Nevin Manimala

BMC Cancer. 2022 Oct 19;22(1):1076. doi: 10.1186/s12885-022-10151-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: There is growing interest in the collection and use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to support clinical decision making in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, an overview of research into the prognostic value of PROMs is currently lacking.

AIM: To explore to what extent, how, and how robustly the value of PROMs for prognostic prediction has been investigated in adults diagnosed with NSCLC.

METHODS: We systematically searched Medline, Embase, CINAHL Plus and Scopus for English-language articles published from 2011 to 2021 that report prognostic factor study, prognostic model development or validation study. Example data charting forms from the Cochrane Prognosis Methods Group guided our data charting on study characteristics, PROMs as predictors, predicted outcomes, and statistical methods. Two reviewers independently charted the data and critically appraised studies using the QUality In Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool for prognostic factor studies, and the risk of bias assessment section of the Prediction model Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool (PROBAST) for prognostic model studies.

RESULTS: Our search yielded 2,769 unique titles of which we included 31 studies, reporting the results of 33 unique analyses and models. Out of the 17 PROMs used for prediction, the EORTC QLQ-C30 was most frequently used (16/33); 12/33 analyses used PROM subdomain scores instead of the overall scores. PROMs data was mostly collected at baseline (24/33) and predominantly used to predict survival (32/33) but seldom other clinical outcomes (1/33). Almost all prognostic factor studies (26/27) had moderate to high risk of bias and all four prognostic model development studies had high risk of bias.

CONCLUSION: There is an emerging body of research into the value of PROMs as a prognostic factor for survival in people with NSCLC but the methodological quality of this research is poor with significant bias. This warrants more robust studies into the prognostic value of PROMs, in particular for predicting outcomes other than survival. This will enable further development of PROM-based prediction models to support clinical decision making in NSCLC.

PMID:36261794 | DOI:10.1186/s12885-022-10151-z

BMC Public Health. 2022 Oct 19;22(1):1941. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14334-y.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Over the past few decades, the number of international students has increased dramatically. These students have to adjust to unfamiliar social, cultural, and educational environments. The concept of acculturation has been applied in multiple studies on various health outcomes. This study investigated the relationship between acculturation and self-rated health (SRH) among international medical students.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among international medical students at the University of Szeged, Hungary between April and October 2021. A total of 326 participants filled out questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, acculturation, and SRH. The modified Stephenson multigroup acculturation scale (SMAS) was used to assess the acculturation status; the scale defined acculturation as the degree of dominant society immersion (DSI, 12 items) and ethnic society immersion (ESI, 16 items). To measure SRH, participants were asked to rate their current general health and mental health. The data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and the multiple logistic regression model.

RESULTS: 32.5% of the students reported having poor general and 49.7% poor mental health. We have found that acculturation was associated with SRH in multivariable logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic characteristic. Bidimensional acculturation, such as ESI and DSI significantly influenced SRH as the likelihood of poor general health decreased (OR = 0.50; 95% CI = 0.31-0.81, P = 0.005), when the ESI was higher, whereas the likelihood of poor mental health decreased (OR = 0.52; 95% CI = 0.35-0.79, P = 0.002) if students had a greater DSI.

CONCLUSION: Both types of immersion can affect the students’ SRH. If the student could integrate better into their own ethnic group, their general health was better, and if they could strongly integrate into the Hungarian society, their mental health was more favorable. Acculturation measures should be promoted by academics and public health professionals in order to better understand their role in the behaviors, health outcomes, and health care use of medical international students. These findings will help professionals shape culturally sensitive prevention and counselling strategies for international student populations.

PMID:36261784 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-022-14334-y

Acta Parasitol. 2022 Oct 19. doi: 10.1007/s11686-022-00629-y. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To determine the levels of knowledge, awareness and perception of malaria, and to determine the infection status among asymptomatic adults in selected districts.

METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional study recruited 849 participants from seven districts in the malaria meso-endemic forest zone of Ghana. Questionnaires were administered to elicit responses from asymptomatic adults on malaria awareness, knowledge and insecticide-treated net (ITN) usage. Capillary blood samples were taken from study subjects for malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and microscopy. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse quantitative and qualitative data.

RESULTS: Ninety-eight percent of participants were aware of malaria, 94.0% owned ITNs but only 35.5% consistently used them. Also, 56.7% correctly associated malaria with mosquitoes and 54.5% identified stagnant water as the breeding site. Twelve percent (12.2%) and 13.1% of the subjects tested positive for malaria via RDT and microscopy, respectively. Of the 111 confirmed malaria cases, 107 had Plasmodium falciparum infections, two had Plasmodium ovale infections and there were two Plasmodium falciparum-Plasmodium ovale mixed infections.

CONCLUSION: Awareness and knowledge of malaria was satisfactory but this did not translate into mosquito avoidance behaviour due to deep-seated perceptions and myths. With the prevalence of asymptomatic parasitaemia observed, this reservoir of infection could be dislodged with appropriate health education targeted at women in the rural communities.

PMID:36261782 | DOI:10.1007/s11686-022-00629-y

AAPS PharmSciTech. 2022 Oct 19;23(8):286. doi: 10.1208/s12249-022-02434-2.

