Nevin Manimala

J Nurs Meas. 2023 Aug 8:JNM-2021-0096.R1. doi: 10.1891/JNM-2021-0096. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background and Purpose: The Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS) is distinguished from other mindfulness scales by its dimensions, which are closely related to the awareness and experience of novelty, and by being a scale derived from a cognitive perspective of information processing. There are no mindfulness instruments of this type available in Brazil. Therefore, this study aimed to carry out a translation and cultural adaptation of the LMS into Brazilian Portuguese and to validate and assess the internal consistency and convergent construct validity of the translated instrument. Methods: The study had two distinct stages: (a) translation and cultural adaptation of the LMS into Brazilian Portuguese and (b) validation of the adapted instrument using a sample of 543 participants. Results: The Brazilian version of the LMS demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, with confirmatory factor analysis supporting the original four-factor model. Correlations between LMS, and the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale were statistically significant and in the expected directions. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the Brazilian version of LMS, with its four dimensions, presents acceptable psychometric properties and seems to be a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the state of mindfulness in a Brazilian cultural context.

PMID:37553159 | DOI:10.1891/JNM-2021-0096

J Gastric Cancer. 2023 Jul;23(3):499-508. doi: 10.5230/jgc.2023.23.e28.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Despite scientific evidence regarding laparoscopic gastrectomy (LG) for advanced gastric cancer treatment, its application in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy remains uncertain.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used the 2019 Korean Gastric Cancer Association nationwide survey database to extract data from 489 patients with primary gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. After propensity score matching analysis, we compared the surgical outcomes of 97 patients who underwent LG and 97 patients who underwent open gastrectomy (OG). We investigated the risk factors for postoperative complications using multivariate analysis.

RESULTS: The operative time was significantly shorter in the OG group. Patients in the LG group had significantly less blood loss than those in the OG group. Hospital stay and overall postoperative complications were similar between the two groups. The incidence of Clavien-Dindo grade ≥3 complications in the LG group was comparable with that in the OG group (1.03% vs. 4.12%, P=0.215). No statistically significant difference was observed in the number of harvested lymph nodes between the two groups (38.60 vs. 35.79, P=0.182). Multivariate analysis identified body mass index (odds ratio [OR], 1.824; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.029-3.234; P=0.040) and extent of resection (OR, 3.154; 95% CI, 1.084-9.174; P=0.035) as independent risk factors for overall postoperative complications.

CONCLUSIONS: Using a large nationwide multicenter survey database, we demonstrated that LG and OG had comparable short-term outcomes in patients with gastric cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

PMID:37553135 | DOI:10.5230/jgc.2023.23.e28

J Gastric Cancer. 2023 Jul;23(3):462-475. doi: 10.5230/jgc.2023.23.e24.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to analyze the incidence and risk factors of complications following gastric cancer surgery in Korea and to compare the correlation between hospital complications based on the annual number of gastrectomies performed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from 12,244 patients from 64 Korean institutions. Complications were classified using the Clavien-Dindo classification (CDC). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the risk factors for severe complications.

RESULTS: Postoperative complications occurred in 14% of the patients, severe complications (CDC IIIa or higher) in 4.9%, and postoperative death in 0.2%. The study found that age, stage, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score, hospital stay, approach methods, and extent of gastric resection showed statistically significant differences depending on hospital volumes (P<0.05). In the univariate analysis, patient age, comorbidity, ASA score, ECOG score, approach methods, extent of gastric resection, tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) stage, and hospital volume were significant risk factors for severe complications. However, only age, sex, ASA score, ECOG score, extent of gastric resection, and TNM stage were statistically significant in the multivariate analysis (P<0.05). Hospital volume was not a significant risk factor in the multivariate analysis (P=0.152).

CONCLUSIONS: Hospital volume was not a significant risk factor for complications after gastric cancer surgery. The differences in the frequencies of complications based on hospital volumes may be attributed to larger hospitals treating patients with younger age, lower ASA scores, better general conditions, and earlier TNM stages.

PMID:37553132 | DOI:10.5230/jgc.2023.23.e24

J Gastric Cancer. 2023 Jul;23(3):428-450. doi: 10.5230/jgc.2023.23.e23.

ABSTRACT

This meta-analysis examined the surgical management of older patients (>80 years) with gastric cancer, who were often excluded from randomized controlled trials. We analyzed 23 retrospective cohort studies involving 18,372 patients and found that older patients had a higher in-hospital mortality rate (relative risk [RR], 3.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-7.17; P<0.01) and more post-operative complications (RR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.19-1.56; P<0.01) than did younger patients. However, the surgical complications were similar between the two groups. Older patients were more likely to undergo less extensive lymph node dissection and longer hospital stays. Although older patients had statistically significant post-operative medical complications, they were not deprived of surgery for gastric cancer. The comorbidities and potential risks of post-operative complications should be carefully evaluated in older patients, highlighting the importance of careful patient selection. Overall, this meta-analysis provides recommendations for the surgical management of older patients with gastric cancer. Careful patient selection and evaluation of comorbidities should be performed to minimize the risk of post-operative complications in older patients, while recognizing that they should not be deprived of surgery for gastric cancer.

