Tag: statistics

Rev Salud Publica (Bogota). 2023 Feb 3;21(3):324-332. doi: 10.15446/rsap.V21n3.70291.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess adherence to both drug and non-drug therapy by users of primary care services diagnosed with systemic arterial hypertension before and after the implementation of systematic nursing appointments.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Open clinical trial held in a Family Health Strategy center of the state of Minas Gerais, in which 14 participants were followed up through systematic nursing care from October 2016 to September 2017.

RESULTS: Data showed a statistically significant difference in adherence to systemic arterial hypertension therapy after conducting nursing interventions (p=0,102), both individually and in group. The most prevalent nursing diagnoses were “Readiness for enhanced health literacy” and “Sedentary lifestyle”.

CONCLUSION: Systematic nursing care may benefit people diagnosed with systemic arterial hypertension treated by primary care services. It is necessary to consolidate the use of nursing processes as well as the nurse identity in the context of chronic care.

PMID:36753177 | DOI:10.15446/rsap.V21n3.70291

Rev Salud Publica (Bogota). 2023 Feb 3;21(3):281-286. doi: 10.15446/rsap.V21n3.67280.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of stimulant use among the student population at the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, San Pedro Campus, and some factors associated with these habits.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an analytical observational cross-sectional study conducted at the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, San Pedro Campus. Surveys aimed at students of the different university careers were used as an instrument to collect information. The statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS 19 software.

RESULTS: The average age of university students was 20.6 years, and the most commonly used stimulants were soft drinks and coffee. There is a significant difference among men and women regarding the consumption of nicotine-containing products. More than 50% of the university population surveyed was enrolled in Health Sciences programs.

CONCLUSIONS: Sex, marital status, work status, academic level, the faculty in which the students are enrolled, and the province of residence are not factors that influence the use of stimulants by the university population of the Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. The only exception was nicotine consumption and its relationship to the sex of the individual.

PMID:36753171 | DOI:10.15446/rsap.V21n3.67280

Clin Exp Dent Res. 2023 Feb 8. doi: 10.1002/cre2.718. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Successful endodontic therapy is based on the reduction of infecting bacteria by cleaning, shaping, and disinfecting of the root canal system, thus the use of intracanal dressing is necessary for optimal success of root canal treatment. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of chitosan and propolis as intracanal medicaments against Enterococcus faecalis compared to calcium hydroxide in primary root canals.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ninety-six extracted primary second molars were collected. Teeth preparation was completed to size 30 K-file. They were randomly divided into four groups; (A): chitosan, (B): propolis, (C): calcium hydroxide, and (D): control group (saline). The tooth specimens were inoculated with E. faecalis. Then, tested materials were applied for all groups in accordance to the groups each tooth belonged to. Following this, the bacterial colonies were counted after 24 h, 72 h, and 1 week of applying dressing materials and incubation. Finally, one-way analysis of variance and Fisher’s least significant difference tests were used for statistical comparisons between the groups at a significance level of .05.

RESULTS: No statistically significant difference was found between groups A, B, and C for both 24 h and a week (p ≥ .05). Yet, a statistical difference between groups A, B, C, and D after 72 h and 1 week were seen (p ≤ .05).

CONCLUSIONS: Chitosan and propolis medicaments were as effective as calcium hydroxide against E. faecalis in primary root canal treatment and might be considered as an alternative dressing material between treatment sessions.

PMID:36752174 | DOI:10.1002/cre2.718

J Eval Clin Pract. 2023 Feb 8. doi: 10.1111/jep.13817. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

RATIONALE: Coronavirus (COVID-19)-related stressors precipitated the mental health crisis and increased substance use in Canada and worldwide. As the pandemic continues to evolve, monitoring and updating substance use-related ED visit trends is essential to ensure the stability and quality of ED services under the prolonged pandemic timeline.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study examined the trends and characterization of substance use-related ED visits during the pandemic among adolescents and young adults (aged 13-25 years) in Ontario, Canada.

METHODS: Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analyses were conducted using population-based, repeated cross-sectional data. The volume, patient characteristics (age and sex) and hospital/ED visit features (triage to end time, timing of the visit, triage level and referral source) were compared before (2019) and during COVID-19 (2020 and 2021) by each substance type (alcohol, opioid, cannabis, sedatives, cocaine, stimulants and multiple psychoactive substances).

RESULTS: Substance use-related ED visits decreased by 1.5 times during the pandemic compared to the prepandemic level. However, opioid-related ED visits continued to show an increasing trend and did not recover to the prepandemic level in 2021. Moreover, a significant increase in emergent/life-threatening triage levels (Canadian Triage and Acuity Scales 1 and 2) in substance-related ED visits is alarming (2019 = 36.8%, 2020 = 38.7% and 2021 = 38.4%). We also found a general decrease in weekend visits, overnight visits and visits on statutory holidays, and substance use-related ED patients tended to stay longer (over 6 h) in the ED during the pandemic.

CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate unmet substance use treatment needs due to the limited accessibility and heightened threshold for ED visits during the pandemic. Providing access to substance treatment/programs outside ED is critical to reducing substance use-related complications presenting in the ED. Also, policies addressing the pandemic-related complexities in the ED and Health Human Resource challenges are warranted.

PMID:36752167 | DOI:10.1111/jep.13817

Cardiovasc J Afr. 2023 Feb 8;34:1-8. doi: 10.5830/CVJA-2022-069. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Myxomas are primary cardiac tumours that may be detected incidentally due to embolic events, intracardiac obstructive features or non-specific structural symptoms. The aim of this study was to share our experience of clinical features, diagnostic methods, surgical procedures and postoperative follow up of surgically treated cardiac myxomas.

METHODS: Data of 34 patients who underwent surgery for a cardiac myxoma between January 2006 and June 2022 were retrospectively analysed. Group 1 (n = 19) consisted of patients who were symptomatic and group 2 ( n = 15) patients were asymptomatic. The medical records of the patients, their clinical status, diagnostic methods, operation information and postoperative course data were collected and recorded.

RESULTS: A total of 34 patients (16 female; mean age 54.5 ± 8.8 years) underwent cardiac myxoma resection with cardiopulmonary bypass. Fifteen (44.1%) patients were diagnosed incidentally with asymptomatic myxoma. An additional cardiac surgical procedure was performed in six patients (17.7%). The 34 cardiac myxomas that were surgically resected were localised in the left atrium in 25 patients (73.5%) and in the right atrium in nine patients (26.5%). Patients’ most common symptoms were dyspnoea (42.1%), palpitations (21.1%), ischaemic stroke (15.8%) and syncope (10.5%). There was no incident of 30-day mortality and no recurrence was observed in any patient during the follow-up period. The duration of surgical intervention in symptomatic patients was significantly shorter than in asymptomatic patients (p = 0.0001), but there was no statistical difference in terms of characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS: Myxomas are benign tumours, but they are serious pathologies that require early treatment because of signs of obstruction, embolic complications and confusion, with left atrial thrombus in the differential diagnosis.

PMID:36752152 | DOI:10.5830/CVJA-2022-069

Psychol Med. 2023 Feb 8:1-12. doi: 10.1017/S0033291722004007. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction and brain structural connectivity alterations have been observed in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, little is known about their interrelation. The present study follows a network approach to evaluate alterations in cognition-related brain structural networks.

METHODS: Cognitive performance of n = 805 healthy and n = 679 acutely depressed or remitted individuals was assessed using 14 cognitive tests aggregated into cognitive factors. The structural connectome was reconstructed from structural and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Associations between global connectivity strength and cognitive factors were established using linear regressions. Network-based statistics were applied to identify subnetworks of connections underlying these global-level associations. In exploratory analyses, effects of depression were assessed by evaluating remission status-related group differences in subnetwork-specific connectivity. Partial correlations were employed to directly test the complete triad of cognitive factors, depressive symptom severity, and subnetwork-specific connectivity strength.

RESULTS: All cognitive factors were associated with global connectivity strength. For each cognitive factor, network-based statistics identified a subnetwork of connections, revealing, for example, a subnetwork positively associated with processing speed. Within that subnetwork, acutely depressed patients showed significantly reduced connectivity strength compared to healthy controls. Moreover, connectivity strength in that subnetwork was associated to current depressive symptom severity independent of the previous disease course.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study is the first to identify cognition-related structural brain networks in MDD patients, thereby revealing associations between cognitive deficits, depressive symptoms, and reduced structural connectivity. This supports the hypothesis that structural connectome alterations may mediate the association of cognitive deficits and depression severity.

