Tag: statistics

Intern Med J. 2022 Mar;52(3):474-478. doi: 10.1111/imj.15712.

ABSTRACT

Admitting male and female patients to the same room compromises the safety of female patients and violates the rights of all patients. We demonstrate that mixed bedding is common (47.22% of admissions), increasing and disproportionately affects vulnerable older patients in a large New Zealand hospital from 2011 to 2019 (n = 160 048). Eliminating mixed bedding should be a priority for our hospital system.

PMID:35307925 | DOI:10.1111/imj.15712

J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 2022 Mar 20:e23038. doi: 10.1002/jbt.23038. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Antioxidants may provide a complementary treatment for patients with chronic diseases. Nevertheless, studies that have measured the effects of antioxidant on diabetes complications have provided conflicting results. This study aimed to elucidate the association between antioxidant and diabetic complications and to develop robust evidence for clinical decisions by systematic reviews and meta-analysis. PubMed, Embase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus databases were searched to collect clinical studies related to the efficacy of antioxidants in the treatment of diabetes complications from inception to May 5, 2021. Statistical meta-analyses were performed using the RevMan 5.4 software. Stata16 software was used to detect publication bias. The data of diabetic nephropathy (DN), diabetic nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and diabetic periodontitis were collected to analyze the effect of antioxidant on diabetes and the above three complications. The meta-analysis results showed that antioxidant treatment was associated with significantly changes in the fasting plasma glucose (FPG) (standardized mean difference [SMD]: – 0.21 [95% confidence interval [CI]: – 0.33, -0.10], p < 0.001), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (MD: – 0.41 [95% CI: – 0.63, -0.18], p < 0.001), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) (SMD: 0.44 [95% CI: 0.24, 0.63], p < 0.001) and malondialdehyde (MDA) (SMD: – 0.82 [95% CI: – 1.24, -0.41], p < 0.001) than the control group. Antioxidant supplements have the potential to treat three complications of diabetes. In conclusion, the meta-analysis results indicate that antioxidant treatment is effective clinically for diabetes mellitus and its complications.

PMID:35307907 | DOI:10.1002/jbt.23038

J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2022 Mar 20. doi: 10.1111/jvp.13053. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Eight horses underwent IVRLP at two occasions through a 23-gauge 2 cm long butterfly catheter. Regional anaesthesia of the ulnar, median and medial cutaneous antebrachial nerves was performed prior, and an 8 cm rubber tourniquet was placed on the proximal radius for 30 minutes following the infusion. The first infusion consisted of 2 g of amikacin sulphate and 10 mg of dexamethasone phosphate diluted with 0.9% NaCl to a total volume of 100 ml. The second perfusion was performed after a 2-week washout period, the same protocol was used but without dexamethasone phosphate. Synovial fluid samples were collected from the metacarpophalangeal joint at T = 0, 0.5, 2, 12, 24 and 36 h post-infusion. Synovial fluid amikacin sulphate concentrations were determined by use of liquid chromatography/tandem mass-spectrometry. All horses (n = 8) remained healthy throughout the study, and no adverse effects associated with the study were encountered. No statistically significant differences were found in synovial fluid amikacin sulphate concentrations between the treatment and the control group at any of the time points. In conclusion, dexamethasone phosphate can be used in IVRLP concomitantly with amikacin sulphate in cases of distal limb inflammation and pain without decreasing the synovial fluid concentration of amikacin sulphate.

PMID:35307838 | DOI:10.1111/jvp.13053

J Sch Health. 2022 Mar 20. doi: 10.1111/josh.13182. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Failure to complete secondary education often results from a process of educational disengagement. Studies of teen childbearing and high school completion have not adequately accounted for the role of school disengagement prior to conception and may overestimate causal impacts of teen childbearing.

METHODS: We link New York City birth and school records to study a cohort of 22,484 Black and Latina public school students. We measure disengagement with monthly absences from age 12 until the month before conception and identify five preconception attendance trajectories using group-based trajectory modeling.

RESULTS: Preconception absenteeism can account for as much as half the deficit in high school completion associated with a teen birth. This finding is robust to statistical approaches, such as school fixed effects and inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that programs intending to increase educational attainment among young women should emphasize attendance and engagement, rather than primarily teenage pregnancy prevention.

PMID:35307839 | DOI:10.1111/josh.13182

J Dent Educ. 2022 Mar 20. doi: 10.1002/jdd.12919. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The University of Minnesota (UMN) Dental Hygiene (DH) program devotes considerable time developing students’ competency using motivational interviewing (MI). However, the extent to which graduates use MI in clinical practice and their perceptions of MI effectiveness in changing behavior is unknown.

