Medicine
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Case Reports
Ischaemic colitis during pegylated interferon-alpha monotherapy for chronic hepatitis B: A case report.
Pegylated interferon-alpha (PEG-IFN-α) is available for the treatment of hepatitis B virus infection, which is better than interferon-alpha (IFN-α) for the inhibition of hepatitis B virus replication. Ischemic colitis has been described from non-pegylated IFN-α, which occurs mainly in patients with hepatitis C virus infection. This is the first case of ischemic colitis during pegylated IFN-α monotherapy for chronic hepatitis B. ⋯ Ischaemic colitis is a severe emergency complication of interferon therapy. Physicians should consider this complication in any patient taking PEG-IFN-α who develops abdominal discomfort and hematochezia.
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Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a conventional gynecological condition and the mechanism is not entirely clear. Although an increasing number of studies revealed that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have essential functions in many diseases, little knowledge has been acquired in POP. The current study aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA in POP. ⋯ The network was constructed based on the correlation analyses of the abnormally expressed lncRNAs and their target proteins to imitate their interactions. Taken together, this study was the first to demonstrate the differential expression profiles of lncRNA in POP and normal tissues by sequencing technology. Our study indicated that lncRNAs could correlate with the development of POP and may be as significant genes in the diagnosis and treatment of POP.
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A sore throat is an adverse postoperative consequence of tracheal intubation under general anesthesia. Recently, dexmedetomidine, an anesthetic adjuvant, has shown beneficial effects in postoperative sore throat (POST). Herein, we compared the effects of dexmedetomidine and remifentanil on POST after spinal surgery in the prone position, which is a risk factor for developing POST. ⋯ Dexmedetomidine infusion as an adjuvant during sevoflurane anesthesia significantly reduced the incidence and severity of POST in patients who underwent lumbar surgery 24 hours postoperatively.
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There are few studies on the association between obesity and radiologically-confirmed osteoarthritis (OA) in the South Korean older population. We investigated the association between obesity and radiologically-confirmed OA in a nationally-representative sample of the South Korean older population. The study population comprised 5811 participants (2530 men and 3281 women) aged ≥60 years selected from the 2010 to 2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. ⋯ Compared with normal-weight people, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for OA in obese subjects were 1.73 (1.13-2.64) and 2.76 (2.13-3.56) for older men and women, respectively, after adjusting for age, comorbidities, lifestyle behaviors, and socioeconomic status. Obesity was significantly associated with an increased risk of OA in the South Korean older population. This finding suggests that efforts to maintain appropriate body weight and reduce excessive body weight should be considered to reduce the risk of OA in older adults.
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Meta Analysis
Progressive muscle relaxation exercises in patients with COVID-19: Systematic review and meta-analysis.
Patients with COVID-19 will experience high levels of anxiety and depression and poor levels of sleep and quality of life (QoL) due to isolation treatment and uncertain outcomes. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercises show promising treatment effects on mental health and sleep problems and overall QoL in COVID-19 patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PMR exercises in patients with COVID-19. ⋯ PMR interventions can improve the sleep quality, anxiety, depression, disease severity and QoL in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 in a short-term period compared to the usual care. However, there was indecision about the safety and long-term effects of PMR.