Category: Statistics

Data Brief. 2024 May 22;54:110548. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2024.110548. eCollection 2024 Jun.

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the level of knowledge of effects, knowledge of safe use, information complexity of natural health products and consumers’ perceived safety and efficacy toward natural health products used to control or cure Covid-19 viruses in Malaysia. The validated questionnaires were used to survey randomly selected stakeholders in Malaysia, who were asked to participate voluntarily in an online survey from 1st September 2020 to 31st December 2020. 723 respondents of adults above 18 years old returned completed questionnaires. The survey used for data collection consisted of 5 questions on knowledge of effects, 4 questions on knowledge for safe-use, 9 questions on perception towards safety and efficacy and 4 questions on the information complexity of natural health products. Besides that, 8 questions are being asked on the demography of respondents at the very end of the survey. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used to analyse the data. The mean score, correlation and regression values were the focus of this study. The findings provide various opportunities to investigate Malaysian consumers’ perceptions which facilitates the development of regulation and strategic plans related to health, and encourage additional research by other researchers interested in the measures and data given.

PMID:38912420 | PMC:PMC11190492 | DOI:10.1016/j.dib.2024.110548

Front Glob Womens Health. 2024 Jun 7;5:1236758. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1236758. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Home delivery, which is the process of childbirth at one’s residence rather than in a health facility, is a major reason for maternal mortality caused by obstetric complications, such as sepsis, hypertensive disorders, and hemorrhage. Maternal and child mortality remains high in developing countries despite efforts made to reduce these outcomes. This is mainly due to poor utilization of institution-based healthcare services. Moreover, there is a limited number of studies that have addressed the determinants of home delivery in Ethiopia, including the study area. This study aims to identify the determinants of home delivery in Bore District, East Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia, in 2022.

METHODS: A community-based unmatched case-control study was conducted from 18 May to 5 July 2022 among 498 women (249 cases and 249 controls) who gave birth in Bore District. The case group included women who gave birth at home, while the control group included those who gave their last birth at health institutions. A multistage sampling technique was employed to select the study participants. Data were collected using the KoboToolbox digital software and exported to SPSS Version 26.0 for analysis. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was done to declare the statistical significance of the association of the the independent variables and home delivery.

RESULTS: The study included a total of 496 respondents with a mean age of 32.5 (SD = ±5.5) for the case group and 33.7 (SD = ±5.2) for the control group. Among the assessed determinants of home delivery were not attending antenatal care (ANC) visits [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 5.6, 95% CI: 2.0-15.16], missing pregnant women’s conferences (AOR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.65-8.32), not receiving health education on pregnancy-related complications (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1-4.3), inadequate knowledge of pregnancy-related danger signs (AOR = 6.0, CI: 3.0-11.9), inadequate knowledge about pregnancy-related complications (AOR = 3.0, CI: 1.55-6.13), and unfavorable attitude (AOR = 6.9, 95% CI: 2.16-22.6).

CONCLUSION: In this study, not attending ANC visits, missing pregnant women’s conferences, not receiving health education on pregnancy-related complications, inadequate knowledge of pregnancy-related danger signs, inadequate knowledge about pregnancy-related complications, and unfavorable attitudes were identified as determinants of home delivery. The district health office and other stakeholders should work on strengthening maternal health service delivery through appropriate ANC visits and participation in pregnant women’s conferences and improving community awareness about pregnancy at all levels.

PMID:38912412 | PMC:PMC11190296 | DOI:10.3389/fgwh.2024.1236758

Med Pharm Rep. 2021 Nov;94(Suppl No 3):S6-S11. doi: 10.15386/mpr-2516. Epub 2021 Nov 29.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Gastrointestinal manifestations in COVID-19 have been frequently acknowledged by clinicians and scientists. However, their clinical significance and potential influence on the disease outcome is not entirely elucidated. In this study we aim to evaluate gastrointestinal involvement, both digestive symptoms and liver-related changes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in correlation to the presence or absence of underlying liver disease and rate of mortality.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of COVID-19 patients, consecutively admitted in a hospital from Chisinau, between September 3, 2020 and May 31, 2021. Data on clinical symptoms and laboratory findings were collected from electronic clinical records. The cohort was divided into two groups, with and without pre-existing liver disease. The Fisher exact, Pearson Chi-square tests were used to compare groups.

