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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Access Problems And Cost Concerns Of Younger Medicare Beneficiaries Exceeded Those Of Older Beneficiaries In 2019

Health Aff (Millwood). 2023 Apr;42(4):470-478. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00501.

ABSTRACT

Medicare is a primary source of health insurance coverage for several million people younger than age sixty-five who have long-term disabilities. This analysis compared measures of access to care, cost concerns, and satisfaction with care for beneficiaries younger than age sixty-five versus those ages sixty-five and older, using the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. We also compared beneficiaries in traditional Medicare with those in Medicare Advantage, given that a growing share of younger beneficiaries with disabilities are enrolled in private plans. We found that Medicare beneficiaries younger than age sixty-five reported worse access to care, more cost concerns, and lower satisfaction with care than beneficiaries ages sixty-five and older, regardless of their type of Medicare coverage. Among beneficiaries younger than age sixty-five in traditional Medicare, the share reporting cost concerns was highest among those without supplemental coverage. All of these differences were statistically significant. Addressing gaps in coverage for people with disabilities could improve experiences for this often-overlooked segment of the Medicare population.

PMID:37011311 | DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00501

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

The Cross-Sectional Study of attitudes towards risk factors of viral infections transmitted by blood-borne pathogens

Rev Esc Enferm USP. 2023 Mar 31;57:e20220097. doi: 10.1590/1980-220X-REEUSP-2022-0097en. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper was threefold: To assess risk factors of blood-borne pathogen exposure and viral infection for employees at their workplace, to spot the differences between groups of respondents without exposure and those exposed to blood-borne infections, and to identify main risk predictors.

METHOD: The Cross-Sectional Study was conducted, surveying 203 employees, at the Institute for Emergency Medical Services in Serbia, which were eligible to enter the study and surveyed by Previously Developed Questionnaire.

RESULTS: A total of 97.60% of respondents have perceived risk at their workplace, but there were low numbers of HIV, HbcAg, and Anti-HCV testing and poor percent of vaccination for hepatitis B. There were no statistically significant differences between spotted groups of respondents in their attitudes. Three variables were predictors: accidental usedneedle stick injuries (OR = 90.34; 95% CI, 8.79-928.03), contact with the blood of patientsthrough the skin (OR = 176.94; 95% CI, 24.95-1254.61), and the years of service (OR = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-1.00).

CONCLUSION: The significance of this study is that it points to a double risk, because not only health workers are endangered, but also citizens who receive first aid.

PMID:37011285 | DOI:10.1590/1980-220X-REEUSP-2022-0097en

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CATCH IT: The Effect of Bladder Ultrasound in Decreasing the Time to Collect a Clean-Catch Urine Sample in the Nontoilet-Trained Child: A Randomized Control Trial

Pediatr Emerg Care. 2023 Apr 4. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000002937. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Clean-catch urine is essential in the investigation of an unwell child but can unfortunately be difficult to obtain in nontoilet-trained children. To this end, we compared the difference in time taken to collect clean-catch urine in nontoilet-trained children via the use of point-of-care ultrasound and traditional methods.

METHODS: A single-center randomized controlled trial was conducted at an urban pediatric emergency department, recruiting 80 patients, of which 73 underwent data analyses. Participants were randomized to either the control arm, which consisted of the traditional “watch and wait” method of collecting a clean-catch sample, or to the intervention arm, which used point-of-care ultrasound to assess bladder volume and to stimulate the micturition reflex. The primary outcome measured was the mean time taken to collect a clean-catch urine sample.

