Nevin Manimala

BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 1;11(12):e053481. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053481.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated health inequalities across the globe, disproportionately affecting those with poor social determinants of health (SDOHs). It is imperative to understand how SDOH influences the transmission and outcomes (positive case, hospitalisation and mortality) of COVID-19. This systematic review will investigate the impact of a wide range of SDOHs across the globe on the transmission and outcomes of COVID-19.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This review will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocol guidelines. We will search three electronic bibliographical databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase and Scopus), as well as the WHO COVID-19 Global Research on Coronavirus Disease database. We will consider observational studies that report statistical relationships between the SDOHs (as listed in PROGRESS-Plus and Healthy People 2020) and COVID-19 transmission and outcomes. There will be no limitation on the geographical location of publications. The quality of included observational studies will be assessed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A narrative synthesis without meta-analysis reporting standards will be used to report the review findings.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review will be based on published studies obtained from publicly available sources, and therefore, ethical approval is not required. We will publish the results of this review in a peer-reviewed journal, as well as present the study findings at a national conference.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42021228818.

PMID:34853106 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-053481

BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 1;11(12):e050236. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050236.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To determine if comparable older women and men received different durations of P2Y₁₂ inhibitor therapy following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and if therapy duration differences were justified by differences in ischaemic benefits and/or bleeding risks.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort.

SETTING: 20% sample of 2007-2015 US Medicare fee-for-service administrative claims data.

PARTICIPANTS: ≥66-year-old P2Y₁₂ inhibitor new users following 2008-2013 AMI hospitalisation (N=30 613). Older women compared to older men with similar predicted risks of study outcomes.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome: P2Y₁₂ inhibitor duration (modelled as risk of therapy discontinuation).

SECONDARY OUTCOMES: clinical events while on P2Y₁₂ inhibitor therapy, including (1) death/hospice admission, (2) composite of ischaemic events (AMI/stroke/revascularisation) and (3) hospitalised bleeds. Cause-specific risks and relative risks (RRs) estimated using Aalen-Johansen cumulative incidence curves and bootstrapped 95% CIs.

RESULTS: 10 486 women matched to 10 486 men with comparable predicted risks of all 4 study outcomes. No difference in treatment discontinuation was observed at 12 months (women 31.2% risk; men 30.9% risk; RR 1.01; 95% CI 0.97 to 1.05), but women were more likely than men to discontinue therapy at 24 months (54.4% and 52.9% risk, respectively; RR 1.03; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.05). Among patients who did not discontinue P2Y₁₂ inhibitor therapy, women had lower 24-month risks of ischaemic outcomes than men (13.1% and 14.7%, respectively; RR 0.90; 95% CI 0.84 to 0.96), potentially lower 24-month risks of death/hospice admission (5.0% and 5.5%, respectively; RR 0.91; 95% CI 0.82 to 1.02), but women and men both had 2.5% 24-month bleeding risks (RR 0.98; 95% CI 0.82 to 1.14).

CONCLUSIONS: Risks for death/hospice and ischaemic events were lower among women still taking a P2Y₁₂ inhibitor than comparable men, with no difference in bleeding risks. Shorter P2Y₁₂ inhibitor durations in older women than comparable men observed between 12 and 24 months post-AMI may reflect a disparity that is not justified by differences in clinical need.

PMID:34853104 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050236

BMJ Open. 2021 Dec 1;11(12):e049533. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049533.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Limb amputation incidence is particularly high in fragile contexts due to conflict, accidents and poorly managed diabetes. The study aim was to analyse (1) demographic and amputation characteristics of persons with any type of acquired amputation (PwA) and (2) time between amputation and first access to rehabilitation in five conflict and postconflict countries.

DESIGN: A retrospective, observational study analysing differences in demographic and clinical factors and time to access rehabilitation between users with traumatic and non-traumatic amputations.

SETTING: Five countries with the highest numbers of PwA in the global International Committee of the Red Cross database (Afghanistan, Cambodia, Iraq, Myanmar, Sudan). Cleaned and merged data from 2009 to 2018 were aggregated by sex; age at amputation and registration; cause, combination and anatomical level of amputation(s); living environment.

