Articles: disease.
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Observational Study
Usefulness of controlled attenuation parameter and liver stiffness measurement for detecting increased arterial stiffness in asymptomatic populations in China.
In recent studies, vibration-controlled transient elastography (FibroScan) has been reported as an alternative noninvasive approach for measuring liver steatosis and fibrosis. The present study aimed to investigate the feasibility of FibroScan controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in the detection of increased arterial stiffness in asymptomatic populations in China. A retrospective cohort recruiting 4747 asymptomatic patients with no underlying causes of liver disease and having FibroScan and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) during wellness check-up was covered. ⋯ Furthermore, in a multivariate logistic regression analysis, OR (95% CI) for the maximal vs. the minimal quartile of CAP was 1.602 (1.268-2.024), and that of LSM in NAFLD was 1.362 (1.034-1.792) after adjustment for the above-mentioned risk factors. Notably, NAFLD and significant fibrosis in NAFLD were significantly correlated only with increased arterial stiffness in subjects without hypertension or diabetes mellitus after adjustment for the above-mentioned risk factors. CAP-defined NAFLD and LSM-defined significant fibrosis in NAFLD showed significant and independent relationships with increased arterial stiffness even after adjustment for conventional cardiovascular risk factors, which can be conducive to stratifying relative risk of subjects having undergone screening assessment for cardiovascular disease.
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The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the world has put a heavy burden on human society and is also a great challenge facing medical staff. This study aimed to assess the difficulties faced by health care personnel (HCP) in using personal protective equipment (PPE) in clinical practice during the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China. One hundred twenty medical staff from the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University presented to the Wuhan First Hospital to provide medical assistance, from whom 20 HCP volunteered to participate in a focus group discussion attended by infection control nurse leaders. ⋯ Observed difficulties included inappropriate PPE sizes, the design of the PPE and its complexity of use, doubts related to the quality and effectiveness of PPE, potential risks during doffing, space layout between clean and contaminated area, and poor comfort with PPE use. Other factors, such as the support environment, management, processes, preparedness, HCP, and equipment can also have a positive or negative impact on the use of PPE. Future efforts to optimize PPE use should focus on strengthening training for HCP using real items for increasing compliance with standardized protocols, improving PPE design, and performing further research on the risks, benefits, and best practices of PPE use.
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Observational Study
Detection and diagnostic value of serum NSE and S100B protein levels in patients with seizures associated with mild gastroenteritis: A retrospective observational study.
Benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis (CwG) and febrile seizures (FS) associated with mild gastroenteritis are 2 different diseases in the spectrum of seizures associated with mild gastroenteritis. However, specific and useful indicators for the identification of the 2 diseases are lacking. A retrospective analysis was performed to compare the serum neuronal-specific enolase (NSE) and S100B protein levels between patients with these 2 diseases to evaluate the value of NSE and S100B for differential diagnosis between these 2 diseases. ⋯ Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for NSE was 0.806, P = .000, which was statistically significant. The Youden index was largest (0.605) for a serum NSE cut-off value of 10.460 pg/ml, which yielded a sensitivity and specificity of 89% and 71%, respectively, for prediction of a CwG diagnosis. NSE may contribute to the differential diagnosis of CwG and FS associated with mild gastroenteritis.
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Review Meta Analysis
Association of transferrin G258A and transferrin receptor A82G polymorphisms with the risk of Parkinson disease in certain area.
It has been reported that polymorphisms of transferrin (TF) G258A and transferrin receptor (TFR) A82G might be associated with susceptibility to Parkinson disease (PD). ⋯ Our study suggests that TF G258A polymorphism may be associated with PD, while TFR A82G polymorphism may not contribute to PD based on the current evidence.
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Observational Study
A nomogram for estimating the probability of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in a Chinese population: A retrospective cohort study.
Studies have showed that dyslipidemia is closely related to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, less attention has been paid to the relationship between early dyslipidemia and long-term risk of NAFLD. Therefore, we aimed to develop a simple-to-use nomogram to predict early dyslipidemia and long-term risk of NAFLD onset. ⋯ The accuracy of the nomogram for predicting 5-year cumulative occurrence of NAFLD was 0.8135 (95% confidence interval: 0.7921-0.8349), and the sensitivity and specificity were 0.8108 and 0.6960, respectively. The combination of age, BMI, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and UA translated into a nomogram can reliably estimate the incidence of NAFLD within 5 years. It may serve as a decision support tool to determine whether to intervene at an early stage.