Category: Statistics

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2022 Dec;26(24):9098-9106. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202212_30659.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Fibromyalgia (FM) is a clinical syndrome characterized by prominent physical and psychological impairment and widespread pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist, and along the axial skeleton. It often causes sleep difficulties, memory impairment, mood changes, irritable bowel syndrome, and fatigue. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between FM and prolidase (peptidase D) and histone H3 protein levels by comparing a patient group with a healthy control group.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: In total, 176 people were examined in our study, 88 of whom were healthy and 88 of whom had FM. Serum level was measured by ELISA. Then the results were analyzed using SPSS. All p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: A significant increase in the levels of prolidase was observed in the patient group compared with the control group (6.28-4.68, p <0.001). Histone H3 protein values were not significantly different between the patient and control groups (p=0.184). The ROC analysis indicated that prolidase was statistically significant in disease prediction (p<0.001, AUC: 0.795 (0.697-0.893), while histone H3 protein was statistically insignificant in predicting disease.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study show that prolidase activity may play a role in diagnosing FM. In addition, since no study like ours has been performed before, it can bring a new perspective to the literature.

PMID:36591822 | DOI:10.26355/eurrev_202212_30659

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2022 Dec;26(24):9089-9097. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202212_30658.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the bond efficacy and failure rates of rebonded metallic brackets after enamel reconditioning with chemical 37% phosphoric acid (PA) and natural and synthetic photosensitizers activated by PDT.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 50 non-cavitated, and cautiously extracted human premolars were congregated after sample size calculation. The enamel exterior was etched, washed, dried for adhesive application, and cured. Metallic brackets were then oriented and adapted to enamel surface using composite. Later, brackets were debonded from the surface via a Weingart plier. Enamel was finished for ensuing surface reconditioning. Ultimately, specimens were randomly distributed into five groups (n=10). Enamel surface before rebonding was reconditioned with curcumin photosensitizer (CP), riboflavin photosensitizer (RP), rose bengal photosensitizer (RBP), methylene blue photosensitizer (MBP), and 37% PA (control) respectively. After following reconditioning protocol, brackets were rebonded to the enamel exterior employing a composite adhesive system. Then, specimens were subjected to the universal testing machine for analyzing shear bond strength (SBS), and bond failures were predicted using an ARI index. One-way ANOVA and Tukey multiple comparison tests were used for statistical analysis at a variance value of p < 0.05.

RESULTS: Enamel reconditioned with 37% PA demonstrated the highest SBS for bracket rebonding, and the lowest SBS was presented by CP actuated by PDT. Enamel reconditioned with RP and RBP corroborated the analogous SBS outcome to 37% PA. Likewise, enamel surface treatment with MBP revealed a statistically significant result to CP for metallic bracket rebonding. The most prevalent failure scores anticipated among groups were 0 and 1 indicating an adhesive failure with the exemption of group 5 (control) that encountered more score 2 cohesive failure on debonding metallic brackets from enamel exterior.

CONCLUSIONS: Rose bengal and riboflavin photosensitizers activated by photodynamic therapy with low ARI scores have the potential to be used as viable enamel reconditioning alternatives to 37% phosphoric acid for rebonding metallic brackets.

PMID:36591821 | DOI:10.26355/eurrev_202212_30658

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2022 Dec;26(24):9079-9088. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202212_30657.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and membranous nephropathy (MN) are common types of primary glomerulonephritis (PGD). A lack of specific clinical features makes diagnosis difficult. Kidney function indicators have been used for their diagnosis. However, the diagnostic performance of these indicators is undetermined. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate their diagnostic potential.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: 101 patients with PGD were enrolled, including 50 with MN and 51 with IgAN. The healthy controls included 110 volunteers. The indicators related to kidney function, including TP, ALB, Cre, CysC, eGFR, C1q, Ure, Anti-PLA2R, complement C3, and complement C4 in serum, ACR in urine, and antinuclear antibody profile, IgG staining, IgA staining, IgM staining, C3 staining and C1q staining in tissue samples were evaluated.

RESULTS: Statistical differences were found in TP, ALB, Ure, CysC, eGFR, C1q, Anti-PLA2R, complement C3, complement C4 and ACR among the three groups of subjects. ROC analysis showed that Anti-PLA2R and ACR had the highest specificity for identifying IgAN and/or MN from the healthy controls, ACR had the highest sensitivity. The Sp and Se of IgA and IgG in tissue samples for the identification of IgAN and MN were both high. Both IgAN and MN were predicted by anti-PLA2R, especially MN. In tissue samples, MN patients were more likely to be IgG positive and IgAN patients were more likely to be IgA positive.

CONCLUSIONS: IgAN and MN may be differentiated using serum Anti-PLA2R, tissue IgG, and tissue IgA. Cre is only useful in middle and late stages of GPDs, ACR is an exclusion marker, and CysC and C1q cannot be used to identify MN.