PMID:37553130 | DOI:10.5230/jgc.2023.23.e23

J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2023 Dec;36(2):2244627. doi: 10.1080/14767058.2023.2244627.

ABSTRACT

Objective: The use of episiotomy during operative vaginal birth (OVB) is rather debated among operators and in literature. It is also important to evaluate the indications for which episiotomy is performed. In fact, the consequences of an episiotomy can be invalidating for patients with long-lasting results. The aim of this study is the evaluation of the role of episiotomy during OVB with the vacuum extractor and its correlation with Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries (OASIs).Methods: On of 9165 vaginal births, a total of 498 OVB (5.4%) were enrolled in a longitudinal prospective observational study. The incidence of OASIs was evaluated in our population after OVB performed with the vacuum extractor, during which the execution of episiotomy was performed indicated by clinician in charge.Results: OASIs occurred in 4% of the patients (n = 20). Episiotomy was performed in 39% of them (n = 181). OASIs incidence was 6% (n = 17) in the No Episiotomy and 1.8% (n = 3) in Episiotomy group (p<.001). Performance of episiotomy during OVB determined a protective effect against OASIs (p = 0.025 in full cohort and p = 0.013 in the primiparous group). An expulsive phase under one hour was an almost significant protective factor (p = 0.052).Conclusions: The use of episiotomy during OVB was associated with much lower OASIs rates in nulliparous women with a vacuum extraction; OR 0.23 (CI 95% 0.07-0.81) p = 0.037 in nulliparous women and the number necessary to treat was 18 among nulliparous women to prevent 1 OASIs. A further risk factor that emerged from the analysis is a prolonged expulsive period, whereas fundal pressure does not seem to have a statistically significant influence.

PMID:37553125 | DOI:10.1080/14767058.2023.2244627

Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2023 Aug 8. doi: 10.1111/aphw.12479. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In this study, we contrast how different benefit and harm information formats and the presence or absence of an ease-of-access nudge may facilitate COVID vaccination uptake for a sample of 620 unvaccinated Dutch adults at a timepoint when the vaccine had been widely available for more than a month. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects factorial design, we varied the information format on mRNA COVID vaccination statistics (generic text vs. facts box) and an affirmative nudge emphasizing the ease of making a vaccination appointment (absent vs. present). We assessed the acceptance of the vaccination information provided, perceptions on the vaccination, and whether participants directly visited a COVID vaccination appointment website. Whereas the facts box did not significantly affect participants’ information acceptance, vaccination attitudes, intentions, and link clicking, the affirmative nudge alongside an online link systematically increased the likelihood of clicking on the link to make a vaccination appointment. A verbal nudge emphasizing the ease of vaccine accessibility is more likely to increase vaccination uptake in an unvaccinated population than informational campaigns on vaccine effectiveness.

PMID:37553124 | DOI:10.1111/aphw.12479

Arch Cardiol Mex. 2023;93(3):300-307. doi: 10.24875/ACM.22000057.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular diseases in pregnant women are challenging, with high maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality, so a cardio-obstetric team is recommended for their care. Even so, little data evaluates the impact of these teams. Therefore, the present study aims to compare the obstetric, maternal, and neonatal outcomes of semi-structured follow-up (SSF) in a Cardio-obstetric clinic concerning regular or unstructured follow-up (USF) in pregnant women with heart disease.

METHODS: A prospective registry of pregnant women with heart disease was carried out. Patients with SSF by a cardio-obstetric team were compared with those with single evaluation or USF. The risk of events was calculated according to the modified World Health Organization (mWHO) classification and the CARPREG-II scale, and cardiac, obstetric, and neonatal outcomes were evaluated.

RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight patients were evaluated, 37 with SSF and 131 with single evaluation (USF). The primary diagnoses were congenital heart disease, arrhythmias, and valve disease. The average CARPREG-II in USF patients was 2.48 (SD 2.3); in SSF patients, it was 3.37 (SD 2.45; p = 0.041). The average of the mWHO in patients with USF was 2.1 (SD 1.6), and with SSF, it was 2.65 (SD 0.95; p = 0.0052). There were no significant differences in primary cardiac outcomes (13.8% in USF vs. 5.4% in SSF; p = 0.134), secondary cardiac (5.3% in USF vs. 2.7% in SSF; p = 0.410), obstetric (10% in USF vs. 16.2% in SSF; p = 0.253) and neonatal (35.9% in USF and 40.5% in SSF; p = 0.486) even though patients with SSF had a higher risk than patients with USF according to the mWHO and CARPREG-II scales.

