Medicine
-
Some hepatitis-C virus patients have resistance to direct-acting-antivirals (DAAs). Genetic polymorphisms have been associated with drug resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the role of interleukin (IL)-28B gene polymorphism and IL-12 levels as predictors for a response to sofosbuvir/ribavirin (SOF/RBV) with (triple-therapy) or without (dual-therapy) Peg-alpha-interferon. 92 hepatitis C virus (HCV)/RNA (+)-patients treated with dual (n = 72) or triple (n = 20) therapy. ⋯ That drop in IL-12 levels was similar across the dual- and triple-therapy patients. Finally, logistic regression analysis showed that the increase in baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and T/T genotyping had an independent effect on increasing the probability a SVR failing in both dual- and triple-therapy groups (P = .0007 and P = .02, respectively). Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in IL-28B and IL-12 levels play roles as predictors in DAAs resistance.
-
A new approach to showcasing author publications on a website involves using a visual representation instead of the conventional paper list. The creation of an impact beam plot (IBP) as a research profile for individuals is crucial, especially when incorporating collection edges that include self-cited articles through a rare cluster analysis technique not commonly found in the literature. This study presents the application of a unique method called the following-leading clustering algorithm (FLCA) to generate IBPs for 3 highly productive authors. ⋯ The FLCA algorithm allows for the easy generation of visual IBPs based on authors' publication profiles. These IBPs incorporate 3 important bibliometric metrics: h-index, x-index, and self-citations. These metrics are highly recommended for use by researchers globally, particularly with the self-citation rate, as they offer valuable insights into the scholarly impact and citation patterns of individual researchers.
-
Rhodotorula glutinis is a rare cause of fungal peritonitis in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The combination treatment between aggressive PD catheter replacement and adequate antifungal treatment is crucial in managing peritonitis due to fungal infection and onychomycosis. ⋯ This case report suggests the need for comprehensive evaluations of the risk for fungal infection in continuous ambulatory PD patients, especially those who live in a tropical country.
-
To investigate the value of parameters of the pulmonary artery and right ventricular function in predicting the 30-day poor prognosis of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (APE). The heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, Wells score for APE, history of recent operation or immobilization, history of cancer, respiratory failure, smoking were significantly (P < .05) different among the control, good prognosis, and poor prognosis groups. The maximal short diameter of the right and left ventricle (RVD/LVD) ratio (P < .001) and left pulmonary artery (LPA) (P = .01) were significantly different between the good and poor prognosis groups. ⋯ Two hundred forty-three APE patients and 61 patients without APE who underwent computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) were retrospectively enrolled as the experimental and the control group, respectively. APE patients who were followed up at the 30-day time point were divided into the good prognosis (n = 195) and poor prognosis group (n = 32). The main pulmonary artery (MPA) to the aorta (AO) ratio, maximal diameter of the LPA and right pulmonary artery (RPA), ratio of the RVD/LVD and the height and volume of the pulmonary artery (PAh and PAV, respectively) were analyzed after indexing to the body surface area.