Nevin Manimala

Curr Probl Diagn Radiol. 2023 Feb 8:S0363-0188(23)00022-1. doi: 10.1067/j.cpradiol.2023.02.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The purpose is to evaluate the trends in MR arthrogram utilization at a tertiary care academic institution and to determine if there are factors that can be implicated in the utilization trends. Number of MR arthrograms of the shoulder, hip, and elbow from 2013-2020 at our institution were identified (n = 1882). Patient demographics including age, sex, sports participation, history of prior surgery, and physician referral were obtained. Descriptive statistics were performed to determine the prevalence of MR arthrograms. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine the relationship of time with prevalence of arthrograms. Chi-square tests and posthoc analyses with Bonferroni correction were used to assess if categorical variables were different between the years. There was overall decrease in the prevalence of MR arthrograms of the shoulder, hip, and elbow despite an increase in the overall MR volume during the study period. Linear regression models significantly predicated decrease in arthrogram prevalence with each passing year (P < 0.001). The percentage of orthopedic referrals for arthrograms in the hip (P = 0.002) and shoulder (P = < 0.001) decreased significantly towards the end of the study period. None of the other variables assessed were significant. At our tertiary care academic institution, arthrogram utilization has been drastically decreasing over the past 8 years. The percentage of orthopedic referrals for shoulder and hip arthrograms significantly decreased at the end of the study period.

PMID:36842885 | DOI:10.1067/j.cpradiol.2023.02.002

Farm Hosp. 2023 Feb 24:S1130-6343(23)00004-1. doi: 10.1016/j.farma.2023.01.004. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess the pharmacist’s contributions by analyzing potentially inappropriate prescription and home treatment reconciliation in the complex chronic patient unit of a tertiary hospital.

METHOD: Observational, prospective, multidisciplinary study of patients in the complex chronic patient unit of a hospital during February 2019-June 2020. Multidisciplinary team of the complex chronic developed a checklist with a selection of non-recommended drugs based on STOPP/START, Beers and Priscus criteria, and drugs susceptible to deprescription according to LESS-CHRON criteria. The pharmacist applied the checklist daily in patients admitted to the unit, in addition to reconciling home treatment by reviewing the prescribed treatment with that detailed in the electronic home prescription. Therefore, the following variables were collected: age, sex and number of drugs on admission as independent variables, and dependent variables: number of drugs at discharge, type of potentially inappropriate prescription, reasons for reconciliation, drugs involved and degree of acceptance of the recommendation by the prescribing physician to assess the pharmaceutical contribution. The statistical analysis was performed with IBM® SPSS® Statistics22.

RESULTS: We reviewed 621 patients with a median age of 84 years (56.4% women), and intervention was performed in 218 (35.1%). The median number of drugs was 11 (2-26) at admission and 10 (0-25) at discharge. 373 interventions were performed: 235 for medication reconciliation (78.3% accepted), 71 for non-recommended drugs (57.7% accepted), 42 for deprescription (61.9% accepted) and 25 for other reasons. Statistically significant differences were observed between the number of drugs at discharge and at admission in both intervention patients (n = 218) and complex chronic patients (n = 114) (p < 0.001 in both cases). Moreover, statistically significant differences were observed in the number of drugs at admission between patients included in the complex chronic programme and those not included (p = 0.001), and in the number of drugs at discharge (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS: The integration of the pharmacist in the multidisciplinary team of the complex chronic patient unit improves patient safety and quality of care. The selected criteria were useful for detecting inappropriate drugs in this population and favored deprescription.

