Plos One
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The aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey (MOS-HIV) in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in mainland China. ⋯ The results of this study provide evidence that the MOS-HIV may be an acceptable, valid and reliable instrument for evaluating QOL of PLWHA in mainland China.
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Oxidative stress is believed to be a major driver of inflammation in smoking asthmatics. The U-BIOPRED project recruited a cohort of Severe Asthma smokers/ex-smokers (SAs/ex) and non-smokers (SAn) with extensive clinical and biomarker information enabling characterization of these subjects. We investigated oxidative stress in severe asthma subjects by analysing urinary 8-iso-PGF2α and the mRNA-expression of the main pro-oxidant (NOX2; NOSs) and anti-oxidant (SODs; CAT; GPX1) enzymes in the airways of SAs/ex and SAn. ⋯ Results about FeNO suggest its clinical limitation, as inflammation biomarker, in severe asthma active smokers. These data provide evidence of greater systemic oxidative stress in severe asthma smokers as reflected by a significant changes of NOX2 mRNA expression in the airways, together with elevated urinary 8-iso-PGF2α in the smokers/ex-smokers group. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov-Identifier: NCT01976767.
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Although several studies have explored factors associated with loss to follow-up (LTFU) from HIV care, there remains a gap in understanding how these factors vary by setting, volume of patient and patients' demographic and clinical characteristics. We determined rates and factors associated with LTFU in HIV care Lilongwe, Malawi. ⋯ A sizeable proportion of ART LTFU occurred among women enrolled during pregnancy or breast-feeding. Non- compliance to clinic and receiving ART in a rural facility or high-volume facility were associated with increased risk of LTFU from ART care. Developing effective interventions that target high-risk subgroups and contexts may help reduce LTFU from HIV care.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of spinal curvature parameters as determined by the ZEBRIS spine examination method and the Cobb method in children with scoliosis.
The most common and gold standard method to diagnose and follow-up on scoliosis treatment is to capture biplanar X-ray images and then use these to determine the sagittal frontal spinal curvature angles by the Cobb method. Reducing exposure to radiation is an important aspect for consideration, especially regarding children. The ZEBRIS spinal examination method is an external, non-invasive measurement method that uses an ultrasound-based motion analysis system. The aim of this study is to compare angle values of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) determined by the ZEBRIS spine examination method with the angle values defined by the gold standard Cobb method on biplanar X-ray images. ⋯ Thoracic spinal curvature angles in sagittal and in frontal planes can be measured with sufficient accuracy. The slopes of the linear regression lines for thoracic kyphosis (TK) and thoracic scoliosis (TSC) are close to one (1.00 and 0.79 respectively), and the intercept values are below 5 degrees. The correlation between the TK and TSC values determined by the two methods is significant (p = 0.000) and excellent (rTK = 0.95, rTSC = 0.85). The differences are in the limit of agreement. The lumbar lordosis (LL) in the sagittal plane shows a very good correlation (rLL = 0.76); however the differences between the angles determined by the two methods are out of the limit of agreement in patients with major lumbar lordosis (LL≥50°). The thoracolumbar/lumbar spinal curvature angles in the frontal plane determined by ZEBRIS spine examination were underestimated at curvatures larger than 15°, mainly due to the rotational and pathological deformities of the scoliotic vertebrae. However, the correlation between lumbar scoliosis (LSC) values determined by the two methods is significant (p = 0.000) and excellent (rLSC = 0.84), the slopes are below one (0.71), the intercept values are below 5 degrees, and the differences between the angles determined by the two methods are within the limits of agreement. We could conclude that ZEBRIS spinal examination is a valid and reliable method for determination of sagittal and frontal curvatures during the treatment of patients with scoliosis. However, it cannot replace the biplanar X-ray examination for the visualization of spinal curvatures in the sagittal and frontal planes and the rotation of vertebral bodies during the diagnosis and annual evaluation of the progression.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Low serum sodium levels at hospital admission: Outcomes among 2.3 million hospitalized patients.
Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte disorder among hospitalized patients. Controversies still exist over the relationship between hyponatremia and outcomes of hospitalized patients. ⋯ Hyponatremia is common among hospitalized patients and is significantly associated with in-hospital mortality, discharge to hospice or to a nursing facility. The risk of death and other outcomes was more evident for [Na] <135 mEq/L. The mortality associated with low [Na] was significantly higher in younger versus older patients.