Tag: pubmed

J Korean Med Sci. 2021 Dec 20;36(49):e339. doi: 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e339.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting people at any age and there is limited information about the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of life (QoL) in adolescents with asthma. In the present study, it was aimed to assess the attitudes of adolescents with asthma toward the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the effects of the pandemic on their QoL.

METHODS: In total, 125 adolescents with asthma and 98 healthy adolescents participated in the present study. The questionnaire form consisted of three parts. In the first part, all the participants were asked whether they complied with the protective measures against COVID-19. The second part included questions for measuring the participants’ level of concern about COVID-19, while the third part consisted of EUROHIS-QOL 8.

RESULTS: The patient and control groups were similar in terms of the female/male ratio (55/70 and 48/50, respectively) and mean participant age (14.6 ± 2 and 15.1 ± 1.65 years, respectively) (P = 0.459 and P = 0.062, respectively). The prevalence of COVID-19 in the patients (n = 2, 1.6%) was lower than that in the controls (n = 6, 6.1%); however, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.142). The total EUROHIS-QOL score was significantly lower in the patients (31.2 ± 6.7) than in the controls (33.7 ± 4.4) (P < 0.001). The total QoL scores of asthmatic adolescents without other allergic disease (31.4 ± 6.7) was also lower than those of the controls (33.7 ± 4.4) (P = 0.009). Treatment disruption was significantly more common in patients who received subcutaneous immunotherapy (n = 20, 48.8%) than in those who did not (n = 8, 9.5%) (P < 0.001). Moreover, the patients had lower EUROHIS-QOL scores in the overall QoL, general health, finance, and home domains.

CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that the mean QoL score of asthmatic adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic is lower than in the healthy population. Disruption in their treatment was most common in patients with asthma who were receiving subcutaneous immunotherapy.

PMID:34931499 | DOI:10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e339

J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2021 Nov 28:S1748-6815(21)00609-4. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.062. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Many Oriental eyes feature single eyelid fold and ptotic eyelid. Performing the double eyelid blepharoplasty (DEB) in a minimally invasive manner with simultaneous blepharoptosis correction (BPC) is important to achieve an aesthetic pleasing outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate an effective mini-invasive transcutaneous and transconjunctival dual approach technique for simultaneous DEB and BPC. Furthermore, to compare the outcome of BPC in dual approach, transcutaneous procedure and transconjunctival procedure.

METHODS: This is a retrospective study reviewing 159 eyelids that underwent mini-invasive DEB with BPC from November 2018 to May 2019, including the technical description and the surgical outcomes. To investigate the efficacy, the pre- and postoperative margin reflex distance 1 (MRD1) and levator function (LF) corresponding to the different surgical procedures and preoperative severity was analyzed.

RESULTS: Statistically, the dual approach group has significant improvement in MRD1 and LF (47 eyelids, p<0.05) corresponding to patients with ptosis of any severity. Under the same tucking amount, dual approach can achieve 1.6±0.7 mm of MRD1 improvement, which is nearly twice the amount compare with transconjunctival approach alone. No revision nor complication noted in the dual approach group by 6-month follow-up.

CONCLUSION: The dual approach technique is a method with a wide range of applications, effective, and low revision rate that simultaneously correct blepharoptosis and create a double eyelid.

PMID:34930703 | DOI:10.1016/j.bjps.2021.11.062

Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2021 Oct 22:S2212-4403(21)00689-1. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2021.10.010. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Some experts have suggested that burning mouth syndrome (BMS) should be included in the family of central sensitivity syndromes, a group of similar medical disorders linked by the central sensitization (CS) mechanism. Our objective is to assess the presence of CS in patients with BMS by performing a clinical examination and administering questionnaires to measure the generalized extent of pain, the presence of associated symptoms, and the number of other concurrent chronic pain conditions.

STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a case-control study in 82 subjects (40 patients with BMS and 42 controls). Patients with BMS were diagnosed using The International Classification of Headache Disorders 3rd edition, beta version (ICHD-IIIβ) criteria. The Widespread Pain Index (WPI) and Symptom Severity (SS) Score questionnaires were used to determine the degree of central sensitivity. The number of other concurrent chronic pain conditions was determined with the Neblett inventory.

RESULTS: Data indicative of CS show a statistically significant association with BMS. Both SS Score and Widespread Pain Index scores higher in patients with BMS. Additionally, patients with BMS reported a significantly higher number of other central sensitivity syndromes.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with BMS could present a CS component as well as other chronic pain conditions. The use of questionnaires may be useful to determine the degree of central sensitivity in patients with BMS.

PMID:34930705 | DOI:10.1016/j.oooo.2021.10.010

Prim Care Diabetes. 2021 Dec 17:S1751-9918(21)00225-4. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2021.12.009. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIMS: To evaluate the short-term effect of lifestyle intervention in people with prediabetes.

