Medical principles and practice : international journal of the Kuwait University, Health Science Centre
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Observational Study
The association between changes in low parathyroid hormone levels and cardiac function decline in maintenance hemodialysis patients :A prospective observational study.
The aim of this study was to investigate a possible association between changes in low parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels and cardiac function decline in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. ⋯ Persistently low PTH levels and changes in the PTH level from high/normal to low were associated with cardiac function decline in MHD patients. Moreover, a PTH level change from high/normal to low showed a stronger correlation with cardiac function decline.
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Resolution of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection requires a complicated interaction between immune cell subsets. The effect of antiviral therapy on immune cell subsets remains to be defined. This study aimed to investigate the absolute count of certain immune cell subsets during therapy with pegylated interferon-α and ribavirin (PegIFN/RBV). ⋯ These results suggest a pattern of higher levels of T cytotoxic and NKT cells, and lower levels of T helper, activated T, Treg, and B cell populations in patients who respond favorably to PegIFN/RBV therapy.
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There are no previous studies analyzing the prognostic predictive value of adding the tumor factor (i.e., Tumor Burden (TB) score) to the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) score for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to investigate the value of the CONUT plus TB (CONUT-TB) score as a prognostic predictor in patients with HCC undergoing liver resection. ⋯ The CONUT-TB score is a valuable predictor of survival in patients with HCC after liver resection.
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It is not known whether patients' ratings of the quality of healthcare services they receive truly correlate with the quality of care from their providers. Understanding this association can potentiate improvement in healthcare delivery. We evaluated the association between patients' ratings of the quality of healthcare services received and uptake of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. ⋯ Our study suggests that patients who reported receiving lower quality of healthcare services were less likely to have undergone and be compliant with CRC screening recommendations. It is important to pay close attention to patient feedback surveys in order to improve healthcare delivery.
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This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the stress outcomes in health-care staff working during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore the role of coping in the relationship between stress outcomes and mental health dimensions with Preacher & Hayes's mediation analysis. ⋯ Our observations support the assumption about a controlling role of coping in the relationship between work-related stress, alexithymia, emotional processing loneliness and positive/negative affect in medical staff working amid pandemic.