Tag: statistics

Stat Med. 2023 Oct 15;42(23):4057-4081. doi: 10.1002/sim.9858. Epub 2023 Aug 1.

ABSTRACT

Ignoring the presence of dependent censoring in data analysis can lead to biased estimates, for example, not considering the effect of abandonment of the tuberculosis treatment may influence inferences about the cure probability. In order to assess the relationship between cure and abandonment outcomes, we propose a copula Bayesian approach. Therefore, the main objective of this work is to introduce a Bayesian survival regression model, capable of taking into account the dependent censoring in the adjustment. So, this proposed approach is based on Clayton’s copula, to provide the relation between survival and dependent censoring times. In addition, the Weibull and the piecewise exponential marginal distributions are considered in order to fit the times. A simulation study is carried out to perform comparisons between different scenarios of dependence, different specifications of prior distributions, and comparisons with the maximum likelihood inference. Finally, we apply the proposed approach to a tuberculosis treatment adherence dataset of an HIV cohort from Alvorada-RS, Brazil. Results show that cure and abandonment outcomes are negatively correlated, that is, as long as the chance of abandoning the treatment increases, the chance of tuberculosis cure decreases.

PMID:37720988 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9858

Stat Med. 2023 Oct 15;42(23):4082-4110. doi: 10.1002/sim.9848. Epub 2023 Jul 14.

ABSTRACT

Evaluating the prognostic performance of candidate markers for future disease onset or progression is one of the major goals in medical research. A marker’s prognostic performance refers to how well it separates patients at the high or low risk of a future disease state. Often the discriminative performance of a marker is affected by the patient characteristics (covariates). Time-dependent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves that ignore the informativeness of the covariates will lead to biased estimates of the accuracy parameters. We propose a time-dependent ROC curve that accounts for the informativeness of the covariates in the case of censored data. We propose inverse probability weighted (IPW) estimators for estimating the proposed accuracy parameters. We investigate the performance of the IPW estimators through simulation studies and real-life data analysis.

PMID:37720987 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9848

Int J Surg. 2023 Sep 14. doi: 10.1097/JS9.0000000000000733. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Several large-scale studies have assessed endovascular and surgical treatment methods for nonocclusive mesenteric ischemia (NOMI); however, the prognostic factors for NOMI remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate risk factors for in-hospital mortality among patients with NOMI who underwent laparotomy and to examine therapeutic strategies that may improve the prognosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this multicenter retrospective study, we reviewed the electronic medical records retrieved from the inpatient database of patients with NOMI at eight district general hospitals between January 2011 and January 2021. A total of 88 patients who underwent laparotomies were divided into survivor and non-survivor groups, and statistical analysis was performed to determine clinical physiological factors.

RESULTS: Exploratory laparotomy based on second-look surgery was the first treatment choice. The overall mortality rate was 48.8%, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.1:1. The median Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 8 [interquartile range: 3.75-14.2], and the median SOFA scores were 5 [3-7] in the survivor group and 13 [9-17.5] in the non-survivor group. Univariate analysis revealed a significant difference in body mass index (P<0.001), hypoglycemia (P=0.0012), previous cardiovascular surgery (P=0.0019), catecholamine use (P<0.001), SOFA score (P<0.001), platelet count (P=0.0023), and lactate level (P<0.001). Logistic regression analysis using the factors with significant differences revealed that SOFA score ≥10 (odds ratio 23.3; 95% confidence interval 1.94-280.00; P=0.013) was an independent prognostic factor. In addition, catecholamine use was suggested as a factor with a SOFA score ≥10.

CONCLUSION: This study confirmed that a SOFA score of ≥10 may be associated with increased mortality. While closely monitoring low blood pressure and renal dysfunction, survival rates may be improved if surgical intervention is performed before the SOFA score reaches ≥10.

PMID:37720948 | DOI:10.1097/JS9.0000000000000733

Int J Surg. 2023 Sep 15. doi: 10.1097/JS9.0000000000000714. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hyperglycemia is a risk factor for postoperative complications but its impact on outcome after pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) is scarcely studied. This prospective cohort study aimed to assess the effect of continuous insulin infusion on postoperative complications and blood glucose, as well as to evaluate the impact of hyperglycemia on complications, after PD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred patients planned for PD were prospectively included for perioperative continuous insulin infusion and a historic cohort of 100 patients was included retrospectively. Median blood glucose levels were calculated and data on complications were analyzed and compared between the historic cohort and the intervention group as well as between normo- and hyperglycemic patients.

