Plos One
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Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are of increasing concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) affected humanitarian crises. Humanitarian agencies and governments are increasingly challenged with how to effectively tackle NCDs. Reviewing the evidence of interventions for NCDs in humanitarian crises can help guide future policies and research by identifying effective interventions and evidence gaps. The aim of this paper is to systematically review evidence on the effectiveness of interventions targeting NCDs during humanitarian crises in LMICs. ⋯ The review highlights the extremely limited quantity and quality of evidence on this topic. Interventions that incorporate standardisation and facilitate patient follow-up appear beneficial. However, substantially more research is needed, including data on costs.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Preoperative Oral Carbohydrate or Oral Rehydration Solution on Postoperative Quality of Recovery: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the beneficial effects of preoperative administration of oral carbohydrate (CHO) or oral rehydration solution (ORS). However, the effects of preoperative CHO or ORS on postoperative quality of recovery after anesthesia remain unclear. Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate the effect of preoperative CHO or ORS on patient recovery, using the Quality of Recovery 40 questionnaire (QoR-40). ⋯ Results of the current study indicated that the preoperative administration of either CHO or ORS did not improve the quality of recovery in patients undergoing minimally invasive body surface surgery.
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Viral infection is one of the risk factors for asthma exacerbation. However, which pathogens are related to asthma exacerbation in adults remains unclear. ⋯ Viral or bacterial infections were observed in 70% of inpatients with an asthma exacerbation in clinical practice. Infection with S. pneumoniae was related to adult asthma exacerbation.
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Fiscal interventions to improve population diet have been recommended for consideration by many organisations including the World Health Organisation and the United Nations and policies such as sugar-sweetened beverage taxes have been implemented at national and sub-national levels. However, concerns have been raised with respect to the differential impact of fiscal interventions on population sub-groups and this remains a barrier to implementation. ⋯ Experimental studies provide an opportunity to examine the differential effects of fiscal measures to improve population diets. Patterns in price sensitivity by personal characteristics are complex. General conclusions pertaining to the effects of personal characteristics on price sensitivity are not supported by the evidence, which shows heterogeneity between studies and populations.
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Brain structural alterations and neuropsychiatric symptoms have been described repeatedly in Fabry disease, yet cognitive deficits have been shown to be only mild. Here, we aimed to investigate neuropsychiatric symptoms and brain structure longitudinally. We expected no clinically relevant increase of neuropsychiatric symptoms in parallel to increased brain structural alterations. ⋯ This investigation demonstrates clinical stability in cognitive function, while pronounced hippocampal atrophy is apparent throughout the 8 years. Our middle-aged Fabry patients appeared to compensate successfully for progressive hippocampal volume loss. The hippocampal volume decline indicates brain regional neuronal involvement in Fabry disease.