PARTICIPANTS: All PwA newly attending rehabilitation.

RESULTS: Data for 28 446 individuals were included (4329 (15.2%) female). Most were traumatic amputations (73.4%, 208 90); of these, 48.6% (138 01) were conflict related. Average age at traumatic amputation for men and women was 26.9 and 24.1 years, respectively; for non-traumatic amputation it was 49.1 years and 45.9 years, respectively. Sex differences in age were statistically significant for traumatic and non-traumatic causes (p<0.001, p=0.003). Delay between amputation and rehabilitation was on average 8.2 years for those with traumatic amputation, significantly higher than an average 3 years for those with non-traumatic amputation (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Young age for traumatic and non-traumatic amputations indicates the devastating impact of war and fragile health systems on a society. Long delays between amputation and rehabilitation reveal the mismatch of needs and resources. For rehabilitation service providers in fragile settings, it is an enormous task to manage the diversity of PwA of various causes, age, sex and additional conditions. Improved collaboration between primary healthcare, surgical and rehabilitation services, a prioritisation of rehabilitation and increased resource provision are recommended to ensure adequate access to comprehensive rehabilitation care for PwA.

PMID:34853101 | DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049533

J Patient Saf. 2021 Dec 1;17(8):e890-e897. doi: 10.1097/PTS.0000000000000904.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The risk of an adverse event (AE) in obstetric clients receiving care in hospitals is greater than the risk of dying in aviation, road traffic accidents, and breast cancer. There is little understanding of AEs with respect to their causes at hospitals. The study aimed at assessing factors that are associated with the occurrence of AEs among hospitalized obstetric clients in a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

METHOD: This was a case-control study of 650 obstetric clients (equal number in both arms) who were admitted between January 1 and December 31, 2015, at the study site. A retrospective review of the clients’ medical records was randomly allocated into both arms of the study. Descriptive and inferential statistics including confirmatory factor analysis were performed. Models were evaluated for goodness-of-fit measures. The reliability and validity of the scale were also tested using Cronbach α coefficient.

RESULTS: The mean gestational age of the clients was 37.4 ± 4.9 weeks. Leadership and governance (inadequate use of protocol and adherence) accounted for the most cause of AEs among obstetric clients. The overall Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin score was also 0.87. The scale also demonstrated high reliability (Cronbach α = 0.995; composite reliability > 0.7) and validity (average variance extraction > 0.50). There was a marginal model fit (root mean square error of approximation, 0.067), and the χ2 test was statistically significant (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Inadequate use of protocol and adherence is a major cause of preventable AEs identified in this study. There is an urgent need to address this to ensure a reduction in the prevalence of AEs among obstetric clients.

PMID:34852414 | DOI:10.1097/PTS.0000000000000904

Eur J Dent. 2021 Dec 1. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1719209. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to compare oral hygiene practice (brushing/flossing) among 18 years old from two regions, Hordaland County, Norway, and possible perceptional correlates using the Health Belief Model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The participants from six municipalities from the south district with high prevalence of dental caries to six municipalities from the rest of Hordaland county, with low prevalence of dental caries (control), using a web-based questionnaire.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES: the Mann-Whitney U test was used and the t-test for independent samples. Bivariate and logistic regression analyses to examine associations.

RESULTS: A total of 416 people participated. The south district’s participants had lesser percentage brushing twice a day and flossing at least once a day, they significantly visited lesser the dental service, perceived more susceptibility to dental caries, and lower benefits of brushing/flossing compared with the controls. Girls (odds ratio [OR]: 0.34) who perceived higher severity of dental caries (OR: 1.86), higher self-identity (OR: 2.14), and lesser barriers to brushing (OR: 0.14) had higher odds to brushing twice a day compared with their counterparts. Girls (OR: 0.34) who perceived higher severity of dental caries (OR: 2.34), higher benefits (OR = 2.8), and lesser barriers to flossing (OR = 0.23) had higher odds to flossing at least once a day compared with their counterparts.

CONCLUSION: South district’s participants significantly had some of risk factors to the recommended brushing/flossing practice compared with the control and these might help in explaining the difference in oral hygiene practice.