RESULTS: Median glucose levels were significantly lower in the intervention group compared to the historic cohort up to 30 days postoperatively (median glucose 8.5 mmol/l (IQR 6.4 – 11) vs. 9.1 mmol/l (IQR 6.8 – 17) (P=0.007)). No significant differences in complication rates were recorded between these two groups. The incidence of complications classified as Clavien ≥3 was higher in hyperglycemic patients (100% vs. 27%, P=0.024). Among hyperglycemic patients the prevalence of preoperative diabetes was higher compared to normoglycemic patients (52% vs.12%, P<0.001). In patients with a known diagnosis of diabetes, a trend, although not statistically significant, towards a lower incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) grade B and C, as well as postpancreatectomy hemorrhage (PPH) grade B and C, was seen compared to those without preoperative diabetes (6.8% vs. 14%, P=0.231 and 2.3% vs. 7.0%, P=0.238 respectively).

CONCLUSION: Insulin infusion in the early postoperative phase after PD is feasible in a non-ICU setting and significantly decreased blood glucose levels. The influence on complications was limited. Preoperative diabetes was a significant predictor of postoperative hyperglycemia and was associated with a lower incidence of clinically significant POPF.

PMID:37720940 | DOI:10.1097/JS9.0000000000000714

Int J Surg. 2023 Sep 15. doi: 10.1097/JS9.0000000000000728. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The conventional laparoscopic approach for the surgical management of deep endometriosis (DE) infiltrating the rectum appears to ensure improved digestive functional outcomes. The natural orifice specimen extraction (NOSE) technique for the treatment of colorectal DE can significantly accelerate postoperative recovery; however, data on gastrointestinal function following conventional laparoscopic segmental bowel resection (CLR) compared with NOSE-colectomy (NC) for DE are sparse.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between September 30, 2019, and December 31, 2020, a randomized, open-label, two-arm, parallel-group controlled trial with women aged 18-45 years was conducted at University Hospital.91 patients were randomized to CLR or NC, with DE infiltrating at least the muscular layer, at least 50% of the circumference of the bowel, up to 15 cm from the anal verge, exhibiting pain and bowel symptoms and/or infertility. The primary endpoint was bowel function, represented by Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS). Secondary parameters included the Endometriosis Health Profile 30 (EHP30), Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores preoperatively and at set times (one and six months, one year) following surgery.

RESULTS: No significant differences were observed in the postoperative LARS scores, VAS, EHP30, and GIQLI between the NC and CLR groups. LARS scores did not reveal significant differences 12 months postoperatively compared to the preoperative values in both groups (CLR-group P=0.93 versus NC-group, P=0.87). GIQLI scores were significantly improved 12 months after the operation compared with baseline values in the CLR-group (P=0.002) and NC-group (P=0.001). Pain symptoms and quality of life scores significantly improved 12 months postoperatively in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS: NC is a feasible surgical approach for treating patients with rectal DE. Our study did not show a statistically significant difference between CLR and NC techniques in mid-term digestive and pain outcomes.

PMID:37720929 | DOI:10.1097/JS9.0000000000000728

Proc Symp Appl Comput. 2023 Mar;2023:518-527. doi: 10.1145/3555776.3577685. Epub 2023 Jun 7.

