Medicine
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Hepatoblastoma (HB) is the most common pediatric liver malignancy, typically affecting children within the first 4 years of life. However, only a few validated blood biomarkers are used in clinical evaluation. The current study explored the clinical application and significance of D-dimer levels in patients with HB. ⋯ Elevated D-dimer levels could be a useful determinant biomarker for high-risk features in patients with HB. This finding also supports the clinical application of D-dimer in HB.
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Self-efficacy in essential hypertension can be measured using scales, such as the "Hypertension Self-Care Profile" (HTN-SCP) questionnaire. It assesses "Behavior", "Motivation", and "Self-efficacy" in 3 domains, respectively. This study aimed to validate the Mandarin version of HTN-SCP instrument (HTN-SCP-Mn) targeted at patients of Chinese ethnicity with hypertension. ⋯ The ICC indicated fair to good test-retest reliability with scores of 0.643, 0.579, and 0.710 for the respective domains. The results showed face validity of the HTN-SCP-Mn instrument, indicating its potential application in mandarin-proficient patients. Further study is needed to correlate its scores with objective demonstration of self-efficacy.
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Crowding in emergency departments (EDs) is associated with long lengths of stay (LOS); however, it is not known whether the effect is equal across different chief complaints. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of crowding on LOS in the 10 most common medical or surgical chief complaints in the ED. All adult visits to a university hospital ED on weekdays between 8 AM and 9 PM in 2012 (n = 19,200) were stratified based on chief complaint and triage priority. ⋯ During crowding, LOS increased the most among patients with extremity pain/swelling (145% among high-acuity patients, 125% among low-acuity patients) and flank pain (87% among high-acuity patients, 117% among low-acuity patients) and the least among patients with chest pain (32% among high-acuity patients, 45% among low-acuity patients) or arrhythmia (37% among high-acuity patients, 52% among low-acuity patients). The effect of ED crowding on LOS is unequal across different chief complaints. These findings could be used to improve the processing of specific chief complaints in the ED.
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Review Meta Analysis Comparative Study
Comparison of hydrophobic and hydrophilic intraocular lens in preventing posterior capsule opacification after cataract surgery: An updated meta-analysis.
Posterior capsular opacification (PCO) is a common long-term complication of cataract surgery. Intraocular lens design and material have been implicated in influencing the development of PCO. This study evaluated the association of hydrophobic and hydrophilic intraocular lenses on preventing PCO. ⋯ In general, PCO scores and the rate of Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy were influenced by intraocular lens biomaterial. Lens made of hydrophobic biomaterial were overall superior in lowering the PCO score and the Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy rate, but not visual acuity.
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The aim of this study was to assess Physical Component Summary (PCS), Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the Mos 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) score, and the virtual Analogue Scale (VAS) of pain during the treatment period and the complication rate associated with infected nonunion of the tibia managed surgically by bone transport. This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in a consecutive patient cohort. Patients suffering from infected nonunion of the tibia were treated by bone transport from 2012 to 2014. ⋯ The arduous and demanding nature of this treatment subjects patient to considerable the pain, mental, and physical stress. The average VAS scores, PCS, and MCS scores significantly improve at final follow-up. It is essential to communicate this fact to the patients and their relatives before the application of the frame in order to increase their compliance with the long and emotionally draining treatment.