Tag: statistics

PLoS One. 2022 Feb 4;17(2):e0263386. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0263386. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite increasing attention in the cardiac anesthesiology literature, continuous measurement of right ventricular pressure using a pulmonary artery catheter has not been described in orthotopic liver transplantation, despite similarities in the anesthetic approach to the two populations. We describe our preliminary experience with this technique in orthotopic liver transplantation, and by combining various derived measures with trans-esophageal echocardiography, make some early observations regarding the response of these measures of right ventricular function during the procedure.

METHODS: In this case series, ten patients (five men and five women) undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation in our institution had their surgeries performed while monitored with a pulmonary artery catheter with continuous right ventricular port transduction and trans-esophageal echocardiography. We recorded various right ventricular waveform (early-to-end diastolic pressure difference, right ventricular outflow tract gradient, right ventricular dP/dT and right ventricular end-diastolic pressure) and echocardiographic (right ventricular fractional area change, tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, right ventricular lateral wall strain) and described their change relative to baseline at timepoints five minutes before and after portal vein reperfusion, immediately after hepatic artery reperfusion and on abdominal closure.

RESULTS: Except for tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion at five minutes prior to reperfusion (mean -0.8 cm; 95% CI-1.4, -0.3; p = 0.007), no echocardiographic metric was statistically significantly different at any timepoint relative to baseline. In contrast, changes in right ventricular outflow tract gradient and right ventricular dP/dt were highly significant at multiple timepoints, generally peaking immediately before or after reperfusion before reducing, but not returning to baseline in the neohepatic phase. Nine of 10 participants in this series demonstrated a degree of dynamic right ventricular outflow tract obstruction, which met criteria for hemodynamic significance (> 25 mmHg) in two participants. These changes were not materially affected by cardiac index.

CONCLUSIONS: Dynamic right ventricular outflow tract obstruction of varying severity appears common in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. These results are hypothesis generating and will form the basis of future prospective research.

PMID:35120144 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0263386

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2022 Feb 4;16(2):e0010152. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010152. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes febrile illnesses and has always been misdiagnosed as other viral infections, such as dengue and Zika; thus, a laboratory test is needed. Serological tests are commonly used to diagnose CHIKV infection, but their accuracy is questionable due to varying degrees of reported sensitivities and specificities. Herein, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of serological tests currently available for CHIKV.

METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A literature search was performed in PubMed, CINAHL Complete, and Scopus databases from the 1st December 2020 until 22nd April 2021. Studies reporting sensitivity and specificity of serological tests against CHIKV that used whole blood, serum, or plasma were included. QUADAS-2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias and applicability, while R software was used for statistical analyses. Thirty-five studies were included in this meta-analysis; 72 index test data were extracted and analysed. Rapid and ELISA-based antigen tests had a pooled sensitivity of 85.8% and 82.2%, respectively, and a pooled specificity of 96.1% and 96.0%, respectively. According to our meta-analysis, antigen detection tests serve as a good diagnostic test for acute-phase samples. The IgM detection tests had more than 90% diagnostic accuracy for ELISA-based tests, immunofluorescence assays, in-house developed tests, and samples collected after seven days of symptom onset. Conversely, low sensitivity was found for the IgM rapid test (42.3%), commercial test (78.6%), and for samples collected less than seven of symptom onset (26.2%). Although IgM antibodies start to develop on day 2 of CHIKV infection, our meta-analysis revealed that the IgM detection test is not recommended for acute-phase samples. The diagnostic performance of the IgG detection tests was more than 93% regardless of the test formats and whether the test was commercially available or developed in-house. The use of samples collected after seven days of symptom onset for the IgG detection test suggests that IgG antibodies can be detected in the convalescent-phase samples. Additionally, we evaluated commercial IgM and IgG tests for CHIKV and found that ELISA-based and IFA commercial tests manufactured by Euroimmun (Lübeck, Germany), Abcam (Cambridge, UK), and Inbios (Seattle, WA) had diagnostic accuracy of above 90%, which was similar to the manufacturers’ claim.

CONCLUSION: Based on our meta-analysis, antigen or antibody-based serological tests can be used to diagnose CHIKV reliably, depending on the time of sample collection. The antigen detection tests serve as a good diagnostic test for samples collected during the acute phase (≤7 days post symptom onset) of CHIKV infection. Likewise, IgM and IgG detection tests can be used for samples collected in the convalescent phase (>7 days post symptom onset). In correlation to the clinical presentation of the patients, the combination of the IgM and IgG tests can differentiate recent and past infections.

PMID:35120141 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pntd.0010152

PLoS One. 2022 Feb 4;17(2):e0252097. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252097. eCollection 2022.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Current tuberculosis treatments leave most patients with bronchiectasis and fibrosis, permanent conditions that impair lung function and increase all-cause post-TB mortality. Host-directed therapies (HDTs) may reduce lung inflammation and hasten eradication of infection. Biomarkers can accelerate tuberculosis regimen development, but no studies have yet examined early biomarkers of TB-HDTs.

