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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Assessing Gambling Disorder Using Semistructured Interviews or Self-Report? Evaluation of the Structured Clinical Interview for Gambling Disorder Among Swedish Gamblers

Assessment. 2023 Jan 21:10731911221147038. doi: 10.1177/10731911221147038. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Structured Clinical Interview for Gambling Disorder (SCI-GD) has the potential to bridge a diagnostic clinical gap, but psychometric evaluations have been scarce, in particular in relation to self-reported diagnostic criteria. This study analyzed existing data, including Swedish gamblers (N = 204) from treatment- and help-seeking contexts, self-help groups, and the general population, who were interviewed with the SCI-GD and completed self-report measures. The results indicated that fewer individuals fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for gambling disorder (GD) with the SCI-GD (n = 110, 54%), compared to a self-report Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:5th Edition (DSM-5) questionnaire on GD (n = 145, 71%; p < .001). Agreement between interviews and self-reported criteria was generally low (Fleiss kappa range: 0.31-0.52; r range: 0.35-0.55). A Rasch analysis showed that specific diagnostic criteria varied in difficulty, indicating a general pattern of higher item difficulty for the SCI-GD compared to self-reported DSM-5 criteria. Both the SCI-GD and the self-reported DSM-5 criteria performed well in terms of internal consistency, convergent, and discriminant validity. We conclude that the SCI-GD is a reliable and valid diagnostic tool to assess GD among individuals with various gambling behavior patterns. Further research-related and clinical implications are discussed.

PMID:36680458 | DOI:10.1177/10731911221147038

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

The Prognostic Impact of Pericardial Fluid Cytology in Malignant Pericardial Effusion

Anatol J Cardiol. 2023 Jan;27(1):41-46. doi: 10.14744/AnatolJCardiol.2022.2050.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Malignant pericardial effusion may affect almost 15 of the patients with underlying malignancies which deteriorates the prognosis. The prognostic significance of pericardial fluid cytology is under-represented in previous studies.

METHODS: A total of 73 patients with symptomatic pericardial effusion treated with pericardiocentesis were included in this retrospective analysis. Macroscopic appearance, biochemical features, and cytological findings were obtained. Patients were divided into 3 groups: (i) without malignancy, (ii) with malignancy and negative cytology, and (iii) with malignancy and positive cytology. Survival data were searched via governmental death notification system.

RESULTS: Mean age of the study group was 62 ± 15, and 54% (40) of the patients were female. On the cytological evaluation, 17 patients (23.3%) revealed positive cancer cytology, whereas 56 patients (76.7%) revealed negative cancer cytology. The median follow-up period was 840 days, and 34 patients (46.5%) died during follow-up. The survival rate of Group 3 was found to be significantly worse compared to Groups 1 and 2, no statistical difference was found between Groups 1 and 2 in terms of survival (Group 1 vs. Group 2 P =.078; Group 1 vs. Group 3 P <.001; Group 2 vs. Group 3 P =.041).

CONCLUSION: Cytological evaluation is an important step in patients with malignant pericardial effusion. Positive pericardial fluid cytology indicates a poorer prognosis.

PMID:36680446 | DOI:10.14744/AnatolJCardiol.2022.2050

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Developmental Outcomes in Children Born to Women with Possible Subclinical Rubella Exposures During Pregnancy

J Med Virol. 2023 Jan 21. doi: 10.1002/jmv.28517. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study investigated outcomes of children born to women who seroconverted to rubella immune during pregnancy. In a prior 2012-2013 study of 296 women who were rubella non-immune, 26 (8.8%) seroconverted to rubella immune during pregnancy. These same women and their now 8-9 years-old children were queried as to the children’s developmental health. After removing exclusions and those lost to follow-up, the total response rate was 115/204 (56.4%). Three sets of twins in the non-immune group increased the total to 118. The seroconversion group had more autism (12.5% versus 3.9%, P=.19), ADHD (37.5% versus 18.6%, P=.10), and any developmental disability (43.8% versus 31.4%, P=.39) but none showed a statistical difference between the two groups. Compared to Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring data, the seroconversion group had a greater prevalence of autism (OR 6.07, P=0.051, nonsignificant); and to data derived from the National Health Interview Survey, a nonsignificant higher odds of autism (OR 5.57, P=0.060), higher odds of ADHD (OR 5.65, P=0.0027) and of any developmental disability (OR 3.59, P=0.014).The non-immune group also demonstrated a statistically significant increase for both ADHD and any developmental disability, but not for autism. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:36680415 | DOI:10.1002/jmv.28517