ABSTRACT

Patients with cancer or other chronic diseases often experience different symptoms before or after treatments. The symptoms could be physical, gastrointestinal, psychological, or cognitive (memory loss), or other types. Previous research focuses on understanding the individual symptoms or symptom correlations by collecting data through symptom surveys and using traditional statistical methods to analyze the symptoms, such as principal component analysis or factor analysis. This research proposes a computational system, SymptomGraph, to identify the symptom clusters in the narrative text of written clinical notes in electronic health records (EHR). SymptomGraph is developed to use a set of natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) methods to first extract the clinician-documented symptoms from clinical notes. Then, a semantic symptom expression clustering method is used to discover a set of typical symptoms. A symptom graph is built based on the co-occurrences of the symptoms. Finally, a graph clustering algorithm is developed to discover the symptom clusters. Although SymptomGraph is applied to the narrative clinical notes, it can be adapted to analyze symptom survey data. We applied Symptom-Graph on a colorectal cancer patient with and without diabetes (Type 2) data set to detect the patient symptom clusters one year after the chemotherapy. Our results show that SymptomGraph can identify the typical symptom clusters of colorectal cancer patients’ post-chemotherapy. The results also show that colorectal cancer patients with diabetes often show more symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, younger patients have mental dysfunctions of alcohol or tobacco abuse, and patients at later cancer stages show more memory loss symptoms. Our system can be generalized to extract and analyze symptom clusters of other chronic diseases or acute diseases like COVID-19.

PMID:37720922 | PMC:PMC10504685 | DOI:10.1145/3555776.3577685

J Orthop. 2023 Sep 3;44:77-85. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2023.08.009. eCollection 2023 Oct.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Post-operative physiotherapy is a major component of the effectiveness of knee replacement. Adequate rehabilitation protocols are required for better functional outcomes. With the advent of smartphones and smartwatches, the use of telerehabilitation has increased recently. This study aims to compare tele rehabilitation using various mobile-based applications to conventional rehabilitation protocols.

METHODS: From Jan 2000 to Jun 2022, all the RCTs from SCOPUS, EMBASE and PUBMED comparing patient-related outcome measures between the smartphone-based app and conventional rehabilitation protocols were scanned and seven studies meeting the eligibility criteria were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. The quantitative analysis compared outcomes using the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS), the knee society function score (KSFS), the active range of motion (AROM), Euro-Qol-5D-5L, and MUA. The qualitative analysis compared VAS, NRS, and Time up and go (TUG).

RESULTS: The study shows statistically significant improvement in traditional rehabilitation over app based on KSFS score (M.D.: 6.05, p = 0.05) and AROM on long-term follow-up (12 months) (M.D.: 2.46, p = 0.02). AROM was insignificant on 3 months or less follow-up. NRS and VAS were found to be statistically better in app-based groups. No statistically significant results were seen on KOOS, Euro-Qol-5D-5L, MUA and TUG. 90 days of readmission and a number of physiotherapy visits were more in conventional groups. No difference was seen in single-leg stance and satisfaction rates.

CONCLUSIONS: The present review highlights improved early pain scores and comparable patient-reported outcome analysis at a short-term follow-up period among patients receiving mobile app-based rehabilitation. However, knee range of motion and KSFS score achieved after surgery is analysed to be better with traditional rehabilitation at the one-year end follow-up period.

PMID:37720916 | PMC:PMC10500420 | DOI:10.1016/j.jor.2023.08.009

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 29;14:1198851. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1198851. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Khat is a huge, evergreen tree that grows at high altitudes throughout the Arabian Peninsula and in the region stretching from eastern to southern Africa. Cathinone, cathine, and norephedrine are psychoactive ingredients contained in khat. Ethiopian teenagers, especially those in secondary school, frequently use khat. This use of khat may lead to students frequently missing class and experiencing subpar academic performance. However, the study area lacks information regarding the prevalence of khat use and the factors associated with it.

OBJECTIVE: This study’s primary goal is to determine the prevalence of khat chewing and related factors among secondary school students in public schools in Harar, Eastern Ethiopia, in 2022.

METHODS: A multicenter cross-sectional study design was employed from June 01-June 30, 2022, in three public secondary schools in Harar town in a sample of 485 students. Systematic random sampling was used to choose the study sample. Data were gathered using self-administered questionnaires, and the Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) was used to assess khat chewing. Epidata version 4.6 was used to enter the data, while STATA version 14 was used to analyze them. To determine the factors related to khat chewing, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted, and statistical significance was determined at a 95% confidence level with a P-value under 0.05.

