Tag: pubmed

Transl Psychiatry. 2024 Jun 1;14(1):232. doi: 10.1038/s41398-024-02911-1.

ABSTRACT

The explosion and abundance of digital data could facilitate large-scale research for psychiatry and mental health. Research using so-called “real world data”-such as electronic medical/health records-can be resource-efficient, facilitate rapid hypothesis generation and testing, complement existing evidence (e.g. from trials and evidence-synthesis) and may enable a route to translate evidence into clinically effective, outcomes-driven care for patient populations that may be under-represented. However, the interpretation and processing of real-world data sources is complex because the clinically important ‘signal’ is often contained in both structured and unstructured (narrative or “free-text”) data. Techniques for extracting meaningful information (signal) from unstructured text exist and have advanced the re-use of routinely collected clinical data, but these techniques require cautious evaluation. In this paper, we survey the opportunities, risks and progress made in the use of electronic medical record (real-world) data for psychiatric research.

PMID:38824136 | DOI:10.1038/s41398-024-02911-1

Sci Rep. 2024 Jun 1;14(1):12622. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-62682-z.

ABSTRACT

South Africans are not accustomed to the dry arid climate and sweltering heat in Saudi Arabia. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to identify the common health conditions pre-Hajj, during the 5 days of Hajj and on return to South Africa from Hajj amongst the 2023 pilgrims. A QR code and a mobile link to a self-administered questionnaire was sent to all 3500 South African pilgrims. Five hundred and seventy-seven pilgrims returned the completed surveys. Mean age of the participants was 48 years (SD 12) with a higher female representation (3:2). Forty eight percent (279) had pre-existing chronic conditions. Forty five percent (259) reported being ill during their stay in the Kingdom, 20% (115) reported having an illness during the main 5 days, whilst 51% (293) reported having an illness within 7 days of returning to South Africa. Only six pilgrims were admitted to hospital after their return home. Respiratory tract linked symptoms were the most frequently reported (95% pre Hajj and 99% post Hajj). Participants who reported having a chronic condition (AOR 1.52 95% CI 1.09-2.11) and engaging in independent exercising prior to Hajj (AOR 1.52-1.07-2.10) were at an increased likelihood of developing an illness within 7 days of returning home. Post travel surveillance swabs to identify potential pathogens that the returning pilgrims are incubating should be explored to guide further interventions.

PMID:38824134 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-62682-z

J Prosthet Dent. 2024 May 31:S0022-3913(24)00352-4. doi: 10.1016/j.prosdent.2024.04.031. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: The application of highly translucent multilayered zirconia ceramic in minimally invasive esthetic dentistry allows the achievement of both esthetics and strength with minimal thickness. Clinical studies that have assessed the performance of zirconia ultrathin veneers sintered with the conventional and speed procedure are lacking.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this clinical study was to evaluate the effect of speed sintering processes on the translucency and clinical performance of zirconia laminate veneers.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four participants had their teeth restored with 32 ultratranslucent zirconia laminate veneers. Based on the zirconia sintering procedure, the participants were randomly allocated into 2 groups. The teeth were prepared by selective reduction over trial restorations. Zirconia veneers were milled from multilayer zirconia blanks and sintered either by speed sintering or conventional sintering as specified by the manufacturer’s recommendations. The intaglio surface of the veneers were airborne-particle abraded with 50-μm aluminum-oxide, and the veneers were then adhesively bonded to the teeth with translucent light-polymerizing resin cement. The modified California Dental Association (CDA)/Ryge criteria were used to assess participants at baseline and every 3 months for 12 months. The translucency and the color difference of the tooth before and after veneer restoration were evaluated. For statistical analysis, the Pearson chi squared test, independent t test, and paired t test were used (α=.05).

RESULTS: Translucency and color differences were significantly higher in the conventionally sintered group (P<.05). No restorations were lost. No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in the CDA/Ryge criteria or color parameter after follow-up intervals (P>.05). The primary qualitative changes observed at the final recall were marginal integrity and marginal discoloration. The color match and zirconia surface were rated Alfa.

CONCLUSIONS: After 1 year of follow-up, both conventional and speed sintered ultrathin zirconia laminates showed satisfactory functional, esthetic, and color stability outcomes.

PMID:38824110 | DOI:10.1016/j.prosdent.2024.04.031

J Emerg Med. 2024 Feb 17:S0736-4679(24)00027-1. doi: 10.1016/j.jemermed.2024.02.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Asthma, the most common chronic disease of childhood, can affect a child’s physical and mental health and social and emotional development.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with emergency department (ED) return visits for asthma exacerbations within 14 days of an initial visit.

