Nevin Manimala

Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za Zhi. 2020 Nov 20;33(1):62-65. doi: 10.16250/j.32.1374.2020150.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of malaria in Henan Province from 1950 to 2019, so as to provide the scientific evidence for consolidating malaria elimination achievements in the province.

METHODS: The epidemiological situation of malaria and demographic data in Henan Province from 1950 to 2019 were collected, and the statistical analyses were performed using a descriptive epidemiological method. The spatial temporal distribution of malaria cases was identified using the software ArcGIS version 10.3.

RESULTS: During the period from 1950 through 2019, the progress of malaria elimination was divided into 4 stages in Henan Province, including the baseline-survey and key-control stage, morbidity-control and incidence-reduction stage, basic-eradication and achievement-consolidation stage and elimination stage. The spatial distribution of malaria cases shifted from south of the Huai River and the plain regions between the Yellow River and Taihang Mountain to the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and Nanyang Basin, then was concentrated in eastern part of southern Huai River where Anopheles anthropophagus was distributed, and finally was gradually under control following malaria outbreak in Eastern Henan Plain. In addition, the species of Plasmodium changed from P. vivax, P. falciparum and P. malariae co-endemics to a single P. vivax infection, and the current co-endemics of 5 invasive malaria parasites, and the malaria vectors shifted from co-existence of Anopheles sinensis and An. anthropophagus to An. sinensis alone.

CONCLUSIONS: There has been a large change in the epidemiological characteristics of malaria in Henan Province from 1950 to 2019. Although malaria has been eliminated in Henan Province, the consolidation of the malaria elimination achievements remain a great challenge due to overseas imported malaria.

PMID:33660476 | DOI:10.16250/j.32.1374.2020150

Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za Zhi. 2021 Jan 25;33(1):28-34. doi: 10.16250/j.32.1374.2020295.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To explore the mechanism of the intestinal barrier damage caused by Blastocystis hominis infections in rats.

METHODS: Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into the control group, and the 1-, 3-, 6- and 9-week-infection groups, of 6 rats in each group. Rats in each infection group were orally infected with B. hominis trophozoites at a density of 2 × 10⁸ parasites per rat, and the control group was given an equal volume of phosphate buffered saline solution. The 7-hour urine samples were collected 1, 3, 6 and 9 weeks post-infection for the measurement of the intestinal permeability. Then, rats were sacrificed using the cervical dislocation method, and the cecum specimens were collected for the detection of the intestinal epithelial cell permeability. The expression of tight junction-related Occludin and Claudin – 1 genes and apoptosis-related Bcl – 2 and Bax genes was quantified in cecum epithelial cells using the real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay, and cell apoptosis was detected in the rat cecum using the TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay.

RESULTS: The median urinary lactolose to mannitol ratios were 0.29, 0.72, 0.44, 0.46 and 0.38 in the control group, and the 1-, 3-, 6- and 9-week-infection groups, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (H = 12.09, P < 0.05). B. hominis invasion and epithelial injury were observed in intestinal epithelial cells of rats infected with B. hominis, and transmission electron microscopy displayed the destruction of tight junctions between intestinal epithelial cells. The relative expression of Occludin, Claudin-1, Bcl-2 and Bax genes was 1.04, 0.62, 0.71, 0.68 and 0.96; 1.03, 0.61, 0.63, 0.76 and 0.86; 1.08, 0.70, 0.75, 0.74 and 1.03; and 1.00, 1.57, 1.33, 1.35 and 1.10 in the control group and the 1-, 3-, 6- and 9-week-infection groups, respectively, and all differences were statistically significant (F = 2.86, 2.85, 3.37 and 4.45, all P values < 0.05). The median number of positive staining cells were 1.00, 13.00, 9.00, 3.50 and 1.00 in rat cecum specimens in the control group, and the 1-, 3-, 6- and 9-week-infection groups, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (H = 22.95, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS: B. hominis infection may cause an increase in the rat intestinal permeability through triggering the apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells to destroy the tight junction between intestinal epithelial cells, thereby destroying the intestinal barrier function.

PMID:33660471 | DOI:10.16250/j.32.1374.2020295

Zhongguo Xue Xi Chong Bing Fang Zhi Za Zhi. 2021 Jan 12;33(1):15-21. doi: 10.16250/j.32.1374.2020241.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the spatial-temporal characteristics of reported schistosomiasis cases in China from 2004 to 2017, so as to provide insights into the development of different schistosomiasis control strategies at various stages.

