Bmc Med
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Changes in the microvasculature associated with pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension have been proposed as a potential pathway in the development of cardiovascular disease. We examined whether gestational hypertensive disorders, such as pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension, are related to the maternal retinal microvasculature status after pregnancy. ⋯ Compared to women with a previous normotensive pregnancy, women with pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension show an altered status of the microvasculature 6 years after the index pregnancy. This is reflected by smaller retinal arteriolar calibers and wider retinal venular calibers. These microvascular changes may possibly contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease in later life.
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Decreasing trends in measles mortality have been reported in recent years. However, such estimates of measles mortality have depended heavily on assumed regional measles case fatality risks (CFRs) and made little use of mortality data from low- and middle-income countries in general and India, the country with the highest measles burden globally, in particular. ⋯ We developed a data- and model-driven estimation of the historical measles dynamics, CFR, and vaccination impact in India, extracting the periodicity of epidemics using spectral and coherence analysis, which allowed us to infer key parameters driving measles transmission dynamics and mortality.
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Pregnancy and pregnancy loss may be linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the evidence is still inconsistent, especially in East Asians, whose reproductive patterns differ importantly from those in the West. We examined the associations of pregnancy, miscarriage, induced abortion, and stillbirth with CVD incidence among Chinese women. ⋯ Among Chinese women, increases in pregnancy, and a history and recurrence of miscarriage, induced abortion, and stillbirth are each associated with a higher risk of CVD.
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Observational Study
The clinical utility of the urine-based lateral flow lipoarabinomannan assay in HIV-infected adults in Myanmar: an observational study.
The use of the point-of-care lateral flow lipoarabinomannan (LF-LAM) test may expedite tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis in HIV-positive patients. However, the test's clinical utility is poorly defined outside sub-Saharan Africa. ⋯ The LF-LAM test had limited clinical utility in the management of HIV-positive patients in this Asian referral hospital setting.
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Review Meta Analysis
Clinical and laboratory predictors of death in African children with features of severe malaria: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The criteria for defining severe malaria have evolved over the last 20 years. We aimed to assess the strength of association of death with features currently characterizing severe malaria through a systematic review and meta-analysis. ⋯ The findings of this meta-analysis show that the strength of association between the criteria defining severe malaria and death is quite variable for each clinical and/or laboratory feature (OR ranging from 0.58 to 5.96). This ranking allowed the identification of features weakly associated with death, such as impaired consciousness and prostration, which could assist to improve case definition, and thus optimize antimalarial treatment.