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Thromb Haemost 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Georges Pompidou European Hosp, Paris, France.

Introduction: Recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) despite curative anticoagulation is frequent in patients with cancer. Identifying patients with a high risk of recurrence could have therapeutic implications. A prospective study was designed to validate the Ottawa risk score of recurrent VTE in cancer patients. Read More

Neoplasia 2021 Apr 17;23(5):473-487. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Pathology and Molecular Pathology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address:

Diagnosis of salivary gland neoplasms is often challenging due to their high morphological diversity and overlaps. Several recurrent molecular alterations have been described recently, which can serve as powerful diagnostic tools and potential therapeutic targets (e.g. Read More

Am J Obstet Gynecol MFM 2021 Apr 17:100376. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.

Background: Chronic hypertension complicates up to 5% of pregnancies and is increasing in prevalence. Women with hypertension have increased risks of serious maternal morbidity and mortality in pregnancy including the development of preeclampsia. In 2017, new guidelines reclassified blood pressure into four categories: normal (<120/<80 mmHg), elevated (120-129/<80 mmHg), stage 1 hypertension (130-139/80-89 mmHg), and stage 2 hypertension (>140/>90 mmHg). Read More

Exp Gerontol 2021 Apr 17:111361. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Pathophysiology of Ageing and Civilization Diseases, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Długa 1/2 Str., 61-848 Poznan, Poland. Electronic address:

RT-qPCR is the most reliable molecular method for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Here, we analyzed results of RT-qPCR obtained for 3044 patients diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2-positive using four different molecular tests utilizing five RNA sequences. The analysis showed that patients' age inversely correlates with threshold cycle (Ct) values for RdRP gene (LightMix® Modular Wuhan CoV RdRP-gene by Roche Diagnostics) and RdRP+S genes (MutaPLEX® Coronavirus RT-PCR kit by Immundiagnostic). Read More

J R Soc Interface 2021 Apr 21;18(177):20200947. Epub 2021 Apr 21.

Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.

Viral tests including polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are recommended to diagnose COVID-19 infection during the acute phase of infection. A test should have high sensitivity; however, the sensitivity of the PCR test is highly influenced by viral load, which changes over time. Because it is difficult to collect data before the onset of symptoms, the current literature on the sensitivity of the PCR test before symptom onset is limited. Read More

Klin Lab Diagn 2021 Apr;66(4):229-236

Institute of Chemical Biology and Fundamental Medicine SB RAS.

Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever (coxiellosis), which, in addition to acute manifestations, often occurs in a latent form, is prone to chronic course and, in the absence of antibiotic therapy, has a high risk of disability or death. As a result of the presence of a wide range of clinical manifestations specific to other infectious diseases, the use of laboratory test methods (LTM) is required to make a diagnosis. The presence of Q fever anthropurgic foci in the Novosibirsk region was described in the 90s of the last century, but due attention to its laboratory diagnostics is not paid in this region. Read More

Am J Med Genet A 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Cardiac and Critical Care, Division of Medicine, Flinders Medical Center, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia.

A 57-year-old man with a family history of aortic aneurysm was found, during assessment of unexplained fever, to have an infrarenal aortic aneurysm requiring immediate repair. Dilatation of popliteal and iliac arteries was also present. Progressive aortic root dilatation with aortic regurgitation was documented from 70 years leading to valve-sparing aortic root replacement at 77 years, at which time genetic studies identified a likely pathogenic FBN1 missense variant c. Read More

Am J Epidemiol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Monitoring survival in cancer is a common concern for patients, physicians, and public health researchers. The traditional cohort approach for monitoring cancer prognosis has a timeliness problem. In this paper, we propose a survivorship-period-cohort (SPC) model for examining the effects of survivorship, period, and year-of-diagnosis cohort on cancer prognosis and to predict future trends in cancer survival. Read More

PLoS One 2021 20;16(4):e0250044. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Project San Francisco, Rwanda Zambia HIV Research Group, Kigali, Rwanda.

Introduction: The longstanding inadequacies of syndromic management for genital ulceration and inflammation are well-described. The Rwanda National Guidelines for sexually transmitted infection (STI) syndromic management are not yet informed by the local prevalence and correlates of STI etiologies, a component World Health Organization guidelines stress as critical to optimize locally relevant algorithms.

