Articles: disease.
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The current absence of a disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer disease highlights the necessity for the benefits of nonpharmacological approaches. We aimed to investigate the effect of exercise in older patients with Alzheimer dementia. This is an observational, prospective cohort study in medical center. ⋯ Moreover, the exercise group had significantly lesser unexpected hospitalization than the no-exercise group in the patients with mild dementia (P = .037). Despite the similarity in the status of dementia, exercise habit was found to be associated with a better senior fitness test score status. Hence, exercise can decrease unexpected hospitalization in patients with mild dementia but not those with total dementia.
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Liver steatosis could affect the accuracy of FibroScan in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to assess the accuracy and cut-off values of FibroScan for diagnosing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with concomitant CHB and NAFLD. A total of 116 patients with concomitant CHB and NAFLD who underwent FibroScan test and liver biopsy were retrospectively enrolled. ⋯ The cutoff values of FibroScan for staging liver fibrosis with sensitivity at least 90% were: 8.0 kPa for significant liver fibrosis, and 10.5 kPa for cirrhosis. The cutoff values of FibroScan for staging liver fibrosis with specificity at least 90% were: 10.8 kPa for significant liver fibrosis, and 17.8 kPa for cirrhosis. FibroScan provides high value for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with concomitant CHB and NAFLD.
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COVID-19 spreads easily between people who are in close contact, or through coughs and sneezes. As the number of cases continues to increase, healthcare workers (HCWs) are notably at risk as a result of frequency of contact with suspected cases or infected people. Use of infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies by HCWs is therefore important. We summarise the evidence from a rapid Cochrane qualitative evidence synthesis by Houghton et al. on barriers and facilitators to HCWs' adherence to IPC guidelines for respiratory infectious diseases.
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Minerva cardioangiologica · Jun 2020
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyThe attitude towards disease management programs in Austrian heart failure patients: a pilot study comparing rural and urban patients.
Disease Management Programs (DMPs) for heart failure (HF) patients have been developed to better control patients' well-being as well as their daily drug intake. DMPs for HF are not always accepted by the patients, and the reasons for this phenomenon are largely unknown. We hypothesized that patients from rural areas accept a DMP more likely than patients living in a big city. Thus, a pilot study investigated differences in the attitude towards DMPs between HF-patients in one rural and one urban hospital in Austria. ⋯ Structures of the health care system and patients' attitudes must be considered when planning DMPs. Development of DMPs which are accepted by urban patients will be relevant for the future.