Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Understanding cancer patient cohorts in virtual reality environment for better clinical decisions: a usability study

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2023 Dec 20;23(1):295. doi: 10.1186/s12911-023-02392-0.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Visualising patient genomic data in a cohort with embedding data analytics models can provide relevant and sensible patient comparisons to assist a clinician with treatment decisions. As immersive technology is actively used around the medical world, there is a rising demand for an efficient environment that can effectively display genomic data visualisations on immersive devices such as a Virtual Reality (VR) environment. The VR technology will allow clinicians, biologists, and computer scientists to explore a cohort of individual patients within the 3D environment. However, demonstrating the feasibility of the VR prototype needs domain users’ feedback for future user-centred design and a better cognitive model of human-computer interactions. There is limited research work for collecting and integrating domain knowledge into the prototype design.

OBJECTIVE: A usability study for the VR prototype–Virtual Reality to Observe Oncology data Models (VROOM) was implemented. VROOM was designed based on a preliminary study among medical users. The goals of this usability study included establishing a baseline of user experience, validating user performance measures, and identifying potential design improvements that are to be addressed to improve efficiency, functionality, and end-user satisfaction.

METHODS: The study was conducted with a group of domain users (10 males, 10 females) with portable VR devices and camera equipment. These domain users included medical users such as clinicians and genetic scientists and computing domain users such as bioinformatics and data analysts. Users were asked to complete routine tasks based on a clinical scenario. Sessions were recorded and analysed to identify potential areas for improvement to the data visual analytics projects in the VR environment. The one-hour usability study included learning VR interaction gestures, running visual analytics tool, and collecting before and after feedback. The feedback was analysed with different methods to measure effectiveness. The statistical method Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse various task performances among the different participant groups, and multiple data visualisations were created to find insights from questionnaire answers.

RESULTS: The usability study investigated the feasibility of using VR for genomic data analysis in domain users’ daily work. From the feedback, 65% of the participants, especially clinicians (75% of them), indicated that the VR prototype is potentially helpful for domain users’ daily work but needed more flexibility, such as allowing them to define their features for machine learning part, adding new patient data, and importing their datasets in a better way. We calculated the engaged time for each task and compared them among different user groups. Computing domain users spent 50% more time exploring the algorithms and datasets than medical domain users. Additionally, the medical domain users engaged in the data visual analytics parts (approximately 20%) longer than the computing domain users.

PMID:38124044 | DOI:10.1186/s12911-023-02392-0

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Comparison of LASSO and random forest models for predicting the risk of premature coronary artery disease

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2023 Dec 20;23(1):297. doi: 10.1186/s12911-023-02407-w.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: With the change of lifestyle, the occurrence of coronary artery disease presents a younger trend, increasing the medical and economic burden on the family and society. To reduce the burden caused by this disease, this study applied LASSO Logistic Regression and Random Forest to establish a risk prediction model for premature coronary artery disease(PCAD) separately and compared the predictive performance of the two models.

METHODS: The data are obtained from 1004 patients with coronary artery disease admitted to a third-class hospital in Liaoning Province from September 2019 to December 2021. The data from 797 patients were ultimately evaluated. The dataset of 797 patients was randomly divided into the training set (569 persons) and the validation set (228 persons) scale by 7:3. The risk prediction model was established and compared by LASSO Logistic and Random Forest.

RESULT: The two models in this study showed that hyperuricemia, chronic renal disease, carotid artery atherosclerosis were important predictors of premature coronary artery disease. A result of the AUC between the two models showed statistical difference (Z = 3.47, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Random Forest has better prediction performance for PCAD and is suitable for clinical practice. It can provide an objective reference for the early screening and diagnosis of premature coronary artery disease, guide clinical decision-making and promote disease prevention.

PMID:38124036 | DOI:10.1186/s12911-023-02407-w

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

A mixed methods systematic review of mental health self-care strategies for Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants

BMC Public Health. 2023 Dec 20;23(1):2544. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-17395-9.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Self-care strategies can improve mental health and wellbeing, however, the evidence on preferred strategies among Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants is unclear. This mixed methods systematic review aimed to identify and synthesise the global research on mental health self-care strategies used by these populations.