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The accuracy of markerless motion capture combined with computer vision techniques for measuring running kinematics

Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2023 Jan 21. doi: 10.1111/sms.14319. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Markerless motion capture based on low-cost 2-D video analysis in combination with computer vision techniques has the potential to provide accurate analysis of running technique in both a research and clinical setting. However, the accuracy of markerless motion capture for assessing running kinematics compared to a gold-standard approach remains largely unexplored.

OBJECTIVE: Here we investigate the accuracy of custom-trained (DeepLabCut) and existing (OpenPose) computer vision techniques for assessing sagittal-plane hip, knee, and ankle running kinematics at speeds of 2.78 and 3.33 m∙s-1 as compared to gold-standard marker-based motion capture.

METHODS: Differences between the markerless and marker-based approaches were assessed using statistical parameter mapping and expressed as root mean squared errors (RMSEs).

RESULTS: After temporal alignment and offset removal, both DeepLabCut and OpenPose showed no significant differences with the marker-based approach at 2.78 m∙s-1 , but some significant differences remained at 3.33 m∙s-1 . At 2.78 m∙s-1 , RMSEs were 5.07, 7.91, and 5.60, and 5.92, 7.81, and 5.66 degrees for the hip, knee, and ankle for DeepLabCut and OpenPose, respectively. At 3.33 m∙s-1 , RMSEs were 7.40, 10.9, 8.01, and 4.95, 7.45, and 5.76 for the hip, knee, and ankle for DeepLabCut and OpenPose, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The differences between OpenPose and the marker-based method were in line with or smaller than reported between other kinematic analysis methods and marker-based methods, while these differences were larger for DeepLabCut. Since the accuracy differed between individuals, OpenPose may be most useful to facilitate large-scale in-field data collection and investigation of group effects rather than individual-level analyses.

PMID:36680411 | DOI:10.1111/sms.14319

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The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the oral health status of paediatric dental patients in Greece

Int J Paediatr Dent. 2023 Jan 20. doi: 10.1111/ipd.13048. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Limited evidence regarding the post-COVID dental status of paediatric patients is available, with most studies assessing only children’s oral health habits.

AIM: To evaluate the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on the oral health of paediatric dental patients in Greece.

DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study that included a questionnaire reporting on children’s oral health behavior and a clinical examination assessing dental caries and dental treatment needs using the ICDAS criteria, dmft/DMFT, and Treatment Need Index. Wilcoxon sign ranked test was used for statistical comparison of questionnaire and clinical data before, during and after the lockdown.

RESULTS: A total of 102 children with a median age of 9 years-old were recruited from current patients attending the clinic that had their last dental exam 6 months prior to the lockdown. Results from the questionnaire showed decreased brushing frequency, increased eating frequency and sugar consumption during the lockdown period (p< 0.001). Moreover, 16.5% had to visit the dentist for urgent care during the lockdown, 13.6% experienced dental pain, while 51.5% did not experience any dental emergencies. Clinical examination, after the lockdown, recorded significant increased mean dmft/DMFT scores by 0.63 units in the primary dentition (p=0.01) and 0.52 units in the permanent (p=0.002). Significantly higher treatment needs, with more carious lesions requiring extensive treatment after the lockdown were recorded (p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Covid-19 lockdown negatively affected children’s oral health behavior; caries prevalence increased while more complex dental treatments were required after the lockdown.

PMID:36680387 | DOI:10.1111/ipd.13048

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Genetic Associations between Gene Polymorphisms on 3p25 and Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Oral Dis. 2023 Jan 20. doi: 10.1111/odi.14514. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association of SYN2, PPARG, RAF1, TIMP4 and IQSEC1 polymorphisms in 3p25 with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Chinese Han population.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from 494 subjects with or without OSCC. Basic information on the subjects, clinical data, and prognoses were collected. Fifteen candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were selected and genotyped. The statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, logistic regression, survival, and functional annotation was performed.

