Medicine
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Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is one of the most common craniofacial birth defects, and the etiology of NSCL/P involves both genetic and environmental factors. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified a novel susceptibility locus of ventral anterior homeobox 1 (VAX1) in patients with NSCL/P. However, the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of VAX1 with NSCL/P is inconclusive due to the differences in the racial and ethnic populations. The aim of this study was to replicate the association between VAX1 and NSCL/P in a northern Chinese Han population. ⋯ VAX1 rs4752028 was weakly associated with NSCL/P development in the studied northern Chinese Han population.
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Many children are hospitalized because of foreign body ingestion. In such circumstances, the gastroenterologist must consider the timing of ingestion; the size, type, and location of the object ingested; and the patient's symptoms. But appendiceal foreign body in infant is very rare. ⋯ An appendiceal foreign body is very rare in infant and there are currently no treatment guidelines. We report 2 cases of appendiceal foreign body including infant who gave us difficult decisions.
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Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) is a common chronic disorder which is followed by various complications. Calpain-10 belongs to a commonly expressed member of the Calpain-like cysteine protease family, which acts as risk marker for some diseases. The purpose of this study is to elucidate correlation between Calpain-10 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the incidence of OSAHS followed by ischemic stroke (IS). ⋯ These findings indicate that the Calpain-10 SNP 43 may be related to OSAHS with IS, with SNP 43 GG genotype as a risk factor for OSAHS with IS.
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Observational Study
Evaluation of the chronic disease management program for appropriateness of medication adherence and persistence in hypertension and type-2 diabetes patients in Korea.
The chronic disease management program (CDMP), a multilevel intervention including copayment reduction and physician incentives, was introduced in 2012 in Korea to improve blood pressure and glycemic control by strengthening the function of clinic as primary care institutions in managing hypertension and diabetes. This study, therefore, aimed to evaluate the effect of CDMP on the appropriateness of medication adherence and persistence in hypertension or type-2 diabetes patients. A pre-post retrospective study was conducted using claims cohort data from 2010 to 2013. ⋯ No significant improvement was verified among the non-shifters in the CDMP group. CDMP improved medication adherence and persistence by significantly increasing appropriate-adherence and 12-month cumulative persistence rate in hypertension and type-2 diabetes patients. Particularly, CDMP significantly improved over-adherence, which was associated with increasing healthcare costs and hospitalization risk.