Patient Outcome

BACKGROUND: In Japan, preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgical resection is the standard treatment for patients with locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. However, the risk of recurrence after surgical resection remains high. Although a randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of nivolumab, a fully human monoclonal anti-programmed death 1 antibody, as postoperative adjuvant therapy after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery established its superior efficacy as adjuvant therapy, the efficacy for patients who received preoperative adjuvant chemotherapy has not been demonstrated...

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to investigate the effects of secondary bacterial and fungal infections on patient outcomes in patients followed up in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODOLOGY: We retrospectively analyzed reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) positive COVID-19 patients followed in the ICU of our hospital between March 2020 and June 2021, using the hospital information system. Demographic data, pathogens causing a secondary infection, onset time of secondary infection, and patient outcomes were recorded...

INTRODUCTION: Intestinal infections are a significant health issue; antibiotics are essential in treating acute intestinal infections. However, evidence in the literature shows that the excessive use of antibiotics has created many threats to human health. This work aimed to study the impact of apple pectin in combination with antibiotics on treating patients with amebiasis and dysentery. METHODOLOGY: Patients suffering from acute intestinal diseases (amebiasis and dysentery) were treated with traditional antibiotic therapy and a new formula containing antibiotics with low and high methoxylated apple pectin in a randomized block design...

INTRODUCTION: At the beginning in July 2023, there has been a significant increase in daily hospital admissions attributed to the new variant of COVID-19. Aim of this study is to explore the clinical benefits and outcomes of using linezolid in the management of pneumonic COVID-19 patients. METHODOLOGY: The study included 230 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by RT-PCR. Group 1: 118 patients were managed with Linazolid alongside steroids. Group 2: (control group) patients treated according to the Protocol for Egyptian COVID-19 management outlines and WHO guidelines (112 patients)...

Gallbladder cancer is a common type of biliary tract tumor. Optimal management for early stage cases typically involves radical excision as the primary treatment modality. Various surgical techniques, including laparoscopic, robotic, and navigational surgery, have demonstrated favorable clinical outcomes in radical gallbladder excision. Unfortunately, most patients are ineligible for surgical intervention because of the advanced stage of the disease upon diagnosis. Consequently, non-surgical interventions, such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy, have become the mainstay of treatment for patients in advanced stages...

BACKGROUND: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are inherited genetic variants that can be easily determined in everyday clinical practice using a simple blood or even saliva test. They have the potential to serve as non-invasive biomarkers to predict cancer-specific patient outcomes after resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Specifically, two recent analyses led to the identification and validation of three SNPs in the CD44 and CHI3L2 genes (SNPrs187115, SNPrs353630, SNPrs684559) that can be utilised as predictive biomarkers to help select patients who are likely to benefit from pancreatic resection...

BACKGROUND: Chronic heart failure (CHF) poses a significant burden on both patients and their family caregivers (FCs), as it is associated with psychological distress and impaired quality of life (QOL). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) supports QOL by focusing on value living and facilitates acceptance of psychological difficulties by cultivating psychological flexibility. A protocol is presented that evaluates the effectiveness of a dyad ACT-based intervention delivered via smartphone on QOL and other related health outcomes compared with CHF education only...

BACKGROUND: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood and bone marrow, is the most common and fatal type of adult leukemia. Therapeutic web portals have great potential to facilitate AML research advances and improve health outcomes by increasing the availability of data, the speed and reach of new knowledge, and the communication between researchers and clinicians in the field. However, there is a need for stakeholder research regarding their optimal features, utility, and implementation...

OBJECTIVE: Underdosing of antibiotics is common in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). We hypothesized that in critically-ill patients with SCD receiving cefotaxime during acute chest syndrome, the continuous infusion may outperform the intermittent administration in achieving pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets. DESIGN: Prospective before-after study. SETTINGS: Intensive-care unit of a French teaching hospital and sickle cell disease referral center...

BACKGROUND: The conventional methods and strategies used for knowledge translation (KT) in academic research often fall short in effectively reaching stakeholders, such as citizens, practitioners, and decision makers, especially concerning complex healthcare issues. In response, a growing number of scholars have been embracing arts-based knowledge translation (ABKT) to target a more diverse audience with varying backgrounds and expectations. Despite the increased interest, utilization, and literature on arts-based knowledge translation over the past three decades, no studies have directly compared traditional knowledge translation with arts-based knowledge translation methods...