RESULTS: A total of 1835 patients were included, 108 (5.9%) with pre-existing liver disease and 1727 (94.1%) without this comorbidity. Digestive symptoms were reported by 331(18%) of the patients, diarrhea being the most common symptom 11.8% (217) and being encountered more in patients with underlying chronic liver disease. No statistical difference was identified between the groups in regard to other symptoms, comorbidities and rate of mortality. But patients with chronic liver disease had significant (P < 0.001) lower ferritin, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in comparison with the other group. At admission, 341 (19.2%) had increased aspartate aminotransferase level (AST) and 317 (17.8%) alanine aminotransferase. The enzyme abnormalities were predominantly mild and transitory. Abnormal AST level at admission and during follow up, higher ESR, CRP, ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was found to correlate with higher rates of mortality.

CONCLUSION: Digestive implications, especially diarrhea in COVID-19 patients is frequent, but do not appear to be associated with mortality. Elevated liver enzymes during hospitalization, age, high ferritin, CRP, LDH might be interpreted as risk factors for mortality in COVID-19 but further studies are needed to address this topic.

PMID:38912406 | PMC:PMC11188023 | DOI:10.15386/mpr-2516

Environ Epidemiol. 2023 Nov 16;7(6):e280. doi: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000280. eCollection 2023 Dec.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess whether the influence of urban vegetation on asthma development in children (<13 years) varies by type (e.g., total vegetation, tree type, and grass) and season.

METHODS: We used a cohort of all children born in Montreal, Canada, between 2000 and 2015. Children and cases were identified from linked medico-administrative databases. Exposure to residential vegetation was estimated using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for total vegetation and using the total area covered by deciduous and evergreen crowns for trees in 250 m buffers centered on residential postal codes. Seasonal variations in vegetation were modeled by setting values to zero on days outside of pollen and leaf-on seasons. Cox models with vegetation exposures, age as a time axis, and adjusted for sex, material deprivation, and health region were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for asthma development.

RESULTS: We followed 352,946 children for a total of 1,732,064 person-years and identified 30,816 incident cases of asthma. While annual vegetation (total and trees) measures did not appear to be associated with asthma development, models for pollen and leaf-on seasons yielded significant nonlinear associations. The risk of developing asthma was lower in children exposed to high levels (>33,300 m²) of deciduous crown area for the leaf-on season (HR = 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.67, 0.72) and increased for the pollen season (HR = 1.07; 95% CI =1.02, 1.12), compared with unexposed children. Similar results were found with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index.

CONCLUSION: The relationship between urban vegetation and childhood asthma development is nonlinear and influenced by vegetation characteristics, from protective during the leaf-on season to harmful during the pollen season.

PMID:38912389 | PMC:PMC11189683 | DOI:10.1097/EE9.0000000000000280

Congenit Heart Dis. 2024;19(1):19-31. doi: 10.32604/chd.2024.046339. Epub 2024 Mar 20.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Given the pervasive issues of obesity and diabetes both in Puerto Rico and the broader United States, there is a compelling need to investigate the intricate interplay among BMI, pregestational, and gestational maternal diabetes, and their potential impact on the occurrence of congenital heart defects (CHD) during neonatal development.

METHODS: Using the comprehensive System of Vigilance and Surveillance of Congenital Defects in Puerto Rico, we conducted a focused analysis on neonates diagnosed with CHD between 2016 and 2020. Our assessment encompassed a range of variables, including maternal age, gestational age, BMI, pregestational diabetes, gestational diabetes, hypertension, history of abortion, and presence of preeclampsia.

RESULTS: A cohort of 673 patients was included in our study. The average maternal age was 26 years, within a range of 22 to 32 years. The mean gestational age measured 39 weeks, with a median span of 38 to 39 weeks. Of the 673 patients, 274 (41%) mothers gave birth to neonates diagnosed with CHD. Within this group, 22 cases were linked to pre-gestational diabetes, while 202 were not; 20 instances were associated with gestational diabetes, compared to 200 without; and 148 cases exhibited an overweight or obese BMI, whereas 126 displayed a normal BMI.

CONCLUSION: We identified a statistically significant correlation between pre-gestational diabetes mellitus and the occurrence of CHD. However, our analysis did not show a statistically significant association between maternal BMI and the likelihood of CHD. These results may aid in developing effective strategies to prevent and manage CHD in neonates.

PMID:38912385 | PMC:PMC11192526 | DOI:10.32604/chd.2024.046339

Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2024 Apr-Jun;14(2):108-113. doi: 10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_520_23. Epub 2024 May 24.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Supraglottic devices have revolutionized the current practice of airway management. We compared the clinical performance of a recently introduced BlockBuster™ Laryngeal mask airway with i-gel^® in adult patients under general anesthesia.