METHODS: A cross-section of UMN dental hygiene classes from 2010-2019 were emailed an electronic survey using Qualtrics^xm software (n = 208). The survey instrument collected demographic information and queried respondents’ current MI use and perceptions of its effectiveness in changing patients’ behavior. Survey questions were aligned with the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB): attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, and one-way ANOVA tests.

RESULTS: There were 73 responses for a 35% response rate and 58 surveys (28%) included in data analysis. Respondents (95%) used MI, held positive attitudes toward MI and perceived MI to be an effective behavior counseling method (98%). However, respondents expressed concerns about patients’ abilities to change behaviors. The three TPB constructs were found to be predictors of MI use in the clinical environment. A significant association was found between age and the TPB construct: behavioral control (p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION: The majority of respondents reported using MI in clinical practice. According to the TPB, respondents exhibited strong behavioral intentions to use MI. Respondents held favorable attitudes toward MI and believed it to be effective in motivating positive behavior change. Respondents were confident in their MI skills and felt supported to use MI in their work environments.

PMID:35307827 | DOI:10.1002/jdd.12919

Ecology. 2022 Mar 20:e3683. doi: 10.1002/ecy.3683. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In metacommunity ecology, a major focus has been on combining observational and analytical approaches to identify the role of critical assembly processes, such as dispersal limitation and environmental filtering, this work has largely ignored temporal community dynamics. Here, we develop a ‘virtual ecologist’ approach to evaluate assembly processes by simulating metacommunities varying in three main processes: density-independent responses to abiotic conditions, density-dependent biotic interactions, and dispersal. We then calculate a number of commonly used summary statistics of community structure in space and time, and use random forests to evaluate their utility for inferring the strength of these three processes. We found that: (i) both spatial and temporal data are necessary to disentangle metacommunity processes based on the summary statistics we test, and including statistics that are measured through time increases the explanatory power of the random forests by up to 59% when compared to cases where only spatial variation is considered; (ii) the three studied processes can be distinguished with different descriptors; (iii) each summary statistic is differently sensitive to temporal and spatial sampling effort. Including repeated observations of metacommunities over time was essential for inferring the metacommunity processes, particularly dispersal. Some of the most useful statistics include the coefficient of variation of species abundances through time and metrics that incorporate variation in the relative abundances (evenness) of species. We conclude that a combination of methods and summary statistics is probably necessary to understand the processes that underlie metacommunity assembly through space and time, but recognize that these results will be modified when other processes or summary statistics are used.

PMID:35307820 | DOI:10.1002/ecy.3683

Cancer. 2022 Mar 21. doi: 10.1002/cncr.34157. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Cancer-related deaths over the next decade are expected to increase due to cancer screening deficits associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although national deficits have been quantified, a structured response to identifying and addressing local deficits has not been widely available. The objectives of this report are to share preliminary data on monthly screening deficits in breast, colorectal, lung, and cervical cancers across diverse settings and to provide online materials from a national quality improvement (QI) study to help other institutions to address local screening deficits.

METHODS: This prospective, national QI study on Return-to-Screening enrolled 748 accredited cancer programs in the United States from April through June 2021. Local prepandemic and pandemic monthly screening test volumes (MTVs) were used to calculate the relative percent change in MTV to describe the monthly screening gap.

RESULTS: The majority of facilities reported monthly screening deficits (colorectal cancer, 80.6% [n = 104/129]; cervical cancer, 69.0% [n = 20/29]; breast cancer, 55.3% [n = 241/436]; lung cancer, 44.6% [n = 98/220]). Overall, the median relative percent change in MTV ranged from -17.7% for colorectal cancer (interquartile range [IQR], -33.6% to -2.8%), -6.8% for cervical cancer (IQR, -29.4% to 1.7%), -1.6% for breast cancer (IQR, -9.6% to 7.0%), and 1.2% for lung cancer (IQR, -16.9% to 19.0%). Geographic differences were not observed. There were statistically significant differences in the percent change in MTV between institution types for colorectal cancer screening (P = .02).

CONCLUSION: Cancer screening is still in need of urgent attention, and the screening resources made available online may help facilities to close critical gaps and address screenings missed in 2020.

LAY SUMMARY: Question: How can the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on cancer screening be mitigated?