PMID:36752136 | DOI:10.1017/S0033291722004007

Drug Chem Toxicol. 2023 Feb 8:1-8. doi: 10.1080/01480545.2023.2174988. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Vigabatrin (VGB) is a gammaaminobutyric acid-ergic (GABA-ergic) antiepileptic drug (AED) and is one of 2 approved drugs available to treat infantile spasms (IS). The aim of this study is to elucidate conflicting data on the toxic effects of VGB and to obtain detailed information about its possible cytogenotoxic effects in human lymphocytes. For this purpose, in vitro Chromosomal Aberration (CA), Sister Chromatid Exchange (SCE), Micronucleus (MN) tests, and Comet Assay were performed to determine possible genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of VGB. In addition, the binding energy level of VGB to DNA was determined in silico by molecular docking. The highest concentration (80 μg/ml) of VGB increased the SCE, CA, MN and micronucleated binuclear cell (BNMN) frequency significantly compared to the control after 24 and 48 hours of treatment. In the tail density and tail length parameters, the dose-dependent increase was found to be statistically significant compared to the control. At the 40 and 80 μg/ml concentrations of VGB for 48 hours caused a statistically significant increase in both CA/Cell and AC percentages, while MI and NDI decreased only significantly at the highest concentration (80 µg/ml) causing. In the Comet Assay head density, tail density and tail length parameters, the dose-dependent increase was found to be statistically significant compared to the control. Also, the in silico molecular docking analysis showed that VGB interacts with B-DNA close to the threshold binding energy. The lowest negative free binding energy (ΔG binding) was found as -5.13 kcal/mol. In conclusion, all results are evaluated together, it has been determined that VGB has cytogenotoxic effects in vitro and binds to DNA in silico with significant free binding energy.

PMID:36752088 | DOI:10.1080/01480545.2023.2174988

Dev Med Child Neurol. 2023 Feb 8. doi: 10.1111/dmcn.15538. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To report incidence, demographic and clinical characteristics, and symptom outcome of functional neurological disorder (FND) in children.

METHOD: Children diagnosed with FND at a regional children’s hospital were prospectively recruited by weekly active surveillance for 36 months. Demographic, clinical, and follow-up data were retrospectively extracted by review of electronic records. Descriptive statistical analyses were used.

RESULTS: Ninety-seven children (age range 5-15 years) met the case definition of FND (annual incidence 18.3 per 100 000 children). Children with FND were likely to be female (n = 68 [70%]) and older (median 13 years) with no difference in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (marker of socioeconomic status) compared with the general childhood population. Functional motor (41%) and sensory (41%) symptoms were most common; other somatic symptoms such as headache (31%) and pain (27%) were frequent. Self-reported psychiatric symptoms and infection/inflammation were the most common predisposing and precipitating factors respectively. At a median of 15 months follow-up, 49% of 75 children reported improvement or resolution of FND symptoms with no prognostic factors found.

INTERPRETATION: At this regional centre, FND in children had a higher incidence than previously reported and a less optimistic outcome than in some other studies.

PMID:36752054 | DOI:10.1111/dmcn.15538

Jpn J Nurs Sci. 2023 Feb 8:e12526. doi: 10.1111/jjns.12526. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of workplace social capital on the relationship between authentic leadership and the three dimensions of organizational commitment: affective, normative, and continuance.

METHODS: In January 2019, anonymous self-reported questionnaires were distributed to 1220 nurses working in the general wards of two university hospitals in Japan. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating effects of workplace social capital on the relationship between nurse managers’ authentic leadership and the three dimensions of organizational commitment.

RESULTS: Six hundred and fifty-nine data points were analyzed (valid response rate = 54.0%). Participants’ average age was 28.6 years (standard deviation: 6.6), and 93.3% were female. The mediation indirect effect of workplace social capital between authentic leadership and organizational commitment was statistically significant in the models of affective organizational commitment and normative organizational commitment, but not in the model of continuance organizational commitment.

CONCLUSIONS: The effects of authentic leadership and workplace social capital had different impacts on each of the three dimensions of organizational commitment. Nurse managers’ authentic leadership and workplace social capital can enhance nurses’ positive commitment to the organization.

PMID:36752048 | DOI:10.1111/jjns.12526

J Int Med Res. 2023 Feb;51(2):3000605231153326. doi: 10.1177/03000605231153326.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Redundant nerve root syndrome (RNRS) is characterized by tortuous, elongated, and enlarged nerve roots in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis. This study was performed to evaluate the effects of caudal block in patients with RNRS and assess factors associated with RNRS.

METHODS: Patients with lumbar spinal stenosis who underwent caudal block were retrospectively analyzed. A comparative analysis of pain reduction was conducted between patients with RNRS (Group R) and those without RNRS (Group C). Generalized estimating equation analysis was used to identify factors related to the treatment response. RNRS-associated factors were analyzed using logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS: In total, 54 patients were enrolled (Group R, n = 22; Group C, n = 32). Group R had older patients than Group C. The caudal block showed less pain reduction in Group R than in Group C, but the difference was not statistically significant. Generalized estimating equation analysis showed that RNRS was the factor significantly associated with the treatment response. The dural sac anteroposterior diameter and left ligamentum flavum thickness were associated with RNRS in the logistic regression analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: Caudal block tended to be less effective in patients with than without RNRS, but the difference was not statistically significant.

PMID:36752034 | DOI:10.1177/03000605231153326