METHODS: Following Institutional ethical clearance, the present study was conducted on 62 patients belonging to American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1 and 2 of either sex in the age group of 20-60 years under general anesthesia. Patients were randomly assigned to i-gel^® (I) and BlockBuster™ (B) groups (31 per group). Time for successful insertion, insertion success rate, ease of insertion, oropharyngeal leak pressures (OLPs), and complications were assessed.

RESULTS: Mean insertion time of device was less in Group I (13.52 ± 2.58 s) than that of Group B (14.10 ± 2.04 s), which was neither clinically nor statistically significant (P = 0.330). OLP in Group B (24.52 ± 2.77 cm of H2O) was found to be significantly higher compared to Group I (20.81 ± 2.56 cm of H2O) with P < 0.001. Overall insertion and first attempt success was similar (i-gel^® 31/31 [100%] and 29/31 [93.5%] and BlockBuster™ 31/31 [100%] and 29/31 [93.5%], respectively). Ease of insertion (P = 0.684) and complications (P = 0.782) of both the devices were comparable.

CONCLUSIONS: Both the devices are useful and effective for airway management in adult under general anesthesia. Having a high OLP and comparable insertion time, risk of aspiration may be further reduced with the use of BlockBuster™ in comparison to i-gel^®.

PMID:38912364 | PMC:PMC11189260 | DOI:10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_520_23

Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2024 Apr-Jun;14(2):124-130. doi: 10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_17_24. Epub 2024 May 24.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT: Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting vascular network, is essential for tumor growth and spread. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic growth factor.

AIMS: To assess the expression of VEGF in invasive carcinoma of no special type and its correlation with all the known prognostic factors of breast carcinoma.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Descriptive.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mastectomy specimens were studied noting the clinical details. The formalin-fixed tissues were subjected to routine processing and hematoxylin and eosin sections and studied extensively for all the histological prognostic factors. Representative sections from each case with the tumor were subjected to immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining with VEGF, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu) antibodies.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Descriptive statistics, Chi-square tests, contingency table analysis using SPSS for Windows.

RESULTS: One hundred and twelve cases of invasive carcinoma of special type were studied to evaluate various clinicopathological parameters. The association of VEGF with clinicopathological parameters and all the known prognostic factors was studied to note its significance. VEGF overexpression was observed in 69% of the cases. It was noted that larger tumor size, higher histological grade, lymphovascular invasion, nodal involvement, tumor necrosis, high microvessel density, ER negativity, PR negativity, and HER2/neu positivity had a significant statistical association with VEGF overexpression.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that incorporating VEGF as a biomarker along with the known factors into a prognostic index will not only help predict clinical outcome more accurately, but also determines the patient who can be benefited with combinational therapy including anti-VEGF factors.

PMID:38912361 | PMC:PMC11189271 | DOI:10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_17_24

Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2024 Apr-Jun;14(2):78-84. doi: 10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_431_23. Epub 2024 May 24.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread acknowledgment of the need and significance of soft skills (SKs) in health professions education, the subject is not emphasized enough in training students. These skills can be taught to undergraduates through roleplay. Communication skills and teamwork were taught by scenario-based roleplay and assessed in this study.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to implement scenario-based roleplay as a method of teaching communication skills and teamwork to undergraduate medical students and to assess their perceptions.

METHODOLOGY: A prospective study was conducted in the simulation/skills laboratory among 41 Phase I undergraduate medical students. The SKs taught during the sessions included communication skills, empathy, and teamwork.

RESULTS: The mean of the responses obtained from Gap Kalamazoo Communication Skills Checklist score in the first encounter was 27.0, 38.12 in the second encounter, and 41.24 in the third encounter. The mean scores showed a statistically significant difference between E1 and E2, E1 and E3, and E2 and E3. Posttest scores of students to self-efficacy questionnaire showed significant improvement compared to pre-test scores. Students in the present study opined that they could learn the aspects that could not have been learned in didactic lectures about communication skills and teamwork.

CONCLUSION: Scenario-based roleplay can be used as an effective method for teaching SKs such as communication skills and teamwork for undergraduate medical students. Different scenarios which replicate the real-life situations can be incorporated to help students to learn and face the real-life encounters.

