Tag: statistics

Radiol Med. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s11547-022-01583-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To compare the positive predictive values (PPVs) of BI-RADS categories used to assess pure mammographic calcifications in women with and without a previous history of breast cancer (PHBC).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, all consecutive pure mammographic calcifications (n = 320) undergoing a stereotactic biopsy between 2016 and 2018 were identified. Mammograms were evaluated in consensus by two radiologists according to BI-RADS and blinded to patient history and pathology results. Final pathologic results were used as the standard of reference. PPV of BI-RADS categories were compared between the two groups. Data were evaluated using standard statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests and Chi-square tests.

RESULTS: Two hundred sixty-eight patients (274 lesions, median age 54 years, inter-quartile range, 50-65 years) with a PHBC (n = 46) and without a PHBC (n = 222) were included. Overall PPVs were the following: BI-RADS 2, 0% (0 of 56); BI-RADS 3, 9.1% (1 of 11); BI-RADS 4a, 16.2% (6 of 37); BI-RADS 4b, 37.5% (48 of 128); BI-RADS 4c, 47.3% (18 of 38) and BI-RADS 5, 100% (4 of 4). The PPV of BI-RADS categories was similar in patients with and without a PHBC (P = .715). Calcifications were more often malignant in patients with a PHBC older than 10 years (47.3%, 9 of 19) compared to 1-2 years (25%, 1 of 4), 2-5 years (20%, 2 of 10) and 5-10 years (0%, of 13) from the first breast cancer (P = .005).

CONCLUSION: PPV of mammographic calcifications is similar in women with or without PHBC when BI-RADS classification is strictly applied. A higher risk of malignancy was observed in patients with a PHBC longer than 10 years.

PMID:36598734 | DOI:10.1007/s11547-022-01583-5

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-25019-9. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Anthropogenic and geological factors play an essential role in the variability of groundwater quality, resulting in a weak spatial dependence of groundwater trace elements. Thus, it is an essential study to investigate the factors affecting groundwater quality and its spatial abundance of trace elements (including As, B, and other metalloids). In this study, samples are obtained from a Permian sandstone fracture aquifer in a coal mining area. A multivariate statistical analysis, hydrogeochemistry modeling, and spatial autocorrelation analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that Moran index was positive for all trace elements, which had good spatial autocorrelation. The Local indicators of spatial association (LISA) indicated that trace elements were clustered. The hydrogeochemical modeling results indicated that the precipitation and stability of iron-phase minerals, such as rhodochrosite and arsenic (As) absorption on the surface of iron-phase minerals in the aquifer, may limit concentrations in the southern region. The spatial autocorrelations of both As and Boron (B) were positive (high-high) in the western areas, indicating that As contamination occurred from both natural geological causes and human coal mining activities. In contrast, B contamination was mainly linked to the influence of human agricultural or industrial activities. Over 96% of the groundwater concentrations of As (10 μg/L) and B (300 μg/L) in the study area exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) limits. Overall, the results of this work could help decision-makers involved in regional water quality management visualize disperse zones where specific anthropogenic and geological processes may threaten groundwater quality.

PMID:36598722 | DOI:10.1007/s11356-022-25019-9

Int Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s10792-022-02624-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study describes the microbiology of bacterial orbital cellulitis (OC) over an 11-year period and its clinical associations at three tertiary institutions in Adelaide, South Australia.

METHODS: Multi-centre retrospective study of the microbiology of bacterial OC between January 2012 and August 2022. Pre-septal cellulitis was excluded. Differences in means were determined by the Independent Samples t-test, and categorical data was analysed via Pearson’s Chi square. A P-value < 0.05 was statistically significant.

RESULTS: 99 patients (male: 69, mean age: 22.0 ± 23.8 years old), of which 70.7% were aged ≤ 18 years. Sinus and orbital abscess cultures had the greatest positive yield (73.7%). Frequency of organisms: Streptococcus species (34.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (28.3%), Haemophilus species (5.1%), mixed anaerobes (3.0%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.0%), Moraxella catarrhalis (1.0%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (1.0%), Corynebacterium species (1.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (1.0%), Proteus mirabilis (1.0%), Citrobacter koseri (1.0%), and Enterococcus species (1.0%). Streptococcus species predominated in the paediatric population, with a statistically significant difference in mean age between Streptococcus species and Staphylococcus aureus (14.1 ± 16.5 vs 27.6 ± 24.6 years old, respectively) (P = 0.028). No organism was cultured in 32.3% of cases. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) accounted for 28.6% of all Staphylococcus aureus isolates, with 50% occurring between 2021 and 2022.

CONCLUSION: Yearly microbiological trends have remained largely constant in South Australia. The causative organism was not identified in 32.3% of cases, further emphasising appropriate empirical antibiotics, and obtaining microbiology from various sources. MRSA OC remains of increased clinical and public health concern and may be associated with a more aggressive disease course.

