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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Subjective patient-reported visual quality after small-incision lenticule extraction and its correlation to the objective one

Int Ophthalmol. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1007/s10792-023-02794-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to characterize the subjective visual quality and satisfaction following small-incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) and to identify its influential factors.

SETTING: Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.

DESIGN: This was a retrospective observational study.

METHODS: Patients who had simultaneous binocular SMILE for myopia and myopic astigmatism were included 6 months postoperatively, and the patient-reported outcome questionnaire was employed for the assessment of visual quality in real-life situations. Examinations with SIRIUS combined corneal topography and tomography were performed including the parameters of Strehl ratio (SR), corneal higher-order aberrations (HOAs) within 6.0-mm area, kappa angel, and thinnest corneal thickness. Decentration and effective optical zone (EOZ) were measured based on a tangential pre-post-operation difference map. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed for predictors of patient-reported visual quality.

RESULTS: Clinical data from 97 cases were analyzed retrospectively. Overall satisfaction was 96.91% (94/97). Fluctuation in vision and glare is the most frequent and dominant visual symptoms. SR value increased non-significantly compared with preoperative (P> 0.05). A statistically significant (P < 0.05) increase in total HOAs, spherical aberration, and coma was noted. SR and HOAs were not correlated with the degree of visual symptoms (P > 0.05). No objective parameter was found to be associated with patient-reported visual quality after SMILE (P> 0.05).

CONCLUSION: The high patient-reported satisfaction confirmed the ideal effect on visual quality following SMILE in real-life situations, though some objective optical performances were not satisfying. It is very tolerant toward patients’ conditions and mild deviations, and this study did not find factors affecting visual performances.

PMID:37410299 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-023-02794-z

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Comparison of the results of the modified and classical bi-medial hang-back recession in infantile esotropia

Int Ophthalmol. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1007/s10792-023-02805-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Bi-medial rectus recession, which can also be performed using a hang-back technique, is one of the surgical treatment options for infantile esotropia (IE). This study has modified the surgical approach, with outcomes compared to the traditional hang-back technique.

METHODS: The bi-medial recession was performed with a modified hang-back technique in 120 IE patients and with a traditional hang-back technique in 88 cases. Surgical outcomes were reviewed and compared retrospectively.

RESULTS: The patients in the two groups were compared in terms of surgery time, inferior oblique weakening surgery, and the presence of refractive error. The differences between pre-operative and postoperative first-month, sixth-month, and first-year degrees were statistically significant (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: This modified novel technique aims to avoid unwanted muscle movement in the horizontal and vertical axes and a gap in the middle of the recessed muscle, as seen in the traditional hang-back technique. Further, the modified technique resulted in less over- and under-correction as well as alphabetic pattern deviation.

PMID:37410297 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-023-02805-z

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Bioaccumulation of Potentially Toxic Elements in Commercially Important Food Fish Species from Lower Gangetic Stretch: Food Security and Human Health Risk Assessment

Biol Trace Elem Res. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1007/s12011-023-03743-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Ganga river is the inhabitant of more than 190 fish species and important river system of India. Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in the Gangetic riverine ecosystem are a hot environmental issue. A detailed evaluation of PTEs bioaccumulation in Gangetic fishes is required to safeguard human health. The present study investigated the bioaccumulation of PTEs (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn, and Mn) within 12 economic fish species (n = 72) collected from the lower Gangetic stretch. The mean concentrations of PTEs followed the order Zn > Cu > Mn > Ni > Se > Cr > Pb > Co ~ Li > Cd. Li and Se bioaccumulation were studied first time from Gangetic fishes. Results demonstrated that all the selected PTEs were below the maximum permissible limit recommended by reference standards except for Zn in L. catla and L. rohita. For all PTEs, the metal pollution index (MPI), hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI) were < 1, indicating that these PTEs do not pose a health risk to the public through the dietary intake of fish in this study area. All studied fish were acceptable in terms of carcinogenic risk (CR) from exposure to Cd, Cr, and Pb. Multivariate statistical analysis suggests that inter-correlated metals have similar dispersion properties and bioaccumulation homology within the body. This study provides a scientific basis for food safety assessment and continuous monitoring of PTEs in Gangetic fishes is suggested in the future to safeguard human health.

