Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

J Paediatr Child Health 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Khoo Teck Puat - National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore.

Aim: A nurse on a paediatric multidisciplinary ward was diagnosed with smear-positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Children <2 years old, immunocompromised, or >40 h of contact (n = 173) were contact-traced.

Methods: Children received clinical review, chest X-ray, tuberculin skin test (TST; <5 years old) and/or an interferon-gamma release assay (Quantiferon TB-Gold, ≥5 years old). Read More

Skin Res Technol 2021 Apr 13. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Dermatology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.

Background: Actinic keratosis (AK) occurs frequently in sun-exposed skin while its diagnosis and treatment were still in exploration.

Materials And Methods: Thirty two patients with facial AK lesions were selected and examined with reflective confocal microscopy (RCM) firstly, followed by biopsy at the same site. RCM was used to observe AK lesions before 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) treatment, after the first treatment, after 4 treatments, and at 1 and 6 months follow-up. Read More

BMC Med Educ 2021 Apr 12;21(1):206. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, USA.

Background: University students have limited opportunities to gain healthcare clinical exposure within an academic curriculum. Furthermore, traditional pre-medical clinical experiences like shadowing lack active learning components. This may make it difficult for students to make an informed decision about pursuing biomedical professions. Read More

BMC Nurs 2021 Apr 12;20(1):60. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Research Institute for Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran.

Background: Patient safety culture is an important factor in determining hospitals' ability to address and reduce the occurrence of adverse events (AEs). However, few studies have reported on the impact of nurses' perceptions of patient safety culture on the occurrence of AEs. Our study aimed to assess the association between nurses' perception of patient safety culture and their perceived proportion of adverse events. Read More

Brain Inj 2021 Apr 11:1-8. Epub 2021 Apr 11.

Oakville Centre for Cognitive Therapy, Oakville, Canada.

Background: Sleep and wakefulness disturbances are common with traumatic brain injury (TBI); however, there are no condition-specific measures to evaluate sleep following TBI.

Objective: To assess the convergent validity of the Sleep and Concussion Questionnaire (SCQ), a condition-specific (TBI) measure is compared to polysomnography and existing self-report sleep questionnaires.

Participants Included: Thirty-two adults diagnosed with mild TBI, 3-24 months post-injury, average age, 38. Read More

Eur J Ophthalmol 2021 Apr 10:11206721211009451. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Azienda Ospedaliera San Giovanni Addolorata, Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Purpose: To study the features of corneal confocal microscopy of eyes with Fuchs' endothelial corneal dystrophy (FECD) after successful Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK) versus Descemet membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK).

Methods: Thirty-two eyes affected by FECD with corneal oedema requiring a corneal graft were treated with DSAEK (15 eyes) or DMEK (17 eyes). All patients underwent in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (IVCCM) at 6 months postoperatively. Read More

J Anaesthesiol Clin Pharmacol 2020 Oct-Dec;36(4):524-530. Epub 2021 Jan 18.

Department of Anaesthesiology, Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital, Nadiad, Gujarat, India.

Background And Aims: Catheter-related bladder discomfort (CRBD) is a major cause of postoperative morbidity following urological procedures. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of caudal bupivacaine alone and with adjuvant fentanyl and nalbuphine to minimize the severity of CRBD after tubeless percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL).

Material And Methods: A randomized prospective study was conducted on one hundred thirty-two (American society of Anaesthesiologist physical status I to II) patients who presented for tubeless PCNL under general anesthesia. Read More

Am J Gastroenterol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland, USA; University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA; Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.

Introduction: Fatty liver disease (FLD) influences liver disease progression and liver cancer risk. We investigated the impact of FLD on liver disease severity in a large North American cohort with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Methods: Liver biopsies from 420 hepatitis B surface antigen-positive adults enrolled in the Hepatitis B Research Network and who were not on HBV therapy in the previous month were evaluated for inflammation and fibrosis. Read More

J Pediatr Urol 2021 Mar 27. Epub 2021 Mar 27.

Department of Histology and Embriology, University of Zagreb, School of Medicine, Šalata 3, Zagreb, 10000, Croatia.

Introduction: Testicular torsion is one of the conditions of the acute scrotum that requires immediate surgical intervention. If not recognized at time, it can result of ischemic injuries and testicular loss. Restoration of blood flow is essential to save ischemic tissue, but reperfusion itself paradoxically causes further damage. Read More

Transpl Immunol 2021 Apr 7:101390. Epub 2021 Apr 7.

IMUNOLAB - Laboratory of Histocompatibility, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil; Institute of Research and Education of the Hospital Santa Casa, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Electronic address:

Background: The presence of donor-specific antibodies (DSAs) against HLA-DQB1 is considered a significant barrier to good outcome and allograft survival in kidney transplantation (KT). This study aimed to assess the impact of induction immunotherapy on the outcome and allograft survival in KT patients with HLA-DQB1-DSA.