PMID:36598712 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-022-02624-8

Med Biol Eng Comput. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s11517-022-02756-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This work studied, for the first time, the time-frequency characteristics of the vibrations underlying the first fetal heart sound (S1). To this end, the continuous wavelet transform was used to produce time-energy and time-frequency representations of S1 from where five vibrations were studied by their timing, energy, and frequency characteristics in three gestational age groups (early, G1, preterm, G2, and term, G3). Results on a dataset of 1111 S1s (9 phonocardiograms between 33 and 40 weeks) indicate that such representations uncovered a set of five well-defined, non-overlapped, and large-energy vibrations whose features presented interesting behaviors. Thus, for each group, while the timing characteristics of the five vibrations were likely to be statically different, their frequencies were similar. Also, the energies of the vibrations were likely to be different only in G2 and G3. Alternatively, while the frequencies and energies of each vibration were likely to statistically change among groups (excluding the energy of the third vibration), the timings were more likely to change only from G1 to G2 and from G2 to G3. Therefore, this methodology seems suitable to detect and study the generating vibrations of S1. Future work will test the correlation between these vibrations and the valvular events.

PMID:36598675 | DOI:10.1007/s11517-022-02756-0

Int J Comput Assist Radiol Surg. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s11548-022-02824-8. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: There is no objective way to measure the amount of manipulation and retraction of neural tissue by the surgeon. Our goal is to develop metrics quantifying dynamic retraction and manipulation by instruments during neurosurgery.

METHODS: We trained a convolutional neural network (CNN) to analyze microscopic footage of neurosurgical procedures and thereby generate metrics evaluating the surgeon’s dynamic retraction of brain tissue and, using an object tracking process, evaluate the surgeon’s manipulation of the instruments themselves. U-Net image segmentation is used to output bounding polygons around cerebral parenchyma of interest, as well as the vascular structures and cranial nerves. A channel and spatial reliability tracker framework is used in conjunction with our CNN to track desired surgical instruments.

RESULTS: Our network achieved a state-of-the-art intersection over union ([Formula: see text]) for biological tissue segmentation. Multivariate statistical analysis was used to evaluate dynamic retraction, tissue handling, and instrument manipulation.

CONCLUSION: Our model enables to evaluate dynamic retraction of soft tissue and manipulation of instruments during a surgical procedure, while accounting for movement of the operative microscope. This model can potentially provide the surgeon with objective feedback about the movement of instruments and its effect on brain tissue.

PMID:36598652 | DOI:10.1007/s11548-022-02824-8

Mol Biol Rep. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s11033-022-08223-1. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Free-range (FR) poultry production systems are associated with quality products and improved welfare. All the 19 diverse chicken breeds of India have evolved under the FR system and are adapted to different agro-climatic conditions. It is vital to explore indigenous germplasm with modern genomic tools to have insights into genomic characteristics of production traits and adaptation.

METHODS: In this study, breast tissue transcriptome profiles were generated and analyzed from four biological replicates of two indigenous backyard poultry breeds of India-Ankaleshwar, a breed of the mainland, and Nicobari, a breed adapted to islands. The read quality of sequences was checked by FASTQC and processed reads were aligned to the reference genome (bGalGal1).

RESULTS: More than 94% mapping to the reference genome was observed for all samples. A total of 12,790 transcripts were common across both groups, while 657 were expressed only in Ankaleshwar and 169 in Nicobari. The highest expressed genes across both groups were associated mainly with muscle structure, contraction, and energy metabolism. The highly expressed genes identified in Ankaleshwar were involved in fatty acid catabolism and oxidative stress mitigation. Functional terms, pathways, and hub genes in Nicobari participated in muscle fiber growth, adipogenesis, and fatty acid anabolism. A key hub gene (RAC1) in Nicobari is a potential candidate affecting the laying rate in chickens. The qRT-PCR results also substantiate the RNA-seq results.

CONCLUSION: The findings provide a precious molecular resource to advance understanding of the genetic basis of adaptation, meat quality, and egg production in backyard chickens.

PMID:36598628 | DOI:10.1007/s11033-022-08223-1

Ann Surg Oncol. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1245/s10434-022-13035-5. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Nipple-sparing mastectomy (NSM) is increasingly used for women with breast cancer who are not candidates for conservative surgery. The authors previously reported satisfying results with NSM after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).

METHODS: From 2010 to 2020, 1072 women underwent mastectomy at the authors’ institution. In this group, 433 NSMs were performed (40%). The only contraindications to NSM were close proximity to the nipple-areola complex (NAC), bloody discharge, and Paget disease.

RESULTS: In 112 cases involving 111 women, NSM followed NACT (group 1), whereas it was performed as primary surgery in 321 instances involving 306 women (group 2). At 5 years, local relapse was 7% in group 1 and 2% in group 2, although in the multivariate analysis, locoregional relapses (LRRs) did not differ between the two groups. An increased incidence of local relapse was associated with higher tumor stage (stage III; p = 0.046) and age younger than 51 years (p = 0.038). For 34 (30.3%) of the 111 women in group 1 with a pathologic complete response (pCR), no LRRs were recorded. Only one NAC recurrence was observed. Overall survival with each tumor stage did not differ between the two groups. No differences in complications were observed. Cosmetic results were satisfying in 83.8% of the cases and did not get worse after NACT.