METHODS: This was a retrospective review from Cerner Real-World Data for patients aged from 5 to 18 years and seen at an ED for an asthma exacerbation and discharged home at the index ED visit. Asthma visits were defined as encounters in which a patient was diagnosed with asthma and a beta agonist, anticholinergic, or systemic steroid was ordered or prescribed at that encounter. Return visits were ED visits for asthma within 14 days of an index ED visit. Data, including demographic characteristics, ED evaluation and treatment, health care utilization, and medical history, were collected. Data were analyzed via logistic regression mixed effects model.

RESULTS: A total of 80,434 index visits and 17,443 return visits met inclusion criteria. Prior ED return visits in the past year were associated with increased odds of a return visit (odds ratio [OR] 2.12; 95% CI 2.07-2.16). History of pneumonia, a concomitant diagnosis of pneumonia, and fever were associated with increased odds of a return visit (OR 1.19; 95% CI 1.10-1.29; OR 1.15; 95% CI 1.04-1.28; OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.11-1.30, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: Several variables seem to be associated with statistically significant increased odds of ED return visits. These findings indicate a potentially identifiable population of at-risk patients who may benefit from additional evaluation, planning, or education prior to discharge.

PMID:38824038 | DOI:10.1016/j.jemermed.2024.02.002

Acta Vet Scand. 2024 May 31;66(1):24. doi: 10.1186/s13028-024-00745-x.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A syndrome of acute non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema associated with hunting is prevalent in the drever breed, but etiology of this syndrome is currently unknown. Alveolar surfactant has a critical role in preventing alveolar collapse and edema formation. The aim of this study was to investigate, whether the predisposition to hunting associated pulmonary edema in drever dogs is associated with impaired biophysical properties of alveolar surfactant. Seven privately owned drever dogs with recurrent hunting associated pulmonary edema and seven healthy control dogs of other breeds were included in the study. All affected dogs underwent thorough clinical examinations including echocardiography, laryngeal evaluation, bronchoscopy, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) as well as head, neck and thoracic computed tomography imaging to rule out other cardiorespiratory diseases potentially causing the clinical signs. Alveolar surfactant was isolated from frozen, cell-free supernatants of BAL fluid and biophysical analysis of the samples was completed using a constrained sessile drop surfactometer. Statistical comparisons over consecutive compression expansion cycles were performed using repeated measures ANOVA and comparisons of single values between groups were analyzed using T-test.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups in any of the biophysical outcomes of surfactant analysis. The critical function of surfactant, reducing the surface tension to low values upon compression, was similar between healthy dogs and affected drevers.

CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of hunting associated pulmonary edema in drever dogs is not due to an underlying surfactant dysfunction.

PMID:38822358 | DOI:10.1186/s13028-024-00745-x

Cell Commun Signal. 2024 May 31;22(1):301. doi: 10.1186/s12964-024-01656-0.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Intrauterine adhesion (IUA) is one of the most severe causes of infertility in women of childbearing age with injured endometrium secondary to uterine performance. Stem cell therapy is effective in treating damaged endometrium. The current reports mainly focus on the therapeutic effects of stem cells through paracrine or transdifferentiation, respectively. This study investigates whether paracrine or transdifferentiation occurs preferentially in treating IUA.

METHODS: Human amniotic mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSCs) and transformed human endometrial stromal cells (THESCs) induced by transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β1) were co-cultured in vitro. The mRNA and protein expression levels of Fibronectin (FN), Collagen I, Cytokeratin19 (CK19), E-cadherin (E-cad) and Vimentin were detected by Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), Western blotting (WB) and Immunohistochemical staining (IHC). The Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were used to establish the IUA model. hAMSCs, hAMSCs-conditional medium (hAMSCs-CM), and GFP-labeled hAMSCs were injected into intrauterine, respectively. The fibrotic area of the endometrium was evaluated by Masson staining. The number of endometrium glands was detected by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). GFP-labeled hAMSCs were traced by immunofluorescence (IF). hAMSCs, combined with PPCNg (hAMSCs/PPCNg), were injected into the vagina, which was compared with intrauterine injection.

