Medicine
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When a person feels dental pain, it brings great discomfort and damages the quality of life. Symptomatic apical periodontitis is identified as the most frequent cause that triggers dental pain. Symptomatic apical periodontitis arises from an infection or inflammation in the pulpless root canal structure. According to clinical guidelines, the primary form of therapy for such teeth entails removing the inflammation or infection source through local surgical procedures. Presently, systemic antibiotics are recommended only for cases where there is clear indication of an infectious spread or a systemic involvement. Therefore, this study aims to assess the efficacy and level of safety of using antibiotics to treat adult symptomatic apical periodontitis patients. ⋯ DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/CVP8 M (https://osf.io/cvp8m/).
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
HIV viral exposure and mortality in a multicenter ambulatory HIV adult cohort, United States, 1995-2016.
The aim of this study was to identify viral exposure (VE) measures and their relationship to mortality risk among persons with HIV. Prospective multicenter observational study to compare VE formulae. Eligible participants initiated first combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) between March 1, 1995 and June 30, 2015. ⋯ In univariate models, each measure of VE was significantly associated with mortality risk, as were older age, public insurance, injection drug use HIV risk history, and lower pre-cART CD4. Based on model fit, most recent viral load and %PY >200 copies/mL provided the best combination of VE factors to predict mortality, although all VE combinations evaluated performed well. The combination of most recent VL and %PY >200 copies/mL best predicted mortality, although all evaluated VE measures performed well.
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The goal of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Bailing capsules, which is a traditional Chinese drug that can improve lung functionality when used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. ⋯ March 26, 2021.osf.io/kvgbu. (https://osf.io/kvgbu/).
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Dementia is causing a huge medical and socioeconomic burden. Along with strategies to delay cognitive decline in dementia, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) are major contributing factor to the burden of dementia, and have been an important clinical issue for successful management of dementia. However, pharmacological strategies such as antipsychotics raise concerns in terms of risk-to-benefit ratio in managing BPSD. Therefore, there is a need for an effective and safe alternative in BPSD management. From this point of view, various complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) are attracting attention in BPSD management. Therefore, the overview will make it possible to evaluate the feasibility of using CAM as a potential treatment strategy for BPSD in terms of evidence-based medicine. ⋯ Open Science Framework registry (https://osf.io/g5f3m).
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Classification of circadian pain rhythms and pain characteristics in chronic pain patients: An observational study.
This study aimed to perform cluster analysis in patients with chronic pain to extract groups with similar circadian rhythms and compare neuropathic pain and psychological factors among these groups to identify differences in pain-related outcomes. A total of 63 community-dwellers with pain lasting at least 3 months and Numerical Rating Scale scores of ≥2 were recruited from 3 medical institutions. Their pain circadian rhythms were evaluated over 7 days by measuring pain intensity at 6-time points per day using a 10-cm visual analog scale. ⋯ The results revealed 3 clusters with different circadian rhythms of pain. The total and evoked pain subscale Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory scores differed among the 3 clusters. The results suggest that a thorough understanding of circadian pain rhythms in chronic pain patients may facilitate the performance of activities of daily living and physical exercise from the perspective of pain management.