Tag: nevin manimala

J Prev Med Public Health. 2021 Mar;54(2):145-152. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.20.507. Epub 2021 Mar 16.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify regional differences in the high-risk drinking rate among yearly alcohol users in Korea and to identify relevant regional factors for each quintile using quantile regression.

METHODS: Data from 227 counties surveyed by the 2017 Korean Community Health Survey (KCHS) were analyzed. The analysis dataset included secondary data extracted from the Korean Statistical Information Service and data from the KCHS. To identify regional factors related to the high-risk drinking rate among yearly alcohol users, quantile regression was conducted by dividing the data into 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% quantiles, and multiple linear regression was also performed.

RESULTS: The current smoking rate, perceived stress rate, crude divorce rate, and financial independence rate, as well as one’s social network, were related to the high-risk drinking rate among yearly alcohol users. The quantile regression revealed that the perceived stress rate was related to all quantiles except for the 90% quantile, and the financial independence rate was related to the 50% to 90% quantiles. The crude divorce rate was related to the high-risk drinking rate among yearly alcohol users in all quantiles.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study suggest that local health programs for high-risk drinking are needed in areas with high local stress and high crude divorce rates.

PMID:33845535 | DOI:10.3961/jpmph.20.507

J Sleep Res. 2021 Apr 12:e13352. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13352. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Due to the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), it is recommended to use in-laboratory polysomnography (PSG) or a home sleep apnea test (HSAT) in uncomplicated adult subjects at high risk of OSA. The aims of the present study were to compare a HSAT device, a wrist worn peripheral arterial tone signal device (WatchPAT™-200 [WP]) with PSG and respiratory polygraphy (RP) in a low-risk population of OSA. A total of 47 adult subjects at low risk of OSA were simultaneously examined with the three different approaches in a single night. The sleep studies were scored independently and in a blinded fashion, then the results and the parameters (Respiratory Disturbance Index, apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] and oxygen desaturation index of 3%) were compared with several statistical analyses. The agreement between the sleep tools and correlation for the assessed parameters were analysed and compared with Bland and Altman plots and Pearson’s coefficient (WP versus PSG, r = 0.86). For the severity of OSA ranked according to PSG, the Cohen’s k was 0.60 and 0.82 for WP and RP, respectively. Specificity was higher for RP compared to WP for identifying the presence of OSA (AHIPSG cut-off ≥5 events/hr: 0.85 versus 0.73), while was quite similar in identifying patients who were more likely to be treated (AHIPSG cut-off ≥15 events/hr: 0.94 versus 0.96). Assessing the costs and the simplicity of the examination, the results of our present study demonstrate the usefulness of WP compared to PSG, especially in screening and follow-up for the ability to exclude subjects from treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (AHI <15 events/hr) in a population with a low pre-test risk of moderate-to-severe OSA.

PMID:33845515 | DOI:10.1111/jsr.13352

Clin Exp Emerg Med. 2021 Mar;8(1):30-36. doi: 10.15441/ceem.20.070. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the factors that affect successful esophageal foreign body (FB) removal using a Foley catheter and to identify methods to increase the success rate.

METHODS: In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, we included pediatric patients who presented with esophageal FB impaction that was removed using a Foley catheter in the emergency departments of tertiary care and academic hospitals. We analyzed the effect of the patients’ age, sex, and symptoms; FB type, size, and location; Foley catheter size; complications during FB removal; duration between FB ingestion and removal; operator’s years of training; sedation; success rate of FB removal; endoscopy; and patient’s posture during FB removal on the success of Foley catheter-based FB removal.

RESULTS: Of the 43 patients we enrolled, Foley catheter-based FB removal was successful in 81.4% (35/43) but failed in 18.6% (8/43) of patients; no FB-removal-related complications were reported. There was no significant association between the success rate of Foley catheter-based FB removal and any study variable. A higher number of years in training tended to increase the success rate of Foley catheter-based FB removal, although statistical significance was not achieved.

CONCLUSION: Children’s esophageal FB removal is a practical challenge in the emergency rooms, and using a Foley catheter is associated with a high success rate of the removal and low occurrence of complications. In this study, no single variable was found correlated with the success rate of Foley catheter-based esophageal FB removal in pediatric patients, which may indicate multiple variables interacting with one another to affect the success rate.

