Tag: pubmed

J Cosmet Laser Ther. 2022 Mar 23:1-5. doi: 10.1080/14764172.2022.2055079. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

A picosecond-domain laser reportedly elicits positive treatment outcomes for acne scar and enlarged pores, but multiple sessions are often required. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of one-session fractional picosecond 1064-nm laser in treating atrophic acne scar and conspicuous pores. Fifty-nine acne scar patients with skin phototypes III and IV were treated with picosecond 1064-nm laser with microlens array (MLA) (8 mm spot, 0.8 J/cm², 10 Hz) for one session. The efficacy of acne scar was evaluated by Antera® 3D CS, whereas facial pore counts and diameter were evaluated by VISIA-CR and dermoscopic images, respectively. All measurements were performed at baseline, weeks 1, 2, 4 and 6. Acne scar volume and facial pore counts showed a statistically significant reduction at 1 week and subsequent follow-up period when compared to baseline (weeks 1-6; P < .001). The volume of acne scars and the number of enlarge pores decreased by 22.03% and 15.13%, respectively. Of note, there was no significant change in diameter of facial pores. The adverse events, including erythema and folliculitis, were mild and short-lived. A single session of picosecond 1064-nm laser with MLA was safe and effective in improving atrophic acne scar and the number of enlarged pores.

PMID:35318885 | DOI:10.1080/14764172.2022.2055079

Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova. 2022;122(3. Vyp. 2):59-62. doi: 10.17116/jnevro202212203259.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of Mexidol on the recovery of cognitive functions in patients after ischemic stroke (IS).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined 70 patients with acute IS, who were randomized into 2 groups by random sampling; The 1st group consisted of patients who, against the background of the main standard therapy for 14 days, received Mexidol intravenously, 500 mg 1 time per day, followed by oral administration of Mexidol FORTE 250, 750 mg per day for 60 days (40 patients; 28 men, 12 women). Group 2 consisted of 30 patients (21 men, 9 women) who received only standard therapy.

RESULTS: Baseline scores on the MoCA and MMSE scales did not differ between the two groups. Retesting showed that the improvement on these scales was statistically more significant in the 1st group. The analysis of indicators of the evoked potential P300 confirmed a more pronounced positive trend in the 1st group (p<0.01).

CONCLUSION: The use of sequential therapy with Mexidol is accompanied by a more complete recovery of cognitive functions in patients who have undergone IS.

PMID:35318844 | DOI:10.17116/jnevro202212203259

Ann Med. 2022 Dec;54(1):858-866. doi: 10.1080/07853890.2022.2048884.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to analyse hospital costs and length of stay of patients admitted to psychiatric units in hospitals in a European region of the Mediterranean Arc. The aim is to identify the effects of comorbidities and other variables in order to create an explanatory cost model.

METHODS: In order to carry out the study, the Ministry of Health was asked to provide data on access to the mental health facilities of all hospitals in the region. Among other questions, this database identifies the most important diagnostic variables related to admission, like comorbidities, age and gender. The method used, based on the Manning-Mullahy algorithm, was linear regression. The results were measured by the statistical significance of the independent variables to determine which of them were valid to explain the cost of hospitalization.

RESULTS: Psychiatric inpatients can be divided into three main groups (psychotic, organic and neurotic), which have statistically significant differences in costs. The independent variables that were statistically significant (p <.05) and their respective beta and confidence intervals were: psychotic group (19,833.0 ± 317.3), organic group (9,878.4 ± 276.6), neurotic group (11,060.1 ± 287.6), circulatory system diseases (19,170 ± 517.6), injuries and poisoning (21,101.6 ± 738.7), substance abuse (20,580.6 ± 514, 6) and readmission (19,150.9 ± 555.4).