ABSTRACT

Computational modeling, machine learning, and statistical data analysis are increasingly utilized to mitigate chemistry, manufacturing, and control failures related to particle properties in solid dosage form manufacture. Advances in particle characterization techniques and computational approaches provide unprecedented opportunities to explore relationships between particle morphology and drug product manufacturability. Achieving this, however, has numerous challenges such as producing and appropriately curating robust particle size and shape data. Addressing these challenges requires a harmonized strategy from material sampling practices, characterization technique selection, and data curation to provide data sets which are informative on material properties. Herein, common sources of error in particle characterization and data compression are reviewed, and a proposal for providing robust particle morphology (size and shape) data to support modeling efforts, approaches for data curation, and the outlook for modeling particle properties are discussed.

PMID:36261755 | DOI:10.1208/s12249-022-02434-2

Environ Monit Assess. 2022 Oct 19;194(12):928. doi: 10.1007/s10661-022-10593-9.

ABSTRACT

The desert environment is a clean, dynamic system due to its remoteness from human interventions. Yet, sometimes it is approached by anthropogenic activities that change its balanced ecosystem. The present study states that the non-planned construction of wastewater plants has affected the environment and led to water resource deterioration. The presented approach is based on the integration of hydrogeologic data together with remote sensing and GIS applications as well as statistical, chemical, biochemical, and bacteriological analyses of water samples. The groundwater showed high salinity values (up to 13,236 mg/l) where it is extracted from two coastal aquifers; the Middle Miocene aquifer represents the main one, while the Pleistocene aquifer is of limited use. The obtained results reveal the existence of pollution indicators in both stored rainwater and groundwater where the colony bacteria, NO₃, chemical and biological oxygen demands, and total organic carbon exceed the permissible limits. The satellite images acquired between 2003 and 2021 demonstrated a land use change through the construction of a wastewater plant with two forests that led to the spreading of the partially treated water over the Marmarica Plateau. The photogeological lineaments are extracted where the plateau is affected by many faults (NE-SW, NW-SE, and E-W) that facilitate surface-groundwater interaction. The results indicate that the studied groundwater becomes vulnerable to the existing pollution sources, with the possibility of being affected by climate change and saltwater intrusion. Therefore, this integrated approach is presented to assess the current environmental problems and suggests a strategy to mitigate the pollution hazards.

PMID:36261750 | DOI:10.1007/s10661-022-10593-9

Acta Diabetol. 2022 Oct 19. doi: 10.1007/s00592-022-01991-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The aim of the present umbrella review was to systematically assess existing evidence on the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy, both per se’ and with adjuvants, on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and periodontitis and to combine quantitative data with a meta-analysis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A detailed study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021222279). Four electronic databases (Medline via Pubmed, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and Scielo) were searched independently and in duplicate to identify potentially eligible systematic reviews up to March 2022. Two pre-calibrated independent reviewers performed study selection, data extraction and quality assessment with two checklists (AMSTAR 2 and PRISMA). Moreover, general characteristics of primary studies included in each systematic review were abstracted, and JADAD scale was used to assess the risk of bias for included randomized controlled trials. Data from the individual studies included in each meta-analysis were analyzed, using both fixed and random effect model. The statistical heterogeneity was calculated using the Q test and the I² index. The publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger’s linear regression method.

RESULTS: Sixteen systematic reviews, published between 2010 and 2021, were included for qualitative synthesis. From these systematic reviews, a total of 27 studies were included in the meta-analysis: all of them were randomized clinical trials, except 1 controlled clinical study. A statistically significant mean difference of – 0.49% and of – 0.38% HbA1c reductions was seen respectively at 3- and 6-month post-treatment, favoring the treatment group (non-surgical periodontal therapy alone) compared to the control group (no treatment). The effect of periodontal treatment with the adjunctive use of antibiotics or laser on the glycemic control was not statistically significant compared to non-surgical periodontal therapy alone.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the present study, within its limitations, indicated that non-surgical treatment of periodontitis is an efficacious therapy for improving the glycemic control in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, both at 3- and 6-month follow-up.

PMID:36261746 | DOI:10.1007/s00592-022-01991-z

Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2022 Oct 20. doi: 10.1007/s00068-022-02144-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Understanding epidemiological patterns in patients with severe sports-related injuries between children and adults is important for injury prevention. We ought to describe the characteristics and outcomes of patients with severe sports-related injuries and compare the characteristics between children and adults.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Japan Trauma Data Bank (JTDB). We included patients with sports-related injury and an ISS of at least 16, who were admitted between 2004 and 2018. We compared characteristics between children (< 18 years) and adults (≥ 18 years). We performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis to compare in-hospital mortality.

RESULTS: We identified 1369 eligible patients (children, n = 326; adults, n = 1043). The most common season was April-June and July-September in children (28.5% and 27.9%) and January-March in adults (42.1%). Injuries to the head/neck (58.9% vs. 40.8%, p < 0.001) and abdomen (16.0% vs. 8.3%, p < 0.001) were significantly more frequent in children than adults, while injuries to the thorax (8.0% vs. 27.2%, p < 0.001), pelvis/lower extremity (0.6% vs. 6.0%, p < 0.001), and spine (23.9% vs. 35.3%, p < 0.001) were less frequent in children. We did not observe a statistically significant difference in in-hospital mortality between children and adults.

