Annals of medicine
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Neonatal intensive care unit is important to save the lives of a sick neonate; however, parents are challenged by several stressful conditions during their stay. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the lived experiences of parents in neonatal intensive care units in Ethiopia. ⋯ Parents whose infants admitted to the NICU were suffered from various psychological and emotional problems. Researchers recommend that health care providers should be supported parents with psycho-emotional problems, strengthen parents-healthcare workers' interaction, and scale up neonatal intensive care unit services to the primary health care centres.KEY MESSAGESParents whose infants admitted to the NICU were suffered from psychological and emotional problems.Poor NICU environment, shortage of equipment, long hospital stay, the presence of pandemic COVID-19, and lack of parental involvement in the care were identified barriers that affected parents' stay.
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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are regarded as a standard of care in multiple malignancies. We hypothesized that serum parameters are of prognostic value in ICI treated patients suffering from solid tumours. ⋯ The results of this analysis suggest that serum parameters might have prognostic value for the outcome of cancer patients treated with ICI, regardless of the tumour type.Key messagesIn this retrospective analysis, 114 patients with solid tumours were included. The results of this analysis point out that pre-treatment LDH, CRP and albumin levels are strongly prognostic for a poor 6-month OS.In addition to that, a high GRIm-score and poor GPS were associated with a worse OS (GRIm: HR = 2.84, 95% CI 1.72-4.69; p < .001 for high vs. low; GPS HR = 3.57, 95% CI 1.76-7.25; p < .001 for poor vs. good).Pre-treatment serum parameters might have prognostic value for the outcome of cancer patients treated with ICI, regardless of the tumour type.
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Gender-Based (GB) intimate partner violence is a social and public health issue globally. Several risks of violence related to male sexual partners' perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) following the disclosure of their female intimate partners' HIV + status have been reported. No research has been conducted on male sexual partner's perspectives of perpetrating IPV following their female intimate partners' disclosure of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seropositive status as a risk factor for the perpetration of IPV in Ghana. ⋯ From the data, HIV positive status disclosure served as a risk factor for different forms of GB IPV against HIV positive women in Ghana, thus making this group more vulnerable and exposed to more GB IPV. Strategies to prevent the perpetration of IPV against women newly diagnosed as HIV positive are needed. We recommend screening all newly diagnosed HIV-positive women for abuse as an additional prevention strategy for IPV associated with disclosure of positive HIV status. KEY MESSAGESHIV positive status disclosure serves as a risk for the perpetration of IPV.Men are predisposed to violence upon hearing that their female heterosexual intimate partners are HIV positive.HIV infection information is distressful to receive from an intimate partner.
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The order and extent of interactions across the factors affecting exertional dyspnoea (ED) and exercise intolerance (EI) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are not clear. We hypothesized that lung and non-lung variables were the primary variables, ED was the secondary variable and EI was the tertiary variable. ⋯ Using hierarchical stratification and statistical methods may improve understanding of the pathophysiology of ED and EI in patients with COPD. KEY MESSAGESThe pathophysiology of exertional dyspnoea (ED) and exercise intolerance (EI) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is complex. The order and extent of interactions across factors are not clear. In multivariate regression analysis, we found that tidal inspiratory flow, dead space fraction and resting diffusing capacity of the lungs % but not the non-pulmonary factors affected ED.Using correlation coefficients, we further found that ED was the secondary variable and EI was the tertiary variable.Hierarchical stratification of the important factors associated with ED and EI in patients with COPD clarifies their relationships and could be incorporated into management programmes and outcome studies for these patients.
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This study aimed to explore the prognostic value of the lymphocyte (LYM)-to-white blood cell (WBC) ratio (LWR) in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis (DLC). ⋯ Our findings indicate that a lower LWR is an independent factor for unfavourable outcomes and may serve as a potential novel prognostic predictor in patients with DLC.KEY MESSAGESThis study is the first report on the prognostic value of the lymphocyte (LYM)-to-white blood cell (WBC) ratio (LWR) in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis (DLC).Decreased LWR is an independent factor for adverse outcomes in patients with DLC.