RESULTS: qPCR and WB revealed that FN and Collagen I levels in IUA-THESCs decreased significantly after co-culturing with hAMSCs. Moreover, CK19, E-cad, and Vimentin expressions in hAMSCs showed no significant difference after co-culture for 2 days. 6 days after co-culture, CK19, E-cad and Vimentin expressions in hAMSCs were significantly changed. Histological assays showed increased endometrial glands and a remarkable decrease in the fibrotic area in the hAMSCs and hAMSCs-CM groups. However, these changes were not statistically different between the two groups. In vivo, fluorescence imaging revealed that GFP-hAMSCs were localized in the endometrial stroma and gradually underwent apoptosis. The effect of hAMSCs by vaginal injection was comparable to that by intrauterine injection assessed by H&E staining, MASSON staining and IHC.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrated that hAMSCs promoted endometrial repair via paracrine, preferentially than transdifferentiation.

PMID:38822356 | DOI:10.1186/s12964-024-01656-0

J Ovarian Res. 2024 May 31;17(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s13048-024-01443-y.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The 2016 Patient-Oriented Strategy Encompassing IndividualizeD Oocyte Number (POSEIDON) criteria redefined the poor responders as low prognosis patients. The embryo transfer strategy for POSEIDON patients remained to be addressed. This study aimed to investigate the optimized number of embryos to transfer for unexpected low-prognosis patients (POSEIDON Group 1 and Group 2) with blastocyst transfer in their first frozen cycle.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 2970 patients who underwent frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET) between January 2018 and December 2021. Patients from POSEIDON Group 1 (N = 219) and Group 2 (N = 135) who underwent blastocyst transfer in their first FET cycles were included and divided into the elective single embryo transfer (eSET) group and the double embryo transfer (DET) group.

RESULTS: For POSEIDON Group 1, the live birth rate per embryo transfer of the DET group was slightly higher than the eSET group (52.17% vs 46.15%, OR 0.786, 95% CI 0.462-1.337, P = 0.374; adjusted OR (aOR) 0.622, 95% CI 0.340-1.140, P = 0.124), while a significant increase of 20.00% in the multiple birth rate was shown. For Group 2, higher live birth rates were observed in the DET group compared to the eSET group (38.46% vs 20.48%, OR 0.412, 95% CI 0.190-0.892, P = 0.024; aOR 0.358, 95% CI 0.155-0.828, P = 0.016). The difference in the multiple birth rate was 20.00% without statistical significance. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that age (OR 0.759, 95% CI .624-0.922, P = 0.006 and OR 0.751, 95% CI 0.605-0.932, P = 0.009) and the number of transferred embryos (OR 0.412, 95% CI 0.190-0.892, P = 0.024 and OR 0.367, 95% CI 0.161-0.840, P = 0.018) were significant variables for the live birth rate in POSEIDON Group 2.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings in the present study showed that eSET was preferred in the first frozen cycle for POSEIDON Group 1 to avoid unnecessary risks. Double embryo transfer strategy could be considered to improve the success rate for POSEIDON Group 2 with caution. Further stratification by age is needed for a more scientific discussion about the embryo transfer strategy for POSEIDON patients.

PMID:38822354 | DOI:10.1186/s13048-024-01443-y

World J Surg Oncol. 2024 Jun 1;22(1):146. doi: 10.1186/s12957-024-03428-z.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Delayed epistaxis after endoscopic transnasal pituitary tumor resection (ETPTR) is a critical complication, tending to cause aspiration or hemorrhagic shock. This study assessed clinical characteristics, risk factors, and provide treatment and prevention advice of this complication.

METHODS: This was a retrospective monocentric analysis of 862 patients who underwent ETPTR. Statistical analyses of clinical data revealed the incidence, sources and onset time of delayed epistaxis. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression were used to identify risk factors.

RESULTS: The incidence of delayed epistaxis was 2.78% (24/862), with an average onset time of 20.71 ± 7.39 days. The bleeding sources were: posterior nasal septal artery branch of sphenopalatine artery (12/24), multiple inflammatory mucosae (8/24), sphenopalatine artery trunk (3/24) and sphenoid sinus bone (1/24). Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression analysis confirmed that hypertension, nasal septum deviation, chronic rhinosinusitis and growth hormone pituitary tumor subtype were independent risk factors for delayed epistaxis. Sex, age, history of diabetes, tumor size, tumor invasion and operation time were not associated with delayed epistaxis. All patients with delayed epistaxis were successfully managed through endoscopic transnasal hemostasis without recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS: Delayed epistaxis after ETPTR tends to have specific onset periods and risk factors. Prevention of these characteristics may reduce the occurrence of delayed epistaxis. Endoscopic transnasal hemostasis is recommended as the preferred treatment for delayed epistaxis.