RESULTS: Eighty patients (ultrasound, n = 41; standard care, n = 39) underwent randomization using a random number generator. Seven patients were removed from final analysis due to loss to follow-up for various reasons. Seventy-three patients (ultrasound, n = 37; standard care, n = 36) underwent statistical analysis. The ultrasound group had a median time to clean-catch urine of 40 minutes (interquartile range, 52) and mean time of 52 minutes (standard deviation, 42), and the control group had a median time of 55 minutes (interquartile range, 81), and mean time of 82 minutes (standard deviation, 90). This reached statistical significance (1-tail t test, P = 0.033). The baseline characteristics were similar between both groups for sex and age distribution; however, the mean ages were significantly different (2-tail t test, P = 0.049) with 8.4 months in the control group, and 12.3 months in the ultrasound group.

CONCLUSIONS: We found that there was a statistically and clinically significant reduction in mean time taken to collect clean-catch urine in nontoilet-trained children using point-of-care ultrasound compared with the traditional watch and wait method.

PMID:37011266 | DOI:10.1097/PEC.0000000000002937

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

From Images to Probabilistic Anatomical Shapes: A Deep Variational Bottleneck Approach

Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv. 2022 Sep;13432:474-484. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-16434-7_46. Epub 2022 Sep 16.

ABSTRACT

Statistical shape modeling (SSM) directly from 3D medical images is an underutilized tool for detecting pathology, diagnosing disease, and conducting population-level morphology analysis. Deep learning frameworks have increased the feasibility of adopting SSM in medical practice by reducing the expert-driven manual and computational overhead in traditional SSM workflows. However, translating such frameworks to clinical practice requires calibrated uncertainty measures as neural networks can produce over-confident predictions that cannot be trusted in sensitive clinical decision-making. Existing techniques for predicting shape with aleatoric (data-dependent) uncertainty utilize a principal component analysis (PCA) based shape representation computed in isolation of the model training. This constraint restricts the learning task to solely estimating pre-defined shape descriptors from 3D images and imposes a linear relationship between this shape representation and the output (i.e., shape) space. In this paper, we propose a principled framework based on the variational information bottleneck theory to relax these assumptions while predicting probabilistic shapes of anatomy directly from images without supervised encoding of shape descriptors. Here, the latent representation is learned in the context of the learning task, resulting in a more scalable, flexible model that better captures data non-linearity. Additionally, this model is self-regularized and generalizes better given limited training data. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed method provides an accuracy improvement and better calibrated aleatoric uncertainty estimates than state-of-the-art methods.

PMID:37011237 | PMC:PMC10063212 | DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-16434-7_46

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Predicting climate change impacts on poikilotherms using physiologically guided species abundance models

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Apr 11;120(15):e2214199120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2214199120. Epub 2023 Apr 3.

ABSTRACT

Poikilothermic animals comprise most species on Earth and are especially sensitive to changes in environmental temperatures. Species conservation in a changing climate relies upon predictions of species responses to future conditions, yet predicting species responses to climate change when temperatures exceed the bounds of observed data is fraught with challenges. We present a physiologically guided abundance (PGA) model that combines observations of species abundance and environmental conditions with laboratory-derived data on the physiological response of poikilotherms to temperature to predict species geographical distributions and abundance in response to climate change. The model incorporates uncertainty in laboratory-derived thermal response curves and provides estimates of thermal habitat suitability and extinction probability based on site-specific conditions. We show that temperature-driven changes in distributions, local extinction, and abundance of cold, cool, and warm-adapted species vary substantially when physiological information is incorporated. Notably, cold-adapted species were predicted by the PGA model to be extirpated in 61% of locations that they currently inhabit, while extirpation was never predicted by a correlative niche model. Failure to account for species-specific physiological constraints could lead to unrealistic predictions under a warming climate, including underestimates of local extirpation for cold-adapted species near the edges of their climate niche space and overoptimistic predictions of warm-adapted species.

PMID:37011195 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2214199120

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The maternal and infant outcomes in GCK-MODY complicated with pregnancy: Systemic review and meta-analysis

J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2023 Apr 3:dgad188. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgad188. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT: Challenges do exist in the management of GCK-MODY, especially during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prevalence of congenital anomaly in new-borns from GCK-MODY mothers, and the relationship between fetus genotype and the risk of congenital malformation as well as other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

DATA SOURCES: The electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane database last updated on July 16nd, 2022 were searched.