PMID:37410267 | DOI:10.1007/s12011-023-03743-8

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Predicting group benefits in joint multiple object tracking : Predicting group benefits

Atten Percept Psychophys. 2023 Jun 28. doi: 10.3758/s13414-023-02693-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In everyday life, people often work together to accomplish a joint goal. Working together is often beneficial as it can result in a higher performance compared to working alone – a so-called “group benefit”. While several factors influencing group benefits have been investigated in a range of tasks, to date, they have not been examined collectively with an integrative statistical approach such as linear modeling. To address this gap in the literature, we investigated several factors that are highly relevant for group benefits (i.e., task feedback, information about the co-actor’s actions, the similarity in the individual performances, and personality traits) and used these factors as predictors in a linear model to predict group benefits in a joint multiple object tracking (MOT) task. In the joint MOT task, pairs of participants jointly tracked the movements of target objects among distractor objects and, depending on the experiment, either received group performance feedback, individual performance feedback, information about the group member’s performed actions, or a combination of these types of information. We found that predictors collectively account for half of the variance and make non-redundant contributions towards predicting group benefits, suggesting that they independently influence group benefits. The model also accurately predicts group benefits, suggesting that it could be used to anticipate group benefits for individuals that have not yet performed a joint task together. Given that the investigated factors are relevant for other joint tasks, our model provides a first step towards developing a more general model for predicting group benefits across several shared tasks.

PMID:37410254 | DOI:10.3758/s13414-023-02693-6

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Performance and diagnostic accuracy of scoring systems in adult patients with suspected appendicitis

Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2023 Jul 6;408(1):267. doi: 10.1007/s00423-023-02991-5.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine the most accurate appendicitis scoring system and optimal cut-off points for each scoring system.

METHODS: This single-centred prospective cohort study was conducted from January-to-June 2021, involving all patients admitted on suspicion of appendicitis. All patients were scored according to the Alvarado score, Appendicitis Inflammatory Response (AIR) score, Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPASA) score and Adult Appendicitis score (AAS). The final diagnosis for each patient was recorded. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each system. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed for each scoring system, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Optimal cut-off scores were calculated using Youden’s Index.

RESULTS: A total of 245 patients were recruited with 198 (80.8%) patients underwent surgery. RIPASA score had higher sensitivity and specificity than other scoring systems without being statistically significant (sensitivity 72.7%, specificity 62.3%, optimal score 8.5, AUC 0.724), followed by the AAS (sensitivity 60.2%, specificity 75.4%, optimal score 14, AUC 0.719), AIR score (sensitivity 76.7%, specificity 52.2%, optimal score 5, AUC 0.688) and Alvarado score (sensitivity 69.9%, specificity 62.3%, optimal score 5, AUC 0.681). Multiple logistic regression revealed anorexia (p-value 0.018), right iliac fossa tenderness (p-value 0.005) and guarding (p-value 0.047) as significant clinical factors independently associated with appendicitis.

CONCLUSION: Appendicitis scoring systems have shown moderate sensitivity and specificity in our population. The RIPASA scoring system has shown to be the most sensitive, specific and easy-to-use scoring system in the Malaysian population whereas the AAS is most accurate in excluding low-risk patients.

PMID:37410251 | DOI:10.1007/s00423-023-02991-5

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Development and validation of a real-world model to predict 1-year Level 3 (severe) hypoglycaemia risk in adults with diabetes (the iNPHORM study, United States)

Diabetes Obes Metab. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1111/dom.15186. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: We aimed to develop and internally validate a real-world prognostic model for Level 3 hypoglycaemia risk compatible with outpatient care in the United States.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: iNPHORM is a 12-month, US-based panel survey. Adults (18-90 years old) with type 1 diabetes mellitus or insulin- and/or secretagogue-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited from a nationwide, probability-based internet panel. Among participants completing $$ ge $$ 1 follow-up questionnaire(s), we modelled 1-year Level 3 hypoglycaemia risk using Andersen and Gill’s Cox survival and penalized regression with multiple imputation. Candidate variables were selected for their clinical relevance and ease of capture at point-of-care.