CONCLUSIONS: In pregnant women with heart disease, an SSF compared with a USF by a cardio-obstetric team did not show statistically significant differences in cardiovascular, obstetric, and neonatal outcomes. However, patients with SSF had a significantly higher risk of adverse outcomes due to the mWHO and CARPREG-II scales. This result suggests that the SSF achieves at least equal outcomes despite the higher risk of adverse events that patients in this group had.

PMID:37553104 | DOI:10.24875/ACM.22000057

J Public Health (Oxf). 2023 Aug 8:fdad145. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdad145. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Long-term conditions (LTCs) are prevalent in socio-economically deprived populations. Self-management interventions can improve health outcomes, but socio-economically deprived groups have lower participation in them, with potentially lower effectiveness. This review explored whether self-management interventions delivered to people experiencing socio-economic deprivation improve outcomes.

METHODS: We searched databases up to November 2022 for randomized trials. We screened, extracted data and assessed the quality of these studies using Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 (RoB2). We narratively synthesized all studies and performed a meta-analysis on eligible articles. We assessed the certainty of evidence using GRADE for articles included in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS: The 51 studies included in this review had mixed findings. For the diabetes meta-analysis, there was a statistically significant pooled reduction in haemoglobin A1c (-0.29%). We had moderate certainty in the evidence. Thirty-eight of the study interventions had specific tailoring for socio-economically deprived populations, including adaptions for low literacy and financial incentives. Each intervention had an average of four self-management components.

CONCLUSIONS: Self-management interventions for socio-economically deprived populations show promise, though more evidence is needed. Our review suggests that the number of self-management components may not be important. With the increasing emphasis on self-management, to avoid exacerbating health inequalities, interventions should include tailoring for socio-economically deprived individuals.

PMID:37553102 | DOI:10.1093/pubmed/fdad145

Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2023 Aug 6;253:114235. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114235. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper was to develop exposure estimates for repetitive sub-concussive head impacts (RSHI) for use in epidemiological analyses. We used a questionnaire to collect lifetime history of heading and other head contacts associated with training and playing football from 159 former footballers all members of the English professional football association. We used linear mixed effect regression with player as the random effect, to model the number of headers, blows to the head and head-to-head impacts as a function of potential exposure affecting factors, which were treated as the fixed effects. Exposure affecting factors included playing position, league, context of play (game vs training) and decade of play. Age at time of response to the questionnaire was also included in the models. In model results, playing position was important, with RSHIs being highest among defenders and lowest among goalkeepers. Players headed the ball more during games than in training, and when playing in amateur or youth leagues compared with semi-professional or professional leagues. The average number of reported head impacts declined linearly throughout the observation period (1949-2015). The derived final model for headers explained 43%, 9% and 36% of the between player, within player and total variance in exposure, respectively with good precision and predictive performance. These findings are generally in agreement with previously published results pointing towards the models forming a valid method for estimating exposure to RSHI among former footballers although some further external validation is still warranted.

PMID:37552911 | DOI:10.1016/j.ijheh.2023.114235

Eur J Orthod. 2023 Aug 8:cjad050. doi: 10.1093/ejo/cjad050. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There are a few hypotheses for the origin of palatally impacted canines (PIC). Nevertheless, the results of different studies are controversial.

OBJECTIVE: Considering the evidence available in the literature to determine the skeletal and dentoalveolar dimensions in patients with PIC using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).

SEARCH METHODS: This systematic review adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Statement. The literature search with no publication date restriction in five databases and hand searching was performed until April 2023.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data assessing the skeletal and dentoalveolar characteristics of subjects with PIC evaluated with CBCT was extracted, and the studies’ quality was evaluated with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Skeletal and dentoalveolar characteristics of subjects with PIC were compared with non-impacted subjects or non-impacted sides. MedCalc software was used to perform the meta-analysis. Statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the chi-square and I-square tests.

RESULTS: The initial database search identified a total of 1153 studies. After applying the selection criteria, nine articles were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. According to the NOS, all included articles were graded as “Good” quality. The meta-analysis showed a non-significant difference in measuring dentoalveolar height, alveolar first molar width, and basal lateral width. Controversial results were observed when evaluating both basal and alveolar first premolar widths. A significant difference was found when assessing anterior alveolar crest height and basal maxillary width.

CONCLUSIONS: Studies demonstrated the reduction of both dentoalveolar and skeletal maxillary parameters of the patients with PIC. The meta-analysis indicated that PIC correlates to both vertical and transverse skeletal dimensions of the maxilla. However, the results remain controversial. The findings should be interpreted with caution due to different study designs and unbalanced groups in the included studies; therefore, further research is needed for more reliable conclusions.

REGISTRATION: This systematic review and meta-analysis were registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO CRD42022362124).

PMID:37552898 | DOI:10.1093/ejo/cjad050