METHODS: English and Arabic language studies reporting on positive mental health self-care strategies to address symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety and depression in the target populations were identified by systematically searching eight electronic databases and grey literature. Studies were deemed eligible if they were published from 2000 onwards and included Arabic-speaking migrants, refugees or asylum seekers aged 12 years and above. A narrative synthesis of study characteristics and relevant key findings was undertaken. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (registration number CRD42021265456).

RESULTS: Fifty-nine records reporting 57 studies were identified, the majority appearing after 2019. There were 37 intervention studies that incorporated a self-care component and 20 observational studies that reported on self-generated self-care practices. Across both study types, four broad groups of mental health self-care were identified-social, psychological, religious/spiritual, and other (e.g., expressive arts and exercise). Psychological strategies were the most reported self-care practice overall and featured in all intervention studies. Religious/spiritual and social strategies were more common in the observational studies. Intervention studies in diverse settings reported statistical improvements on a range of outcome measures. Observational studies reported a range of individual and community benefits. Linguistic, cultural and religious considerations, inherent in the observational studies, were variably addressed in the individual and group interventions.

CONCLUSION: Overall, study participants experienced self-care as helpful although some encountered challenges in practicing their preferred strategies. Further research on mental health self-care strategies among Arabic-speaking refugees and migrants is needed in Western resettlement countries to guide mental health service delivery and primary healthcare initiatives for new arrivals and in transit countries.

PMID:38124024 | DOI:10.1186/s12889-023-17395-9

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Rehabilitation Practices Delivered by Physical and Occupational Therapists to Brazilian Children With Congenital Zika Syndrome: A Cross-Sectional Study

Glob Health Sci Pract. 2023 Dec 18. doi: 10.9745/GHSP-D-23-00219. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) is a health condition that has affected the development of thousands of children in Brazil. Because it is a new condition, its understanding is an ongoing process. Therefore, it is important to know the rehabilitation interventions being delivered to improve the functioning of these children. We aimed to describe the practices of physical therapists (PTs) and occupational therapists (OTs) who provide follow-up care for children with CZS in Brazil.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study included PTs and OTs who assist children with CZS in Brazil. An online questionnaire was used to verify the participants’ personal characteristics and professional work environment, as well as the rehabilitation programs they implemented in Brazil for children with CZS. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: A total of 116 professionals (79 PT and 37 OT) who work mainly in public health services (81.9%) participated in the study. Of these, 24.1% plan interventions based on reading scientific articles, 66.4% did not report using the biopsychosocial model, 52.6% do not perform any assessments before starting an intervention, 31.9% use neurodevelopmental treatment, and 22.4% use sensorimotor stimulation interventions. The majority of the interventions are delivered 1 to 2 times a week, lasting up to 1 hour.

CONCLUSIONS: Professional training and knowledge translation strategies are needed to implement evidence-based practices and improve the quality of rehabilitation programs for Brazilian children with CZS.

PMID:38123996 | DOI:10.9745/GHSP-D-23-00219

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Estimated effect of age of marriage on utilisation of India’s Integrated Child Development Service programme

J Epidemiol Community Health. 2023 Dec 11:jech-2023-221325. doi: 10.1136/jech-2023-221325. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Age of marriage among women is considered an important indicator of their readiness for familial integration and parenting. This study estimated the effect of age of marriage of young mothers (aged 15-24 years) on utilisation of various services for their children, provided under the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) programme in India.

METHODS: Data from the nationally representative 2019-2021 National Family Health Survey of India were analysed. Mothers’ age of menarche was used as an instrumental variable to isolate the effect of age of marriage on whether their children received (1) food, (2) health check-up, (3) immunisation, (4) early childhood care or preschooling or (5) weight measurement services from ICDS.

RESULTS: Nationally, 67.9% (95% CI 67.6%, 68.3%) of children received food (sample: 60 578), 61.8% (95% CI 61.4%, 62.1%) received a health check-up (sample: 60 316), 60.0% (95% CI 59.6%, 60.4%) received immunisation services (sample: 60 537), 52.0% (95% CI 51.6%, 52.4%) received early childhood care or preschooling (sample: 60 458) and 62.9% (95% CI 62.5%, 63.3%) received weight measurement services (sample: 60 278). Findings from instrumental variable analysis suggest that a 1-year increase in age of marriage could yield a 9 percentage point increase (95% CI 4%-13%; p<0.001) in utilisation of immunisation services. Although postponement of marriage positively affected utilisation of each of the other four ICDS components, these effects were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: Postponing age of marriage among young women is an effective intervention for promoting uptake of child immunisation services. Our findings support the Government of India’s 2021 Bill to raise legal age of marriage of women.