PMID:36591820 | DOI:10.26355/eurrev_202212_30657

Pediatr Transplant. 2023 Jan 2:e14458. doi: 10.1111/petr.14458. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite ubiquitous exposure to sensitizing events, most Fontan PLE patients have low panel reactive antibodies (PRA). To assess whether they are at risk for donor-specific antibody (DSA) memory response following heart transplantation (HT) when their PLE resolves, DSA profiles, incidence of rejection, and graft outcomes in Fontan recipients with and without PLE were compared.

METHODS: Patient characteristics, appearance of newly detected DSA (nDSA), and graft outcomes were compared between patients with and without PLE using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Chi-squared tests. DSA burden was quantified using titers and time to nDSA, incidence of rejection, and graft outcomes were compared using Kaplan-Meier curves and the log-rank test.

RESULTS: Characteristics of patients with and without PLE were similar. Lymphocyte and albumin levels were lower in the PLE group, and flow PRA were comparable. Graft failure, CAV, and ACR were similar between the two groups, but AMR occurred more frequently in the PLE group (p = .03). Nearly 50% of PLE patients experienced class II nDSA by 1-year post-HT, compared to 30% of non-PLE patients, but this difference was statistically not significant. Antibody burden did not differ between groups.

CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, PLE was associated with AMR within the first-year post-HT, despite no significant difference in nDSA. Small patient numbers limited statistical comparison of nDSA in this cohort. PLE may be a risk factor for AMR post-HT, and the possibility of a clinically important DSA memory response remains. Larger studies are necessary to better understand these preliminary findings.

PMID:36591815 | DOI:10.1111/petr.14458

Neoplasma. 2022 Dec;69(6):1490-1498. doi: 10.4149/neo_2022_221014N1020.

ABSTRACT

We aimed to investigate the relationship between the degree of mast cells’ (MCs) infiltration and clinicopathological features of prostate cancer (PCa) malignancy and to find out the possible mechanisms of the involvement of these cells in the formation of the aggressive course of the PCa development. The study was conducted on the clinical material of 60 patients with PCa of stages II-III. MCs in the PCa tissue were determined by a histochemical method using toluidine blue. The expression of osteopontin (OPN) was studied by the immunohistochemical method. The expression of miRNA-21, -126, -146a, -181a, and -221 was investigated by quantitative real-time PCR. Statistical processing of the results was performed using the GraphPad Prism 8 program. Our results demonstrated that the increased level of infiltration and degranulation of MCs in the PCa tissue was associated with such indices of the malignancy of the tumor process as the Gleason score and the preoperative PSA level in the blood serum of patients. A high level of MCs infiltration of the PCa tissue was associated with a significant decrease in the two-year recurrence-free survival rates of the patients by 23.3% (р=0.0455). A high degree of MCs infiltration of the PCa tissue was associated with 1.2 times (p=0.0347) higher level of OPN expression and 1.7 (p=0.0051) and 1.65 (p=0.0087) times lower levels of miR-126 and miR-181a expression, respectively. The obtained results indicate the participation of MCs as a factor of the tumor microenvironment in the PCa progression.

PMID:36591806 | DOI:10.4149/neo_2022_221014N1020

Neoplasma. 2022 Dec;69(6):1480-1489. doi: 10.4149/neo_2022_220619N649.

ABSTRACT

The clinical data of stage I invasive lung adenocarcinoma patients with spread through air spaces (STAS) who underwent lobectomy from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2016 at the Department of Thoracic Surgery of Hebei Medical University were analyzed retrospectively, and statistical analysis was carried out to explore their clinical features and prognostic value of EGFR mutation. A total of 280 patients were included in the study cohort, and EGFR mutations were detected in 154 patients. EGFR mutations were more common in non-smokers (p=0.045), females (p<0.001), without vascular tumor thrombus (p=0.037), and histological subtype LPA/APA/PPA (p=0.001). Multivariate analysis of the Cox risk regression model showed that EGFR gene mutation (p=0.807) was not an independent influencing factor of recurrence-free survival (RFS), but EGFR mutation was an independent influencing factor of overall survival (OS) (p=0.012), and OS of patients with EGFR mutation was better. The EGFR mutation also significantly increased the progression-free survival (PFS) of relapsed patients (p<0.001), but the PFS of relapsed EGFR mutation patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy after the operation was worse than that of patients who did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy (p=0.029). EGFR gene mutation is not a risk factor for postoperative recurrence in patients with stage I lung adenocarcinoma with STAS but the 5-year survival rate of patients with EGFR gene mutation is better than that of wild-type. Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with EGFR mutation should be carefully considered.

PMID:36591802 | DOI:10.4149/neo_2022_220619N649

J Ultrasound Med. 2023 Jan 2. doi: 10.1002/jum.16171. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: By analyzing the differences of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features between low- and high-grade of WHO/ISUP grading, to explore the diagnostic value of CEUS in evaluating the prognosis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

METHODS: The qualitative and quantitative features of CEUS in 69 patients with RCC confirmed by surgical pathology in the Lanzhou University Second Hospital from March to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were categorized into two groups: low-grade group (n = 22) and high-grade group (n = 47), with surgical pathology as reference standard. The diagnostic performance of statistically significant CEUS features was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.

RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in enhancement degree (P = .032) and quantitative features such as slope_lesion (P = .034), the differences between lesion and cortex in arrive time (∆AT = AT_lesion – AT_cortex , P = .013), peak intensity(∆PI = [PI_lesion – PI_cortex ]/PI_cortex , P = .003), area under the curve (∆Area = Area_lesion – Area_cortex , P = .008) in two groups, and the sensitivity was 70.2% and specificity was 71.4% of ∆PI, which has a high diagnostic performance in the differentiation of low-grade group from high-grade group (P = .005).

CONCLUSIONS: CEUS features such as ∆PI, may help differentiate low-grade RCC from high-grade RCC. CEUS has a promising application prospect in preoperative evaluation of the prognosis of RCC.

PMID:36591798 | DOI:10.1002/jum.16171

Wiad Lek. 2022;75(11 pt 2):2867-2871. doi: 10.36740/WLek202211225.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To highlight legal measures of counteraction to genitals mutilating surgeries (female circumcision) and the perspectives for their possible improvement.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: International regulatory legal acts, acts of “soft” law, statistical data, research results are the materials of the research. Comparative, comparative and legal, system analysis, formal and logical, other methods were applied during the research.

CONCLUSION: Conclusions: It has been proved that although there are four different types of female circumcision, any such surgery performed without medical grounds is female genitals mutilating surgery. The authors have offered to enshrine a direct ban on performing genitals mutilating surgeries (female circumcision) in the norms of national legislation with appropriate measures of legal liability for those involved.

PMID:36591782 | DOI:10.36740/WLek202211225

Wiad Lek. 2022;75(11 pt 2):2835-2838. doi: 10.36740/WLek202211219.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the work is to identify the peculiarities of medical and social justification of the financial and economic condition of «Horodenka non-commercial center of primary medical care» before and after introduction of a hospital district. To achieve the goal, the following are defined task: to conduct an analysis of the main indicators of «Horodenka non-commercial center of primary medical care»; to determine the problems of inefficient work of the «Horodenka non-commercial center of primary medical care».

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: When conducting research, they were used general scientific and special methods of research, in particular the system approach and system analysis – to carry out a comprehensive study of the identified objects and systems in their external and internal relationships, as well as determination of approaches to identifying and analyzing problems and developing ways to solve them solution; process approach – for the study of various types of activities in the existing management system of the health care facility before and after implementation of the hospital district; medical and statistical – for statistical processing of received data; analytical methods.

RESULTS: Results: The efficiency of health care facilities and the quality of the provided medical services are considered as the main target functions of the health care system. In many countries, programs for ensuring the quality of medical care have been implemented and are operating. The activities of Ukrainian medical institutions and the health care system as a whole are often harshly criticized by patients and the public for the low quality of providing medical services. The quality of medical services, medical care and medical infrastructure definitely depends on the principles of building the Ukrainian medical system and the development of the national economy. Because without a financial basis, it is very difficult to build an effective health care system and ensure proper medical care and the work of all medical institutions.

CONCLUSION: Conclusions: Thus, after the introduction of the hospital district in the «Horodenka non-commercial center of primary medical care», it is proposed to carry out a number of measures to increase the effectiveness of the implementation of financial management. In order to increase the efficiency of management, including financial resources, it is important to improve personnel management. The main emphasis in the management is the formation of the personnel potential of the «Horodenka non-commercial center of primary medical care» the involvement of qualified specialists in the field of medicine, the motivation of various directions for the support and improvement of the qualifications of management personnel. It is also important to use the system of financial planning of a budget institution, to ensure expenses for its life activities. In particular, the main direction of cost control is targeted use of funds, strict control over this use, formation of an effective internal audit system of a medical institution.

PMID:36591776 | DOI:10.36740/WLek202211219

Wiad Lek. 2022;75(11 pt 2):2765-2770. doi: 10.36740/WLek202211209.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim: To investigate the pharmacists level of readiness to provide assistance to pharmacy visitors on COVID-19 and ways to expand their social role in society during the pandemic.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and methods: Based on the analysis of the statistical data, sociological research and mathematical analysis, as well as generalization of the obtained results have been used in the work. The objects of the study were pharmaceutical workers of pharmacies. The survey was conducted in August 2021 via online survey of the target audience in professional groups.

RESULTS: Results: The results of the survey of pharmaceutical workers indicate a high level of need (63.9% of respondents) for the continuous acquisition of relevant information on COVID-19. According to the results of the study, the growth of the social role of pharmacy specialists in combating coronavirus infection has been proved, which was supported by 86.2% of respondents in their daily activities. The possibility of introduction of 6 new functions to Ukrainian pharmacies has been considered.

CONCLUSION: Conclusions: The practical significance of the obtained results is that together they create a scientific and methodological basis for improving the process of pharmaceutical workers participation in combating coronavirus infection.

PMID:36591766 | DOI:10.36740/WLek202211209