Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Do post discharge phone calls improve care transitions? A cluster-randomized trial.
The transition from hospital to home can expose patients to adverse events during the post discharge period. Post discharge care including phone calls may provide support for patients returning home but the impact on care transitions is unknown. ⋯ A single post discharge phone call had a small impact on the quality of care transitions and no effect on hospital utilization. Higher intensity post discharge support may be required to improve the patient experience upon returning home.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of woodsmoke exposure on airway inflammation in rural Guatemalan women.
More than two-fifths of the world's population uses solid fuels, mostly biomass, for cooking. The resulting biomass smoke exposure is a major cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among women in developing countries. ⋯ Compared to using an open wood fire for cooking, use of a chimney stove was associated with lower gene expression of MMP-9, a potential mediator of airway remodeling. Among all participants, indoor biomass smoke exposure was associated with higher gene expression of multiple mediators of airway inflammation and remodeling; these mechanisms may explain some of the observed association between prolonged biomass smoke exposure and COPD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Impact of vitamin D supplementation during lactation on vitamin D status and body composition of mother-infant pairs: a MAVID randomized controlled trial.
The optimal vitamin D intake for nursing women is controversial. Deterioration, at least in bone mass, is reported during lactation. This study evaluated whether vitamin D supplementation during lactation enhances the maternal and infant's vitamin D status, bone mass and body composition. ⋯ Vitamin D supplementation at a dose of 400 IU/d was not sufficient to maintain 25(OH)D >20 ng/ml in nursing women, while 1200 IU/d appeared more effective, but had no effect on breastfed offspring vitamin D status, or changes in the bone mass and the body composition observed in both during breastfeeding.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Impact of acetazolamide and CPAP on cortical activity in obstructive sleep apnea patients.
1) To investigate the impact of acetazolamide, a drug commonly prescribed for altitude sickness, on cortical oscillations in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). 2) To examine alterations in the sleep EEG after short-term discontinuation of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. ⋯ The higher evening dose of 500 mg acetazolamide showed the "spectral fingerprint" of Benzodiazepines, while 250 mg acetazolamide had no impact on cortical oscillations. However, both doses had beneficial effects on oxygen saturation and sleep quality.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Moving in an environment of induced sensorimotor incongruence does not influence pain sensitivity in healthy volunteers: a randomised within-subject experiment.
It has been proposed that in the same way that conflict between vestibular and visual inputs leads to motion sickness, conflict between motor commands and sensory information associated with these commands may contribute to some chronic pain states. Attempts to test this hypothesis by artificially inducing a state of sensorimotor incongruence and assessing self-reported pain have yielded equivocal results. To help clarify the effect sensorimotor incongruence has on pain we investigated the effect of moving in an environment of induced incongruence on pressure pain thresholds (PPT) and the pain experienced immediately on completion of PPT testing. ⋯ Inducing a state of movement related sensorimotor incongruence in the upper-limb of healthy volunteers does not influence PPT, nor the pain evoked by testing. We found no evidence that sensorimotor incongruence upregulates the nociceptive system in healthy volunteers.