.2, 4.9) were statistically significant for good husbands’ knowledge of partners reproductive health rights.

These findings indicate that more than half (52.2%) of the study participants had a poor understanding of their partners’ reproductive rights. Therefore, counselling and education should be offered to husbands to ensure equitable access to health services and to disseminate information on reproductive rights, particularly targeting young men.

Transcatheter completion of the extracardiac Fontan provides a minimally invasive option for selected children with single-ventricle physiology who have undergone staged preparation at the time of the bidirectional cavopulmonary connection.

We performed a retrospective single-centre review of consecutive patients treated between 2022 and 2025. Candidate selection, cross-sectional imaging, diagnostic catheterisation, procedural steps, early recovery, and follow-up outcomes were collected.

Five patients underwent transcatheter completion at a median age of 7 years (range 4–17). The interval between the preparatory operation and catheter procedure was 7 months (range 6–9). Median procedure time was 140 minutes (range 120–180). The ICU stay was 2 days (range 1–3), and the total hospital stay was 5 days (range 4–6). Minimal pleural effusions occurred in four patients, none requiring drainage. At a median follow-up of 28 months (range 4–36), all patients were clinically stable; resting oxygen saturation was 96% (range 94% to 97%). One late-presenting patient had biochemical evidence consistent with protein-losing enteropathy but remained asymptomatic without targeted therapy. No thromboembolic events occurred.

In a programme that couples surgical preparation with later catheter-based completion, the extracardiac Fontan can be performed safely and effectively in carefully selected candidates, with rapid recovery and stable mid-term clinical status. Larger studies are needed to define long-term outcomes and comparative effectiveness versus surgical completion.

To review the historical, conceptual, and ethical foundations of intelligence testing in neuropsychology and to consider whether alternative cognitive performance labels offer greater conceptual precision while reducing stigma.

We conducted a narrative review of early twentieth century cognitive assessments, tracing the evolution of intelligence testing and its intersections with eugenic ideology. Key examples include the Army Alpha and Beta tests administered during World War I and Ellis Island immigration assessments, which were frequently interpreted without consideration of cultural or educational influences. We examine how these practices informed early interpretations of neuropsychological performance, particularly in individuals with epilepsy, and shaped initial characterizations of neurologically based cognitive abilities.

Early intelligence testing was grounded in the belief that intelligence was a fixed and directly genetically determined trait. Test performance was interpreted as an index of biological superiority, lending scientific legitimacy to eugenic ideologies and reinforcing stigma toward individuals with epilepsy. Although modern frameworks emphasize multidimensional cognitive abilities, intelligence-based characterization persists and continues to be frequently reported as a primary outcome of neuropsychological testing.

In contexts that require a single summary indicator of cognitive performance, labels such as Total Cognitive Composite are recommended since they avoid implying a fixed or unitary capacity. Continued reliance on the construct of “intelligence” is inconsistent with contemporary models of cognition, reflects outdated theoretical assumptions, and carries enduring psychosocial stigma. Moreover, its circular and internally inconsistent definitions substantially limit its validity and appropriateness within contemporary adult clinical neuropsychological practice.

To audit data on clinical outcomes and suicidal ideation, as part of a service evaluation, in individuals presenting with low mood at an Irish frontline, community-based, rural psychology service, to determine whether the intervention provided was effective in reducing suicidal ideation and low mood.

Clinical outcome data from 428 service users who scored in the clinical range for depression and who completed an intervention with the service were audited to determine if scores on suicidal and self-harm ideation – as measured by PHQ9 Q9 – changed between assessment and discharge.

91% of service users who scored in the clinical range for depression and expressed suicidal or self-harm ideation at assessment reported an improvement post-intervention. At discharge, 85% of these individuals no longer reported any suicidal or self-harm ideation. A majority (68.5%) of those who reported ideation at assessment, and a majority of those who did not report ideation (78%), achieved reliable change (i.e. an improvement of ≥5pts) in their final PHQ-9 scores. Clinical recovery was achieved by discharge in 69% of those without and 47% of those with ideation at assessment. Not reporting suicidal or self-harm ideation at assessment was statistically more likely to result in reliable change at discharge than reporting such ideation.

Results from this clinical service evaluation suggest swift access to psychological intervention, by this rural, frontline primary care psychology service, was associated with reductions in levels of suicidal and self-harm ideation in those suffering from depressive symptoms in the clinical range.