METHODS: The monthly data of reported schistosomiasis cases at a provincial level of China from 2004 to 2017 were collected from the Public Health Science Data Center, and the spatial-temporal distribution of reported schistosomiasis cases was preliminarily identified using a descriptive statistical method. According to the goals at different stages proposed by the National Mid- and Long-term Program for Schistosomiasis Prevention and Control in China (2004-2015), a Bayesian interrupted time-series model was established to analyze the provincial reported incidence, time trend and seasonal variations of schistosomiasis in China at different stages.

RESULTS: The reported schistosomiasis cases were mainly concentrated in 5 provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Hubei and Hunan and 2 provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan in China from 2004 to 2017, and the number of reported cases in endemic areas decreased gradually. The incidence of reported schistosomiasis cases predominantly peaked during the period from May to September in the marshland and lake regions, while no regular seasonality was seen in hilly regions. Bayesian interrupted time-series analysis showed the peak incidence of reported schistosomiasis cases in 4 provinces of Anhui, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi between May and September and in Jiangsu Province from July to November; however, no regular seasonal cycle was identified in hilly regions. The number of reported schistosomiasis cases showed a tendency towards an increase in 2 provinces of Hubei and Hunan from 2008 to 2014, with a minor peak during the period between March and April, and since 2015, the seasonality was not remarkable any longer in 3 provinces of Anhui, Jiangsu and Jiangxi with a decline in the incidence of reported schistosomiasis cases, while the seasonality remained in Hubei Province.

CONCLUSIONS: The spatial-temporal characteristics of schistosomiasis in China, notably seasonality, vary at different control stages. Bayesian interrupted time-series model is effective to identify the spatial-temporal changes of schistosomiasis, and the schistosomiasis control strategy may be adjusted according to the spatial-temporal changes to improve the schistosomiasis control efficiency.

PMID:33660469 | DOI:10.16250/j.32.1374.2020241

Investig Clin Urol. 2021 Mar;62(2):201-209. doi: 10.4111/icu.20200319.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aims to identify clinical factors that may predispose struvite stone patients to urosepsis following percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted on patients who received PCNL for struvite stones. The Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) criteria and quick-Sepsis Related Organ Failure Assessment (q-SOFA) criteria were used to identify patients who were at an increased risk for urosepsis. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher’s exactness test, Wilcoxon rank test, and logistic regression.

RESULTS: Chart review identified 99 struvite stone patients treated with PCNL. Post-operatively, 40 patients were SIRS positive (≥2 criteria) and/or q-SOFA positive (score ≥2). Using SIRS as an approximation for urosepsis, longer operative times (p<0.001), higher pre-operative white blood cell counts (p=0.01), greater total stone surface area (p<0.0001), and pre-operative stenting (OR, 5.75; p=0.01) were identified as independent risk factors for urosepsis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated pre-operative stenting (OR, 1.46; p=0.01) to be a risk factor. With q-SOFA, univariable analysis found that antibiotic use within 3 months prior to a PCNL (OR, 4.44; p=0.04), medical comorbidities (OR, 4.80; p=0.02), longer operative times (p<0.001), lengthier post-operative hospitalization (p<0.01), and greater total stone surface area (p<0.0001) were risk factors for urosepsis. Multivariate analysis revealed that bladder outlet obstruction (OR, 2.74; p<0.003) and pre-operative stenting (OR, 1.27; p=0.01) significantly increased odds of being q-SOFA positive.

CONCLUSIONS: Several risk factors for urosepsis following PCNL for struvite stones have been identified. These risk factors should be taken into consideration in peri-operative care to mitigate the risks of urosepsis.

PMID:33660448 | DOI:10.4111/icu.20200319

Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2021 Mar 3:e1348. doi: 10.1002/cnr2.1348. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by brachytherapy is the standard of care in locally advanced carcinoma cervix. There is no prognostic factor at present to predict the outcome of disease in locally advanced carcinoma cervix.

AIM: Differential expression of microRNAs can be used as biomarkers to predict clinical response in locally advanced carcinoma cervix patients.

METHODS: Thirty-two patients of locally advanced carcinoma cervix with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Stage IB-IVA were enrolled from 2017 to 2018. Expression of microRNA-9 5p, -31 3p, -100 5p, -125a 5p, -125b-5p, and -200a 5p in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) biopsied tissue were analyzed by real time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT qPCR). Pretreatment evaluation was done with clinical examination and MRI pelvis. All patients received concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by brachytherapy. Patients were evaluated for the clinical response after 3 months of treatment, with clinical examination and MRI pelvis scan using RECIST 1.1 criteria. Patients with no residual disease were classified as Complete responders (CR) and with residual or progressive disease were classified as Nonresponders (NR). Results were statistically analyzed using Mann Whiney U test to examine significant difference between the expression of microRNA between complete responders (CR) and nonresponders (NR).

