Medicine
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Observational Study
An online time-to-event dashboard comparing the effective control of COVID-19 among continents using the inflection point on an ogive curve: Observational study.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the frequently asked questions is which countries (or continents) are severely hit. Aside from using the number of confirmed cases and the fatality to measure the impact caused by COVID-19, few adopted the inflection point (IP) to represent the control capability of COVID-19. How to determine the IP days related to the capability is still unclear. This study aims to (i) build a predictive model based on item response theory (IRT) to determine the IP for countries, and (ii) compare which countries (or continents) are hit most. ⋯ An IRT modeling scheme fitting the epidemic data was used to predict the length of IP days. Europe, particularly France, was hit seriously by COVID-19 based on the IP days. The IRT model incorporated with AAC is recommended to determine the pandemic IP.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is still a constant threat to people's health. We aimed to identify the relationship between increased red cell distribution width (RDW) on admission and length of hospitalization in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients (AECOPD). Patients with AECOPD were recruited and divided into 3 groups based on RDW tertiles. ⋯ The highest sensitivity to predict prolonged hospital stay was 83.8% and the specificity was 71.6% with the cut-off 13.35%. In conclusion, prolonged hospital stay in AECOPD patients was closely associated with increased RDW. Elevated RDW may be an independent predictor for prolonged hospitalization in AECOPD patients.
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Contact force (CF)-sensing technology has enabled accurate real-time CF measurement in tissue. Average CF, which is quantified by the force–time integral (FTI), correlates with lesion volume. Little is known about which of the time and force factors that compose FTI plays a more important role and which is a better index for predicting lesion size, FTI, or force–power–time index (FPTI). ⋯ On univariate linear regression analysis, the explanatory power of the linear regression model was better explained by FPTI (56.4%) than FTI (32.1%). Under the same FTI condition, the time factor had a greater effect on lesion formation. When power was included, the power factor had a greater effect on lesion formation and steam pop.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a significant public health problem associated with a substantial burden of functional disability. The Guizhi-Shaoyao-Zhimu decoction (GSZD), a traditional medicine, has been used in China for a long time to treat RA. This study aimed to systematically investigate the efficacy and safety of GSZD in the treatment of RA. ⋯ INPLASY2020120147.
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Assessing the effectiveness and safety of traditional Chinese medicine on liver fibrosis is the main purpose of this systematic review protocol. ⋯ INPLASY202110017.