Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effect of crisis plans on admissions and emergency visits: a randomized controlled trial.
To establish whether patients with a crisis plan had fewer voluntary or involuntary admissions, or fewer outpatient emergency visits, than patients without such a plan. ⋯ Crisis plans may be an effective intervention for reducing court-ordered admissions in patients with psychotic and bipolar disorders.
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Multicenter Study
Thrombocytopenia is associated with acute respiratory distress syndrome mortality: an international study.
Early detection of the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) has the potential to improve the prognosis of critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). However, no reliable biomarkers are currently available for accurate early detection of ARDS in patients with predisposing conditions. ⋯ This study of ICU patients in both China and US showed that thrombocytopenia is associated with an increased risk of ARDS and platelet count in combination with ARDS had a high predictive value for patient mortality.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Human traumatic brain injury induces autoantibody response against glial fibrillary acidic protein and its breakdown products.
The role of systemic autoimmunity in human traumatic brain injury (TBI) and other forms of brain injuries is recognized but not well understood. In this study, a systematic investigation was performed to identify serum autoantibody responses to brain-specific proteins after TBI in humans. TBI autoantibodies showed predominant immunoreactivity against a cluster of bands from 38-50 kDa on human brain immunoblots, which were identified as GFAP and GFAP breakdown products. ⋯ TBI patients showed an average 3.77 fold increase in anti-GFAP autoantibody levels from early (0-1 days) to late (7-10 days) times post injury. Changes in autoantibody levels were negatively correlated with outcome as measured by GOS-E score at 6 months, suggesting that TBI patients with greater anti-GFAP immune-responses had worse outcomes. Due to the long lasting nature of IgG, a test to detect anti-GFAP autoantibodies is likely to prolong the temporal window for assessment of brain damage in human patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Moxibustion treatment for knee osteoarthritis: a multi-centre, non-blinded, randomised controlled trial on the effectiveness and safety of the moxibustion treatment versus usual care in knee osteoarthritis patients.
This study tested the effectiveness of moxibustion on pain and function in chronic knee osteoarthritis (KOA) and evaluated safety. ⋯ Moxibustion may improve pain, function and quality of life in KOA patients, but adverse events are common. Limitations included no sham control or blinding.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Simplification to abacavir/lamivudine + atazanavir maintains viral suppression and improves bone and renal biomarkers in ASSURE, a randomized, open label, non-inferiority trial.
Simplification of antiretroviral therapy in patients with suppressed viremia may minimize long-term adverse effects. The study's primary objective was to determine whether abacavir/lamivudine + atazanavir (ABC/3TC+ATV) was virologically non-inferior to tenofovir/emtricitabine + atazanavir/ritonavir (TDF/FTC+ATV/r) over 24 weeks in a population of virologically suppressed, HIV-1 infected patients. ⋯ After 24 weeks, simplification to ABC/3TC+ATV from TDF/FTC+ATV/r maintained viral suppression was well-tolerated, and led to improvements in bone and renal biomarkers and HDL cholesterol.