RESULTS: In total, 986 participants [type 1 diabetes mellitus: 17%; men: 49.6%; mean age: 51 (SD: 14.3) years] were analysed. Across follow-up, 035.1 (95% CI: 32.2-38.1)% reported ≥1 Level 3 event(s), and the rate was 5.0 (95% CI: 4.1-6.0) events per person-year. Our final model showed strong discriminative validity and parsimony (optimism corrected c-statistic: 0.77). Numerous variables were selected: age; sex; body mass index; marital status; level of education; insurance coverage; race; ethnicity; food insecurity; diabetes type; glycated haemoglobin value; glycated haemoglobin variability; number, type and dose of various medications; number of SH events requiring hospital care (past year and over follow-up); type and number of comorbidities and complications; number of diabetes-related health care visits (past year); use of continuous/flash glucose monitoring; and general health status.

CONCLUSIONS: iNPHORM is the first US-based primary prognostic study on Level 3 hypoglycaemia. Future model implementation could potentiate risk-tailored strategies that reduce real-world event occurrence and overall diabetes burden.

PMID:37409569 | DOI:10.1111/dom.15186

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

China special issue on gastrointestinal tumor-radiological features of pathological complete response in mismatch repair deficient colorectal cancer after neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade: A post hoc analysis of the PICC phase II trial

Int J Cancer. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34647. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Neoadjuvant programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockade exhibits promising efficacy in patients with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC). However, discrepancies between radiological and histological findings have been reported in the PICC phase II trial (NCT03926338). Therefore, we strived to discern radiological features associated with pathological complete response (pCR) based on computed tomography (CT) images. Data were obtained from the PICC trial that included 36 tumors from 34 locally advanced dMMR CRC patients, who received neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade for 3 months. Among the 36 tumors, 28 (77.8%) tumors achieved pCR. There were no statistically significant differences in tumor longitudinal diameter, the percentage change in tumor longitudinal diameter from baseline, primary tumor sidedness, clinical stage, extramural venous invasion status, intratumoral calcification, peritumoral fat infiltration, intestinal fistula and tumor necrosis between the pCR and non-pCR tumors. Otherwise, tumors with pCR had smaller posttreatment tumor maximum thickness (median: 10 mm vs 13 mm, P = .004) and higher percentage decrease in tumor maximum thickness from baseline (52.9% vs 21.6%, P = .005) compared to non-pCR tumors. Additionally, a higher proportion of the absence of vascular sign (P = .003, odds ratio [OR] = 25.870 [95% CI, 1.357-493.110]), nodular sign (P < .001, OR = 189.000 [95% CI, 10.464-3413.803]) and extramural enhancement sign (P = .003, OR = 21.667 [2.848-164.830]) was observed in tumors with pCR. In conclusion, these CT-defined radiological features may have the potential to serve as valuable tools for clinicians in identifying patients who have achieved pCR after neoadjuvant PD-1 blockade, particularly in individuals who are willing to adopt a watch-and-wait strategy.

PMID:37409565 | DOI:10.1002/ijc.34647

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Use of probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1111/jgh.16256. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) exhibit compositional changes in their gut microbiome, which represents a potential therapeutic target. Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics are microbiome-targeted therapies that have been proposed as treatment for NAFLD. We aim to systematically review the effects of these therapies in liver-related outcomes of NAFLD patients.

METHODS: We conducted a systematic search in Embase (Ovid), Medline (Ovid), Scopus, Cochrane, and EBSCOhost from inception to August 19, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that treated NAFLD patients with prebiotics and/or probiotics. We meta-analyzed the outcomes using standardized mean difference (SMD) and assessed study heterogeneity using Cochran’s Q test and I2 statistics. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias 2 tool.

RESULTS: A total of 41 (18 probiotics, 17 synbiotics, and 6 prebiotics) RCTs were included. Pooled data demonstrated that the intervention had significantly improved liver steatosis (measured by ultrasound grading) (SMD: 4.87; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.27, 7.25), fibrosis (SMD: -0.61 kPa; 95% CI: -1.12, -0.09 kPa), and liver enzymes including alanine transaminase (SMD: -0.86 U/L; 95% CI: -1.16, -0.56 U/L), aspartate transaminase (SMD: -0.87 U/L; 95% CI: -1.22, -0.52 U/L), and gamma-glutamyl transferase (SMD: -0.77 U/L; 95% CI: -1.26, -0.29 U/L).