PMID:34852394 | DOI:10.1055/s-0040-1719209

Eur J Dent. 2021 Dec 1. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1735797. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to verify whether removable dentures of patients admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) are niches of microorganisms that can cause pathologies (Staphylococcus aureus, Candida spp., and enterobacteria).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients who were denture wearers (removable partial denture and complete denture) were included in this study. Patients must wear their dentures daily, and these dentures must have acrylic parts. Microbial biofilm was collected from the acrylic part of one denture of each patient. Then, the biofilm was seeded on different culture media: Sabouraud agar, blood agar, MacConkey agar, and mannitol salt agar. In this study, biochemical evaluations of microorganisms were performed.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The percentage of dentures with the microorganism identified by each culture medium was calculated.

RESULTS: In total, 100% of the dentures were positive for Staphylococcus spp. (blood agar) and Candida spp. (Sabouraud agar); 33.3% of the dentures were positive for S. aureus (Mannitol salt agar); and 13.3% of the dentures were positive for Shigella spp. (MacConkey agar).

CONCLUSION: Removable dentures of patients (removable partial dentures and complete dentures) admitted to an ICU are niches of microorganisms that can cause pathologies.

PMID:34852392 | DOI:10.1055/s-0041-1735797

Thromb Haemost. 2021 Dec 1. doi: 10.1055/a-1711-1395. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Protease-activated receptor 4 (PAR4) is a platelet thrombin receptor important for thrombosis and a target of anti-platelet drug development. A frequently occurring single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs773902) causes a PAR4 sequence variant (NC_000019.10:p.Ala120Thr) whereby platelets from Thr120-expressing individuals are hyper-responsive to PAR4 agonists versus platelets from Ala120-expressing individuals. However, whether this enhanced platelet responsiveness translates to increased thrombotic risk or decreased bleeding risk remains unknown.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association of rs773902 with adjudicated cardiovascular events and aspirin use in a randomized trial population of healthy older individuals.

PATIENTS/METHODS: We analyzed 13,547 participants in the ASPirin in Reducing Events in the Elderly (ASPREE) trial. Participants had no previous cardiovascular events at enrollment and were randomized to either 100 mg daily aspirin or placebo for a median follow-up of 4.7 years. Total genotypes were 8,761 (65%) GG (Ala120 variant), 4,303 (32%) heterozygotes, and 483 (4%) AA (Thr120 variant). Cox proportional hazard regression tested the relationship between rs773902 and thrombotic events (major adverse cardiovascular events [MACE] and ischemic stroke [IS]) and bleeding (major hemorrhage [MHEM] and intracranial bleeding [ICB]).

RESULTS: No statistically significant association was observed overall or by treatment group between rs773902 and any thrombotic or bleeding event examined. Further, there was no significant interaction between rs773902 and treatment for any of MACE, IS, MHEM, or ICB.

CONCLUSIONS: This post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study suggests that, despite sensitizing platelet activation, the rs773902 PAR4 variant is not associated with thrombotic cardiovascular or bleeding events in a healthy older population.

PMID:34852379 | DOI:10.1055/a-1711-1395

Ultraschall Med. 2021 Dec 1. doi: 10.1055/a-1663-6085. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a known risk factor for hip osteoarthritis. The gold standard for diagnostics is X-ray and MRI. The accuracy of hip joint alpha angle measurements obtained using sonography is equal to measurements in MRI for patients with cam impingement of the hip joint.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with hip pain and MRI and sonography were evaluated between January 2015 and December 2019 in a single center. Musculoskeletal sonography was performed according to the DEGUM guidelines by ultrasound-certified specialists. Measurements were repeated three times by two independent investigators.

RESULTS: 285 patients were screened, and 110 patients (49 females, 61 males) met the inclusion criteria. The mean age at time of investigation of 54 left and 56 right hip joints was 54.2 years. 1320 measurements were performed. The mean alpha angle was 50.7° in MRI and 50.4° in sonography with a mean difference of 0.28° (p>0.05).