STUDY SELECTION: We included observational studies conducted in GCK-MODY complicated with pregnancy, and reporting at least one of the pregnancy outcome.

DATA EXTRACTION: We extracted data in duplicate and the risk of bias was evaluated by Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS). All the statistical analysis was performed by Cochrane Review Manager.

RESULTS: Eight studies were selected in the meta-analysis. Five were of high quality and 3 were of medium quality evaluated by NOS. A total of 257 GCK-MODY mothers and 499 offsprings were enrolled. Among them, 370 offsprings were divided into two group: GCK affected offspring (GCK+, n=238) and GCK unaffected offspring (GCK-, n=132). The percentage of congenital malformations in GCK pregnant women’s offspring was 2.4%. The risk of congenital malformations was similar between GCK+ and GCK- group (OR=0.56, 95%CI 0.07-4.51, I2=0%, P=0.59). The risk of macrosomia/LGA, neonatal hypoglycemia and combined adverse neonatal outcome was significantly lower in offsprings with GCK mutation compared with non GCK mutation carriers.

CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of congenital malformations was 2.4% in GCK pregnant women’s offsprings, and the new-borns with GCK mutation have lower birth complication than non GCK mutation carriers.

PMID:37011183 | DOI:10.1210/clinem/dgad188

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Erratum: Endotracheal Intubation Using a Flexible Intubation Endoscope As a Standardized Model for Safe Airway Management in Swine

J Vis Exp. 2023 Apr 3;(194). doi: 10.3791/6550.

