Long-term care

BACKGROUND: Thyroid cancer diagnoses have increased over recent decades at a rate much higher than that of any other cancer in Australia. Rural patients are known to have reduced access to healthcare and may have different thyroid cancer presentation rates. This study examined the relationship between thyroid cancer diagnosis and patient rurality. METHODS: Data from the Australia and New Zealand Thyroid Cancer Registry from 2017 to 2022 were analyzed, stratifying patient postcodes into rurality groups using the Australian Statistical Geography Standard...

AIMS: Current guidelines recommend implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy in patients with heart failure, a left ventricular ejection fraction of ≤35%, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III. However, the evidence regarding the benefit of primary prevention ICD is less consistent in patients with NYHA class III. We investigated the long-term effects of primary prevention ICD implantation according to NYHA class in an extended follow-up study of the DANISH trial...

AIM: Whereas voice behaviour has been identified as a key precursor to safe and high-quality patient care, little is known about how voice relates to key workforce outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between certified nursing assistants' perceived promotive voice behaviour (speaking up with suggestions for future improvement) and prohibitive voice behaviour (speaking up about problems or potentially harmful situations) and their self-reported levels of job satisfaction, work engagement and turnover intentions...

BACKGROUND Preterm birth is one of the main causes of neonatal death worldwide. One strategy focused on preventing preterm birth is the administration of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) during pregnancy. Omega-3 LCPUFAs, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are essential in metabolic and physiological processes during embryonic and fetal development. This study aimed to compare DHA and EPA levels in 44 women with preterm births and 44 women with term births at a tertiary hospital in West Java Province, Indonesia, between November 2022 and March 2023...

Low-cost ambient sensors have been identified as a promising technology for monitoring air pollution at a high spatio-temporal resolution. However, the pollutant data captured by these cost-effective sensors are less accurate than their conventional counterparts and require careful calibration to improve their accuracy and reliability. In this paper, we propose to leverage temporal information, such as the duration of time a sensor has been deployed and the time of day the reading was taken, in order to improve the calibration of low-cost sensors...

Optical fiber sensors are extensively employed for their unique merits, such as small size, being lightweight, and having strong robustness to electronic interference. The above-mentioned sensors apply to more applications, especially the detection and monitoring of vital signs in medical or clinical. However, it is inconvenient for daily long-term human vital sign monitoring with conventional monitoring methods under the uncomfortable feelings generated since the skin and devices come into direct contact. This study introduces a non-invasive surveillance system that employs an optical fiber sensor and advanced deep-learning methodologies for precise vital sign readings...

INTRODUCTION: Nutritional management plays a crucial role in treating patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), working to prevent and control the progression of chronic non-communicable diseases. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effects of individualized nutritional interventions on weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), triglycerides (TGs), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and heart rate (HR)} over 12 months and subsequently at follow-up (15 months)...

Background : Conflicting data exist on the occurrence and outcome of infective endocarditis (IE) after pulmonary valve implantation. Objectives: This study sought to assess the differences between transcatheter pulmonary valve implantation (TPVI) and surgical pulmonary valve replacement (SPVR). Methods : All patients ≥ 4 years who underwent isolated pulmonary valve replacement between 2005 and 2018 were analyzed based on the data of a major German health insurer (≈9.2 million insured subjects representative of the German population)...

Background : Photodynamic therapy (PDT) can be a promising alternative for patients with acne vulgaris. Our study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of red light photodynamic therapy with BF-200 ALA gel in the treatment of different types of acne vulgaris. Methods : We performed a retrospective, observational study of a series of 22 cases. All patients were treated according to a mild PDT protocol. After a careful wash of the affected skin areas, BF-200 ALA gel was applied to the skin in a thin layer and incubated for 30 min, followed by illumination using narrow-spectrum red light (635 nm) at a dose of 4 J/cm2 ...

Background : Recently, minimally invasive access via right anterolateral mini-thoracotomy (RAMT) has been gaining popularity in cardiac surgery. This approach is also an option for surgeons performing aortic surgery. The aim of this study is to present our surgical method, highlighting the total endoscopic minimally invasive approach via RAMT for replacement of the ascending aorta (AAR) with or without involvement of the aortic root and the aortic valve. Methods : Clinical data of 44 patients from three participating institutions with AAR with or without involvement of the aortic valve or aortic root via RAMT between April 2017 and February 2024 were retrospectively analyzed...

