Tag: statistics

Zhonghua Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi. 2022 Jan 7;57(1):29-35. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn115330-20210331-00163.

ABSTRACT

Objective: To observe the changes of olfactory function, intranasal trigeminal nerve function and taste function in patients with upper respiratory tract post-viral olfactory dysfunction (PVOD), and to explore the correlation of chemosensory function. Methods: The clinical data of 42 patients with PVOD who visited to the Olfactory and Taste Center of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January to December of 2019 were analyzed retrospectively, including 20 males and 22 females, aging (48.86±11.47) years (x¯). Twenty subjects in normal control group were selected according to the sex ratio of PVOD patients. Sniffin’ Sticks olfactory tests were performed on the subjects, including threshold test (T), discrimination test (D) and identification test (I), and the sum of the above three test scores was the TDI value. At the same time, olfactory event-related potentials (oERPs), trigeminal event-related potentials (tERPs) and taste function test were performed. According to the taste function test, the patients were divided into normal gustation (NG) group and gustatory dysfunction (GD) group. The results of olfaction, taste and intranasal trigeminal nerve function tests were compared among different groups, and the correlation analysis was carried out. SPSS statistical software was used for statistical analysis. Results: GD was present in 14 (33.3%) of 42 PVOD patients with a course of PVOD of 5 (3, 6) months (M (Q₁, Q₃)). The gustatory function of patients with PVOD was related to gender (r=0.565, P<0.001), smoking status (r=-0.512, P=0.001), duration (r=-0.357, P=0.020) and olfactory function (all P<0.05). The olfactory function of GD group was worse than that of NG group, and the differences of TDI value and T value between the two groups were statistically significant (10.25±4.58 vs 13.35±3.61, 1.54±0.66 vs 2.10±0.88, t value was 2.40 and 2.10 respectively, both P<0.05). The amplitudes of oERPs and tERPs were significantly lower in GD group than those in NG group (all P<0.05). Conclusion: In patients with PVOD, the subjective and objective olfactory function, intranasal trigeminal nerve function and taste function were decreased, and there was a correlation, suggesting that there was a synergistic effect between the chemosensory functions of PVOD patients.

PMID:35090206 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn115330-20210331-00163

Fundam Clin Pharmacol. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1111/fcp.12763. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

L-arginine, a NO donor; Sodium hydrosulphide (NaHS), a hydrogen (H₂ S) donor; Tricarbonyldichlororuthenium (II) dimer (CORM-2), CO donor are characterized as bioactive gas mediators that have been researched for their roles in human physiology. This study aimed to compare the effects of these mediators on pain, anxiety and depression. Ninety-one adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used for the experiments. Locomotor activity, elevated plus maze, forced swimming, tail clip, hot plate, and writhing tests were used for the assessments after the administration of L-arginine (30-100 mg/kg), a NO donor; Sodium hydrosulphide (NaHS) (5-10 mg/kg), a hydrogen (H₂ S) donor; Tricarbonyldichlororuthenium (II) dimer (CORM-2) (5-10 mg/kg), CO donor. i.p. H₂ S, NO, MDA, GSH, and TNF-alpha levels were determined by ELISA. No statistical significance was found in the locomotor activity. NO and CO significantly extended latency at high doses in tail clip test. No significant activity was observed at any dose of all three substances on a hot plate. Both doses of CO and high doses of NO and H₂ S showed an antinociceptive effect in the writhing test. While the opioidergic system plays a role in the spinal antinociceptive effect of L-arginine, both serotonergic and opioidergic systems play a role in its peripheral antinociceptive effect. The serotonergic system plays a role in the peripheral antinociceptive effect of CORM-2. The time spent in open-arm increased significantly in all groups an elevated plus maze. High doses of all three substances significantly increased the duration of immobility in the forced swimming test. No statistical significance was observed in MDA, GSH and TNF-α levels. High doses of NO and CO showed a spinal antinociceptive effect. Both doses of CO and high doses of NO and H₂ S showed a peripheral antinociceptive effect. All three agents showed anxiolytic and depression-like effects.