METHODS: Biomarkers of inflammation and microbicidal activity were evaluated as a part of a recent phase-2 randomized controlled trial of four HDTs in 200 patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and baseline predictors of poor outcome, including CC-11050 (PDE4i), everolimus (mTORi), auranofin (oral gold salt), and ergocalciferol (vitamin D). Two of the 4 arms (CC-11050 and everolimus) showed superior recovery of lung function at day 180 compared to control; none showed accelerated eradication of MTB infection. Patients underwent 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) on entry and day 56. PET signals were analyzed according to total, maximal, and peak glycolytic activity; CT was analyzed according to total modified Hounsfield units to assess radiodensity. Mycobactericidal activity in ex vivo whole blood culture was measured on days 42, 84, and 140. C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured at multiple time points.

RESULTS: All PET/CT parameters showed highly significant reductions from baseline to day 56; however, only maximal or peak glycolytic activity showed further experimental reduction compared to controls, and only in everolimus recipients. CRP dropped precipitously during early treatment, but did so equally in all arms; over the entire period of treatment, the rate of decline of CRP tended to be greater in CC-11050 recipients than in controls but this fell short of statistical significance. Whole blood mycobactericidal activity in ex-vivo culture was enhanced by auranofin compared to controls, but not by other HDTs.

CONCLUSIONS: None of these early biomarkers correctly predicted HDT effects on inflammation or infection across all four experimental arms. Instead, they each appear to show highly specific responses related to HDT mechanisms of action.

PMID:35120127 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0252097

Cir Cir. 2022;90(1):84-89. doi: 10.24875/CIRU.20001324.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The intestinal anastomotic leakage is the most feared surgical complication of a digestive surgery and is associated with a significant increase of morbidity, mortality and hospital stay.

OBJECTIVE: Analyze the risk factors to the intestinal anastomotic leakage in elective surgery.

METHOD: Observational and retrospective study in which we include patients with intestinal anastomosis, in elective surgery at the second level hospital from January 2007 to January 2017.

RESULTS: 64 patients were included in the study, in which 7 presented anastomotic leakage. The statistically significant risk factors associated with anastomotic leakage were, cocaine use (p = 0.030), neoplasia as a primary pathology (p = 0.008), neoadjuvant treatment for neoplasia (p = 0.003), and end-to-end anastomosis (p = 0.037). Patients with a leakage had a longer hospital stay and a mortality of 14.3%.

CONCLUSIONS: The risk factors associated with the presence of anastomotic leakage found in this study are consistent with the reported worldwide literature. However, in our results, it is worth highlighting the use of cocaine as a risk factor, with statistical significance.

PMID:35120114 | DOI:10.24875/CIRU.20001324

Cir Cir. 2022;90(1):64-73. doi: 10.24875/CIRU.20001106.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Despite having been described for several centuries linitis plastica’s (LP) prognostic implication remain unclear.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of LP on the survival of patients undergoing gastrectomy for gastric adenocarcinoma.

METHOD: A single-center retrospective study of cases of LP diagnosed and confirmed by pathological anatomy has been carried out in a third-level center for 5 years.

RESULTS: They were grouped into Linitis Plastica (LP), diffuse non-LP carcinomas (DNLP) and other adenocarcinomas (ADC). 199 gastrectomies performed in the same period of time were included in the comparative analysis. With a median follow-up of 54.5 months (95% CI: 37.0-65.0), the median survival of LP was 14 months (95% CI: 9-27) significantly lower (p = 0.002) compared to DNLP 51.5 months (95% CI: 25-70) and the rest of ADC 62 months (95% CI: 43-68). The OS at 1, 3 and 5 years was statistically worse in the LP group (69, 15, 8%) compared to DNLP (82, 54, 44%) and ADC (89, 63, 54%) (p = 0.073, p <0.001, p <0.001). In the multivariate analysis, LP was identified as an independent risk factor for OS with an HR of 3.26 (p = 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: LP is an independent prognostic factor associated with higher mortality in gastric cancer.

PMID:35120115 | DOI:10.24875/CIRU.20001106

Cir Cir. 2022;90(1):17-23. doi: 10.24875/CIRU.20001411.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Vitamin B12 deficiency can be seen in the cases with sleeve gastrectomy. Because the chief factor in vitamin B12 deficiency is gastric atrophy, we aimed to evaluate the effect of atrophy on postoperative vitamin B12 levels in patients who underwent sleeve gastrectomy.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixty patients were included in this study. Vitamin B12 levels were compared with presence of atrophy before the operation and after vitamin B12 supplementation.

