Medicine
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Clinical study on improving postoperative symptoms of cervical spondylotic myelopathy by Qishe pill.
Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is the most serious type of cervical spondylosis, which is often treated surgically in patients with progressive neurological symptoms following ineffective conservative treatment. However, some patients have residual symptoms such as neck pain, stiffness, and C5 nerve palsy after surgery. The Qishe pill can effectively relieve the symptoms of neck pain and numbness, but there is no evidence showing the efficacy and safety of the Qishe pill in treating symptoms after spinal cord surgery. ⋯ Although the Qishe pill can effectively improve the discomfort of the neck and upper limbs in clinical applications, there is a lack of clinical research on postoperative patients. This study will investigate the efficacy and safety of the Qishe pill in treating postoperative symptoms of CSM.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
The comparison of evaluative effectiveness between antral follicle count/age ratio and ovarian response prediction index for the ovarian reserve and response functions in infertile women.
Aim of the present study was to explore the evaluative effectiveness of age, ovarian volume (OV), antral follicle count (AFC), serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), AFC/Age ratio, AMH/Age ratio, FSH/luteinizing hormone (LH) ratio, and ovarian response prediction index (ORPI) to determine which could more advantageously assess ovarian reserve and response. This research enrolled 319 consecutive infertile women who had undergone in vitro fertilization-ET/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ET/ICSI) treatments. Abovementioned variables were measured and calculated. ⋯ When ORPI was used to predict excessive response, the cut-off value of ORPI was 0.880 (sensitivity 84.72%, specificity 67.32%) and ORPI presented better effectiveness. When used to predict poor response, the evaluative effectiveness of 6 variables was almost similar, although the AUC of AFC/Age ratio presented the largest value. Regarding the infertile women, AFC/Age ratio performed better than did the other variables in evaluating ovarian reserve, and it offered excellent effectiveness in predicting poor ovarian response, however, ORPI presented better effectiveness in predicting excessive ovarian response.
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Observational Study
5-HT3 blockade does not attenuate postspinal blood pressure change in cesarean section: A case-control study.
Spinal anesthesia (SpA) for elective caesarean section (CS) is often accompanied by clinically relevant arterial hypotension. The Bezold-Jarisch reflex, causing postspinal hypotension, has been shown to be antagonized by serotonin type 3 (5-HT3) blockade. Our aim was to assess if routine prophylactic administration of the 5-HT3 antagonist ondansetron (ODS) attenuates postspinal change in maternal blood pressure. ⋯ APGAR values showed a presumably clinically irrelevant decrease in control group compared with the ODS group. Our results suggest that routine administration of ODS in a dosage of 8 mg does not effectively attenuate postspinal change in maternal blood pressure during CS in our setting. Given the wide variability of anesthetic techniques, only large prospective and randomized multicenter trials will ultimately serve to elucidate this issue.
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Case Reports
Exophiala lecanii-corni keratitis presenting as a serpiginous pigmented superficial lesion: a case report.
Patients with bullous keratopathy (BK) treated by Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) have a compromised cornea, due to the administration of topical steroid, postsurgical use of contact lenses, and impaired barrier function of the corneal epithelium by BK. We report a case of Exophiala lecanii-corni (E lecanii-corni) keratitis presenting as a serpiginous pigmented superficial lesion after DSAEK. ⋯ Genus Exophiala is known as 1 of the "black molds" and a cause of chromomycosis. This is the first description of E lecanii-corni keratitis, and pigmented corneal epithelial lesions may be characteristic of this fungal genus.
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Observational Study
Self-reported oral hygiene practices with emphasis on frequency of tooth brushing: A cross-sectional study of Mexican older adults aged 60 years or above.
The objective of the study was to characterize self-reported oral hygiene practices among Mexican older adults aged ≥60 years, and to measure the association between frequency of tooth brushing and a set of sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and dental variables. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 139 older adults aged ≥60 years in Pachuca, Mexico. A questionnaire and a clinical dental examination were administered to identify specific variables. ⋯ The older adults in our sample exhibited deficient oral hygiene behaviors. The results suggest certain socioeconomic inequalities in oral health. The findings of this study should be considered when designing dental care instructions for older adults.