PeerJ
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Introduction. Researchers' productivity is usually measured in terms of their publication output. A minimum number of publications is required for some medical qualifications and professional appointments. ⋯ Types of publication by the prolific authors varied but included substantial numbers of original research papers (not simply editorials or letters). Conclusions. Institutions and funders should be alert to unfeasibly prolific authors when measuring and creating incentives for researcher productivity.
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Background. Despite guideline recommendations, chest radiography (CR) for the diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children is commonly used also in mild and/or uncomplicated cases. The aim of this study is to assess the reliability of lung ultrasonography (LUS) as an alternative test in these cases and suggest a new diagnostic algorithm. ⋯ The LUS sensitivity was 96.5% (95% CI [82.2%-99.9%]), specificity of 95.6% (95% CI [78.0%-99.9%]), positive likelihood ratio of 22.2 (95% CI [3.2-151.2]), and negative likelihood ratio of 0.04 (95% CI [0.01-0.25]) for diagnosing pneumonia. Conclusion. LUS can be considered as a valid alternative diagnostic tool of CAP in children and its use must be promoted as a first approach in accordance with our new diagnostic algorithm.
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Rapid drop in the reproduction number during the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) experienced a confined rural outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) with 69 reported cases from July to October 2014. Understanding the transmission dynamics during the outbreak can provide important information for anticipating and controlling future EVD epidemics. ⋯ The model suggests that the net reproduction number Rt fell below unity 28 days (95% CI [25-34] days) after the onset of symptoms in the index case. This study adds to previous epidemiological descriptions of the 2014 EVD outbreak in DRC, and is consistent with the notion that a rapid implementation of control interventions helped reduce further spread.
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Background. Postoperative morbidity has immediate and delayed consequences for surgical patients, including excess risk of premature death. Capturing these data objectively and routinely in large electronic databases using tools such as the Postoperative Morbidity Survey (POMS) would offer tremendous clinical and translational potential. ⋯ Conclusions. Postoperative morbidity as defined by the Post Operative Morbidity Survey can be assessed retrospectively. These data may therefore be easily captured using electronic patient record systems, thereby expanding the potential for bioinformatics approaches to generate new clinical and translational insights into recovery from surgery.
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Background. Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders are often active in patients with multiple comorbidities and a short natural life expectancy, but limited information exists as to how often these patients undergo high-risk operations and of the perioperative outcomes in this population. Methods. ⋯ Conclusions. DNR status is associated with worse outcomes of cardiothoracic surgery even when controlling for age, race, insurance status, and serious comorbid disease. DNR status appears to be a marker of substantial perioperative risk, and may warrant substantial consideration when framing discussions of surgical risk and benefit, resource utilization, and biomedical ethics surrounding end-of-life care.