Methodology: Thirty-two patients who had undergone KT and found to be positive for HLA-DQB1-DSA were monitored at least one to 10 years. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Apr 8;11(1):7726. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Samsung Medical Center, Department of Ophthalmology, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 81 Irwon-Ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea.

This retrospective comparative study was to evaluate tear osmolarity measured by I-Pen osmolarity system (I-MED Pharma Inc, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada) in healthy subjects without dry eye disease (DED) and patients with DED, and its association with other ocular surface parameters. This study comprised 65 eyes of 65 patients. The ocular surface parameters including tear osmolarity with I-Pen osmometer of the patients who visited the refractive surgery center of Samsung Medical Center between January 1, 2020 and May 31, 2020 were retrospectively collected. Read More

Ann Plast Surg 2021 Mar 31. Epub 2021 Mar 31.

From the Long Island Plastic Surgical Group, Garden City, NY Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University; Stony Brook, New York.

Purpose: Interest in labiaplasty as a way to alter and improve genital appearance has been on the rise. Labiaplasty procedures can be performed in the office setting under local anesthesia. However, these procedures are often performed under general anesthesia for patient comfort and to facilitate the operative technique and to potentially improve outcomes. Read More

Zhonghua Er Bi Yan Hou Tou Jing Wai Ke Za Zhi 2021 Apr;56(4):346-350

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of unilateral/bilateral bone conduction hearing rehabilitation in patients with bilateral microtia accompanied with severe conductive hearing loss following staged auricle reconstruction and bonebridge implantation. Thirty-two patients, including 20 males and 12 females, with an average age of 11.8, who received surgical treatment in Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) from March, 2016 to January, 2020 with bilateral microtia-atresia were included. Read More

J Paediatr Child Health 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Aim: To review the experience of a dedicated paediatric multidisciplinary lipid clinic in the management of familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) by studying the demographics, clinical presentations as well as statin therapy and outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective database review of all patients under 18 years old seen in the lipid clinic at an Australian tertiary paediatric hospital between April 1999 and August 2017. Outcome measures collected included patient demographics, family history, lipid profile, age at treatment commencement, treatment outcomes and complications. Read More

World J Urol 2021 Apr 8. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Department of Urology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA.

Objective: The optimal follow-up duration and frequency following hypospadias repair is unclear within the pediatric urology community. This analysis aims to delineate the time to various complications following primary hypospadias repairs.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of a single-surgeon hypospadias database over 2001-2017 was performed. Read More

Front Oncol 2021 22;11:651137. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Proton Therapy Unit, Hospital of Trento, Azienda Provinciale per i Servizi Sanitari (APSS), Trento, Italy.

Purpose: To demonstrate that quantitative multicomponent T2 relaxation can be more sensitive than conventional FLAIR imaging for detecting cerebral tissue abnormalities.

Methods: Six patients affected by lower-grade non-enhancing gliomas underwent T2 relaxation and FLAIR imaging before a radiation treatment by proton therapy (PT) and were examined at follow-up. The T2 decay signal obtained by a thirty-two-echo sequence was decomposed into three main components, attributing to each component a different T2 range: water trapped in the lipid bilayer membrane of myelin, intra/extracellular water and cerebrospinal fluid. Read More

Clin Mol Allergy 2021 Apr 7;19(1). Epub 2021 Apr 7.

General Medicine Department, ASST-Fatebenefratelli-Sacco, Milan, Italy.

Background: Hereditary angioedema due to C1 inhibitor deficiency (C1-INH-HAE) is a rare disease. Few states in developing countries have an adequate management of HAE, but none of them belongs to the former USSR area. This study analyses data from C1-INH-HAE patients from Belarus. Read More

J Pharm Pract 2021 Apr 8:8971900211000682. Epub 2021 Apr 8.

Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY, USA.

Background: Cigarette smoking is associated with disease progression, poor outcomes, and increased biologic use in Crohn's Disease (CD). In this prospective study, we describe the structure and results of a pharmacist-driven smoking cessation program in an Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Specialty Medical Home.

Methods: One pharmacist designed and implemented a collaborative drug therapy management (CDTM) program, which allowed the pharmacist to initiate and modify smoking cessation aids, monitor medication safety and efficacy, and provide behavioral counseling. Read More

Reprod Sci 2021 Apr 6. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Laser Application in Medical Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical, Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

About 50% of infertility is caused by men. This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of photobiomodulation on spermatogenesis in a busulfan-induced infertile mouse as a testicular degeneration treatment. Thirty-two adult NMRI male mice were divided into 4 groups: control, busulfan, PBMT 0. Read More

Aging (Albany NY) 2021 Mar 26;13. Epub 2021 Mar 26.

Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.