PMID:38123986 | DOI:10.1136/jech-2023-221325

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Evolving educational landscape in pathology: a comprehensive bibliometric and visual analysis including digital teaching and learning resources

J Clin Pathol. 2023 Dec 12:jcp-2023-209203. doi: 10.1136/jcp-2023-209203. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: Pathology education is a core component of medical training, and its literature is critical for refining educational modalities. We performed a cross-sectional bibliometric analysis to explore publications on pathology education, focusing on new medical education technologies.

METHODS: The analysis identified 64 pathology journals and 53 keywords. Relevant articles were collected using a web application, PaperScraper, developed to accelerate literature search. Citation data were collected from multiple sources. Descriptive statistics, with time period analysis, were performed using Microsoft Excel and visualised with Flourish Studio. Two article groups were further investigated with a bibliometric software, VOSViewer, to establish co-authorship and keyword relationships.

RESULTS: 8946 citations were retrieved from 905 selected articles. Most articles were published in the last decade (447, 49.4%). The top journals were Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (184), Human Pathology (122) and the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (117). The highest number of citations was found for Human Pathology (2120), followed by Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (2098) and American Journal of Clinical Pathology (1142). Authors with different backgrounds had the greatest number of articles and citations. 12 co-authorship, 3 keyword and 8 co-citation clusters were found for the social media/online resources group, 8 co-authorship, 4 keyword and 7 co-citation clusters for the digital pathology/virtual microscopy/mobile technologies group.

CONCLUSIONS: The analysis revealed a significant increase in publications over time. The emergence of digital teaching and learning resources played a major role in this growth. Overall, these findings underscore the transformative potential of technology in pathology education.

PMID:38123966 | DOI:10.1136/jcp-2023-209203

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Continuous non-invasive measurement of cardiac output in neonatal intensive care using regional impedance cardiography: a prospective observational study

Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed. 2023 Dec 14:fetalneonatal-2023-325941. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2023-325941. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To compare agreement between echocardiography and regional impedance cardiography (RIC)-derived cardiac output (CO), and to construct indicative normative ranges of CO for gestational age groups.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cohort observational study performed in a tertiary centre in London, UK, including neonates born between 25 and 42 weeks’ gestational age.

EXPOSURES: Neonates on the postnatal ward had 2 hours of RIC monitoring; neonates in intensive care had RIC monitoring for the first 72 hours, then weekly for 2 hours, with concomitant echocardiography measures.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: RIC was used to measure CO continuously. Statistical analyses were performed using R (V.4.2.2; R Core Team 2022). RIC-derived CO and echocardiography-derived CO were compared using Pearson’s correlations and Bland-Altman analyses. Differences in RIC-derived CO between infants born extremely, very and late preterm were assessed using analyses of variance and mixed-effects modelling.

RESULTS: 127 neonates (22 extremely, 46 very, 29 late preterm and 30 term) were included. RIC and echocardiography-measured weight-adjusted CO were correlated (r=0.62, p<0.001) with a Bland-Altman bias of -31 mL/min/kg (limits of agreement -322 to 261 mL/min/kg). The RIC-derived CO fell over 12 hours, then increased until 72 hours after birth. The 72-hour weight-adjusted mean CO was higher in extremely preterm (424±158 mL/min/kg) compared with very (325±131 mL/min/kg, p<0.001) and late preterm (237±81 mL/min/kg, p<0.001) neonates; this difference disappeared by 2-3 weeks of age.

CONCLUSIONS: RIC is valid for continuous, non-invasive CO measurement in neonates. Indicative normative CO ranges could help clinicians to make more informed haemodynamic management decisions, which should be explored in future studies.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04064177.