CONCLUSION: Determining hip alpha angle using sonography is a safe and reproducible method. No statistically significant differences between results in MRI and sonography could be seen. Although this is a retrospective, single-center study including only Caucasian mid-Europeans and with the known limitations of ultrasound imaging, it nevertheless shows that sonography can be used as a simple, cheap, and fast technique to assess the hip alpha angle without losing diagnostic quality.

PMID:34852369 | DOI:10.1055/a-1663-6085

J Neurosurg. 2021 Apr 23;135(6):1789-1798. doi: 10.3171/2020.10.JNS202323.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is an established surgical option for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN), particularly for high-risk surgical candidates and those with recurrent pain. However, outcomes after three or more GKRS treatments have rarely been reported. Herein, the authors reviewed outcomes among patients who had undergone three or more GKRS procedures for recurrent TN.

METHODS: The authors conducted a multicenter retrospective analysis of patients who had undergone at least three GKRS treatments for TN between July 1997 and April 2019 at two different institutions. Clinical characteristics, radiosurgical dosimetry and technique, pain outcomes, and complications were reviewed. Pain outcomes were scored on the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) scale, including time to pain relief (BNI score ≤ III) and recurrence (BNI score > III).

RESULTS: A total of 30 patients were identified, including 16 women and 14 men. Median pain duration prior to the first GKRS treatment was 10 years. Three patients (10%) had multiple sclerosis. Time to pain relief was longer after the third treatment (p = 0.0003), whereas time to pain recurrence was similar across each of the successive treatments (p = 0.842). Complete or partial pain relief was achieved in 93.1% of patients after the third treatment. The maximum pain relief achieved after the third treatment was significantly better among patients with no prior percutaneous procedures (p = 0.0111) and patients with shorter durations of pain before initiation of GKRS therapy (p = 0.0449). New or progressive facial sensory dysfunction occurred in 29% of patients after the third GKRS treatment and was reported as bothersome in 14%. One patient developed facial twitching, while another experienced persistent lacrimation. No statistically significant predictors of adverse effects following the third treatment were found. Over a median of 39 months of follow-up, 77% of patients maintained complete or partial pain relief. Three patients underwent a fourth GKRS treatment, including one who ultimately received five treatments; all of them reported sustained pain relief at the extended follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: The authors describe the largest series to date of patients undergoing three or more GKRS treatments for refractory TN. A third treatment may produce outcomes similar to those of the first two treatments in terms of long-term pain relief, recurrence, and adverse effects.

PMID:34852325 | DOI:10.3171/2020.10.JNS202323

Neurosurg Focus. 2021 Dec;51(6):E5. doi: 10.3171/2021.9.FOCUS21420.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Surgical decompression via a posterior interlaminar approach is widely used for treating lumbar central canal stenosis (LCCS). However, this surgical approach poses a challenge for elderly patients with comorbidities. Thus, the authors tried a new surgical decompression via the unilateral intervertebral foraminal approach with local anesthesia to treat such patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of surgical decompression via the unilateral intervertebral foraminal approach with local anesthesia for patients with LCCS.

METHODS: Patients with LCCS who underwent surgical decompression, performed by a single surgeon, between January 2016 and March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. All patients received decompression via the unilateral intervertebral foraminal approach with local anesthesia. Visual analog scale (VAS) scores, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores, modified Macnab criteria, walking distance, and Schizas classification were used as outcome predictors. Additionally, a decompression evaluation method was designed for use after spinal endoscopic surgery.

RESULTS: Overall, 23 patients with a mean age of 69 years were included in this study, with a mean follow-up of 28 months. Low-back and leg pain were significantly improved after decompression surgery. Postoperative ODI scores and walking distances were statistically significantly better than before surgery. Postoperatively, the Schizas classification for all patients was improved by at least 1 grade compared with the preoperative grade. No complications occurred during the follow-up period. According to the novel decompression evaluation method, all patients had at least achieved decompression in part 123+B.

CONCLUSIONS: Surgical decompression via the unilateral intervertebral foraminal approach with local anesthesia showed promising outcomes in the treatment of elderly patients with LCCS. Additionally, a proposed postoperative decompression evaluation method can help guide surgical decompression.

PMID:34852321 | DOI:10.3171/2021.9.FOCUS21420