Hypothalamic nuclei in the preoptic and anterior hypothalamic region (POAH) are critically involved in thermoregulation and neuroendocrine regulation and can be displaced by craniopharyngiomas (CPs). We aimed to locate the POAH by visualizing hypothalamic thermoregulation through task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to guide hypothalamus protection intraoperatively. Nine adult healthy volunteers (HVs) and thirty-two adult primary CP patients underwent task-related fMRI for POAH localization by warm (60° C) and cold (0° C) cutaneous thermoreceptor stimulation. Read More

J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 2021 Apr 5. Epub 2021 Apr 5.

Center for Microbial Pathogenesis, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, USA.

Objectives: In obese adults the shape of the glucose response curve during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) predicts future type 2 diabetes. Patients with an incessant increase or monophasic curves have increased risk compared to those with biphasic curves. Since type 2 diabetes is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk, we studied whether differences in OGTT response curve are associated with differences in cardiometabolic risk factors in healthy adolescents across a wide body mass index (BMI) range. Read More

Cureus 2021 Feb 27;13(2):e13595. Epub 2021 Feb 27.

Shoulder and Elbow Surgery, Rothman Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA.

Introduction Given the limitations of anchor-based rotator cuff repair, surgeons have considered and investigated the use of an arthroscopic transosseous repair technique using only sutures to repair tendon tissue. Returning full circle to the gold standard of transosseous repair, but with the modern adaptation of arthroscopy, advocates of arthroscopic transosseous rotator cuff repair believe that many of the risks associated with suture anchors can be avoided. The purpose of this study was to examine the capabilities of a novel needle-based arthroscopic transosseous tunneling device (OmniCuff™ arthroscopic transosseous device, MinInvasive Ltd. Read More

Front Neurosci 2021 18;15:593723. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Nuclear Medicine, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.

A majority of blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) patients experience persistent neurological dysfunction with no findings on conventional structural MR imaging. It is urgent to develop advanced imaging modalities to detect and understand the pathophysiology of blast-induced mTBI. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (F-FDG PET) could detect neuronal function and activity of the injured brain, while MR spectroscopy provides complementary information and assesses metabolic irregularities following injury. Read More

Acute Crit Care 2021 Apr 4. Epub 2021 Apr 4.

Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Anesthesia and Pain Research Institute, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Background: Lung transplantation (LT) is an accepted therapeutic modality for end-stage lung disease patients. Intensive care unit (ICU) readmission is a risk factor for mortality after LT, for which consistent risk factors have not been elucidated. Thus, we investigated the risk factors for ICU readmission during index hospitalization after LT, particularly regarding the posttransplant condition of LT patients. Read More

Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk 2021 Mar 9. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

Department of Medical Oncology-Hematology, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan.

Background: FLT3 mutations are common in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), particularly in French-American-British M2 subtype AML and in cytogenetically normal (CN) AML; however, its incidence in Jordan is poorly studied. An FLT3 mutation implies poor prognosis in AML patients. We aimed to assess the incidence and prognostic value of FLT3 mutations in AML in Jordan. Read More

J Affect Disord 2021 Mar 19;287:268-275. Epub 2021 Mar 19.

National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and Department of Psychiatry, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, Hunan, China. Electronic address:

Objective: Previous studies have revealed different neuroimaging features between melancholic and non-melancholic major depressive disorder (MDD). However, homotopic connectivity of melancholic and non-melancholic MDD remains unknown. The present study aimed to explore common and distinct homotopic connectivity patterns of melancholic and non-melancholic MDD and their associations with clinical characteristics. Read More

Laryngoscope 2021 Apr 2. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Objective: Selective electrical surface stimulation (SES) of the larynx is not yet routinely considered therapy option in treatment of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). Goal of this monocentric feasibility study was to provide systematic data on applicability of SES of intrinsic laryngeal muscles in UVFP under consideration of sensitivity and discomfort thresholds and nonselective side effects.

Methods: Thirty-two UVFP patients were included in the study. Read More

Appl Neuropsychol Adult 2021 Apr 1:1-10. Epub 2021 Apr 1.

Division of Behavioral Neurology, Department of Neurology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.

The component of working memory that the frontal cortex subserves is frequently characterized as the executive working memory (EWM). This study applied a neuropsychological measure of EWM (NPM-EWM) in older adults with memory impairment to investigate the EWM. Thirty-two older adults from the community were recruited as older healthy controls (OHCs), and 58 older adults from a memory clinic were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia (MD). Read More

Biomed Res Int 2021 18;2021:8813300. Epub 2021 Feb 18.

Department of Knee Surgery, Luoyang Orthopedic-Traumatological Hospital (Henan Orthopedic Hospital), Qiming Southern Road, Luoyang, Henan 471002, China.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of preoperative planning of the femurofibular angle (FFA) in medial open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) for mild medial knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Thirty-two patients (32 knees) with mild medial knee OA were retrospectively reviewed. The patients underwent preoperative planning of the FFA for OWHTO. Read More