PMID:38822349 | DOI:10.1186/s12957-024-03428-z

Parasit Vectors. 2024 May 31;17(1):244. doi: 10.1186/s13071-024-06298-2.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Snails of the Lymnaeidae family are the intermediate hosts of Fasciola species, the causative agents of fascioliasis. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Fasciola species in lymnaeid snails and to investigate the association of geoclimatic factors and Fasciola species distribution in northwestern provinces of Iran using geographical information system (GIS) data.

METHODS: A total of 2000 lymnaeid snails were collected from 33 permanent and seasonal habitats in northwestern Iran during the period from June to November 2021. After identification by standard morphological keys, they were subjected to shedding and crushing methods. Different stages of Fasciola obtained from these snails were subjected to the ITS1 polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method for species identification. The associations of weather temperature, rainfall, humidity, evaporation, air pressure, wind speed, elevation, and land cover with the distribution of Fasciola species were investigated. Geographical and statistical analysis was performed using ArcMap and SPSS software, respectively, to determine factors related to Fasciola species distribution.

RESULTS: Of the 2000 snails collected, 19 were infected with Fasciola hepatica (0.09%), six with F. gigantica (0.03%), and 13 with other trematodes. Among geoclimatic and environmental factors, mean humidity, maximum humidity, and wind speed were significantly higher in areas where F. hepatica was more common than F. gigantica. The altitude of F. hepatica-prevalent areas was generally lower than F. gigantica areas. No significant relationship was observed between other investigated geoclimatic factors and the distribution of infected snails.

CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed the relationship of humidity and wind speed with the distribution of snails infected with F. hepatica or F. gigantica in the northwestern regions of Iran. In contrast to F. gigantica, F. hepatica was more prevalent in low-altitude areas. Further research is recommended to elucidate the relationship between geoclimatic factors and the presence of intermediate hosts of the two Fasciola species.

PMID:38822348 | DOI:10.1186/s13071-024-06298-2

Int J Equity Health. 2024 May 31;23(1):113. doi: 10.1186/s12939-024-02158-8.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Supplemental private health insurance (PHI) plays a crucial role in complementing China’s social health insurance (SHI). However, the effectiveness of incorporating PHI as supplementary coverage lacks conclusive evidence regarding its impact on healthcare utilization and seeking behavior among SHI-covered individuals. Therefore, investigating the effects of supplementary PHI on health care utilization and seeking behavior of residents covered by social health insurance is essential to provide empirical evidence for informed decision-making within the Chinese healthcare system.

METHODS: Data from the 2018 China National Health Services Survey were analyzed to compare outpatient and inpatient healthcare utilization and choices between PHI purchasers and non-purchasers across three SHI schemes: urban employee-based basic medical insurance (UEBMI), urban resident-based basic medical insurance (URBMI), and the new rural cooperative medical scheme (NRCMS). Using the Andersen Healthcare Services Utilization Behavior Model as the theoretical framework,binary logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression (MNL) models were employed to assess the impact of PHI on healthcare utilization and provider preferences.

RESULTS: Among UEBMI, URBMI, and NRCMS participants with PHI, outpatient visit rates were 17.9, 19.8, and 21.7%, and inpatient admission rates were 12.4, 9.9, and 12.9%, respectively. Participants without PHI exhibited higher rates for outpatient visits (23.6, 24.3, and 25.6%) and inpatient admissions (15.2, 12.8, and 14.5%). Binomial logistic regression analyses revealed a higher probability of outpatient visits and inpatient admissions among UEBMI participants with PHI (p < 0.05). NRCMS participants with PHI showed a lower probability of outpatient visits but a higher probability of inpatient admissions (p < 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression indicated that NRCMS participants with PHI were more likely to choose higher-level hospitals, with a 17% increase for county hospitals and 27% for provincial or higher-level hospitals compared to primary care facilities.

CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the possession of PHI correlated with increased utilization of outpatient and inpatient healthcare services among participants covered by UEBMI. Moreover, for participants under the NRCMS, the presence of PHI is linked to a proclivity for seeking outpatient care at higher-level hospitals and heightened utilization of inpatient services. These results underscore the nuanced influence of supplementary PHI on healthcare-seeking behavior, emphasizing variations across individuals covered by distinct SHI schemes.

PMID:38822330 | DOI:10.1186/s12939-024-02158-8