Journal of investigative medicine : the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a multifactorial, inflammatory lung disease with significant morbidity and mortality that predominantly requires supportive care in its management. Although initially described in adult patients, the diagnostic definitions for ARDS have evolved over time to accurately describe this disease process in pediatric and, more recently, neonatal patients. The management of ARDS in each age demographic has converged in the application of lung-protective ventilatory strategies to mitigate the primary disease process and prevent its exacerbation by limiting ventilator-induced lung injury. ⋯ Additionally, we discuss in detail the different management strategies used for each subtype of ARDS and spotlight how these strategies were applied to mitigate poor outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This review is geared toward both clinicians and clinician-scientists as it not only summarizes the latest information on disease pathogenesis and patient management in ARDS across the lifespan but also highlights knowledge gaps for further investigative efforts. We conclude by projecting how future studies can fill these gaps in research and what improvements may be envisioned in the management of NARDS and PARDS based on the current breadth of literature on adult ARDS treatment strategies.
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Multicenter Study
EXPRESS: Antihistamine and COVID-19 outcomes in outpatients.
The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on March 11, 2020. Since then, researchers have been investigating the efficacy and side effects of its medication, up until now. From the viewpoint of Persian medicine, some medications such as antihistamines may cause retention of secretions and lead to exacerbation and spread of the disease in the body. ⋯ Generalized estimating equations were applied to assess the relationship between the severity of COVID-19 and the use of antihistamines, taking into account potential confounding factors such as time and herbal consumption. The difference in the severity of COVID-19 disease in antihistamine users compared to nonusers was not significant in 4 weeks despite the higher baseline severity in nonusers. The comparison of two groups of antihistamine users and nonusers showed that there was a significant difference (p = 0.001) regarding the use of herbal medicines.
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Clinical research is a key factor in healthcare progress, as it contributes toward improving our knowledge on the prevention, etiology, and treatment of different conditions. Healthcare professionals and researchers should be familiar with this specific terminology and procedures of clinical research to understand and be able to evaluate clinical trial results and make decisions using up-to-date recommendations. ⋯ Additionally, when it comes to communicating the results and publishing them, it is also necessary to know how to do it adequately to ensure transparency. This work includes a description of different concepts commonly used in clinical research, particularly in the clinical trials field, in an attempt to compile different topics by providing a brief and accessible overview.
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Acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is a very common and important medical emergency in intensive care units with an unfavorable prognosis. This study aims to explore the prognostic factors of APE and to construct a prognostic prediction model. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 252 APE patients in the emergency department of our hospital from January 2020 to March 2024. ⋯ Binary Cox multivariate regression analysis indicated that age ≥ 62.5 (HR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.23-5.63, p = 0.012), right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) (HR: 4.58, 95% CI: 1.76-11.96, p = 0.002), white blood cell count (WBC) ≥ 13.1 (HR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.20-4.60, p = 0.013), albumin/fibrinogen ratio (AFR) < 9.15 (HR: 3.36, 95% CI: 1.76-6.42, p < 0.001), Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) < 50.3 (HR: 4.35, 95% CI: 1.62-11.71, p = 0.004), and Systemic Inflammation Response Index (SIRI) ≥ 1.05 (HR: 7.21, 95% CI: 3.38-15.37,p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for mortality. The nomogram model based on these factors demonstrated a good predictive value for 30-day mortality, with an AUC of 0.908. The nomogram model based on age, RVD, WBC, AFR, PNI, and SIRI has a well prognostic value for APE patients.