PMID:36842862 | DOI:10.1016/j.farma.2023.01.004

Trends Biochem Sci. 2023 Feb 24:S0968-0004(23)00033-6. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2023.01.009. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Over recent years many statisticians and researchers have highlighted that statistical inference would benefit from a better use and understanding of hypothesis testing, p-values, and statistical significance. We highlight three recommendations in the context of biochemical sciences. First recommendation: to improve the biological interpretation of biochemical data, do not use p-values (or similar test statistics) as thresholded values to select biomolecules. Second recommendation: to improve comparison among studies and to achieve robust knowledge, perform complete reporting of data. Third recommendation: statistical analyses should be reported completely with exact numbers (not as asterisks or inequalities). Owing to the high number of variables, a better use of statistics is of special importance in omic studies.

PMID:36842858 | DOI:10.1016/j.tibs.2023.01.009

J Pediatr Health Care. 2023 Feb 24:S0891-5245(23)00027-5. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2023.01.005. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to gain knowledge about the impact of an extended postnatal home visiting program on parents’ comprehensive health literacy (CHL) in multicultural, socioeconomically disadvantaged Swedish settings.

METHOD: This quasi-experimental study adopted a case-control sampling method recruiting first-time parents through two Child Health Care Centers in Stockholm. Participants were interviewed twice through structured questionnaires when their child was aged between less than two months (n = 193) and 15-18 months (n = 151) from October 2017 to August 2020. Analyses used linear regression models and nonparametric tests.

RESULTS: A subgroup of parents that needed language interpreters demonstrated statistically significantly improved CHL from premeasures to postmeasures within the intervention group that received an extended home visiting intervention (F = 11.429; p <.001), and when compared with a corresponding subgroup that received merely the ordinary Swedish Child Health Care Centers program (F = 5.025; p = .027).

DISCUSSION: Postnatal home visiting interventions may reduce inequity in CHL for parents living in multicultural, socioeconomically disadvantaged settings.

PMID:36842842 | DOI:10.1016/j.pedhc.2023.01.005

Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2023 Feb;42:61-67. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2022.12.015. Epub 2022 Dec 30.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: High work-family conflict affects nurses’ physical, mental and psychological health and reduces their job satisfaction and performance. This study was conducted to determine the effect of work stress experienced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic on family life and the factors affecting work stress and work-family conflict.

METHOD: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted on 820 nurses who agreed to participate in the research working in a hospital serving only patients with confirmed COVID-19 in a province in eastern Turkey.

RESULTS: It was found that the average PJSS score of the nurses included in the study was 3.26 ± 0.56; the average WAFCS score was 3.00 ± 0.81. It was found that there was a moderately positive, statistically significant relationship between the PJSS and WAFCS average scores for the nurses, and the impact of work stress on the levels of work-family conflict was 28 % (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: It was determined that the work stress levels of the nurses included in the study were at a level that could threaten their health, the conflict levels in work-family life were high, and the conflict levels in work and family life increased as the levels of work stress increased.

PMID:36842830 | DOI:10.1016/j.apnu.2022.12.015

Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2023 Feb;42:18-24. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2022.12.004. Epub 2022 Dec 18.

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the relationships between nursing students’ internet addiction levels, communication skills and difficulties in emotion regulation. This cross-sectional study included 463 nursing students who completed the Internet Addiction Scale (IAS), Communication Skills Scale (CSS) and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16). Approximately half of the nursing students were risky internet users. A negative statistically significant was determined between from IAS and CSS; a positive statistically significant was determined between from IAS and DERS-16. It was found that internet addiction had an effect of 18.6 % (R² = 0.186) on difficulty in emotion regulation and 0.27 % on communication skills (R² = 0.027). The students who were in risky group in internet addiction had worse communication skills and higher levels of difficulties in emotion regulation.

PMID:36842823 | DOI:10.1016/j.apnu.2022.12.004

Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2023 Feb;42:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.apnu.2022.11.001. Epub 2022 Dec 2.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of the current research was to identify the influence of university students’ personality traits on their fear of COVID-19 and psychological resilience levels.

DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional trial was completed with 690 students. Descriptive statistics and correlations were calculated, and a path analysis was employed with the objective of assessing the model fit and investigating direct and indirect impacts.