RESULTS: IQSEC1-rs2686742 correlated with OSCC occurrence. In addition, RAF1-rs1051208, PPARG-rs10865710, PPARG-rs3856806, IQSEC1-rs2686742, PPARG-rs1175544, IQSEC1-rs9211, and IQSEC1-rs2600322 were significantly associated with the clinical characteristics of patients with OSCC. The log-rank test showed that IQSEC1-rs2600322 may play an important role in the survival of patients with OSCC. The Cox regression analysis suggested that PPARG-rs10865710, PPARG-rs7649970, IQSEC1-rs9211, IQSEC1-rs2600322, and IQSEC1-rs12487715 influenced survival outcomes. The functional annotation indicated that the transcript levels of IQSEC1 were upregulated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma tissues, whereas PPARG gene transcription was downregulated.

CONCLUSIONS: IQSEC1-rs2686742 may be closely associated with OSCC onset. Multiple SNPs in IQSEC1 and PPARG genes correlated with the clinical characteristics of OSCC, among which PPARG-rs10865710, IQSEC1-rs9211, and IQSEC1-rs2600322 were associated with cancer prognosis.

PMID:36680374 | DOI:10.1111/odi.14514

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Effect of renal function on the prognostic importance of chloride in patients with heart failure

J Investig Med. 2023 Jan 20:10815589221149186. doi: 10.1177/10815589221149186. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Hypochloremia has recently gained interest as a potential marker of outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). The exact pathophysiologic mechanism linking hypochloremia to HF is unclear but is thought to be mediated by chloride-sensitive proteins and channels located in kidneys. This analysis aimed to understand whether renal dysfunction (RD) affects the association of hypochloremia with mortality in patients with HF. Using data from a nationwide registry, 438 cases with complete data on serum chloride concentration and 1-year survival were included in the analysis. Patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of <60 mL/min/m2 at baseline were accepted as having RD. Hypochloremia was defined as a chloride concentration <96 mEq/L at baseline. For HF patients without RD at baseline, patients with hypochloremia had a significantly higher 1-year all-cause mortality than those without hypochloremia (41.6% vs 13.0%, log-rank p < 0.001) and the association remained significant after multivariate adjustment (odds ratio (OR): 2.55, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25-5.21). The evidence supporting the association was very strong in this subgroup (Bayesian Factor (BF)10: 48.25, log OR: 1.56, 95% CI: 0.69-2.43). For patients with RD at baseline, there was no statistically significant difference for 1-year mortality for patients with or without hypochloremia (36.3% vs 29.7, log-rank p = 0.35) and there was no evidence to support an association between hypochloremia and mortality (BF10: 1.18, log OR :0.66, 95% CI: -0.02 to 1.35). In patients with HF, the association between low chloride concentration and mortality is limited to those without RD at baseline.

PMID:36680353 | DOI:10.1177/10815589221149186

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Self-administered Meditation Application Intervention for Cancer Patients With Psychosocial Distress: A Pilot Study

Integr Cancer Ther. 2023 Jan-Dec;22:15347354221148710. doi: 10.1177/15347354221148710.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: We explored the use of a novel smart phone-based application (APP) for delivery and monitoring of meditation to treat mood symptoms experienced by cancer patients.

METHODS: We assessed the feasibility of using a meditation delivery and tracking APP over 2-weeks and its impact on cancer patients’ self-reported anxiety and depression. Outpatients reporting depression and/or anxiety were recruited and randomized to the APP or waitlist control group. Assessments included an expectancy scale, exit survey, mood rating before and after each meditation, and the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS-FS), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) at baseline and after 2-weeks. The primary aim was to assess feasibility; secondary aims included satisfaction with the APP, association between meditation frequency and length with self-reported symptoms, and change in symptom measures (symptoms, anxiety, depression, and sleep).