BACKGROUND: Liver hepatocellular carcinoma (LIHC) is a prevalent form of primary liver cancer. Research has demonstrated the contribution of tumor stem cells in facilitating tumor recurrence, metastasis, and treatment resistance. Despite this, there remains a lack of established cancer stem cells (CSCs)-associated genes signatures for effectively predicting the prognosis and guiding the treatment strategies for patients diagnosed with LIHC. METHODS: The single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and bulk RNA transcriptome data were obtained based on public datasets and computerized firstly using CytoTRACE package and One Class Linear Regression (OCLR) algorithm to evaluate stemness level, respectively...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) accounts for 545 million people living with chronic respiratory disorders and is the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. COPD is a progressive disease, characterized by episodes of acute worsening of symptoms such as cough, dyspnea, and sputum production. AREAS COVERED: Airway inflammation is a prominent feature of COPD. Chronic airway inflammation results in airway structural remodeling and emphysema...

Substance use disorder is a global mental health issue. Purpose in life, Loneliness and depression are key indicators of poor mental health, and people with substance use disorder are more likely to experience low purpose in life, depression, and loneliness. This study aims to further the understanding of purpose in life, depression and loneliness among substance use disorders (SUD) patients in three hospitals in Ghana. It uses a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 425 SUD inpatients were screened. Beck Depression Inventory-II, the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Purpose in Life Test were utilised to measure depression, loneliness, and purpose in life respectively...

The introduction of the new heart allocation system in the United States in 2018 resulted in an increase in the number of heart transplants (HT) performed among patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, whether that affected medium-term post-HT outcomes in this group of patients remains unknown. We conducted an analysis of the United Network for Organ Sharing Transplant Database, including adults with HCM who underwent heart transplantation between 2015 and 2021. Patients were divided into two equal-duration eras: Era 1 (October 17, 2015, to October 17, 2018) and Era 2 (October 18, 2018, to October 18, 2021)...

In this review we summarize the current evidence describing the management of patients with relapsed/refractory MCL and outline the various novel therapeutics that have been developed over the past two decades. We also describe how overall response rates, complete response rates, duration of responses, and life expectancy have dramatically increased with the introduction of novel therapies, particularly covalent Bruton Tyrosine Kinase inhibitors (BTKi) and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy. The most recent emerging options for patients with progressive disease following BTKi or CAR-T, including non-covalent BTKi, antibody-drug conjugates, Bcl-2 inhibitors, and bispecific antibodies, may further improve response rates and outcomes...

BACKGROUND: Reconstruction of forefoot defects often necessitates free tissue transfer due to the limited availability of local tissue. Microsurgical reconstruction of the forefoot remains challenging as it requires durable yet thin, soft tissue coverage for functional restoration. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of free thin perforator flaps for forefoot reconstruction, with a focus on functional outcomes. METHODS: Patients who underwent microsurgical forefoot reconstruction between March 2020 and September 2023 were reviewed...

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of combining proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) with threshold inspiratory muscle training (TIMT), compared with TIMT alone, on respiratory function in neurocritical patients who experienced a weaning failure. Forty-seven participants (mostly after a stroke), were randomly divided into the experimental group (n = 24) and the control group (n = 23). The control group received usual care and TIMT, whereas the experimental group, in addition, underwent four 90-s periods of manual PNF...

PURPOSE: Small left atrial (LA) volume was recently reported to be one of the best predictors of acute pulmonary embolism (PE)-related adverse events (AE). There is currently no data available regarding the impact that body surface area (BSA)-indexing of atrial measurements has on the association with PE-related adverse events. Our aim is to assess the impact of indexing atrial measurements to BSA on the association between computed tomography (CT) atrial measurements and AE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective study (IRB: 2015P000425)...

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to analyse the effect of early weight bearing versus late weight bearing on rehabilitation outcomes after ankle fractures, which primarily include ankle function scores, time to return to work/daily life and complication rates. METHODS: The China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, China Science and Technology Journal, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched...

Patient and Public Participation (PPP) is key to improving health systems. Yet, studies have shown that PPP implementations across many countries have been largely tokenistic. Particularly, in Ghana, whilst PPP is prioritised in national health policies and legislation, there appears to be little research focused on understanding PPP's role in health system improvement. The aim of this study, therefore, is to examine how PPP is working across the Ghanaian health system levels, as well as to understand the perspectives and experiences of participants on how PPP contributes to health system improvement...