CONCLUSIONS: Unlike most health services, access to psychiatric facilities does not correlate with comorbidities due to the specific nature of this specialization. Patients admitted to psychosis had higher costs and a higher number of average staysKEY MESSAGESThe highest average hospital expenditure occurred in patients admitted for psychotic disorders.Due to the particularities of psychiatry units and unlike other medical specialties, the number of comorbidities did not influence the number of hospital stays or hospital expenditure.Apart from the main diagnostic group, the variables that were useful to explain hospital expenditure were the presence of poisoning and injuries as comorbidity, diseases of circulatory system as comorbidity, history of substance abuse and readmission.

PMID:35318876 | DOI:10.1080/07853890.2022.2048884

Geospat Health. 2022 Mar 22;17(s1). doi: 10.4081/gh.2022.1070.

ABSTRACT

After a two-year pandemic, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is still a serious public health problem and economic stability worldwide, particularly in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The objective of this study was to identify the wave periods, provide an accurate space-time forecast of COVID-19 disease and its relationship to vaccination rates. We combined a hierarchical Bayesian pure spatiotemporal model and locally weighted scatterplot smoothing techniques to identify the wave periods and to provide weekly COVID-19 forecasts for the period 15 December 2021 to 5 January 2022 and to identify the relationship between the COVID-19 risk and the vaccination rate. We discovered that each ASIAN country had a unique COVID-19 time wave and duration. Additionally, we discovered that the number of COVID-19 cases was quite low and that no weekly hotspots were identified during the study period. The vaccination rate showed a nonlinear relationship with the COVID-19 risk, with a different temporal pattern for each ASEAN country. We reached the conclusion that vaccination, in comparison to other interventions, has a large influence over a longer time span.

PMID:35318835 | DOI:10.4081/gh.2022.1070

Cancer Med. 2022 Mar 22. doi: 10.1002/cam4.4671. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Accumulating evidence indicates that alterations of gut microbiota are associated with colorectal cancer (CRC). Therefore, the use of gut microbiota for the diagnosis of CRC has received attention. Recently, several studies have been conducted to detect the differences in the gut microbiota between healthy individuals and CRC patients using machine learning-based gut bacterial DNA meta-sequencing analysis, and to use this information for the development of CRC diagnostic model. However, to date, most studies had small sample sizes and/or only cross-validated using the training dataset that was used to create the diagnostic model, rather than validated using an independent test dataset. Since machine learning-based diagnostic models cause overfitting if the sample size is small and/or an independent test dataset is not used for validation, the reliability of these diagnostic models needs to be interpreted with caution. To circumvent these problems, here we have established a new machine learning-based CRC diagnostic model using the gut microbiota as an indicator. Validation using independent test datasets showed that the true positive rate of our CRC diagnostic model increased substantially as CRC progressed from Stage I to more than 60% for CRC patients more advanced than Stage II when the false positive rate was set around 8%. Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference in the true positive rate between samples collected in different cities or in any part of the colorectum. These results reveal the possibility of the practical application of gut microbiota-based CRC screening tests.

PMID:35318827 | DOI:10.1002/cam4.4671

Matern Child Nutr. 2022 Mar 22:e13352. doi: 10.1111/mcn.13352. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

There is limited information on the feeding practices of 9.42 million children living within institution-based care (IBC) worldwide. Poor feeding practices can predispose or exacerbate malnutrition, illness and disability. Here we describe the feeding practices of children living within IBC based on a retrospective analysis of records from 3335 children, 0-18 years old, participating in Holt International’s Child Nutrition Program (CNP), from 36 sites in six countries. Data analysed included demographic information on age, sex, feeding practices, disabilities and feeding difficulties. Descriptive statistics were produced. A generalised linear model explored associations between feeding difficulties and disability and 2 × 2 tables examined feeding difficulties over time. An additional set of feeding observations with qualitative and quantitative data was analysed. At baseline, the median age of children was 16 months (0.66-68 months) with 1650/3335 (49.5%) females. There were 757/3335 (22.7%) children with disabilities; 550/984 (55.9%) were low birth weight; 311/784 (39.7%) were premature; 447/3113 (14.4%) had low body mass index and 378/3335 (11.3%) had feeding difficulties. The adjusted risk of having a feeding difficulty was 5.08 ([95% confidence interval: 2.65-9.7], p ≤ 0.001) times greater in children with disabilities than those without. Many children saw their feeding difficulties resolve after 1-year in CNP, 54/163 (33.1%) for children with disabilities and 57/106 (53.8%) for those without disabilities. Suboptimal hygiene, dietary and feeding practices were reported. In conclusion, feeding difficulties were common in IBC, especially among children with disabilities. Supporting safe interactive mealtimes for children living within IBC should be prioritised, to ensure overall health and development.