PMID:38912358 | PMC:PMC11189269 | DOI:10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_431_23

Int J Appl Basic Med Res. 2024 Apr-Jun;14(2):114-123. doi: 10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_383_23. Epub 2024 May 24.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy is the state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within a female body. Once pregnancy is established, a range of endocrinological events appear in its maintenance, finally helping in the successful pregnancy. The complications which are usually observed in pregnancy are gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, preterm labor, and spontaneous pregnancy loss or miscarriage, while 10%-15% of clinically recognized pregnancies terminate into spontaneous miscarriage. Thus, many attempts have been made by different researchers for the diagnosis of high-risk pregnancy on altered protein pattern using placental villous tissue or follicular fluid, but these are difficult to obtain and results of different studies are not constant.

AIM: This study was designed to identify the association (if any) among serum protein(s) electrophoretic pattern and different serum hormones in normal pregnant women (controls) and gestational age-matched women with spontaneous pregnancy loss (cases).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was carried out for 1½ year from October 2018 to March 2020 and included 120 participants (60 normal pregnant women and 60 women with spontaneous pregnancy loss) between 20 and 45 years of age with no mean age difference. The electrophoresis of serum was carried out using slab gel electrophoretic unit and serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total tri-iodothyronine (TT₃), total thyroxine (TT₄), prolactin, and beta human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) levels were analyzed using TSOSH AIA analyzer at Adesh University, Bathinda.

RESULTS: Significant variations in the expression of proteins with molecular weight around ~150 kDa, ~50 kDa, and ~25 kDa were observed in normal pregnant women and women with spontaneous pregnancy loss. However, the protein band of ~50 kDa was found to be highly expressed in the serum of 1^st and 2^nd trimester women experiencing spontaneous pregnancy loss. Therefore, selected protein band of ~50 kDa was further processed by ECI-mass spectrophotometry QUAD time of flight and 365 different proteins were found, out of these; 34 proteins were found to be unidentified protein products (Verified using NCBI data base). Further, TT₃, total proteins, β-hCG, and prolactin level were found to be low, whereas, TSH was found to be high in women experiencing spontaneous pregnancy loss. However, difference in the level of β-hCG in the 1^st trimester and TT₄ among normal pregnant women and women with spontaneous pregnancy loss was observed to be statistically insignificant.

CONCLUSION: This study indicated that the evaluation of serum protein variations along with hormonal profile may provide valuable information about high-risk pregnancy. Moreover, the differential expression of proteins in women with spontaneous pregnancy loss can be further explored to develop potential biomarker for the early identification of high-risk pregnancy and appropriate preventive measure.

PMID:38912357 | PMC:PMC11189267 | DOI:10.4103/ijabmr.ijabmr_383_23

Front Microbiol. 2024 Jun 7;15:1417049. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1417049. eCollection 2024.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The accurate distinction between periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) and aseptic failures (AF) is of paramount importance due to differences in treatment. However, this could be challenging by using the current criteria. Various synovial fluid biomarkers are being assessed to improve the diagnostic accuracy. Myeloperoxidase (MPO), an enzyme contained in the granules of neutrophils, may be a promising biomarker for PJI.

METHODS: Synovial fluids of 99 patients (n = 65 PJI according to EBJIS criteria; n = 34 AF) were collected in two specialized orthopedic centers. PJI were divided into acute (n = 33) and low-grade (n = 32) according to previously published classification. An activity assay specific for active MPO was performed in each sample. Ability of MPO to correctly discriminate patients with PJI from AF was determined by ROC analysis. The best discriminating cut-off value was determined by calculating the J Youden index. For all analyses, a P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Active MPO was higher in PJI than AF (P < 0.0001). The ROC analysis revealed a significant area under the curve (AUC: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78-0.93, P < 0.0001). A cut-off value of 561.9 U/mL, with good sensitivity (0.69) and specificity (0.88), discriminated between AF and PJI (accuracy 75.76%, 95% CI: 66.11-83.81%, positive likelihood ratio 5.88, 95% CI: 2.31-14.98 and negative likelihood ratio 0.35, 95%CI: 0.24-0.51). No difference in MPO levels was found between acute and chronic low-grade PJI.

CONCLUSION: The proposed assay appears to be a reliable and affordable tool for detecting the active MPO in synovial fluid, with promising characteristics of sensitivity and specificity in discriminating both acute and low-grade PJI from AF. Further studies are needed to confirm MPO diagnostic cut-off values and validate their use in the routine clinical practice.

PMID:38912350 | PMC:PMC11190362 | DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1417049