FINDINGS: Among personality traits, conscientiousness and neuroticism were observed to affect fear of COVID-19, and conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience had an effect on psychological resilience. The tested model has a good fit and explains the direct effects of the study variables.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Nurses should improve university students’ psychological resilience by supporting them with protective and improving factors. The role of the psychiatric nurse is important in providing conscious and need-oriented support in extraordinary events such as pandemics.

PMID:36842819 | DOI:10.1016/j.apnu.2022.11.001

J Thorac Oncol. 2023 Mar;18(3):271-277. doi: 10.1016/j.jtho.2022.11.023.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:36842812 | DOI:10.1016/j.jtho.2022.11.023

Radiologia (Engl Ed). 2023 Jan-Feb;65(1):22-31. doi: 10.1016/j.rxeng.2020.09.007. Epub 2022 Jun 2.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Thyroid nodules frequently require ultrasound and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) evaluation. However, FNA cytology does not allow differentiation between follicular adenoma and carcinoma on Bethesda type IV lesions. This situation leads to many unnecessary surgical procedures because it is not possible to assure the benignity of the lesions, even when most of the specimens correspond to adenomas or even other benign lesions. The objective is this study is to establish if there are any US characteristics that would help us to predict the risk of malignancy of nodules with a pathological diagnosis of follicular neoplasm in order to achieve a more conservative management for non-suspicious nodules.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied 61 nodules in 61 patients (51 women and 10 men) that underwent thyroid surgery and had histopathological results of either follicular adenoma or carcinoma. Different US characteristics of the nodules were analysed (composition, echogenicity, margin, calcification status, the presence of halo and overall observer suspicion of malignancy) and were correlated with the histopathological analysis.

RESULTS: We have found a statistically significant association between the presence of calcifications, ill-defined borders and overall observer suspicion or impression (defined by well-known suspicious for malignancy ultrasonographic features, such as calcification, poorly defined margin, and a markedly hypoechoic solid nodule; and benign ultrasonographic features, such as predominantly cystic echogenic composition and the presence of a perinodular hypoechogenic halo) with follicular carcinoma. However all those features have shown low sensitivities in the present study (30%, 30% and 50%, respectively). On the other hand, the absence of halo sign has shown a sensitivity of 100% and a negative predictive value (NPV) of 100% in our study.

CONCLUSIONS: The presence of calcifications, ill-defined borders and the overall impression or suspicion of malignancy associate with a higher risk for follicular carcinoma in Bethesda type IV thyroid nodules but their absence do not allow to predict benignity in these nodules. Inversely, when a halo sign lesion is observed, benign follicular neoplasm should be considered.

PMID:36842782 | DOI:10.1016/j.rxeng.2020.09.007

Med Eng Phys. 2023 Feb;112:103949. doi: 10.1016/j.medengphy.2023.103949. Epub 2023 Jan 4.

ABSTRACT

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a chronic disorder affecting the functioning of the brain. It can lead to irrational behaviour amongst the patients suffering from this disease. A low-cost diagnostic needs to be developed for SZ so that timely treatment can be provided to the patients. In this work, we propose an accurate and easy-to-implement system to detect SZ using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. The signal is divided into sub-band components by a Fourier-based technique that can be implemented in real-time using fast Fourier transform. Thereafter, statistical features are computed from these components. Further, look ahead pattern (LAP) is developed as a feature to capture local variations in the EEG signal. The fusion of these two distinct schemes enables a thorough examination of EEG signals. Kruskal-Wallis test is utilized for the selection of significant features. Various machine learning classifiers are employed and the proposed framework achieves 98.62% and 99.24% accuracy in identifying SZ cases, considering two distinct datasets, using boosted trees classifier. This method provides a promising candidate for widespread deployment in efficient real-time systems for SZ detection.

PMID:36842772 | DOI:10.1016/j.medengphy.2023.103949