Data analysis

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults, which remains incurable and often recurs rapidly after initial therapy. While large efforts have been dedicated to uncover genomic/transcriptomic alternations associated with the recurrence of GBMs, the evolutionary trajectories of matched pairs of primary and recurrent (P-R) GBMs remain largely elusive. It remains challenging to identify genes associated with time to relapse (TTR) and construct a stable and effective prognostic model for predicting TTR of primary GBM patients...

BACKGROUND: Varying trends in children's and adolescents' physical activity (PA) have been reported during the last 10-20 years. Trends in sedentary behavior (SB) have been studied only rarely. The purpose of the present study was to describe population-based trends in accelerometer-measured PA, standing and SB, among Finnish 7-15-year-old children and adolescents, and to evaluate the potential influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on these behaviors. METHOD: A cross-sectional population-based Finnish school-aged physical activity Study (FSPA) measured daily steps, vigorous (VPA), moderate (MPA), moderate-to-vigorous (MVPA), light physical activity (LPA), standing, and SB by an accelerometer for seven consecutive days in 2016, 2018, and 2022 (n = 7...

BACKGROUND: Universal Health Coverage has been openly recognized in the United Nations health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, though missing under the Millennium Development Goals. Ghana implemented the National Health Insurance Scheme programme in 2004 to improve financial access to healthcare for its citizens. This programme targeting low-income individuals and households includes an Exempt policy for older persons and indigents. Despite population ageing, evidence of the participation and perceptions of older persons in the scheme in cash grant communities is unknown...

BACKGROUND: Ethical challenges constitute an inseparable part of daily decision-making processes in all areas of healthcare. Ethical challenges are associated with moral distress that can lead to burnout. Clinical ethics support has proven useful to address and manage such challenges. This paper explores how prehospital emergency personnel manage ethical challenges. The study is part of a larger action research project to develop and test an approach to clinical ethics support that is sensitive to the context of emergency medicine...

INTRODUCTION: The ongoing crisis in Syria has divided the country, leading to significant deterioration of the healthcare infrastructure and leaving millions of people struggling with poor socioeconomic conditions. Consequently, the affordability of healthcare services for the population has been compromised. Cancer patients in Northwest Syria have faced difficulties in accessing healthcare services, which increased their financial distress despite the existence of humanitarian health and aid programs...

BACKGROUND: Appendicular lean mass (ALM) is a good predictive biomarker for sarcopenia. And previous studies have reported the association between ALM and stroke or Alzheimer's disease (AD), however, the causal relationship is still unclear, The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether genetically predicted ALM is causally associated with the risk of stroke and AD by performing Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. METHODS: A two-sample MR study was designed...

PURPOSE: To methodically assess the effectiveness of augmentative plating (AP) and exchange nailing (EN) in managing nonunion following intramedullary nailing for long bone fractures of the lower extremity. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library were searched to gather clinical studies regarding the use of AP and EN techniques in the treatment of nonunion following intramedullary nailing of lower extremity long bones. The search was conducted up until May 2023...

OBJECTIVE: Rib fracture non-union is an uncommon complication of traumatic rib fractures. Our objective was to perform a scoping review of the literature for the management of rib fracture non-union. This included analysis of the variations in surgical technique, complications experienced, and reported outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review and searched databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Embase). We performed abstract and full-text screening, and abstracted data related to pre-operative assessment, surgical technique, complications, and reported outcome measures...

BACKGROUND: Quality improvement (QI) programs require significant financial investment. The authors evaluated the cost-effectiveness of a physician-led, performance-incentivized, QI intervention that increased appropriate peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) use. METHODS: The authors used an economic evaluation from a health care sector perspective. Implementation costs included incentive payments to hospitals and costs for data abstractors and the coordinating center...

BACKGROUND: Insurance-based disparities in access to thyroidectomy are well established. Patients undergoing thyroidectomy by high-volume surgeons have fewer complications and better postoperative outcomes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of Medicaid expansion with access to high-volume centers for thyroidectomy for benign disease. METHODS: The Vizient Clinical Data Base was queried for adult operations for benign thyroid disease from 2010 to 2019...