METHODS: A stratified multistage sampling method was used in the recruitment of residents of the Jiangsu Province, China in 2017, who had no previous diagnosis of diabetes. Physical examination and laboratory tests were performed, and questionnaires were completed. Those with a prediabetes diagnosis at baseline were included in the cohort and participants were randomized to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received a lifestyle intervention strategy, which included exercise, diet and peer educations. The control group received general health education. Participants were followed up in 2018.

RESULTS: A total of 2005 individuals were included in the analysis. At follow-up, there were 516 (36.7%) individuals in the intervention group and 207 (34.5%) individuals in the control group with normal blood glucose levels. The decline in waist circumference and fasting plasma glucose levels was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group. This was still observed after adjusting for variables (odds ratio 1.32, P = 0.02). Females or younger individuals who had lower body mass index and plasma glucose levels at baseline were more likely to reverse to normoglycemia at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: Compared with a strategy of general health education, a lifestyle intervention strategy could reverse glucose levels to normoglycemia in individuals with prediabetes.

PMID:34930688 | DOI:10.1016/j.pcd.2021.12.009

J Am Pharm Assoc (2003). 2021 Dec 2:S1544-3191(21)00495-7. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2021.11.034. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Expanding reproductive health services in community pharmacies is a promising strategy for reaching underserved communities. Limited information exists on women’s attitudes to receive these services and if interest may differ in urban and rural locations.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine whether there were differences by rural location in women’s perspectives and willingness to receive essential preventative and diagnostic reproductive health services in community pharmacies.

METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional national survey of women in November 2020. The survey consisted of demographic data, women’s experiences receiving essential preventative health services, and questions regarding perspectives on and interest in receiving these services in community pharmacies. Descriptive statistics assessed differences in survey responses between rural and urban communities.

RESULTS: Our sample size consisted of 867 women. We received 544 responses for a response rate of 62.7%. Rural women were as likely as their urban counterparts to delay receiving preventative care owing to concerns about insurance or how they would pay for services (P = 0.45). Rural women were less likely than urban women to have received the human papillomavirus vaccine (P = 0.02) or have had regular cervical cancer screenings (P = 0.04). Overall, both rural and urban women want to receive preventative reproductive health services in community pharmacies.

CONCLUSION: Expanded access to reproductive health services in community pharmacies has the potential to improve access and health screening, particularly in underserved rural areas.

PMID:34930682 | DOI:10.1016/j.japh.2021.11.034

Prim Care Diabetes. 2021 Dec 17:S1751-9918(21)00223-0. doi: 10.1016/j.pcd.2021.12.007. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To compare the contribution of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) with that of DPP4i or GLP-1ra toward lower extremity amputation rate.

METHODS: Electronic databases were searched for articles published on the differences between the rates of lower extremity amputation among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undergoing SGLT2i treatment and those undergoing other anti-hyperglycemic agent (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors [DPP4is], glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist [GLP-1as], or sulfonylurea [SUs]) treatments. Random-effect models were used to generate data if heterogeneity was detected.

RESULTS: Eight studies based on retrospective case-control designs with propensity matching were included. The propensity score-matching method increased credibility. Compared with SGLT2i treatment, DPP4i or GLP-1a treatment tended to result in a higher amputation rate (pooled hazard ratio [HR] = 1.1, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.98-1.23), whereas SU treatment resulted in similar amputation rates (pooled HR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.74-1.13). After excluding the heterogeneous study, the meta-analysis of the remaining studies attained a statistical value (pooled HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.65-1.01).

CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that, with respect to diabetic foot-related limb amputations, SGLT2is are not superior to novel anti-hyperglycemic agents (DPP4is and GLP-1as) or other types of oral hypoglycemic agents (SUs). Therefore, SGLT2is may not have significantly positive effects on the prognosis for T2DM patients with complicated diabetic foot.

PMID:34930687 | DOI:10.1016/j.pcd.2021.12.007

Reprod Biomed Online. 2021 Nov 10:S1472-6483(21)00545-9. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.10.023. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

RESEARCH QUESTION: Can (mosaic) aneuploidy be reliably detected in preimplantation embryos after multiple displacement amplification and single nucleotide polymorphism detection, independent of haplotyping and copy number detection, with a new method ‘analysis of parental contribution for aneuploidy detection’ or ‘APCAD’?

DESIGN: This method is based on the maternal contribution, a parameter that reflects the proportion of DNA that is of maternal origin for a given chromosome or chromosome segment. A maternal contribution deviating from 50% for autosomes is strongly indicative of a (mosaic) chromosomal anomaly. The method was optimized using cell mixtures with varying ratios of euploid and aneuploid (47,XY,+21) lymphocytes. Next, the maternal contribution was retrospectively measured for all chromosomes from 349 Karyomapping samples.

RESULTS: Retrospective analysis showed a skewed maternal contribution (<36.4 or >63.6%) in 57 out of 59 autosome meiotic trisomies and all autosome monosomies (n = 57), with values close to theoretical expectation. Thirty-two out of 7436 chromosomes, for which no anomalies had been observed with Karyomapping, showed a similarly skewed maternal contribution.