CONCLUSIONS: Microbiome-targeted therapies were associated with significant improvements in liver-related outcomes in NAFLD patients. Nevertheless, limitations in existing literature like heterogeneity in probiotic strains, dosage, and formulation undermine our findings. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42022354562) and supported by the Nanyang Technological University Start-up Grant and Wang Lee Wah Memorial Fund.

PMID:37409560 | DOI:10.1111/jgh.16256

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Prevalence of FH-Causing Variants and Impact on LDL-C Concentration in European, South Asian, and African Ancestry Groups of the UK Biobank

Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2023 Jul 6. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319438. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a monogenic disease that causes high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and higher risk of premature coronary heart disease. The prevalence of FH-causing variants and their association with LDL-C in non-European populations remains largely unknown. Using DNA diagnosis in a population-based cohort, we aimed to estimate the prevalence of FH across 3 major ancestry groups in the United Kingdom.

METHODS: Principal component analysis was used to distinguish genetic ancestry in UK Biobank participants. Whole exome sequencing data were analyzed to provide a genetic diagnosis of FH. LDL-C concentrations were adjusted for statin use.

RESULTS: Principal component analysis distinguished 140 439 European, 4067 South Asian, and 3906 African participants with lipid and whole exome sequencing data. There were significant differences between the 3 groups, including total and LDL-C concentrations, and prevalence and incidence of coronary heart disease. We identified 488, 18, and 15 participants of European, South Asian, and African ancestry carrying a likely pathogenic or pathogenic FH-variant. No statistical difference in the prevalence of an FH-causing variant was observed: 1 out of 288 (95% CI, 1/316-1/264) in European, 1 out of 260 (95% CI, 1/526-1/173) in African, and 1 out of 226 (95% CI, 1/419-1/155) in South Asian. Carriers of an FH-causing variant had significantly higher LDL-C concentration than noncarriers in every ancestry group. There was no difference in mean (statin-use adjusted) LDL-C concentration in FH-variant carriers depending on their ancestry background. Self-reported statin use was nonsignificantly highest in FH-variant carriers of South Asian ancestry (55.6%), followed by African (40.0%) and European (33.8%; P=0.15).

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of FH-causing variants in the UK Biobank is similar across the ancestry groups analyzed. Despite overall differences in lipid concentrations, FH-variant carriers across the 3 ancestry groups had similar LDL-C levels. In all ancestry groups, the proportion of FH-variant carriers treated with lipid-lowering therapy should be improved to reduce future risk of premature coronary heart disease.

PMID:37409534 | DOI:10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319438

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Effects of platelet-rich fibrin produced by three centrifugation protocols on bone neoformation in defects created in rat calvaria

Platelets. 2023 Dec;34(1):2228417. doi: 10.1080/09537104.2023.2228417.

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the potential of Leukocyte-platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF; fixed angle centrifugation protocol), Advanced-platelet-rich fibrin (A-PRF; low-speed fixed angle centrifugation protocol), and Horizontal-platelet-rich fibrin (H-PRF; horizontal centrifugation protocol) in bone neoformation in critical size defects (CSDs) in rat calvaria. Thirty-two rats were divided into groups: Control (C), L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF. 5 mm diameter CSDs were created in the animals’ calvaria. Defects from group Control (C) were filled with blood clots, while defects from groups L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF were filled with respective platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) membranes. L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF were prepared from animal blood collection and specific centrifugation protocols. At 14 and 30 days, calcein (CA) and alizarin (AL) injections were performed, respectively. Animals were euthanized at 35 days. Microtomographic, laser confocal microscopy, and histomorphometric analyzes were performed. Data were statistically analyzed (ANOVA, Tukey, p < .05). L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF groups showed higher values of bone volume (BV), newly formed bone area (NFBA), and precipitation of CA and AL than the C group (p < .05). The H-PRF group showed higher values of BV, number of trabeculae (Tb. N), NFBA, and higher precipitation of AL than the A-PRF and L-PRF groups (p < .05). Therefore, it can be concluded that: i) L-PRF, A-PRF, and H-PRF potentiate bone neoformation in CSDs in rat calvaria; ii) H-PRF demonstrated more biological potential for bone healing.

PMID:37409489 | DOI:10.1080/09537104.2023.2228417