PMID:35318809 | DOI:10.1111/mcn.13352

Neuropsychopharmacol Rep. 2022 Mar 22. doi: 10.1002/npr2.12247. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Understanding how local “psychiatry clinic” characteristics shape research findings is essential for applying research into evolution, outcomes, and costs of mental health. However, a paucity of “psychiatry clinics” details has implications for the interpretation and utilization of this research.

METHODS: We reviewed data of 746 patients with new-onset schizophrenia on antipsychotic monotherapy seen over four years in an “adult psychiatry clinic” at Jazan Health, Saudi Arabia. Protocol-driven interviews and investigations were recorded prospectively and extracted from the medical records for the study. Summary statistics and logistic regression analyses were applied to assess patients’ characteristics and outcomes.

RESULTS: The median patient age was 32 (IQR 27-39) years. Of patients, 589 (79.0%) were male, and 679 (91.0%) had a low-level education. The median follow-up duration was 51.4 (IQR 27.4-96.3) weeks. The most used initial antipsychotic drugs were olanzapine (48.8%), haloperidol (13.9%), and aripiprazole (11.3%). The numbers of patients who retained the initial drug at 24 and 52 weeks were 539 (72.3%) and 325 (43.6%), respectively. The initial drug was changed in 246 (33.0%) patients. The median time to initial drug change was 43.9 (IQR 14.8-85.0) weeks. The logistic regression demonstrated that male sex (P < 0.004), young adult age group (P < 0.027), predominant positive symptoms (P < 0.021), treatment with haloperidol (P < 0.024), and khat use (P < 0.006) were significant factors for drug change.

CONCLUSIONS: This clinical records study demonstrated substantial individual variations in characteristics and in responding to initial antipsychotic medication. Insight into these findings will facilitate the planning for comprehensive research programs.

PMID:35318823 | DOI:10.1002/npr2.12247

Int Wound J. 2022 Mar 23. doi: 10.1111/iwj.13785. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Virtual reality (VR) technology has been widely used in clinical nursing care in recent years. We aimed to systematically evaluate the effect and safety of VR technology on pain control in wound care, to provide evidence and support for clinical wound care. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL, China Biomedical Literature Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and Chinese Science and Technology Journal databases for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) on the application of VR technology in wound care up to December 20, 2021. Two researchers independently assessed the quality of the included RCTs and extracted associated data. RevMan5.3 statistical software was used for data analysis. 13 RCTs involving 1258 adult patients were included, of whom 588 patients underwent VR intervention. VR technology intervention could reduce the VAS score(MD = -1.13, 95%CI:-2.01~-0.26, P < .001), pain cognition score(MD = -3.94, 95%CI:-4.59 ~ -3.30, P < .001), pain emotion score(MD = -5.21, 95%CI: -10.46 ~ -0.04, P < .001), pain sensation score (MD = -4.94, 95%CI: -9.46 ~ -0.42, P = .03) and blood pressure(MD = -4.66, 95%CI: -8.63 ~ -0.69, P = .02) during would care. There were no significant differences on the heart rate (MD = -1.85, 95%CI: -5.71 ~ -2.01, P = .45) and VR interestingness (MD = 28.96, 95%CI: -22.10 ~ 80.02, P = .27) of the VR group and control group. No publication biases among the synthesised outcomes were found (all P > .001). VR technology can effectively reduce the pain degree and sensation of patients during wound care, which may be an effective auxiliary non-drug method used for pain relief during wound care.