ABSTRACT

An erratum was issued for: Endotracheal Intubation Using a Flexible Intubation Endoscope As a Standardized Model for Safe Airway Management in Swine. The Protocol, Representative Results, and Discussion sections were updated. In the Protocol, step 1.5 was updated from: Disinfect the skin with a disinfectant (alcoholic) before inserting a peripheral vein cannula (22 G) into an ear vein. Spray the area, wipe once, then spray again, and allow the disinfectant to dry. to: Disinfect the skin with a disinfectant (alcoholic) before inserting a peripheral vein cannula (22 G) into an ear vein. Spray the area, wipe once, then spray again, and allow the disinfectant to dry. Secure the ear cannula with a band-aid (See Table of Materials). In the Protocol, step 3.7 was updated from: While maintaining the position of the endoscope, advance the endotracheal tube until it becomes visible in the camera image. NOTE: If the endotracheal tube cannot be advanced through the glottic plane, there is a possibility that it has become caught on the arytenoid cartilage. In this case, the endotracheal tube must be withdrawn 1 cm and rotated by 90° before gently advancing again. If necessary, this maneuver can be repeated. Similar calibers of flexible intubation endoscope and endotracheal tube can minimize the risk of this issue occurring. If the endotracheal tube cannot be advanced despite this maneuver, it is likely that the subglottic narrowness-the narrowest part of the porcine larynx-cannot be passed. In this case, a smaller endotracheal tube size needs to be selected. Regular commercially available endotracheal tubes in sizes 6.5 cm or 7.0 cm ID should be able to pass the glottis as long as no anatomic abnormalities are present. to: While maintaining the position of the endoscope, advance the endotracheal tube until it becomes visible in the camera image. NOTE: If the endotracheal tube cannot be advanced through the glottic plane, there is a possibility that it has become caught on the arytenoid cartilage. In this case, the endotracheal tube must be withdrawn 1 cm and rotated by 90° before gently advancing again. If necessary, this maneuver can be repeated. Similar calibers of flexible intubation endoscope and endotracheal tube can minimize the risk of this issue occurring. If the endotracheal tube cannot be advanced despite this maneuver, it is likely that the subglottic narrowness-the narrowest part of the porcine larynx-cannot be passed. In this case, a smaller endotracheal tube size needs to be selected. Regular commercially available endotracheal tubes in sizes 6.5 cm or 7.0 cm ID should be able to pass the glottis as long as no anatomic abnormalities are present. Endotracheal tube size requirements vary depending on the piglet size and breed. In the Representative Results, the sixth paragraph was updated from: Statistical analyses were performed using commercially available software (see Table of Materials). Normal distribution was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test28. If a normal distribution was determined, group differences were analyzed using t-tests of independent samples29 or the Mann-Whitney U test30 for the non-parametric version. Data are presented as mean (± standard deviation). Correlations of ordinal-scale data were examined using Spearman’s correlation coefficient31. A significance level of p < 0.05 was assumed. to: Statistical analyses were performed using commercially available software (see Table of Materials). Normal distribution was examined using the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test28. If a normal distribution was determined, group differences were analyzed using t-tests of independent samples29 or the Mann-Whitney U test30 for the non-parametric version. Data are presented as mean (± standard deviation). Correlations of ordinal-scale data were examined using Spearman’s correlation coefficient31. A significance level of p < 0.05 was assumed. All tests were performed with exploratory intention; therefore p-values are descriptive. Nevertheless, p < 0.05 was accepted as indicative of statistical significance. In the Representative Results, the legend for figure 1 was updated from: Figure 1: Number of intubation attempts in group comparison. For the group that was intubated using a flexible intubation endoscope, every intubation attempt was successful; in the group that was conventionally intubated, it took an average of 1.4 attempts before the endotracheal tube could be placed correctly. Error bars show the standard deviation. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. to: Figure 1: Number of intubation attempts in group comparison. For the group that was intubated using a flexible intubation endoscope, every intubation attempt was successful; in the group that was conventionally intubated, it took an average of 1.4 attempts before the endotracheal tube could be placed correctly. Error bars show the standard deviation. n = 5 (for each group). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. In the Representative Results, figure 2 was updated from: Figure 2: Time until CO2 detection in group comparison. For the group that was intubated using a flexible intubation endoscope, it took significantly longer until end-tidal CO2 could be detected, depicted as mean and standard deviation. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. to: Figure 2: Time until CO2 detection in group comparison. For the group that was intubated using a flexible intubation endoscope, it took significantly longer until end-tidal CO2 could be detected, depicted as mean and standard deviation. n = 5 (for each group). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure. In the Discussion, the fifth paragraph was updated from: The increased duration had no clinical significance in this cohort. At no time was the termination criterion-a saturation of less than 93%-reached. This is shown in the results because a procedure change was unnecessary at any time. Prior adequate mask ventilation is a critical step to allow sufficient time for fiberoptic endotracheal tube placement to avoid rapid desaturation34. These results are consistent with previous studies comparing conventional intubation and endoscopically assisted intubations with inexperienced providers35. to: The increased duration had no clinical significance in this cohort. At no time was the termination criterion-a saturation of less than 93%-reached. This is shown in the results because a procedure change was unnecessary at any time. Prior adequate mask ventilation is a critical step to allow sufficient time for fiberoptic endotracheal tube placement to avoid rapid desaturation34. These results are consistent with previous studies comparing conventional intubation and endoscopically assisted intubations with inexperienced providers35. We attribute the prolonged duration of fiberoptic intubation to the fact that one must first reorient again after insertion, whereas with conventional intubation, one retains a view of the glottis. It is also important to avoid contact with the mucosa with the flexible intubation endoscope during advancement. This requires occasional corrective maneuvers. Last but not least, after successful placement, retraction of the relatively long endoscope is required, which increases the time to CO2 detection slightly.

