Plos One
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Observational Study
A decrease in serum creatinine after ICU admission is associated with increased mortality.
The elevation of serum creatinine (SCr), acute kidney injury (AKI), is associated with an increase of mortality in critically ill patients. However, it is uncertain whether a decrease in SCr in the intensive care unit (ICU) has an effect on outcomes. ⋯ Not only an increase in SCr, but also a decrease in SCr was associated with mortality in critically ill patients.
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According to recent estimates, at least 11% of the total global burden of disease is attributable to surgically-treatable diseases. In children, the burden is even more striking with up to 85% of children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) having a surgically-treatable condition by age 15. Using population data from four countries, we estimated pediatric surgical needs amongst children residing in LMICs. ⋯ Surgery has been elevated as an "indivisible, indispensable part of health care" in LMICs and the newly formed 2015 Sustainable Development Goals are noted as unachievable without the provision of surgical care. Given the large burden of pediatric surgical conditions in LMICs, scale-up of services for children is an essential component to improve pediatric health in LMICs.
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In Italy, at present, a well-known problem is inhomogeneous provision of rehabilitative services, as stressed by MoH, requiring appropriate criteria and parameters to plan rehabilitation actions. According to the Italian National Rehabilitation Plan, Comorbidity, Disability and Clinical Complexity should be assessed to define the patient's real needs. However, to date, clinical complexity is still difficult to measure with shared and validated tools. ⋯ The construct and concurrent validity of the RCS-E v13 was confirmed through its correlation to Barthel Index (disability) and Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (comorbidity) and appropriate admission criteria (not yet published), respectively. Furthermore, the factor analysis indicated two different components ("Basic Care or Risk-Equipment" and "Medical-Nursing Needs and Therapy Disciplines") of the RCS-E v13. In conclusion, the Italian RCS-E v13 appears to be a useful tool to assess clinical complexity in the Italian rehab scenario case-mix and its psychometric validation may have an important clinical rehabilitation impact allowing the assessment of the rehabilitation needs considering all three dimensions (disability, comorbidity and clinical complexity) as required by the Guidelines and the inhomogeneity could be reduced.
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In the context of serious or life-limiting illness, pediatric patients and their families are faced with difficult decisions surrounding appropriate resuscitation efforts in the event of a cardiopulmonary arrest. Code status orders are one way to inform end-of-life medical decision making. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the extent to which pediatric providers have knowledge of code status options and explore the association of provider role with (1) knowledge of code status options, (2) perception of timing of code status discussions, (3) perception of family receptivity to code status discussions, and (4) comfort carrying out code status discussions. ⋯ Providers have poor understanding of code status options and differ significantly in their comfort having code status discussions and their perceptions of these discussions. These findings may reflect inherent differences among providers, but may also reflect discordant visions of appropriate care and function as a potential source of moral distress. Lack of knowledge of code status options and differences in provider perceptions are likely barriers to quality communication surrounding end-of-life options.
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Phenotypic assays using human primary cells are highly valuable tools for target discovery and validation in drug discovery. Expression knockdown (KD) of such targets in these assays allows the investigation of their role in models of disease processes. Therefore, efficient and fast modes of protein KD in phenotypic assays are required. ⋯ A direct comparison between co-TD of separate Cas9 and gRNA AdV, versus TD with a single "all-in-one" Cas9/gRNA AdV, revealed that both methods achieve similar levels of indel formation. These data demonstrate that AdV CRISPR/Cas9 is a useful and efficient tool for protein KD in human primary cell phenotypic assays. The use of AdV CRISPR/Cas9 may offer significant advantages over the current existing tools and should enhance target discovery and validation opportunities.