PMID:33845520 | DOI:10.15441/ceem.20.070

J Prev Med Public Health. 2021 Mar;54(2):86-95. doi: 10.3961/jpmph.20.540. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated associations between perceptions of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in workers at hospitals designated to treat COVID-19, as well as the difference in the magnitude of these associations by occupational type and previous Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) experience.

METHODS: The participants were workers at hospitals designated to treat COVID-19 who completed a questionnaire about their perceptions related to COVID-19, work experience during the previous MERS-CoV outbreak, and symptoms of PTSD ascertained by the PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Participants’ characteristics were compared using the chi-square test. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to evaluate the associations between perceptions and the prevalence of PTSD, stratified by occupational type and previous MERS-CoV experience.

RESULTS: Non-medical personnel showed stronger associations with PTSD than medical personnel according to general fear (odds ratio [OR], 6.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.92 to 23.20), shortages of supplies (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.56), and issue-specific fear (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.59). Those with prior MERS-CoV quarantine experience were more prone to PTSD than those without such experience in terms of general fear (OR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.22 to 2.37), shortages of supplies (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.40), and issue-specific fear (OR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.38).

CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, non-medical personnel tended to have higher odds of being categorized as having PTSD. Workers with prior MERS-CoV experience were more susceptible than those without such experience. These findings suggest the need for timely interventions to manage human resources for a sustainable quarantine system.

PMID:33845528 | DOI:10.3961/jpmph.20.540

Value Health Reg Issues. 2021 Apr 9;24:199-213. doi: 10.1016/j.vhri.2020.12.010. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This article explores the consequences of hospitalization expenditure on noncommunicable diseases (NCD) and its impact on out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE), catastrophic health expenditure, impoverishment, and hardship financing of households in India.

METHODS: Data on hospitalized cases of NCDs from the 3 rounds of National Sample Surveys (NSS) (2004, 2014, 2018) were used. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to investigate the socioeconomic differentials of the impact of OOPE on catastrophic health expenditure, impoverishment, and exposure to hardship financing.

RESULTS: Rural households had greater exposure to catastrophic health expenditure but urban households had higher risk of impoverishment due to OOPE. Older patients (aged ≥60 years) had the highest hospitalization rate per 100 000, including increase in average healthcare expenditure from 2004 to 2018. At 10% and 30% thresholds, 50% and 25% of the households, respectively, faced catastrophic health expenditure across all the 3 rounds. Due to OOPE on hospitaliation treatment for NCDs, about 3.8%, 7.4% and 4.8% of households fell below poverty line, and percentage shortfall in income for the population from the poverty line was 3%, 4.9% and 3%, in 2004, 2014 and 2018 respectively. Percentage of households facing hardship financing reduced from 49.2% in 2004 to 24.4% 2014 and 12.7% in 2018.

CONCLUSION: OOPE by households are still very high and hence the higher effects of CHE, impoverishment and exposure to hardship financing due to health expenditure in India. This study proposes that along with increase in budgetary allocations for healthcare, the government should develop suitable policies to expand the effectiveness of government-sponsored health insurance, such as developing a specific NCD service package to be included in the health insurance program.

PMID:33845450 | DOI:10.1016/j.vhri.2020.12.010

J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg. 2021 Apr 12. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1722968. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Spinal schwannomas are benign slow-growing tumors, and gross total resection is the gold standard of treatment. The conventional surgical approach is laminectomy, which provides a wide working area. Today minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is popular because it is associated with shorter hospital stay, less operative blood loss, minimized tissue traumas and relative postoperative pain, and, and spine surgery, avoidance of spinal instability.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: From January 2016 to December 2019, we operated on 40 patients with spinal intradural extramedullary tumor (schwannoma) with laminectomy or hemilaminectomy. Baseline medical data, including patients’ sex and age, tumor location, days of postoperative bed rest, operative time, length of hospitalization, and 1-month visual analog scale (VAS) value were collected and analyzed. Data analysis was performed using STATA/IC 13.1 statistical package (StataCorp LP, College Station, Texas, United States).

RESULTS: Hemilaminectomy was associated with faster operative time (p < 0.001), shorter postoperative time spent in bed (p < 0.001), and shorter hospitalization (p < 0.001). At 1-month follow-up, the mean VAS score was 4.6 (1.7) among the laminectomy patients and 2.5 (1.3) among the hemilaminectomy patients (p < 0.001). Postoperative complications occurred in 1 (7.7%) and 7 (25.9%) patients in the hemilaminectomy and laminectomy groups, respectively (p = 0.177).