RESULTS: microRNA-100 5p was upregulated in complete responders (CR) which showed a trend towards statistical significance (p value = 0.05).

CONCLUSION: microRNA-100 5p can serve as a potential molecular biomarker in predicting clinical response to chemoradiation in locally advanced Carcinoma cervix. Its role should be further investigated in a larger study population.

PMID:33660436 | DOI:10.1002/cnr2.1348

Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2021 Mar 3:e1333. doi: 10.1002/cnr2.1333. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) accounts for 90% of head and neck cancers. There has been no established qualitative system of interpretation for therapy response assessment using PET-CT for HNSCC.

AIM: To assess response evaluation of nodal status in post-treatment PET-CT scans in HNSCC using a 5-point Likert scale (Deauville score [DS]).

METHODS AND RESULTS: Retro-prospective analysis was performed of the nodal status of pre and post-RT PET-CT in patients diagnosed with HNSCC (n = 43) from May 2013 to March 2018. All eligible patients underwent a pre-RT PET-CT scan before the start of RT. Another post-RT PET-CT scan was performed 12 weeks after the completion of RT. The median time from completion of radiotherapy (RT) to post-RT PET-CT was 92 days; 80% of the patients had their post-RT PET-CT scan between 77 and 147 days after therapy. Of 43 patients (M/33, F/10, age range 18 to 80 years (median 54 years) selected for the study, good concordance was noted between DS and clinical response in these patients. The change in SUV from pre-RT PET to post-RT PET was analyzed using a paired t-test. The P-value was found to be statistically significant while comparing pre and post-RT SUVmax levels showing that RT had significantly reduced the SUVmax levels of the nodes in DS 2-3 groups whereas the number of patients was too small to allow a reliable calculation in DS 4-5 groups. It was found that 36/39 patients with DS 1-3 had no nodal recurrence showing a high NPV of 92.3%. Of the four patients with DS 4-5, all had active disease showing PPV of 100%. Applying Fisher’s exact test, the P-value was found to be .004.

CONCLUSION: DS seems to satisfy the requirements for a simple qualitative method of interpreting PET scans and for identifying patients requiring neck dissection. Consensus regarding qualitative assessment would facilitate standardization of PET reporting in clinical practice and enable comparative multicentric studies.

PMID:33660434 | DOI:10.1002/cnr2.1333

Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 2021 Mar 3:e1349. doi: 10.1002/cnr2.1349. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Oral and oropharyngeal cancer are significant health problems. They are both life-threatening conditions usually diagnosed at an advanced stage causing survival rates to decline.

AIM: To assess and compare practices, knowledge and attitude regarding oral and oropharyngeal cancer between dental and medical practitioners.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitude and practices of oral and oropharyngeal cancer among dental and medical practitioners at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 360 participants were included in the study using a convenient sampling technique. Participants were approached in their clinics and printed self-administered questionnaire were handed over to them after signing a written consent form. Frequency distribution and Chi-Square test were used for the statistical analysis and the level of significance was set at P value of .05 or less.

RESULTS: A total of 174 participants responded. Assessment of oral and oropharyngeal cancer knowledge between dental practitioners and medical practitioners showed comparable results. Regarding practices, a significant difference was seen between medical practitioners and dental practitioners in determining the duration of intra-oral ulcer to consider urgent referral (P = .006) and in number of referrals made in relation to suspicious oral lesions (P = .002). Moreover, a significant difference (P = .006) was seen between medical practitioners and dental practitioners in determining the duration of intra-oral ulcer to consider urgent referral.

CONCLUSION: Medical and dental practitioners showed areas of differences in practice, attitude and knowledge of oral and oropharyngeal cancer that when addressed would lead to improved survival rates.

PMID:33660423 | DOI:10.1002/cnr2.1349

Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2021 Apr;9(2):e00729. doi: 10.1002/prp2.729.