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the relative dentin abrasivity of whitening toothpastes containing acids using the Radioactive Dentin Abrasivity - Profilometry Equivalent (RDA-PE). METHODS: A total of 100 bovine dentin specimens were prepared and assigned to the following groups (n = 10): 5 hydrogen peroxide (HP) whitening toothpastes (WTH1-WTH5) with or without acid (citric acid, ethylenedinitrilotetraacetic acid disodium, and phosphoric acid), 2 whitening toothpastes with silica and containing citric or phosphoric acid (WTS1 and WTS2), one conventional toothpaste (CT), and 2 reference slurries (RS)...

OBJECTIVES: The rapidly ageing world has placed considerable demands on health and social care. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations (UN) have declared action for this decade (2021-2030) to promote healthy ageing. Operationalisation of successful ageing in the oral health context in terms of its dimensions and their interconnectedness was determined. METHODS: A citation analysis was conducted following a scoping review to determine oral health's relationship with 5 key dimensions of successful ageing...

BACKGROUND: Prescribing by pharmacists is an increasingly common practice worldwide. In Brazil regulation of this practice began in 2013, and the practice remains unexplored as a research topic. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to explore and gain insights into pharmacist prescribing practices in Brazil and assessing pharmacist's perceptions of their training and preparedness to prescribe medications. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between October 2022 and March 2023 via convenience sampling...

BACKGROUND: The phase 1b KEYNOTE-651 study evaluated pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in microsatellite stable or mismatch repair-proficient metastatic colorectal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with microsatellite stable or mismatch repair-proficient metastatic colorectal cancer received pembrolizumab 200 mg every 3 weeks plus 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin (previously untreated; cohort B) or 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan (previously treated with fluoropyrimidine plus oxaliplatin; cohort D) every 2 weeks...

Clinical Risk Management (CRM) is an important instrument to continuously improve safety of health care delivery. In Germany, hospitals are required by law to implement CRM and incidence reporting systems. Since 2010, nation-wide surveys have been conducted periodically to evaluate implementation of CRM in hospitals. The instrument used in these surveys is constantly being updated to reflect previous experiences, as well as to adapt to ongoing trends and developments in CRM practices. The survey instrument used in 2022 consisted of up to 200 items and took up to an hour to complete...

AIM: The aim of this study was to test whether rumination and negative affectivity mediate the relationship between work-family conflict and nurse-assessed patient safety among intensive care unit nurses. BACKGROUND: Most intensive care unit nurses experience work-family conflicts that jeopardise patient safety. Although prior studies have explored the effect of work-family conflict on patient safety, few have investigated whether work-family conflict is associated with patient safety through rumination and negative affectivity among intensive care unit nurses...

Olfactory neuroblastoma is a rare sinonasal malignancy arising from the olfactory epithelium that is characterized by skull base involvement and a modest natural history. Because of its rarity and long course, identification of independent prognostic factors is dependent on multivariate analysis of large, long-term data. In this review, we outline evidence for the evaluation and treatment of olfactory neuroblastoma obtained from recent large-scale population-based studies, meta-analyses and multicenter studies...

BACKGROUND: Understanding the health consequences associated with exposure to risk factors is necessary to inform public health policy and practice. To systematically quantify the contributions of risk factor exposures to specific health outcomes, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 aims to provide comprehensive estimates of exposure levels, relative health risks, and attributable burden of disease for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, from 1990 to 2021...

BACKGROUND: The prescription of injectable anticipatory medications ahead of possible need for last-days-of-life symptom relief is established community practice internationally. Healthcare teams and policy makers view anticipatory medication as having a key role in optimising effective and timely symptom control. However, how these medications are subsequently administered (used) is unclear and warrants detailed investigation to inform interdisciplinary practice and guidance. OBJECTIVE: To identify the frequency, timing and recorded circumstances of the administration of injectable end-of-life anticipatory medications prescribed for patients living at home and in residential care...

BACKGROUND: Early detection and diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are key to preventing progression, and echocardiography has an important diagnostic role. Standard echocardiography might not be feasible in high-prevalence regions due to its high cost, complexity, and time requirement. Handheld echocardiography might be an easy-to-use, low-cost alternative, but its performance in screening for and diagnosing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease needs further investigation...