RESULTS: Atrophy was observed in 37 (61.7%) of the cases; 23 (38.3%) patients had no atrophy. There was a statistically significant difference between the presence of atrophy and vitamin B12 levels (p = 0.024). Despite vitamin B12 support, there were statistically significant low vitamin B12 levels after the operation in female patients having atrophy (p = 0.023). The same significance was not observed in males (p = 0.480).

CONCLUSION: Vitamin B12 deficiency following obesity surgery is a condition that must be monitored and prevented. We found that histopathologically confirmed atrophy had an adverse effect on postoperative vitamin B12 levels. These findings can be a guide for the clinicians in the management of these cases.

PMID:35120104 | DOI:10.24875/CIRU.20001411

J Addict Med. 2022 Jan-Feb 01;16(1):27-32. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000000814.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Infective endocarditis (IE) secondary to injection drug use (IDU-IE) is a disease with high morbidity, cost, and rapid demographic evolution. Studies frequently utilize combinations of International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes to identify IDU-IE cases in electronic medical records. This is a validation of this identification strategy in a US cohort.

METHODS: Records from January 1, 2004 to September 31, 2015 for those aged ≥18yo with any ICD-coded IE encounter (inpatient or outpatient) were retrieved from the electronic medical record and then manually reviewed and classified as IDU-IE by strict and inclusive criteria. This registry was then used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of 10 identification algorithms that combined substance use, hepatitis C, and IE ICD codes.

RESULTS: IE was present in 629 of the 2055 manually reviewed records; 109 reported IDU within 3 months of IE diagnosis and an additional 32 during their lifetime (141 cases). In contrast, no algorithm identified more than 46 (33%) of these cases. Algorithms assessing encounters with both an IE and substance use code had specificities >99% but sensitivities ≤11% with negative predictive values of 83% to 84% and positive predictive values ranging from 75% to 91%. Use of a hepatitis C OR substance use code with an IE-coded encounter resulted in higher sensitivities of 22% to 32% but more false positives and overall positive predictive value of <70%. This algorithm limited to age ≤45yo had the best, but still low, discrimination ability with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.62.

CONCLUSION: Substance use and hepatitis C codes have poor ability to accurately classify an IE-coded encounter as IDU-IE or routine IE.

PMID:35120064 | DOI:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000814

J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2022 Feb 1. doi: 10.1097/JNC.0000000000000326. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of sleep disorders and associated factors in people living with HIV (PLWH). This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 385 participants followed-up on an outpatient basis in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Interviews were conducted using the Sociodemographic, Epidemiological and Clinical Form for PLWH and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Descriptive statistics and univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed, and the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were calculated, considering p < .05 as statistically significant. The prevalence of sleep disorders was 43.38%. Having children (p = .0054; OR = 1.91; 95% CI = 1.21-3.01), less than 8 years of education (p = .0013; OR = 2.11; 95% CI = 1.34-3.34), and not engaging in regular physical exercise (p = .0001; OR = 2.61; 95% CI = 1.61-4.23) were factors associated with the occurrence of sleep disorders. It was concluded that almost half of the sample had sleep disorders, especially those with children, low level education, and sedentary habits. These data point to the need for increased guidance on sleep hygiene, in addition to the practice of regular physical exercise for this population.

PMID:35120074 | DOI:10.1097/JNC.0000000000000326

Blood Press Monit. 2022 Jan 31. doi: 10.1097/MBP.0000000000000584. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement is necessary for the evaluation and treatment of hypertension to prevent the progression of subclinical vascular disease, including arterial stiffness. We investigated the associations between brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), a measure of arterial stiffness, and each of office brachial systolic BP (SBP) with and without an observer present (attended or unattended office brachial SBP), attended or unattended office central SBP, and home brachial SBPs (specifically, the means of morning, evening, or morning-evening home brachial SBP) in patients being treated for hypertension. Measurements were performed among 70 adults (mean age, 67.0 ± 9.4 years; women, 51.4%) with a mean attended office brachial SBP of 127.6 ± 14.5 mmHg and mean baPWV of 16.3 ± 2.8 m/s. Univariate analysis showed that higher attended office brachial SBP, morning home brachial SBP, and morning-evening home brachial SBP were each statistically significantly associated with higher baPWV (r = 0.25, P = 0.04; r = 0.37, P = 0.002; and r = 0.32, P = 0.006, respectively). Multiple linear regression analysis with adjustments for traditional cardiovascular risk factors showed that only morning home brachial SBP was statistically significantly associated with baPWV [β = 0.06, 95% confidence interval (0.01-0.11), P = 0.02). In conclusion, higher morning home brachial SBP – but none of the office-measured SBP values – was associated with arterial stiffness.

PMID:35120027 | DOI:10.1097/MBP.0000000000000584

Ann Surg. 2022 Mar 1;275(3):e547-e548. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005294.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:35120063 | DOI:10.1097/SLA.0000000000005294