Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Jun 2023
ReviewAcute Adverse Effects Related to Consumption of Nonnutritive and Low-Calorie Sweeteners.
Nonnutritive sweeteners (NNSs) and low-calorie sweeteners (LCSs) are commonly used as sugar substitutes. Many popular media Web sites caution against the use of these sweeteners because of their potential adverse effects such as inflammation; however, there are limited supporting data. ⋯ A few studies cite reports of acute adverse effects, including mild gastrointestinal disturbance, headaches, lightheadedness, hypersensitivity reactions, impaired spatial orientation, depression, and pain. Little scientific evidence has been reported in the literature since 2010 to support these warning statements to consumers about acute adverse effects to NNSs and LCSs.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 2023
Perceptions of Gender Stereotypes among Women Residents in Surgical and Nonsurgical Specialties.
The objective of this study was to determine whether and to what degree residents experience stereotype perception by gender and specialty type (surgical vs nonsurgical). ⋯ Women resident physicians in both surgical and nonsurgical fields reported higher levels of gender stereotype perception compared with men, making it imperative that graduate medical education leadership support changes to the current learning environment.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 2023
A Strict Patient Selection Protocol Could Be the Key to Success for Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS).
In recent years, the local excision of benign rectal lesions or early-stage rectal cancers using minimally invasive surgical techniques has replaced radical interventions that caused impairment in patients' quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS), as well as its excision quality, its oncologic outcomes, and its impact on anorectal function. ⋯ TAMIS seemed to be a feasible technique with adequate oncologic outcomes and high excision quality, which preserved patients' quality of life. The impact of TAMIS on anorectal function after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer should be further investigated, however.
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Southern medical journal · Jun 2023
Mediation Analysis of Maternal Smoking, Gestational Age, and Birth Weight on the Texas-Mexico Border.
Published data on the indirect effect of maternal smoking on birth weight as mediated by gestational age in Hispanic populations are lacking. Our goal was to conduct such a mediation analysis using data from El Paso County, Texas. ⋯ In our large, predominantly Hispanic cohort, it appears that gestational age is not a mediator of the effect of maternal smoking on birth weight. Future studies in our population should explore other possible mediators of this association.
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Southern medical journal · May 2023
ReviewDirect Use of Clinical Tolerance Limits for Assessing the Degree of Agreement between Two Methods of Measuring Blood Pressure.
A large number of new methods of measuring blood pressure (BP) have recently emerged with advances in technology. Different methods of measuring BP generally provide varying readings compared with one another. Clinicians must decide how to respond to these variations and how to assess the degree of agreement. ⋯ This method requires a comparison of Bland-Altman limits with the prespecified clinical tolerance limits. This review describes an alternative simple and robust method that directly uses clinical tolerance limits for assessing agreement without calculating Bland-Altman limits. The many advantages of this method are illustrated with the help of real-life examples of BP measurements.