RESULTS: Our study included 35 participants (17 meditation group; 18 controls) who were primarily female (94%) with breast cancer (60%). The 61% enrollment rate and 71% adherence rate met pre-specified feasibility criteria. Most meditation group participants described the APP as “Useful” to “Very Useful” and would “Probably” or “Definitely” recommend its use. Mixed model analysis revealed a statistically significant association between meditation length (5, 10, or 15 minutes) and change in anxiety, with 15-minute sessions associated with greater reductions in anxiety. In the exit survey, more meditation group vs. control group participants reported improved focus, mood, and sleep. Study groups differed significantly by ESAS fatigue score change; the meditation group decreased a median of 1.5 pts (IQR 2.5) and the control group increased a median of 0.5 points (IQR 2). The meditation group, but not the control group, experienced statistically significant improvement in ESAS fatigue, depression, anxiety, appetite, and physical, psychological, and global distress. Change in PSQI and HADS anxiety and depression scores did not reveal any statistically significant between-group differences.

CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of a meditation APP for cancer patients. Meditation APP users reported improvement in several measures of symptom distress. Future studies should explore ways to enhance the APP’s usability and clinical benefit.

PMID:36680352 | DOI:10.1177/15347354221148710

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Participation in the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund policy by dentists in South Carolina’s safety net

J Public Health Dent. 2023 Jan 20. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12555. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act appropriated $100 billion to the Provider Relief Fund, allowing for direct payments to health care providers due to COVID-19. Few studies have evaluated participation in the Provider Relief Fund (PRF), and none have specifically looked at dental providers in the safety net.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, secondary data analysis using a quasi-experimental cohort design of South Carolina dentists who received PRF payments, comparing those who did and did not participate in the safety net. Safety net practice was operationalized as those participating in Medicaid, and whether they provided care in dental health professional shortage areas, or rural communities.

RESULTS: Of the 628 dental providers in South Carolina who received PRF payments, 34% were identified as Medicaid providers while 66% did not participate in Medicaid; we found no statistical difference between payments to Medicaid versus non-Medicaid dental providers. Of PRF payments to dental providers participating in South Carolina’s Medicaid program, we found no difference between payments to rural and urban providers but did find that practices offering services in dental care shortage areas received less than providers practicing in counties not designated as a shortage area.

CONCLUSIONS: The PRF achieved its goal of distributing financial support to providers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But without policy imperatives linked to need-based allocations or incentives for PRF recipients to serve safety net populations, we may later learn this was a missed opportunity for PRF.

PMID:36680347 | DOI:10.1111/jphd.12555

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Comparison of a Novel Thin-Walled 25-gauge Needle Push Button Blood Collection Set to a Standard 23-gauge Needle in a Cancer Patient Population

J Appl Lab Med. 2023 Jan 21:jfac129. doi: 10.1093/jalm/jfac129. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Phlebotomy can be an uncomfortable and even painful experience that increases in likelihood in patients who require frequent blood draws, such as those with cancer. The 25-gauge BD Vacutainer® UltraTouch™ Push Button Blood Collection Set has a smaller outer bore needle size and unique bevel configuration, which in theory should reduce pain associated with phlebotomy. Smaller needles typically cause less pain, however, they have a higher incidence of compromising the specimen integrity. Innovative engineering allows this particular needle to maintain a larger inner bore size similar to a standard 23-gauge needle. This study compares pain and specimen integrity between this novel device and a standard 23-gauge needle.

METHODS: Two cohorts of 190 patients each had phlebotomy performed with either needle. Pain experienced was assessed by patient surveys, rating pain from 0 (low) to 10 (high). Sample integrity was assessed by determining the hemolysis index (Abbott Architect c8000).

RESULTS: No statistically significant difference in median pain scores was observed between the 2 cohorts, P-value: 0.068. The 23-gauge cohort more frequently reported 3+ pain than the 25-gauge cohort, 14/190 vs 5/190. Pain scoring 1 and 2 was more frequent in the 25-gauge cohort, 84/190 vs 54/190. Pain scores of 0 were more frequent in the 23-gauge cohort, 122/190 vs 101/190. This stratification is statistically significant, P-value: 0.003. The 25-gauge needle showed no increase in hemolysis rates, P-value: 0.5.

CONCLUSIONS: Sample integrity was identical between both needles. The 25-gauge needle resulted in less 3+ pain, while pain scoring 1 and 2 was more frequent in the 25-gauge cohort.

PMID:36680315 | DOI:10.1093/jalm/jfac129