Medicine
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Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a significant global health challenge, and frailty is common among CHF patients. Although abundant evidence has revealed significant intercorrelations among health literacy, social support, self-management, and frailty, no study has explored their associations into 1 model based on a theoretical framework. The study aimed to test the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills Model in a sample of Chinese CHF patients and explore the potential relationships among social support, health literacy, self-management, and frailty. ⋯ Health literacy was positively associated with self-management (β = 0.565, P < .01), and self-management was negatively associated with frailty (β = -0.272, P < .01). Our study suggests the potential positive impacts of health literacy, social support, and self-management on improving frailty in CHF patients. Healthcare providers should strengthen patient health education, improve their health literacy, enhance their social support, and promote their self-management so as to reverse frailty and reduce the risk of adverse outcomes.
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Intravenous catheter placement in the healthy upper extremity is preferred for chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. Common venous accesses are peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) and totally implantable intravenous port catheters (TIVPs). In this case, a patient with breast cancer had a history of infusion port placement through the left internal jugular vein, with ipsilateral innominate vein stenosis after placement. The patient was re-treated with a PICC placed ectopically through the left upper limb into the intrathoracic vein. After multidisciplinary consultation, a transfemoral PICC combined with intracavitary electrocardiography (IC-ECG) was performed to establish venous access. This case can assist PICC catheterization nurses in developing optimal venous access strategies tailored to the specific situations of patients in similar situations. Through adequate evaluations and optimal selection of venous access, the success rate of disposable catheterization can be improved, and the risk of complications reduced. ⋯ This case presents a rare and insightful clinical scenario. For patients with a history of infusion port placement, particularly via the left internal jugular vein, careful analysis of the innominate vena cava and examination of chest wall vein exposure are essential to determining the optimal vascular access strategy.
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Observational Study
The effect of anesthesia methods on the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio in patients undergoing forearm surgery: A monocentric and retrospective study.
Surgical trauma can induce systemic inflammation. The selected anesthesia method may modulate the inflammatory response and surgical results in the inflammatory process that occurs during surgical trauma. In this retrospective study, we aimed to compare the anti-inflammatory effects of general anesthesia and peripheral nerve block (infraclavicular block). ⋯ The amount of opioid consumed postoperatively was significantly lower in Group P. Infraclavicular block as an alternative to general anesthesia was found to be associated with a significant decrease in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, total leukocyte count, and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio levels compared to those observed after general anesthesia. Peripheral nerve blocks may play a role in reducing inflammation and alleviating stress.
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To retrospectively explore the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in analyzing the corticospinal tract injury in acute cerebral anterior circulation infarction in the basal ganglia region and the correlation between DTI parameters and neurological function scores, patients with acute cerebral infarction and stroke had undergone plain MRI and DTI sequence scanning were enrolled. Diffusion tensor tractography was used to perform 3-dimensional reconstruction of bilateral corticospinal tracts (CST). The image data were processed to obtain fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values, and the correlation between the DTI parameters and neurological function scores of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was evaluated. ⋯ The FA and ADC values were not significantly (P > .05) different according to the CST scores 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 between the ischemic and healthy sides. There was a significant (P < .05) negative correlation between the FA value on the infarcted side and the NIHSS score. In conclusion, with the DTI technology, varying degrees of damage to the corticospinal tract at the infarcted side can be detected and important clinical information can be provided for the diagnosis and prognosis of acute cerebral infarction by evaluating the degree of corticospinal tract injury.
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Case Reports
Successfully intravenous thrombolytic therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus-related ischemic stroke: A case report.
Stroke is a relatively frequent complication occurring in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The increasing number of patients with Ischemic Stroke secondary to SLE aroused the clinician's concern. SLE thrombosis markers, diagnostic high-resolution magnetic resonance image (HR-MRI), and therapeutic interventions for acute ischemic stroke were recently coming into focus perspectives from the field. ⋯ After thrombolysis, the NIHSS score of the patient decreased to zero. The computed tomography scan was reexamined 24 hours later, and no acute changes or hemorrhage were identified in the infarcted area. Subsequent imaging and serological analyses indicated that HR-MRI of the responsible vessel was negative, but the infarction in this patient was still regarded as being caused by vasculitis of the right posterior cerebral artery in the region supplying the thalamus. This is the first case of successful intravenous thrombolytic therapy with rt-PA in a patient with SLE secondary to stroke with an NIHSS score of 3. This provides further evidence for expanding the reference of indications with rt-PA intravenous thrombolysis.