PMID:35090186 | DOI:10.1111/fcp.12763

Eur J Dent Educ. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1111/eje.12777. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The response to the COVID-19 pandemic potentially reduced the clinical experience and academic education of dental trainees through reduced supervised clinical sessions. Graduating dental students, future employers, and regulators may be concerned over the level of clinical experience of graduates trained within the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to try and document the evidence for, and significance of, this impact.

METHODS: From dental student data in the 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 cohorts attending The University of Sydney, Australia, the number of dental extractions and adjunct oral surgery procedures, as well as final end-of-year examination results, were recorded. Results were compared to determine if differences in experience and final academic achievement existed between these cohorts.

RESULTS: The smallest student cohort, 2017, demonstrated greater clinical experience than the 2018, 2019 and 2020 cohorts. The 2020 COVID-19 affected cohort demonstrated no statistically significant reduction in clinical experience in all measured clinical procedures when compared with the 2018 and 2019 cohorts. The decrease in city teaching hospital clinical experience was compensated by an increase in rural placements. The 2020 cohort achieved the lowest academic results, and this was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: The oral surgery clinical experience of the 2020 dental cohort at The University of Sydney was comparable to prior cohorts. Rural clinics were able to compensate for COVID-19 interruptions to clinical training. The number of students in a cohort, if all other variables remain constant, appeared to affect clinical exposure to a greater extent than COVID-19.

PMID:35090185 | DOI:10.1111/eje.12777

Surg Technol Int. 2022 Jan 28;40:sti40/1548. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have shown the prevalence of depressive disorders has increased within the United States. Studies investigating the impact of depressive disorders following primary THA are limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether patients with depressive disorders have higher rates of: 1) in-hospital lengths of stay (LOS); 2) readmission rates; 3) medical complications; and 4) implant-related complications.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective query of the Humana claims database was performed. Patients undergoing primary THA with a history of depressive disorders were identified by International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Study group patients were matched to controls in a 1:5 ratio by age, sex, and comorbidities. The query yielded 67,245 patients with (n=11,255) and without (n=55,990) depressive disorders. Welch’s t-tests were used to test for significance in LOS between the cohorts; whereas, logistics regression analyses were used for complications and readmissions. A p-value less than 0.003 was statistically significant.

RESULTS: Patients with depressive disorders undergoing primary THA had significantly longer in-hospital LOS (6.59 days vs. 2.96 days, p <0.0001). Additionally, patients with depressive disorders had higher incidence and odds of readmission rates (46.02 vs. 35.43%; OR: 1.55, p <0.0001), medical complications (7.05 vs. 1.84%; OR: 4.04, p <0.0001), and implant-related complications (5.76 vs. 2.75%; OR: 2.16, p <0.0001) compared to patients without depressive disorders.

CONCLUSION: After matching age, sex, and medical comorbidities, the results of the study demonstrate patients with depressive disorders have longer in-hospital LOS and increased rates of complications and readmission rates. The study is useful as it can allow orthopedic surgeons to properly counsel these patients of the potential complications which may arise following their procedure.

PMID:35090180

J Neurosurg Spine. 2022 Jan 28:1-12. doi: 10.3171/2021.11.SPINE211098. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Noninvasive electrical stimulation represents a distinct group of devices used to augment fusion rates. However, data regarding outcomes of noninvasive electrical stimulation have come from a small number of studies. The goal of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine outcomes of noninvasive electrical stimulation used as an adjunct to fusion procedures to improve rates of successful fusion.

METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Clinical Trials database were searched according to search strategy and PRISMA guidelines. Random-effects meta-analyses of fusion rates with the three main modalities of noninvasive electrical stimulation, capacitively coupled stimulation (CCS), pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs), and combined magnetic fields (CMFs), were conducted using R version 4.1.0 (The R Foundation for Statistical Computing). Both retrospective studies and clinical trials were included. Animal studies were excluded. Risk-of-bias analysis was performed with the Risk of Bias 2 (RoB 2) and Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I) tools.

RESULTS: Searches of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Clinical Trials database identified 8 articles with 1216 participants meeting criteria from 213 initial results. There was a high overall risk of bias identified for the majority of randomized studies. No meta-analysis could be performed for CCS as only 1 study was identified. Meta-analysis of 6 studies of fusion rates in PEMF did not find any difference between treatment and control groups (OR 1.89, 95% CI 0.36-9.80, p = 0.449). Meta-analysis of 2 studies of CMF found no difference in fusion rates between control and treatment groups (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.07-11.93, p = 0.939). Subgroup analysis of PEMF was limited given the small number of studies and patients, although significantly increased fusion rates were seen in some subgroups.

CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis of clinical outcomes and fusion rates in noninvasive electrical stimulation compared to no stimulation did not identify any increases in fusion rates for any modality. A high degree of heterogeneity between studies was noted. Although subgroup analysis identified significant differences in fusion rates in certain groups, these findings were based on a small number of studies and further research is needed. This analysis does not support routine use of these devices to augment fusion rates, although the data are limited by a high risk of bias and a small number of available studies.

PMID:35090134 | DOI:10.3171/2021.11.SPINE211098

Int J Dent Hyg. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1111/idh.12582. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The null hypothesis is that there is no difference in the post-operative anti-inflammatory efficacy of chlorhexidine (CHX), 2% saline rinses (SR) and a herbal mouthwash (MW) after non-surgical mechanical debridement (MD) for treatment of peri-implant mucositis (PiM). The aim was to compare the post-operative anti-inflammatory efficacy of CHX, 2% SR and a herbal oral rinse after non-surgical MD of PiM.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present randomized controlled trial had a single-blinded parallel arm design. Patients diagnosed with PiM were enrolled. Demographic information were recorded. All patients underwent MD and were randomly divided into 4 groups: CHX-group: 0.12% non-alcoholic CHX; Sodium chloride (NaCl) group: 2% NaCl rinses; Herbal MW group: Herbal-based MW; and H₂ O group: distilled water with peppermint flavor. After MD, all participants were advised to rinse twice daily (every 12 hrs) for 2-weeks with their respective MWs. In all groups, peri-implant modified plaque index (mPI), modified gingival index (mGI), and probing depth (PD) were measured at baseline and at 12-weeks of follow-up. Sample-size was estimated using data from a pilot investigation; and group-comparisons were performed. Statistical significance was confirmed when P-values were below 0.01.

RESULTS: Sixty individuals (15 patients/group) were included. At baseline, mPI, mGI, and PD were comparable in all groups. At baseline, there was no significant difference in peri-implant mPI, mGI and PD in all groups. At 12-weeks’ follow-up, there was a statistically significant reduction in peri-implant mPI (P< 0.01), mGI (P< 0.01) and PD (P< 0.01) in CHX, NaCl and herbal MW groups compared with H₂ O group. There was no significant relation between implant location, duration for which, implants were functional, gender and peri-implant clinical parameters in all groups.

CONCLUSION: After non-surgical MD, post-operative use of CHX and herbal and NaCl MWs is useful for the management of PiM in the short-term.

PMID:35090087 | DOI:10.1111/idh.12582

J Magn Reson Imaging. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1002/jmri.28068. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Lymph node (LN) staging plays an important role in treatment decision-making. Current problem is that preoperative detection of LN involvement is always highly challenging for radiologists.

PURPOSE: To explore the value of the nomogram model combining intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion-weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) and radiomics features from the primary lesion of rectal adenocarcinoma in assessing the non-enlarged lymph node metastasis (N-LNM) preoperatively.

STUDY TYPE: Retrospective.

POPULATION: A total of 126 patients (43% female) comprising a training group (n = 87) and a validation group (n = 39) with pathologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma.

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A 3.0 Tesla (T); T₂ -weighted imaging (T₂ WI) with fast spin-echo (FSE) sequence; IVIM-DWI spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence.

ASSESSMENT: Based on pathological analysis of the surgical specimen, patients were classified into negative LN (LN-) and positive LN (LN+) groups. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), diffusion coefficient (D), pseudo diffusion coefficient (D*) and microvascular volume fraction (f) values of primary lesion of rectal adenocarcinoma were measured. Three-dimensional (3D) radiomics features were measured on T₂ WI and IVIM-DWI. A nomogram model including IVIM-DWI and radiomics features was developed.

STATISTICAL TESTS: General_univariate_analysis and multivariate logistic regression were used for radiomics features selection. The performance of the nomogram was assessed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA).