Aim : To assess the medium and long-term performance of the Endurant stent graft in a cohort of consecutive patients treated with this device for an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) both inside and outside of the instructions for use (IFU) and to find factors influencing the outcomes. Methods : Our observational, retrospective, single-center study included all patients who consecutively underwent endovascular aneurysm repair with the Endurant stent graft from February 2009 to January 2023. Patients with an AAA to treat according to current guidelines were included...

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms can be applied in breast cancer risk prediction and prevention by using patient history, scans, imaging information, and analysis of specific genes for cancer classification to reduce overdiagnosis and overtreatment. This scoping review aimed to identify the barriers encountered in applying innovative AI techniques and models in developing breast cancer risk prediction scores and promoting screening behaviors among adult females. Findings may inform and guide future global recommendations for AI application in breast cancer prevention and care for female populations...

BACKGROUND: In recent years, the subspecialty of neuropalliative care has emerged with the goal of improving the quality of life of patients suffering from neurological disease, though gaps remain in neuropalliative care education and training. E-learning has been described as a way to deliver interactive and facilitated lower-cost learning to address global gaps in medical care. We describe here the development of a novel, international, hybrid, and asynchronous curriculum with both self-paced modules and class-based lectures on neuropalliative care topics designed for the neurologist interested in palliative care, the palliative care physician interested in caring for neurological patients, and any other physician or advanced care providers interested in neuropalliative care...

BACKGROUND: The relationship between plasma tenofovir (TFV) concentration at the beginning of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) administration and the development of renal dysfunction during long-term administration of TDF has not been demonstrated yet. The objective of the present study was to determine whether plasma TFV trough concentrations during early TDF administration could serve as an indicator of renal dysfunction when TDF is administered for long periods. METHODS: We included 149 HIV-1 infected Japanese patients who were prescribed TDF...

BACKGROUND: Health care providers play a crucial role in increasing overall awareness, screening, and treatment of cancer, leading to reduced cancer mortality. We sought to characterize the impact of provider density on colorectal cancer population-level mortality. METHODS: County-level provider data, obtained from the Area Health Resource File between 2016 and 2018, were used to calculate provider density per county. These data were merged with county-level colorectal cancer mortality 2016-2020 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

BACKGROUND: Patients with initial stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) are at high risk for further strokes, death or cardiovascular events. Even the first-ever stroke is associated with a high chance of disability and need for assistance. The risk of long-term health care demands increases with each subsequent event. Although the inpatient sector already provides a high standard of care in Germany, it can be difficult to obtain cross-sectoral aftercare. Thus, the study investigated whether a structured case management program can avoid stroke recurrences...

UNLABELLED: Stress ulcer prophylaxis is started in the critical care unit to decrease the risk of upper gastrointestinal ulcers in critically ill persons and to decrease mortality caused by stress ulcer complications. Unfortunately, the drugs are often continued after recovery through discharge, paving the way for unnecessary polypharmacy. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including patients admitted to the adult critical care unit and started on the stress ulcer prophylaxis with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or histamine receptor 2 blocker (H2 blocker) with an aim to determine the prevalence of inappropriate continuation at discharge and associated factors...

BACKGROUND: The benefits of new glucose-lowering agents on cardiovascular disease have been demonstrated in randomized clinical trials. However, more evidence is required to assess the additive value of a combined therapy based on sodium-glucose transporter inhibitors (SGLT2i) and glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists (GLP1ra) in a real-world population. METHODS: A non-concurrent prospective study was conducted using integrated electronic medical records from primary care and hospitals obtained through 'Big data' technologies in a healthy area in Galicia...

OBJECTIVE: A key hurdle in broader next-generation sequencing (NGS) biomarker testing access in oncology is the ongoing debate on NGS's cost-effectiveness. We conducted a systematic review of existing evidence of the costs of NGS as a biomarker testing strategy in oncology and developed policy suggestions. METHODS: We searched multiple databases for studies reporting cost-comparisons and cost-effectiveness of NGS across oncology indications and geographies between 2017 and 2022, inclusive...

OBJECTIVES: To understand the role of high-quality home health care for fall prevention. DESIGN: A 100% sample of national Medicare claims and home health survey data (2015-2017) were used to assess fall injuries and receipt of a fall risk assessment among recently hospitalized Medicare fee-for-service home health users aged ≥66 years. Subanalyses examined patients by prior fall history status and hospital admission diagnosis type (eg, neurologic, respiratory, cardiovascular, infection, and orthopedic diagnoses)...