CONCLUSIONS: APCAD was used to measure the maternal contribution, which is an intuitive parameter independent of copy number detection. This method is useful for detecting copy number neutral anomalies and can confirm diagnosis of (mosaic) aneuploidy detected based on copy number. Mosaic and complete aneuploidy can be distinguished and the parent of origin for (mosaic) chromosome anomalies can be determined. Because of these benefits, the APCAD method has the potential to improve aneuploidy detection carried out by comprehensive preimplantation genetic testing methods.

PMID:34930679 | DOI:10.1016/j.rbmo.2021.10.023

Auris Nasus Larynx. 2021 Dec 17:S0385-8146(21)00278-9. doi: 10.1016/j.anl.2021.12.002. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Orthostatic dizziness/vertigo (ODV) is a common symptom and is believed to occur due to the cerebral hypoperfusion caused by orthostatic hypotension (OH). However, the detailed mechanism underlying ODV onset is poorly understood. The vertebral artery (VA) mainly supplies blood to the central vestibular system; therefore, the orthostatic decrease of VA blood flow could possibly lead to ODV. This study investigated the orthostatic blood pressure and VA hemodynamics in ODV patients to elucidate the hemodynamic mechanism underlying ODV onset. Furthermore, the influence of orthostatic hypotension (OH) on VA hemodynamics was examined because OH is probably the most common cause of ODV.

METHODS: This study included 181 patients with ODV and 73 control patients without ODV. All subjects underwent an active standing test to measure the extracranial Doppler (ECD) sonography spectrum of the VA and blood pressure (BP). VA blood flow velocity and BP were simultaneously measured for each patient in the supine static position and then in the upright standing positions following 3 min of standing. We investigated the orthostatic change in the average of flow velocity in bilateral VAs (VAFV) and BP for ODV patients compared with the control patients.

RESULT: VAFV in ODV patients was significantly reduced when standing up compared with the control patients. In the ODV patients, there was no difference in orthostatic decrease in VAFV between patients those with OH and without OH. However, the VAFV in the standing position was significantly lower in patients with OH than without OH. In cases with OH, the ODV patients exhibited a greater decrease in VAFV compared with the control patients, but this was not statistically significant. In the absence of OH, a significantly greater orthostatic decrease in VAFV was observed in ODV patients compared with the controls.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the orthostatic decrease of VA blood flow is deeply involved in the hemodynamic mechanism underlying ODV onset and is possibly associated with OH and other etiologies.

PMID:34930632 | DOI:10.1016/j.anl.2021.12.002

Burns. 2021 Nov 25:S0305-4179(21)00332-6. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2021.11.016. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Suicide attempted by self-inflicted burns are associated with lower survival rates compared to accident related burns.

OBJECTIVE: We investigate the relation between self-inflicted burns (SIB) and survival rates and how this relation is moderated by variables used to predict survival rates in the ABSI score, a widely used measure. Additionally, we compare the predicted survival rates by the ABSI score to the actual rates in our sample for SIB and accident patients.

METHODS: In this prospective multicenter study data from the German Burn Registry are statistically analyzed using two sided t-test and multivariate linear regression models.

RESULTS: 5330 patients (214 with SIB) met our inclusion criteria. We find a 6.8 percentage points lower survival rate for patients with SIB when we control for patient condition with the five ABSI components as covariates. These higher mortality rates can be explained by the higher rate of therapy restrictions for patients with self-inflicted burns. Additionally, different ABSI modifications can improve the predictive power of the score.

CONCLUSION: Patients with SIB have lower survival rates compared to accident patients. Recently proposed modifications of the ABSI score can improve the accuracy of survival rate prediction for SIB.

PMID:34930642 | DOI:10.1016/j.burns.2021.11.016

Am J Cardiol. 2021 Dec 17:S0002-9149(21)01105-X. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2021.11.006. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The objective is to define the clinical echocardiographic characteristics and cardiovascular outcome in patients with acute heart failure (HF) with versus without diabetes mellitus (DM). Demographic, clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic data were collected in Olmsted County adults hospitalized for acute HF between 2005 and 2008. Analyses were performed for mortality and acute HF hospitalization outcomes stratified by diabetic status, systolic function, and diastolic function. There were 912 subjects who met inclusion criteria, and mean age was 79 (SD 13.1) years with 53% women. Prevalence of DM was 42% in the study population, and those with DM had worse diastolic function and increased mortality and HF rehospitalization. Among those with DM and acute HF, reduced left ventricular ejection fraction and worse diastolic function conferred increased HF rehospitalization (p = 0.010 and p = 0.022, respectively). In conclusion, DM is common in those hospitalized for acute HF and is associated with worse long-term clinical outcomes. The subgroup of DM with acute HF and left ventricular systolic dysfunction or diastolic dysfunction had worse HF rehospitalization outcomes.

PMID:34930613 | DOI:10.1016/j.amjcard.2021.11.006