ABSTRACT

With the improvements in relevant policies, laws, and regulations regarding drug clinical trials in China, the quantity and quality of drug clinical trials have gradually improved, and the development prospects of drug clinical trials for endocrine disorders and metabolism and nutrition disorders are promising. Based on information from the clinical trials from the online drug clinical trial registration platform of the National Medical Products Administration, we aimed to review and evaluate the development of clinical trials of drugs for endocrine disorders and metabolism and nutrition disorders in mainland China from 2010 to 2019, as well as the trends over time. A total of 861 trials were carried out on 254 types of drugs for endocrine disorders and metabolism and nutrition disorders, among which 531 (61.67%) involved endocrine disorders, and 330 (38.33%) addressed metabolism and nutrition disorders. The annual number of clinical trials has been increasing gradually, with a significant increase in 2017. Among them, the proportion of clinical trials with Chinese epidemiological characteristics was relatively large (Wu, Annual Report on Development Health Management and Health Industry in China, 2018). The largest number of trials were for diabetes drugs (55.63%), followed by trials of drugs for hyperlipidemia (19.4%) and those for hyperuricemia (7.9%). It was found that the geographical area of the leading units also showed obvious unevenness according to the analysis of the test unit data. Based on the statistics and evaluation of the data, comprehensive information is provided to support the cooperation of global pharmaceutical R&D companies and research units in China and the development of international multicenter clinical trials in China. This work additionally provides clinical trial units with a self-evaluation of scientific research competitiveness and hospital development strategies. At the same time, it provides a reference with basic data for sponsors and stakeholders in these trials to determine their development strategy goals.

PMID:33660404 | DOI:10.1002/prp2.729

Int J Nurs Pract. 2021 Mar 4:e12902. doi: 10.1111/ijn.12902. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study examined the effect of an individualized educational intervention on the knowledge, attitudes and self-management ability after 12 weeks for outpatients with atrial fibrillation.

METHODS: A randomized control-group pretest-post-test experimental design was used. Elderly outpatients with atrial fibrillation aged over 65 years were recruited from a university hospital in Korea. The experimental group received a 50-min individualized education on self-management, one telephone counselling after 8 weeks and maintenance of a self-management diary for 12 weeks. Data were collected from November 2017 to April 2018 and analysed using SPSS 22.0 for descriptive statistics and hypothesis testing.

RESULTS: The participants’ mean age was 71.9 (4.6) years. Compared to the control group (n = 29), the experimental group (n = 31) showed a significantly greater improvement in knowledge regarding atrial fibrillation and stroke prevention (t = -2.27, p = .027) and self-management behaviours (t = -8.02, p < .001). There were no significant group differences in attitudes towards atrial fibrillation.

CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that education for elderly people with atrial fibrillation should be individualized, focusing on self-management in daily life to prevent cardiovascular complications. Future research is needed to confirm the long-term effects of such education programmes.

PMID:33660379 | DOI:10.1111/ijn.12902

J Clin Nurs. 2021 Mar 4. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15736. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: The aim of this study was to determine the compliance with treatment and fear of hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: One of the important problems of patients are the fear of hypoglycemia and compliance with treatment, which impairs general health and quality of life. It is believed that nurses contribute to the improvement of compliance with treatment in patients with type 2 diabetes, a decrease in hypoglycemia rates.

DESIGN: This study was conducted as a descriptive study. The STROBE checklist was used.

METHODS: The study was carried out with 376 patients with type 2 diabetes between January-June 2019. The Patient Information Form, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treatment Patient Compliance Scale, and Hypoglycemia Fear Survey applied and SAS 9.4 package program was used for statistical analysis. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square, and variation analysis.

RESULTS: It was determined that 58.2% of the participants were female, mean age was 62.19 ± 9.60, 57.7% were primary school graduates, 50.3% were using oral antidiabetic, 34.5% were using oral antidiabetic and insulin. Patients’ compliance with treatment was moderate (60.9%). According to the mean score of the Hypoglycemia Fear Survey, the patients had a low level of fear of hypoglycemia ( X– =1.20). There was a statistically significant difference between compliance and fear of hypoglycemia and education, economic status, self-monitoring of blood glucose, physical activity, education about diabetes (p<0.05). Patients with type 2 diabetes had decreased compliance with treatment with increased fear of hypoglycemia (p <0.05).

CONCLUSION: The participants’ compliance with the treatment was moderate and the fear of hypoglycemia mean score was low. Nursing interventions should be planned to increase compliance with treatment and reduce the fear of hypoglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Assessing the fear of hypoglycemia and the level of compliance with treatment by healthcare professionals, especially nurses, in patients with type 2 diabetes, and providing education on this subject can be helpful in reducing the fear of hypoglycemia, increasing treatment compliance and providing optimal glycemic control.

PMID:33660356 | DOI:10.1111/jocn.15736