PMID:37011175 | DOI:10.3791/6550

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Nevin Manimala Statistics

Bridging the gap: Evaluating the efficacy of racial trauma therapy training for community mental health clinicians

Psychol Trauma. 2023 Apr 3. doi: 10.1037/tra0001467. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Although there is a growing body of literature that discusses the etiology and impact of racial trauma, there are few evidence-based treatment modalities to support BIPOC individuals who have experienced race trauma. Furthermore, current clinicians are ill-equipped to navigate racial trauma symptoms in the therapy due to a dearth in training opportunities during their educational and professional careers. The current study addresses the dearth in racial trauma therapy training opportunities for clinicians through the implementation and evaluation of a training protocol based on the KNIFFLEY Racial Trauma Therapy Model (KRTTM) with community-based clinicians.

METHOD: Fifty-four clinicians who participated in the KRTTM training protocol completed a 7-item efficacy scale as well as a 17-item training satisfaction survey before and at the end of the training.

RESULTS: Results of the paired-samples t-test revealed a statistically significant change in perceived efficacy among clinicians who completed the KRTTM training. Specifically, survey scores among clinicians averaged approximately 22 (i.e., M = 22.2, SD = 4.9) at pretest and 30 (i.e., M = 29.8, SD = 3.7) at posttest, indicating a statistically significant increase in perceived efficacy, t(53), -9.9, p = .000. Further, results of the paired-samples t-test split by race indicated differences in pretest efficacy scores between White (M = 21.7, SD = 4.5) and BIPOC (M = 23.6, SD = 5.9) clinicians in this study.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results from the current study highlight that there is a need for more training on evidenced-based treatment models, to include the KRTTM intervention, to build clinicians’ capacity to provide support to BIPOC individuals who have experienced racial trauma during their lifetimes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:37011154 | DOI:10.1037/tra0001467

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Assessment of maternal posttraumatic stress disorder following childbirth: Psychometric properties of the Swedish version of City Birth Trauma Scale

Psychol Trauma. 2023 Apr 3. doi: 10.1037/tra0001465. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: City Birth Trauma Scale (City BiTS) is an instrument designed to evaluate and diagnose postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to the 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). No validated Swedish instrument exists to measure postpartum PTSD according to DSM-5. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the City BiTS (City BiTS-Swe) and to examine the latent factor structure of postpartum PTSD. The secondary aim was to report the Swedish prevalence of PTSD following childbirth.

METHOD: A total of 619 women, who had given birth at five clinics in the past 6-16 weeks, completed an online version of City BiTS-Swe and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Additionally, sociodemographic and medical data were collected. A second questionnaire was answered by 110 women to examine reliability over time.

RESULTS: The confirmatory factor analysis using the two-factor model gave best fit to the data. We found a high internal consistency (α = .89-.87) and good test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.53-0.90). Divergent reliability with EPDS showed significant correlations with satisfying results for the subscale birth-related symptoms (r = .41). We also found discriminant validity concerning mode of birth, parity, gestational age, mental illness, history of traumatic childbirth, and history of traumatic event as expected. The prevalence of PTSD was 3.8%.

CONCLUSIONS: The City BiTS-Swe is a valid and reliable instrument to assess and diagnose PTSD following childbirth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:37011151 | DOI:10.1037/tra0001465

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A population response model of ensemble perception

Psychol Rev. 2023 Apr 3. doi: 10.1037/rev0000426. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Ensemble representations have been considered as one of the strategies that the visual system adopts to cope with its limited capacity. Thus, they include various statistical summaries such as mean, variance, and distributional properties and are formed over many stages of visual processing. The present study proposes a population-coding model of ensemble perception to provide a theoretical and computational framework for these various facets of ensemble perception. The proposed model consists of a simple feature layer and a pooling layer. We assumed ensemble representations as population responses in the pooling layer and decoded various statistical properties from population responses. Our model successfully predicted averaging performance in orientation, size, color, and motion direction across different tasks. Furthermore, it predicted variance discrimination performance and the priming effects of feature distributions. Finally, it explained the well-known variance and set-size effects and has a potential for explaining the adaptation and clustering effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:37011150 | DOI:10.1037/rev0000426