FINDINGS: When national resources were provided, including methods to calculate local screening deficits, 748 cancer programs promptly enrolled in a national Return-to-Screening study, and the majority identified local screening deficits, most notably in colorectal cancer. Using these results, 814 quality improvement projects were initiated with the potential to add 70,000 screening tests in 2021. Meaning: Cancer screening is still in need of urgent attention, and the online resources that we provide may help to close critical screening deficits.

PMID:35307815 | DOI:10.1002/cncr.34157

J Neurol. 2022 Mar 21. doi: 10.1007/s00415-022-11079-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: With aging population, there is an increase of atrial fibrillation (AF) and other vascular risk factors. We investigated trends in stroke severity at hospital admission with respect to AF and other risk factors in a prospective national stroke registry from 2005 to 2020.

METHODS: Data from the prospective Austrian Stroke Unit Registry were used to study demographic and clinical factors associated with the change in admission stroke severity over years. Time trends in admission stroke severity of patients with pre-stroke modified Rankin Score ≤ 3 were investigated with respect to clinical variables and predefined age groups 18-54, 55-64, 65-74, 75-84 and ≥ 85 years. Time trends were studied using robust generalized linear models assuming normal distribution with a log link. Stroke severity on admission was assessed according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale Score (NIHSS).

RESULTS: In total, 140,312 patients with acute ischemic stroke were included in the analysis. Within the study period, mean patients’ age increased from 70 to 72 years (p < 0.001) and median NIHSS at admission decreased from 4 to 3 (p < 0.001). The frequency of AF increased from 25 to 32% (p < 0.001). The decrease in median admission NIHSS was evident in all relevant subgroups but more pronounced in patients with risk factors including AF, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, elderly patients and those with pre-stroke disability.

CONCLUSION: Despite an aging population and generally increasing AF frequency, we observed a consistent trend towards less disabling strokes on admission.

PMID:35307755 | DOI:10.1007/s00415-022-11079-x

Int Ophthalmol. 2022 Mar 21. doi: 10.1007/s10792-021-02131-2. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the role of prophylactic laser retinopexy in preventing rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in acute retinal necrosis (ARN).

METHODS: Pubmed, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched for eligible studies from inception to July 2020. Comprehensive clinical demographics were extracted from each study by two independent investigators. A random effects model was selected to analyze the OR of RRD risk and visual outcome with 95%CI. Subsequent subgroup and sensitivity analysis were conducted to evaluate the source of heterogeneity.

RESULTS: A total of eight studies and 247 eyes (111 prophylactic laser retinopexy eyes and 136 eyes receiving antiviral treatment) were included in this analysis. There was moderate statistical heterogeneity across all studies. When compared with routine antiviral treatment alone, RRD risk decreased in patients receiving prophylactic laser retinopexy, however, this was not statistically significant (P = 0.09, OR = 0.42, 95%CI: 0.15-1.15). There was significant improvement in BCVA during the follow-up period in the prophylactic laser retinopexy subgroup (P = 0.01, WMD = – 0.98, 95%CI: – 1.74, – 0.22).

CONCLUSION: Based on current analysis, our results did not support convincing evidence of prophylactic laser in preventing RRD. Future studies featuring high-quality, multicenter trials will be required to correct baseline characteristics.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: This meta-analysis has been retrospectively registered in Prospero (registration number: CRD42020201008).

PMID:35307785 | DOI:10.1007/s10792-021-02131-2

Med Sci Monit. 2022 Mar 21;28:e935366. doi: 10.12659/MSM.935366.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to determine the safety and efficacy of enteral nutrition in combination with microbial preparations for bowel preparation in elderly patients with colorectal cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS Were divided 160 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer into a control group (n=80) and an experimental group (n=80) by random number table method. The control group took the traditional intestinal preparation, and the experimental group took oral enteral nutrition combined with microbial preparations. Both groups were treated by the same medical team. The postoperative recovery, complications, nutritional status, inflammation, and other indicators of the 2 groups were compared. RESULTS The nutritional status of the experimental group was significantly better than that of the control group, the incidence of tissue inflammation and postoperative complications was significantly lower than that of the control group, and the stool test results of patients with postoperative diarrhea were better than those of the control group, and the difference between groups was statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The intestinal preparation using enteral nutrition combined with microbial preparations can alleviate the systemic inflammatory response in elderly patients, improve the nutritional status, reduce the occurrence of postoperative complications, and facilitate rapid postoperative recovery.

PMID:35307727 | DOI:10.12659/MSM.935366