CONCLUSIONS: Unilateral hemilaminectomy has significant advantages compared with laminectomy in spinal schwannoma surgery including shorter operative time, less time spent in bed, shorter hospitalization, and less postoperative pain.

PMID:33845505 | DOI:10.1055/s-0041-1722968

J Neurol Surg A Cent Eur Neurosurg. 2021 Apr 12. doi: 10.1055/s-0040-1721017. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The human brain can respond to and participate in music. Learning to play a musical instrument requires complex multimodal skills involving the simultaneous perception of several sensory modalities. In case of brain damage, the musician and nonmusician brains may have different capacities for reorganization and neural remapping. We aimed to investigate the effect of music on patients who had a brain tumor and/or underwent a neurosurgical procedure, comparing the recovery of those who had a musical background with those who did not.

METHODS: A literature review was performed to search for any evidence on this issue. We divided the cases into two groups: as group I consisted of the nonmusician patients, while group II consisted of musicians with a neurosurgical disease. Studies were rated from 0 (no effect) to 4 (high effect).

RESULTS: We found seven published studies as well as case reports. It was observed that the outcomes and quality of life of the musician group were better than those of the control groups or nonmusician patients in all of the investigated studies, but no statistical difference between musicians and nonmusicians was found.

CONCLUSION: Music-related structural changes in the brain may occur in musicians. However with limited number of cases, it cannot be assorted the improved recovery in musicians after neurosurgical disease or procedures by his or her enhanced plasticity. There are limited number of cases, for that reason, it cannot be assorted the improved recovery in musicians after neurosurgical disease or procedures by his or her enhanced plasticity. Professional musicians, who are making a living through their musical abilities, may also have a strong motivation to undergo stressful and enduring rehabilitation. An early restart of the musical activity in musicians with neurosurgical disease may lead to better outcomes, better quality of life, and better psychological parameters, in a shorter time than in nonmusicians.

PMID:33845506 | DOI:10.1055/s-0040-1721017

Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2021 Mar 25;205:106610. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106610. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The relationship between degree of surgical overlap and adverse postoperative outcomes remains poorly defined. This study aims to evaluate the impact of increasing duration of overlap on lumbar fusion outcomes.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: 1302 adult patients undergoing overlapping surgery during single-level, posterior-only lumbar fusion at a multi-hospital, university health system were retrospectively assessed. Amount of overlap was calculated as a percentage of total overlap time. Patients were separated into groups with the most (top 10% of patients) and least amounts of overlap (bottom 40% of patients). Using Coarsened Exact Matching, patients with the most and least amounts of overlap were matched on demographics alone, then on both demographics and attending surgeon. Univariate analysis was performed for the whole population and both matched cohorts to compare amount of overlap to risk of adverse postsurgical events. Significance for all analyses was p-value < 0.05.

RESULTS: Duration of overlap was not associated with outcomes in the whole population, demographic-matched, or surgeon-matched analyses. Before exact matching, patients with the most amount of overlap had a significantly higher CCI score (p = 0.031) and shorter length of surgery (p = 0.006). In the demographic matched cohort, patients with increased overlap had a significantly shorter length of surgery (p = 0.001) only. In the surgeon matched cohort, there were no differences in length of surgery or CCI score.

CONCLUSIONS: Duration of surgical overlap does not predict adverse outcomes following lumbar fusion. These results suggest that overlapping surgery is a safe practice within this common neurosurgical indication.

PMID:33845404 | DOI:10.1016/j.clineuro.2021.106610

J Surg Res. 2021 Apr 9;264:316-320. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.03.016. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Current thyroid hormone replacement therapy (THRT) is built on weight-based standard calculation of dose. A novel Poisson regression model, which accounts for seven clinical variables, was recently proposed to improve accuracy of THRT. We aimed to compare the accuracy of estimated THRT dose to reach euthyroid and the difference in predicted dose between the Poisson (scheme A) and the weight-based standard (scheme B) in patients following total thyroidectomy for benign disease.

METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical record of patients who underwent total or completion thyroidectomy for benign disease at a single institution between 2011 and 2019. The THRT dose was calculated using both schemes. We compared the difference between calculated THRT and prediction rates for optimal THRT dosing needed to achieve a euthyroid state between dosing schemes. Patients were evaluated for achieving euthyroid state, defined as TSH 0.45-4.5 mIU/L. We also compared dosing error rates (> 25 mcg over- and underdosing) between schemes. Prediction rates were compared by BMI tertiles to account for the effect of BMI extremes in achieving euthyroid state. The difference in predicted dose between schemes was calculated in both the total sample size and patients that met euthyroid. A measure of agreement, Kappa, was used to estimate agreement between dosing schemes.

RESULTS: A total of 406 patients underwent total thyroidectomy for benign disease, with 184 having sufficient follow up data confirming euthyroid state. Of the 184 patients, 85.9% (n = 158) were women, 81% (n = 149) were Hispanic, and 56.5% (n = 104) were obese with a median BMI of 30.8 kg/m2. Scheme A resulted in a higher, but not statistically significant, accuracy rate (A: 60.3%, n = 111 versus B: 53.8%, n = 99; P = 0.21). Overdosing errors were lower with Scheme A (A:17.9% versus B: 32.1%; P = 0.0025) and less extreme > 25 µg (A: 17.9% versus B: 26.1%; P = 0.08). A trend in improved accuracy in patients with a BMI > 35 kg/m2 was noted (A: 46.9% versus B: 34.4%; P = 0.20). Scheme A also resulted in less overdosing errors in obese patients compared to Scheme B (A: 19.2% versus 45.2%; P = 0.0006). The average difference in predicted dose between schemes was an entire dose difference, mean of 16.0 µg and 15.8 µg for the total and euthyroid samples respectively. Furthermore, for the majority of patients the predicted dose did not match between the two dosing schemes for total and euthyroid samples, 76% (n = 311) and 76% (n = 141) respectively. In patients that achieved euthyroid, agreement between dosing schemes was low to moderate (Kappa = 0.360).

CONCLUSIONS: Lower rates of overdosing were found for scheme A, particularly with obese patients. No statistically significant differences in predicted THRT dose was observed between schemes. The difference in predicted dose between schemes was on average 15 ug, correlating with an entire dose. The consideration of clinical variables other than weight (scheme A) when determining optimal THRT dosing may be of importance to prevent overdoses, with particular clinical relevance in patients with higher BMIs.

PMID:33845415 | DOI:10.1016/j.jss.2021.03.016

Am J Emerg Med. 2021 Apr 3;48:73-78. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2021.04.005. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Emergency Department (ED) patients who leave without being seen (LWBS) are associated with adverse safety and medico-legal consequences. While LWBS risk has been previously tied to demographic and acuity related factors, there is limited research examining crowding-related risk in the pediatric setting. The primary objective of this study was to determine the association between LWBS risk and crowding, using the National Emergency Department Overcrowding Score (NEDOCS) and occupancy rate as crowding metrics.

METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study on electronic health record (EHR) data from the ED of a quaternary care children’s hospital and trauma center during the 14-month study period. NEDOCS and occupancy rate were calculated for 15-min windows and matched to patient arrival time. We leveraged multiple logistic regression analyses to demonstrate the relationship between patientlevel LWBS risk and each crowding metric, controlling for characteristics drawn from the pre-arrival state. We performed a chi-squared test to determine whether a difference existed between the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves in the two models. Finally, we executed a dominance analysis using McFadden’s pseudo-R 2 to determine the relative importance of each crowding metric in the models.

RESULTS: A total of 54,890 patient encounters were studied, 1.22% of whom LWBS. The odds ratio for LWBS risk was 1.30 (95% CI 1.27-1.33) per 10-point increase in NEDOCS and 1.23 (95% CI 1.21-1.25). per 10% increase in occupancy rate. Area under the curve (AUC) was 86.9% for the NEDOCS model and 86.7% for the occupancy rate model. There was no statistically significant difference between the AUCs of the two models (p-value 0.27). Dominance analysis revealed that in each model, the most important variable studied was its respective crowding metric; NEDOCS accounted for 55.6% and occupancy rate accounted for 53.9% of predicted variance in LWBS.

CONCLUSION: Not only was ED overcrowding positively and significantly associated with individual LWBS risk, but it was the single most important factor that determined a patient’s likelihood of LWBS in the pediatric ED. Because occupancy rate and NEDOCS are available in real time, each could serve as a monitor for individual LWBS risk in the pediatric ED.

PMID:33845424 | DOI:10.1016/j.ajem.2021.04.005