CONCLUSIONS: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of severe sports-related injuries using a nationwide trauma database and demonstrated different patterns of severe sports-related injuries in children and adults.

PMID:36261734 | DOI:10.1007/s00068-022-02144-1

Adv Neonatal Care. 2022 Oct 17. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000001036. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Preterm infants have oral feeding difficulty that often delays discharge, indicating a need for evidence-based interventions for oral-motor development.

PURPOSE: To test the Premature Infant Oral Motor Intervention (PIOMI) on the development of oral-motor function, feeding, and anthropometric outcomes using sucking manometry.

METHODS: A single-blind randomized experimental design was conducted with a sample of 60 preterm infants from 2 neonatal intensive care units between May 2019 and March 2020. The experimental group received PIOMI for 5 min/d for 14 consecutive days. Sucking capacity, anthropometrics (weight and head circumference), bottle feeding, breast/chest feeding initiation, and length of hospital stay were measured. The Yakut Sucking Manometer (PCT/TR2019/050678) was developed specifically for this study and tested for the first time.

RESULTS: The experimental group had a statistically significant percent increase over controls in sucking power (69%), continuous sucking before releasing the bottle (16%), sucking time (13%), and sucking amount (12%) with partial η2 values of interaction between the groups of 0.692, 0.164, 0.136, and 0.121, respectively. The experimental group had a higher increase in weight (89%) and head circumference (81%) over controls (F = 485.130, P < .001; F = 254.754, P < .001, respectively). The experimental group transitioned to oral feeding 9.9 days earlier than controls (t = -2.822; P = .007), started breast/chest feeding 10.8 days earlier (t = 3.016; P = .004), and were discharged 3.0 days earlier.

IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH/PRACTICE: The PIOMI had a significant positive effect on anthropometrics, sucking capacity, readiness to initiate bottle and breast/chest feeding, and a 3-day reduction in length of hospital stay.

PMID:36260947 | DOI:10.1097/ANC.0000000000001036

Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2022 Sep 30;35(2):134-143. doi: 10.54589/aol.35/2/134.

ABSTRACT

The SARS-Cov-2 (COVID-19) pandemic changed the educational structure of dentistry courses and highlighted the importance of online tools. Understanding students’ perception regarding these changes is essential to establishing future teaching-learning strategies to accommodate students’ needs in higher education. The aim of this study was to assess students’ perceptions of the Oral Radiology teachinglearning process before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of students (n = 111) of the 2nd, 4th and 6th semesters of the dentistry course, who answered a questionnaire with 21 items: A) Students’ demographic data (5 questions); B) Students’ teaching-learning experiences during the pre-pandemic period (8 questions); and C) Students’ teaching-learning experiences during the post-pandemic period (8 questions). Stuart-Maxwell tests revealed statistically significant differences between students’ opinions before and during the pandemic when they were asked about the structure of the Oral Radiology module (p = 0.008); their previous experience with e-learning and teaching (p < 0.001); their thoughts about the importance of e-learning in Oral Radiology (p < 0.05); and the time they spent online for academic purposes (p < 0.05). Students seem to prefer on-campus activities (before COVID-19), but the pandemic increased their awareness of the importance of e-learning, the time they spent on online studies, and their knowledge of online educational tools.

PMID:36260945 | DOI:10.54589/aol.35/2/134

Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2022 Sep 30;35(2):125-133. doi: 10.54589/aol.35/2/125.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to compare the impact of the first year of wearing of a fixed orthodontic appliance on the Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) between boys and girls, by means of a condition-specific instrument. The study included 69 adolescents aged 10 to 18 years, who were undergoing orthodontic treatment with a fixed appliance. Of the 69 adolescents, 38 were girls (55.1%) and 31 were boys (44.9%). They answered the Brazilian version of the Impact of Fixed Appliance Measure (B-IFAM) questionnaire three months (T1) and one year (T2) after the fixed appliance was installed. This questionnaire contains 43 questions, distributed across nine domains. The higher the scores, the more negative the perception of the adolescent concerning the impact of the fixed appliance on his/her OHRQoL. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were also analyzed, and statistical analysis was performed. For the domains, the effect size (the magnitude of the difference between girls and boys) and the minimal clinically important difference were also calculated. The adjusted regression showed that there was a significantly greater increase in the overall B-IFAM score in girls than in boys, indicating a more negative perception of the OHRQoL over the study time [Coefficient=11.77 (3.47- 20.60), p=0.006]. From T1 to T2, there was a significantly greater increase in the scores (more negative perception of OHRQoL over time) in girls than in boys for the domains aesthetics (p=0.034) and physical impact (p=0.011). These differences were clinically significant. The effect size (the magnitude of the difference) was moderate. The impact of wearing a fixed appliance on the OHRQoL was more negative in girls than in boys during the first year of orthodontic treatment.

PMID:36260944 | DOI:10.54589/aol.35/2/125