PMID:38123965 | DOI:10.1136/archdischild-2023-325941

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Use of Optical Coherence Tomography for Differential Diagnosis of Severity of Molar Incisor Hypomineralization (MIH)

J Dent Child (Chic). 2023 Nov 15;90(3):130-138.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To evaluate descriptively and quantitatively teeth affected by enamel hypomineralization (EH) using optical coherence microtomography (OCT). Methods: Twenty teeth were classified according to the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s molar incisor hypomineralization (MIH) index and separated into groups according to the degree of EH severity. For each tooth, scans were performed on both the affected and the non-affected areas, and their corresponding optical images were captured. Results: In the qualitative analyses, in most of the images bright lines were observed in relation to the enamel surface and a high level of photon scattering immediately below the enamel surface. This showed that the shading distribution can be identified as hypomineralized areas in which the scattering signal can be used as a diagnostic criterion. In the quantitative analyses, Tukey’s test was performed to evaluate the means of the optical attenuation coefficient, which did not present significant differences. However, considering the correlation, homogeneity and contrast analyses, a statistically significant difference was observed between the groups. The group with severe MIH showed greater homogeneity and correlation, but less contrast. Conclusion: Currently, MIH has its severity measured by essentially clinical means. OCT processing techniques reveal advances in the diagnostic imaging of MIH, showing that image texture analysis can be a promising and useful method to aid in its diagnosis.

PMID:38123930

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

The Impact of Parenting Styles on Pediatric Dental Behavior and Anxiety in the Dental Operatory

J Dent Child (Chic). 2023 Nov 15;90(3):158-163.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To understand the relationship and impact of the parenting styles of mothers on the behavior and anxiety in the dental operatory of eight- to 12-year-old children. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 50 mother-child dyads. A short version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire was used to assess parenting style, while the Modified Dental Anxiety Scale and Frankl’s Behavior Rating Scale were used to assess dental anxiety and behavior. Results: Forty-six percent of children (n=23) were male. Sixty-four percent of mothers had an authoritative parenting style, 20 percent were authoritarian and 16 percent had a permissive parenting style. A statistically significant negative relationship was observed between permissive parenting style (-0.392, P<0.005) and dental behavior, and between dental behavior and dental anxiety (-0.611, P<0.000). Regression analysis showed that parenting style had an impact of 14.5 percent on the behavior of the child in the dental operatory. Conclusion: Parenting styles, particularly permissive types, had a significant impact on a child???s dental behavior.

PMID:38123925

Categories
Nevin Manimala Statistics

Frequency of Coexistent Spinal Segment Variants: Retrospective Analysis in Asymptomatic Young Adults

AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2023 Dec 14. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A8071. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Spinal segment variants are highly prevalent and can potentially lead to incorrect spinal enumeration and, consequently, interventions or surgeries at the wrong vertebral levels. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of spinal segment variants and to study the potential association among these variants in a population without histories of spine symptoms.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive computed tomography exams of 450 young adults originally evaluated for non-spinal conditions and without a history of spinal diseases from a single institution. In addition to using descriptive statistics for reporting frequencies of spinal segment variants, the association between these variants was studied by calculating odds ratios and their 95% confidence interval. Consecutive CT exams were evaluated to determine the total number of presacral segments, presence of cervical rib, thoracolumbar transitional vertebra, iliolumbar ligament, and lumbosacral transitional vertebra.

RESULTS: The spinal segment distribution variants (an atypical number of presacral segments or an atypical distribution of thoracolumbar vertebrae), cervical rib, thoracolumbar transitional vertebra, and lumbosacral transitional vertebra were reported in 23.8%, 4.2%, 15.3%, and 26.4% of cases in our study population. The presence of a cervical rib or a thoracolumbar transitional vertebra was associated with concurrent lumbosacral transitional vertebra (OR = 3.28; 95% CI, 1.29-8.47 and 1.87; 95% CI, 1.08-3.20, respectively). The inability to visualize the iliolumbar ligament was also associated with the presence of cervical ribs (OR = 3.06; 95% CI, 1.18-7.80).

CONCLUSIONS: In a population of asymptomatic young adults, spinal segment variants are both highly prevalent with a high rate of coexistence. When a spinal segment variant (eg, transitional vertebra) is diagnosed, additional imaging might be considered for accurate spine enumeration before interventions or operations.

PMID:38123916 | DOI:10.3174/ajnr.A8071