RESULTS: Out of 485 eligible participants, 455 responded to this survey, giving a response rate of 93.8%. Overall, 33.2% (95% CI: 29.2%-37.6%) of the sample’s participants reported currently chewing khat. Age ranged from 20 to 25 years (AOR = 2.04; 95% CI: 1.19-3.48), male students (AOR = 7.03; 95% CI: 4.35-12.57), current alcohol user (AOR 6.48; 95% CI: 2.30-18.28), presence of chewer friends (AOR 3.86; 95% CI: 2.38-6.24), and depression (AOR 1.84, 95%CI: 1.02-3.30), were strongly associated with khat chewing at a p-value of < 0.05.

CONCLUSION: Khat chewing was very common among students in Eastern Ethiopia’s public secondary schools. Ages between 20 and 25 years, being a male, being current alcohol users, having chewer buddies, and depression are all significantly linked to khat use. Thus, schools should create and implement audience-specific behavioral change communication to deter and stop students from chewing khat. Additionally, it is important to ban the sale of khat to young adults and adolescents, promote medical care for khat users, and foster peer advocacy for support services.

PMID:37720900 | PMC:PMC10499630 | DOI:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1198851

Front Psychiatry. 2023 Aug 31;14:1247801. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1247801. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Hemodialysis patients are vulnerable to serious complications such as prolonged hospital stay and psychosocial issues like depression and death anxiety. Studies on psychosocial factors on end-stage renal disease patients’ outcomes during COVID-19 pandemic are limited. We aimed to determine the prevalence of depression and death anxiety among Palestinian hemodialysis patients and the evaluate the relationship between their sociodemographic and clinical characteristics during COVID-19 Pandemic.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sampling technique. We recruited 308 hemodialysis patients from five hemodialysis units located in government hospitals in Palestine. Beck Depression Inventory and the Templers Death Anxiety Scale were used to collect data, which were then analyzed using SPSS version 20. Descriptive statistics (frequencies and means), t-test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression models were used for data analysis.

RESULTS: Nearly 66.2% of the sample had depression symptoms, 61.4% met the diagnostic threshold for depression, and 69.8% had death anxiety. Furthermore, the multivariate analysis revealed that having a female identity, residing in a city or refugee camp, and patients who reported not experiencing depression had a significant relationship with death anxiety, while having a higher educational level than 12 years, having one or more chronic co-morbidities, and patients who reported experiencing death anxiety had a significant correlation with depression.

CONCLUSION: Patients receiving hemodialysis frequently experience depression and death anxiety. These patients should receive a psychiatric evaluation in the early stages of their illness so that timely and appropriate psychological interventions can be given in hemodialysis facilities in Palestine during and after future pandemics.

PMID:37720896 | PMC:PMC10501786 | DOI:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1247801

Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol X. 2023 Sep 6;20:100238. doi: 10.1016/j.eurox.2023.100238. eCollection 2023 Dec.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Though becoming a mother is a joyous experience, the postpartum time can be difficult and stressful for women as they deal with significant physical alterations and adjustments to their daily routines. However, very few studies have focused on the functional well-being of the woman after childbirth. This study aims to find the level of functional status, social support, and anxiety among women attending immunization clinics.

METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional research design was adopted to recruit 220 women in this study from two immunization clinic centers in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Data were collected using a self-reported sociodemographic profile, functional level scale after childbirth, modified multidimensional scale of perceived social support, and postnatal anxiety scale. Descriptive and inferential statistical tests were used for data analysis, including mean, percentage, and Fisher exact.

RESULTS: 59.5 % of women returned to a moderate level of functional status after six weeks postpartum. The majority of women, 98.6 % and 83.6 %, reported high levels of return to personal care and baby care, respectively, whereas 34.7 % had moderate levels of return to home activities and 90 % had low levels of return to community and social tasks. Also, 70 % of women had high perceived social support, and 87.7 % had no anxiety. In this study, normal delivery women had better functional status than their cesarean delivery counterparts. Moreover, functional status was significantly associated with anxiety at six postpartum weeks.

CONCLUSION: After six weeks of childbirth, most women only partially resumed their pre-pregnancy functional state. So, much more time, rest, and support from family members were needed to recover to a fully functional level. Nurses, midwives, and the family members of women should be aware of the critical role that social support plays in enhancing a woman’s functional and psychological status during the postpartum period.

PMID:37720888 | PMC:PMC10502358 | DOI:10.1016/j.eurox.2023.100238