International journal of clinical practice
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Nov 2021
Assessment of Serum Vitamin D Levels in the serum of Patients with Postherpetic neuralgia and its correlation to pain severity: A cross-sectional comparative study.
Vitamin D is an essential micronutrient for the maintenance of many functions in the human body. Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is caused by the reactivation of the latent varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in the neurons. This study aims to assess the serum vitamin D level in patients with PHN and to correlate the level of vitamin D with pain severity. ⋯ PHN patients had a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and those who had vitamin D deficiency were older and had higher degrees of pain for a longer duration. In PHN patients, vitamin D deficiency was moderately associated with increased severity and duration of pain.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Nov 2021
Immediate retrograde amnesia induced by midazolam: a prospective, nonrandomized cohort study.
Midazolam, a short-acting benzodiazepine, has sedative, anxiolytic, amnestic and anticonvulsant effects. Given its advantages of rapid onset, short duration and low toxicity, midazolam is optimal for any procedural sedation. Midazolam is known to cause anterograde amnesia; however, the possibility of retrograde amnesia has also been raised. This prospective cohort, non-randomised study evaluated the presence and extent of retrograde amnesia induced by midazolam during caesarean delivery. ⋯ Intravenous midazolam could cause a brief-period retrograde amnesia in visual and event memory. Moreover, there were more spurious reports of intraoperative factitious events in the midazolam group, implying that episodic memories were also affected by midazolam.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Nov 2021
Efficacy and Safety of Corticosteroids in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome: An overview of Meta-analyses.
Evidence-based recommendations on the efficacy and safety of corticosteroids in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remain a therapeutic challenge. Findings from several systematic reviews and meta-analyses are inconsistent. We aimed to assess the published meta-analyses through a systematic review approach and provide further insight into the current uncertainty and also to perform an updated meta-analysis from all the available primary studies. ⋯ The quality of included studies ranged from critically low to high demonstrating inconsistency in risk of bias. While older studies found no significant effect, recent meta-analyses of RCTs found a significant mortality reduction in the corticosteroid group with considerable levels of heterogeneity. The updated meta-analysis by our team found a significant reduction in mortality in the pooled estimation of RCTs but not in cohort studies. Corticosteroid therapy was effective in terms of ICU and ventilator outcomes with minimal safety concerns. Future meta-analyses should be well executed with specific research questions and well performed with minimal risk of bias to produce good quality evidence.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Nov 2021
Healthcare workers' sleep quality after COVID-19 infection: A cross-sectional study.
The COVID-19 pandemic not only affected physical health but also caused high levels of mental health problems including sleep disturbances, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The aim of this study was to examine the sleep parameters of healthcare workers before COVID-19 infection and after recovery. ⋯ Sleep quality decreased during the convalescence period from COVID-19 infection as compared with the pre-COVID-19 period.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Nov 2021
Osteoporosis: Prevalence, awareness and pertinent risk factors in a cohort of elderly Asian population presenting with low-energy distal radius fractures.
This study aims to evaluate the awareness of osteoporosis and related risk factors in elderly Asian patients who present with distal radius fractures. The distal radius fracture is one of the most frequent fractures in the elderly cohort, owing to osteoporosis, and maybe a harbinger for further fractures, however, data is scarce regarding awareness of this condition among these patients. ⋯ We found a positive correlation between a patient's education status and osteoporosis awareness We believe that the role of the physician could be crucial in preventing further fractures in such patients via physician lead educational campaigns to target modifiable risk factors.