CONCLUSIONS: The study data definitively confirm that NSM is safe even after NACT, with good cosmetic results and complications comparable with those in the primary surgery setting. Tumor stage and age were the only independent factors for local relapse. Patients with pCR enjoyed optimal locoregional control.

PMID:36598627 | DOI:10.1245/s10434-022-13035-5

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s00402-022-04755-0. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the potential of an intraoperatively recorded video shown to patients immediately postoperatively on early outcome after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The hypothesis was that there is a beneficial outcome concerning range of motion (ROM) and patient-reported outcome due to enhanced trust into the artificial joint.

METHODS: Seventy-three patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to two study groups in which they were either shown a video of their own postoperative range of motion or they were not. Clinically, the New Knee Society Score (nKSS) and ROM were evaluated and compared between the groups 6 weeks after surgery. Chi-square exact test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann-Whitney U test, and the Wilcoxon signed rank test were used. Inter- and intra-class correlations were calculated for measurements of ROM.

RESULTS: No clinically relevant differences were observed preoperatively and 6 weeks postoperatively between both groups in range of motion (ROM). All patients were showing a significantly improved clinical outcome 6 weeks after the procedure. Clinical scores showed statistically significant differences with respect to preoperative nKSS for satisfaction and statistically significant differences with respect to postoperative nKSS for function.

CONCLUSION: Showing a video filmed immediately after implantation of primary TKA had no significant effect on ROM and clinical outcome at 6 weeks. We believe that face-to-face verbal communication in combination with video-assisted education ensures that patients understand their artificial joint in the best possible way and will continue to use intraoperatively filmed videos to enhance patient engagement during postoperative rehabilitation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.

PMID:36598603 | DOI:10.1007/s00402-022-04755-0

Clin Oral Investig. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s00784-022-04855-6. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effects of hyaluronic acid (HA) alone or in combination with any bone substitute for the treatment of intrabony defects (IBDs).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Six databases were searched up to April 2022 to find randomized clinical trials comparing the clinical effects of open flap debridement (OFD) + HA versus OFD alone (first group) or OFD + HA + bone substitutes versus OFD + bone substitutes (second group) in the treatment of IBDs with a follow-up of at least 3 months. Random effects models of mean differences were used to determine the clinical attachment level (CAL) gain, probing depth (PD) reduction, and radiographic bone fill (RBF).

RESULTS: Of the 276 studies identified, 6 were included in the qualitative synthesis, and 5 in the meta-analyses. The meta-analyses in the first group showed a statistically significant differences for CAL gain (mean difference [MD]:1.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]:0.65 – 1.35; n = 2) and PD reduction (MD: 0.76; 95%CI: 0.34 – 1.17; n = 2) favoring HA + OFD at 6 months. However, in the second group, the meta-analyses did no show additional effect of HA in association with bone substitute was demonstrated for either CAL gain (MD: 0.57; 95%CI: – 0.30 – 1.43; n = 2) or PD reduction (MD: 1.05; 95%CI: – 0.38 – 2.47; n = 2) but did show significant differences for RBF (MD: 0.57; 95%CI: 0.15 – 0.99; n = 2) at 12 months.

CONCLUSION: Compared with OFD alone, local application of HA in the treatment of IBDs provided a significant CAL gain and PD reduction at 6 months. However, its combination with bone substitutes showed no statistically significant differences at 12 months.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The use of OFD + HA improves the CAL and PD in the treatment of IBDs compared to OFD only after 6 months of follow-up. These results are not maintained after 12 months.

PMID:36598601 | DOI:10.1007/s00784-022-04855-6

J Neurol. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11517-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

There are substantial disease and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) burdens for many patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), especially for those whose disease symptoms are not well controlled. HRQoL measures such as the Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life 15-item revised (MG-QOL15r) and EuroQoL 5-Dimensions 5-Levels (EQ-5D-5L) are vital for evaluating the clinical benefit of therapeutic interventions in patients with MG, as they assess the burden of disease and the effectiveness of treatment, as perceived by patients. The phase 3 ADAPT study (NCT03669588) demonstrated that efgartigimod-a novel neonatal Fc receptor inhibitor-was well tolerated and that acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR-Ab+) participants who received efgartigimod had statistically significant improvements in MG-specific clinical scale scores. The ancillary data reported here, which cover an additional treatment cycle, show that these participants had similar significant improvements in HRQoL measures, the MG-QOL15r and EQ-5D-5L utility and visual analog scales, and that these improvements were maintained in the second treatment cycle. Positive effects on HRQoL were rapid, seen as early as the first week of treatment in both treatment cycles, and maintained for up to 4 weeks in the follow-up-only portion of treatment cycles. The pattern of improvements in HRQoL paralleled changes in immunoglobulin G level, and correlational analyses show that improvements were consistent across HRQoL measures and with clinical efficacy measures in the ADAPT study. The substantial and durable improvements in HRQoL end points in this study demonstrate the broader benefit of treatment with efgartigimod beyond relief of immediate signs and symptoms of gMG.

PMID:36598575 | DOI:10.1007/s00415-022-11517-w