Plos One
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IPT with or without concomitant administration of ART is a proven intervention to prevent tuberculosis among PLHIV. However, there are few data on the routine implementation of this intervention and its effectiveness in settings with limited resources. ⋯ IPT was found to be effective in reducing TB incidence, independently and with concomitant ART, under programme conditions in resource-limited settings. The level of IPT provision and effectiveness in reducing TB was encouraging in the study setting. Scaling up and strengthening IPT service in addition to ART can have beneficial effect in reducing TB burden among PLHIV in settings with high TB/HIV burden.
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According to the Declaration of Helsinki and other guidelines, clinical studies should be approved by a research ethics committee and seek valid informed consent from the participants. Editors of medical journals are encouraged by the ICMJE and COPE to include requirements for these principles in the journal's instructions for authors. This study assessed the editorial policies of psychiatry journals regarding ethics review and informed consent. ⋯ Only every second psychiatry journal adheres to the ICMJE's recommendation to inform authors about requirements for informed consent and ethics review. Furthermore, we argue that even the ICMJE's recommendations in this regard are insufficient, at least for ethically challenging clinical trials. At the same time, ideal scientific design sometimes even needs to be compromised for ethical reasons. We suggest that features of clinical studies that make them morally controversial, but not necessarily unethical, are analogous to methodological limitations and should thus be reported explicitly. Editorial policies as well as reporting guidelines such as CONSORT should be extended to support a meaningful reporting of ethical research.
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Discography and discoblock are imaging procedures used to diagnose discogenic low back pain. Although needle puncture of the intervertebral disc (IVD) itself induces disc degeneration, the agents used in these procedures may also have harmful effects on IVD cells. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether radiocontrast agents and local anesthetic agents have detrimental effects on human nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. ⋯ The present study demonstrates that iotrolan does not affect the viability of healthy human NP cells. In contrast, the two anesthetic agents commonly used in discography or discoblock may cause extensive damage to IVDs by inducing apoptotic cell death.
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Common mental disorders (CMD) have become one of the leading causes for disability pension (DP). Studies on predictors of adverse health outcome following DP are sparse. This study aimed to examine the association of different socio-demographic factors and health care consumption with subsequent suicidal behaviour among individuals on DP due to CMD. ⋯ Along with socio-demographic factors, it is very important to consider type of previous healthcare use and medication history when designing further research or intervention aiming at individuals on DP due to CMD. Further research is warranted to investigate both characteristics of disability pension due to CMD, like duration, diagnoses and grade as well as mechanisms to subsequent suicidal behavior, taking potential gender differences into consideration.
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One in four cystic fibrosis (CF) patients diagnosed with a pulmonary exacerbation will not recover their baseline lung function despite standard treatment. This highlights the importance of preventing such events. Clinical decision-making can be improved through a simple blood test that predicts individuals at elevated short-term risk of an exacerbation. ⋯ Plasma sCD14 is a promising biomarker for identifying CF patients who will exacerbate within 4 months of a stable visit but requires further study in larger, independent cohorts.