Current medical research and opinion
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Current cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA) emphasize drug costs as the differentiator between NICE recommended anti-VEGF treatments but may neglect real-world non-drug costs of running nAMD services in the UK. To address this, this study identified real-world non-drug service cost items relevant to UK NHS nAMD clinics, including costs arising from operational strain (demand exceeding capacity). ⋯ Findings suggested that HTA underestimates UK NHS nAMD clinic cost burden with cost of strain contributing substantial additional unmeasured expense with impact on CEA. Given potential undertreatment due to strain, durability is suggested as one of the relevant factors in CEA of nAMD anti-VEGF treatments due to robustness under limited capacity conditions affecting UK ophthalmology services.
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Hepatorenal Syndrome is a critical complication of liver failure, mainly in cirrhotic patients and rarely in patients with acute liver disease. It is a complex spectrum of conditions that leads to renal dysfunction in the liver cirrhosis population; the pathophysiology is characterized by a specific triad: circulatory dysfunction, nitric oxide (NO) dysfunction and systemic inflammation but a specific kidney damage has never been demonstrated, in a clinicopathological study, kidney biopsies of patients with cirrhosis showed a wide spectrum of kidney damage. In addition, the absence of significant hematuria or proteinuria does not exclude renal damage. ⋯ The widespread adoption of albumin and vasopressors has increased Hepatorenal syndrome-acute kidney injury reversal and may increase overall survival, as previously shown. Further research is needed to define whether the subclassification of patients may allow to find a personalized strategy to treat Hepatorenal Syndrome and to define the role of new molecules and extracorporeal treatment may allow better outcomes with a reduction in treatment-related adverse effects. This review aims to examine both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment of hepatorenal syndrome, with a particular focus on managing adverse events caused by treatment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A prospective cohort study of chronic postsurgical pain after ambulatory surgeries.
The incidence and factors associated with chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) after ambulatory surgeries have not been well studied. Our primary objective was to determine the incidence of CPSP and secondary objectives included assessment of intensity of CPSP, incidence of moderate-to-severe CPSP, and exploration of factors associated with CPSP. ⋯ Nearly one in five patients develop CPSP after ambulatory surgeries with the majority of them having moderate-to-severe pain. Considering that acute pain after discharge is associated with CPSP and that there are no formal care pathways to address this need, studies need to focus on evaluating feasible strategies to provide continuing care.
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Tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with adverse prognosis in various patient populations. However, data regarding the prognostic impact in patients with cardiogenic shock (CS) is limited. The study investigates the prognostic impact of pre-existing TR in patients with CS. ⋯ The occurrence of pre-existing TR II°/III° was independently related with 30-day all-cause mortality in CS-patients without AMI. However, no prognostic influence was observed in CS-patients with AMI.
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The occurrence of bacteremia is critically important for the survival of cancer patients. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the efficacy of procalcitonin (PCT) and the procalcitonin to albumin ratio (PAR) in predicting bacteremia among this population. ⋯ This study is the first in the literature to suggest that PAR and PCT are valuable biomarkers for diagnosing bacteremia in cancer patients. The identified cut-off values offer practical thresholds for bacteremia diagnosis.