Methods: Radio announcements and pharmacists recruited symptomatic patients to seek free STI services in Kigali. Read More

Menopause 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Clinical Oncology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China Division of Epidemiology, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China Department of Clinical Oncology, Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China Hong Kong Cancer Institute, State Key Laboratory in Oncology in South China, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territories, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Objective: This study assessed menopausal symptoms (MPS) after breast cancer in relation to quality of life (QoL) during the first 5 years of survival.

Methods: An ongoing prospective study enrolled 1,462 Chinese women with early-stage breast cancer. They were longitudinally followed up at four time-points, namely baseline, 18-, 36-, and 60-month after diagnosis. Read More

Hum Vaccin Immunother 2021 Apr 20:1-9. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Center for Pulmonary Diseases, National Hospital Organization Tokyo National Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

A national routine pneumococcal pneumonia immunization program started in Japan in 2014. It targeted the population aged ≥65 years and used a 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine; PPSV23. However, its effectiveness was not well defined because of the lack of a comprehensive database on the PPSV23 vaccination status of each subject. Read More

Dementia (London) 2021 Apr 20:14713012211009341. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

College of Medicine, 7235University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Individuals with young onset dementia and their families face unique challenges, such as disruptions to their life cycle and relationships and a dearth of appropriate supports. Financial consequences have also been noted in the literature yet have not been explored in-depth. The purpose of this research was to qualitatively explore carers' experiences of financial consequences resulting from the young onset dementia of a family member and how these consequences may be managed. Read More

Child Obes 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.

Children with neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders (N/MHD), such as autism spectrum, mood disorders, and anxiety, are more likely to engage in excessive screen time, receive insufficient sleep, and to have obesity than neurotypical peers. However, little is known about how parents of these children approach promoting sleep and balanced screen time. We conducted semistructured interviews with 24 parents of children aged 8-15 years with a diagnosis of N/MHD to assess barriers and facilitators to promoting sleep and balanced screen time. Read More

J Clin Oncol 2021 Apr 20:JCO2002754. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA.

Purpose: The rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase-2 (ROCK2) signaling pathway regulates the Th17/regulatory T cells balance and controls profibrotic pathways. Selective ROCK2 inhibition with belumosudil (KD025) may offer a novel approach to the management of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).

Patients And Methods: A phase IIa, open-label, dose-finding study of belumosudil enrolled 54 patients with cGVHD who had received one to three prior lines of therapy (LOTs). Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Center for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.

Cancer is a multistep progressive disease that generally involves tumor growth, invasion, and metastasis. It is crucial to understand tumor progression for tumor diagnosis and therapy. However, tumor progression at an extremely early stage (EES) is barely demonstrated because EES tumors are too small to be detected by imaging. Read More

J Clin Rheumatol 2021 Feb 10. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

From the Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, Mexico.

The aim was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of Mexican patients with polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) from a single center.

Methods: We conducted a medical records review study (1975-2018) that included patients with childhood- and adult-onset PAN. Demographics, organ involvement, phenotype, treatment, and outcomes were assessed and compared against previously published cohorts. Read More

Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2021 Apr;25(7):3028-3037

Endocrinology, University of Health Sciences, Kocaeli Derince Training and Research Hospital, Derince/Kocaeli, Turkey.

Objective: Few studies have used electrocardiography (ECG) to examine nonfunctional adrenal adenomas (NFAAs). No study has investigated the QRS-T angle in NFAA patients. We analyzed the frontal QRS-T angle of patients with incidentally discovered NFAAs. Read More

Cardiol Ther 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

University of Utah Health Sciences Center and Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

Introduction: Transthyretin amyloid cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM) is a progressive, fatal and under-recognized disease. This targeted literature review assessed the extent and consequences of diagnostic delay and misdiagnosis in ATTR-CM.

Methods: The Embase database was searched together with proceedings of eight cardiology conferences to identify publications or abstracts on ATTR-CM. Read More

Curr Med Sci 2021 Apr 20;41(2):318-322. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, China.

Serology tests for viral antibodies provide an important tool to support nucleic acid testing for diagnosis of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and is useful for documenting previous exposures to SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19. The sensitivities of the chemiluminescent SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM immunoassay were assessed by using serum samples collected from 728 patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The specificity was evaluated on a panel of 60 serum samples from non-COVID-19 patients with high levels of rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody, or antibodies against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), mycoplasma pneumonia, human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus, influenza A or influenza B. Read More

Pediatr Radiol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Division of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Timone Enfants, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Marseille, 264 Rue Sainte Pierre, 13385, Marseille Cedex 05, France.