RESULTS: The LN+ group had a significantly lower D* value ([13.20 ± 13.66 vs. 23.25 ± 18.71] × 10^-3 mm² /sec) and a higher f value (0.43 ± 0.12 vs. 0.34 ± 0.10) than the LN- group in the training cohort. The nomogram model combined D*, f, and radiomics features had a better evaluated performance (AUC = 0.864) than any other model in the training cohort.

DATE CONCLUSION: The nomogram model including IVIM-DWI and MRI radiomics features in the primary lesion of rectal adenocarcinoma was associated with the N-LNM.

EVIDENCE LEVEL: 4 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

PMID:35090079 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.28068

J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2022 Jan 28:gbac014. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbac014. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: In previous research on retirement, what individuals value in life is often assumed to remain stable after the transition into retirement. However, retirement exposes individuals to new social settings and might thus prompt them to re-evaluate their life orientations. Quantitative empirical knowledge about this process is limited, though. This study examines the impact of retirement on changes in the perceived importance of self-development, social status, societal contribution, and generativity in older adults’ lives. We draw on the life-course framework to develop hypotheses about which life orientations are more likely to change after retirement and how.

METHODS: We analyzed data collected in 2015 and 2018 among 5,034 Dutch individuals aged 60-65 and employed at baseline. Around half had fully retired at follow-up (either voluntarily or involuntarily), and ten percent worked after retirement.

RESULTS: Conditional change models reveal that voluntary full retirement was linked to statistically significant – but (very) small – decreases in the importance of self-development, social status, societal contribution, and generativity compared to continuous career work. Differences in changes of life orientations between retirement processes (i.e., post-retirement work, involuntary full retirement) were also small.

DISCUSSION: The findings point to relatively high levels of continuity during the transition from career employment to retirement, given the small effect sizes observed. The notion that after retirement, individuals will re-evaluate what they value in life – as expected in light of the exposure-based mechanism from the life-course literature – seems to be less pronounced than initially expected.

PMID:35090023 | DOI:10.1093/geronb/gbac014

Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2022 Jan 28. doi: 10.1002/cpt.2534. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has a major impact not only on public health and daily living, but also on clinical trials worldwide. To investigate the potential impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the initiation of clinical trials, we have descriptively analysed the longitudinal change in phase II and III interventional clinical trials initiated in Europe and in the United States. Based on the public clinical trial register EU Clinical Trials Register and clinicaltrials.gov, we conducted (a) a yearly comparison of the number of initiated trials from 2010 to 2020 and (b) a monthly comparison from January 2020 to February 2021 of the number of initiated trials. The analyses indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic affected both the initiation of clinical trials overall and the initiation of non-Covid-19 trials. An increase in the overall numbers of clinical trials could be observed both in Europe and the US in 2020 as compared to 2019. However, the number of non-Covid-19 trials initiated is reduced as compared to the previous decade, with a slightly larger relative decrease in the US as compared to Europe. Additionally, the monthly trend for the initiation of non-Covid-19 trials differs between regions. In the US, after a sharp decrease in April 2020, trial numbers reached the levels of 2019 from June 2020 onwards. In Europe, the decrease was less pronounced, but trial numbers mainly remained below the 2019 average until February 2021.

PMID:35090044 | DOI:10.1002/cpt.2534

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 28;17(1):e0263301. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263301. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals have been found to endorse conspiracy beliefs. Socio-demographic variables, personality functioning, anxiety, and loneliness could be risk factors for this endorsement.

METHODS: In a representative sample of the German population (N = 2,503) measures of conspiracy mentality, conspiracy-related beliefs toward COVID-19, personality functioning (OPD-SQS), anxiety (HADS), and loneliness (UCLA) were assessed. Pearson product-moment correlations and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted.

RESULTS: Conspiracy mentality and conspiracy-related beliefs toward COVID-19 were strongly correlated. Regression analyses found younger age, male gender, lower education, and lower income to be associated with conspiracy mentality. The subscales relationship model and self-perception of the OPD-SQS were positively related to conspiracy mentality whereas interpersonal contact was negatively associated. Higher levels of anxiety were statistically predictive for conspiracy mentality.

CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate a contribution of personality functioning to the understanding of conspiracy mentality and thus to the advancement of interventions during the pandemic.

PMID:35089987 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0263301