Annals of medicine
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Birth weight percentiles by gestational age are important for assessing prenatal growth and predicting postnatal outcomes of newborns. Several countries have developed nation-specific birth weight references for twins, but China still lacks such references. ⋯ The established birth weight centiles represent the first birth weight norm for contemporary Chinese twins and can be a useful tool to assess growth of twins in clinical and research settings. Key Messages There have been no population-based birth weight percentiles for Chinese twins prior to this study. The established birth weight centiles for female and male twins are markedly lower than those for Chinese singletons. Twin-specific curves should be used for determining inappropriate for gestational age in twins rather than using existing singleton reference. The birth weight percentiles for twins differed significantly from those for non-Chinese twins. In addition to ethnic influences, the observed differences could be ascribed to variations in prenatal care, fetal or maternal nutrition status or other environmental factors. Neonatal mortality rates varied considerably among twins grouped by the newly developed reference percentiles. Small-for-gestational-age twins had much higher mortality than did appropriate-for-gestational-age twins, highlighting the need to reduce postnatal mortality by improving perinatal health care for twins.
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Literatures regarding the effects of childhood asthma on the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) is very limited. The aim of this study is to investigate the risks of children developing HZ with asthma. ⋯ Asthma poses an increased risk of zoster, therefore control of asthma is important to minimize risk of HZ.
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Review Meta Analysis
Efficacy of rasagiline for the treatment of Parkinson's disease: an updated meta-analysis.
Rasagiline is a second-generation potent selective inhibitor of monoamine oxidase-B. The aim of the study was to analyze the effectiveness of rasagiline in treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD), both as monotherapy and combination therapy. ⋯ Our results confirm the efficacy of rasagiline in PD. Further studies are required to establish the optimal dose of rasagiline, as well as to determine its effectiveness in different combination therapy protocols. KEY MESSAGES Rasagiline treatment was associated with significant improvement of UPDRS scores and the scores of the subscales. Both monotherapy and combination therapy significantly improved total UPDRS scores. Effect of rasagiline on total UPDRS scores was not dose-dependent.
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Reported associations between shiftwork and health have largely been based on occupation-specific, or single sex studies that might not be generalizable to the entire working population. The objective of this study was to investigate whether shiftwork was independently associated with obesity, diabetes, poor sleep, and well-being in a large, UK general population cohort. ⋯ Shiftwork was independently associated with multiple indicators of poor health and wellbeing, despite higher physical activity, and even in shiftworkers that did not work nights. Shiftwork is an emerging social factor that contributes to disease in the urban environment across the working population. Key messages Studies have linked shiftwork to obesity and diabetes in nurses and industry workers, but little is known about the implications of shiftwork for the general workforce In this large cross sectional study of UK workers, shiftwork was associated with obesity, depression and sleep disturbance, despite higher levels of physical activity. Shiftwork was associated with multiple indicators of compromised health and wellbeing and were more likely to report neurotic traits and evening preference.
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Review Meta Analysis
Significance of perioperative goal-directed hemodynamic approach in preventing postoperative complications in patients after cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
Goal-directed hemodynamic therapy (GDT) is used to prevent hypoperfusion resulting from surgery. The objective of this study was to analyze the efficacy and importance of perioperative GDT. ⋯ GDT reduces the length of hospital stay compared with the standard of care. Further studies are necessary to continually assess the benefit of GDT following major surgery. Key Messages The results of this analysis revealed no significant difference between cardiac surgery patients receiving goal-directed hemodynamic therapy (GDT) or conventional fluid therapy in terms of the all-cause mortality, duration of mechanical intervention, and length of ICU-stay. The length of hospital stay was significantly reduced in patients treated with GDT compare to conventional fluid therapy. GDT may have limited benefit in reducing mortality; however, the association to shorter length of hospital stay may suggest that better hemodynamic balance can facilitate postoperative recovery.