PMID:35318806 | DOI:10.1111/iwj.13785

Int J Urol. 2022 Mar 22. doi: 10.1111/iju.14871. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the quality information on testicular cancer uploaded on YouTube™ videos.

METHODS: YouTube™ videos were searched using “Testicular cancer” as a keyword. The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool, the Misinformation scale, and the DISCERN tool were used to assess the quality information of YouTube™ videos on testicular cancer.

RESULTS: According to the selection criteria, 121 YouTube™ videos were collected for the analysis and stratified according to uploading year (2009-2014 vs 2015-2020). According to the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for audio-visual content, the overall Understandability score was 60% (interquartile range 45.5-75) and the overall Actionability score was 100% (interquartile range 66.7-100). According to the Misinformation scale, the lowest median was recorded for item 6 (“Effects on fertility”) and the overall median Misinformation score was 2 (interquartile range 1.3-2.8). No statistically significant differences were observed according to uploading year (all P > 0.05). Of all, only 54 (44.6%) videos mentioning treatment were subsequently analyzed. Of these videos, the overall Understandability was 71.4% (interquartile range 56.3-84.6) and the overall Actionability was 100% (interquartile range 66.7-100). The overall Misinformation score was 2.8 (interquartile range 2.2-3.5). The median DISCERN score recorded for question 16 was 5 (interquartile range 3-5).

CONCLUSIONS: YouTube™ is a fast and open-access source for mass information. The overall quality of the testicular cancer contents provided is sadly unsatisfactory, in the present likewise in the past. However, YouTube™ videos mentioning treatment options showed higher quality content, than the remaining one. Nevertheless, all the videos analyzed underestimated the testicular cancer effects on fertility. Nowadays, YouTube™ cannot be recommended as a reliable source of information on testicular cancer.

PMID:35318754 | DOI:10.1111/iju.14871

J Clin Lab Anal. 2022 Mar 22:e24356. doi: 10.1002/jcla.24356. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The aspartate transaminase (AST)-to-alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio, which is used to measure liver injury, has been found to be associated with some chronic diseases and mortality. However, its relevance to cancer incidence resulting from population-based prospective studies has rarely been reported. In this study, we investigated the correlation of the AST/ALT ratio as a possible predictor of mortality and cancer incidence.

METHODS: A total of 9,946 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria for a basic public health service project of the Health Checkup Program conducted by the BaiYun Community Health Service Center, Taizhou. Deceased participants and cancer incident cases were from The Taizhou Chronic Disease Information Management System. Odds ratios (ORs) and interval of quartile range (IQR) computed by logistic regression analysis and cumulative incidence rate were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier survival method and compared with log-rank test statistics.

RESULTS: Serum ALT and AST levels were both increased in patients with chronic diseases, but the ratio of AST/ALT was generally decreased. The cancer incident cases (488 new cases) had a greater baseline ratio (median =1.23, IQR: 0.96-1.54) than noncancer cases (median =1.15, IQR: 0.91-1.44). Compared to the first quartile of the AST/ALT ratio, the population in the top quartile had a higher cumulative cancer incidence rate (7.54% vs. 4.44%) during follow-up period. Furthermore, an elevated AST/ALT ratio increased the risk of all-cause mortality.

CONCLUSIONS: The ratio of AST/ALT is a potential biomarker to assess healthy conditions and long-term mortality. Especially for cancer, the AST/ALT ratio not only increases at baseline but also predicts the future development of cancer. The clinical value and potential mechanism deserve further research.

PMID:35318741 | DOI:10.1002/jcla.24356