Background: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has been described to correlate with tumoural necrosis in response to preoperative chemotherapy for osteosarcoma.

Objective: To assess the accuracy of DWI in evaluating the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy at the mid-course treatment of long-bone osteosarcoma and in predicting survival.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a prospective single-centre study over a continuous period of 11 years. Read More

Hautarzt 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Hautzentrum Köln, Schillingsrotter Str. 39-41, 50996, Köln, Deutschland.

Injection treatments with hyaluronic acid-based fillers are a standard procedure in aesthetic medicine. Performed by an experienced and thoughtful physician, they lead to effective and natural treatment results. It is paramount to know and avoid adverse events and complications or to identify and treat them in a timely manner. Read More

J R Coll Physicians Edinb 2021 Mar;51(1):49-52

General Internal Medicine, Conquest Hospital, East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, Hastings.

We present the case of a 56-year-old female brought to the Emergency Department via routine ambulance transport with complaints of blurred vision and malaise. She was screened by ambulance crew using the facial arm speech time (FAST) tool and a basic top-to-toe assessment as per current routine. The examining practitioner performed a thorough assessment of the patient, revisiting the initial examination findings, and establishing new clinical features of visual field deficit and pan-systolic murmur. Read More

Gac Med Mex 2020 ;156(6):603-605

Academia Nacional de Medicina de México, Comité de Ética y Transparencia en la Relación-Médico-Industria, Mexico City, Mexico.

Writing a prescription or indicating a treatment is usually the last part of medical consultation. This crucial process can be undermined by multiple factors such as limited prescriptive ability, overwork, and lack of reflection or time. Insufficient information about the patient or the treatment affects the prescriptive process and leads to errors that can be serious for patient health. Read More

Expert Rev Mol Diagn 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

School of Biosciences, Apeejay Stya University, Gurgaon- 122103, India.

Introduction: Clinical assessment of the aberrantly expressed biomarkers such as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), mucin 1 (MUC1), and vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF have played an essential role in the clinical management of the breast cancer. Determination of these cancer-specific biomarkers has conventionally relied on time-taking methods like the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. However, recent development in the aptamer-based diagnosis allows developing methods and tools that may substitute the conventional methods of biomarker assessment in breast cancer. Read More

Am Surg 2021 Apr 20:31348211011118. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Surgery, 232890Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA.

Introduction: We explore nonclinical factors affecting the amount of time from admission to the operating room for patients requiring nonelective repair of ventral hernias.

Methods: Using the 2005-2012 Nationwide Inpatient Sample, we identified adult patients with a primary diagnosis of ventral hernia without obstruction/gangrene, who underwent nonelective repair. The outcome variable of interest was time from admission to surgery. Read More

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

MOE Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Synthesis and Functionalization, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is applied extensively in biomedical fields because of its nontoxic, nonimmunogenic, and protein resistance properties. However, the strong hydrophilicity of PEG prevents it from self-assembling into an amphiphilic micelle in water, making it a challenge to fabricate a full-PEG carrier to deliver hydrophobic anticancer drugs. Herein, a paclitaxel (PTX)-loaded nanodrug was readily prepared through self-assembly of PTX and an amphiphilic PEG derivative, which was synthesized via melt polycondensation of two PEG diols (i. Read More

Pol Arch Intern Med 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been identified by the World Health Organization as a global pandemic. Poland introduced extensive anti-epidemic measures relatively early, in order to slow down the spread of the disease.

Objectives: The study aims at presenting recent data on COVID-19 hospitalization cases during the first months of this outbreak in Poland. Read More

Tidsskr Nor Laegeforen 2021 Apr 7;141(6). Epub 2021 Apr 7.

Background: The National Diabetes Plan 2017-21 has implemented measures to improve diagnosis and follow-up of persons with type 2 diabetes by the primary health services. The objective of this study was to explore the experiences and thoughts of Norwegian general practitioners (GPs) with regard to diagnosis and follow-up of this patient group.

Material And Method: In this qualitative study, three focus-group interviews were conducted with a total of 17 GPs. Read More

Respirology 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Medicine, Division of Respirology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Background And Objective: Physical frailty is associated with increased mortality and hospitalizations in older adults. We describe the prevalence of physical frailty and its prognostic impact in patients with a spectrum of fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD).

Methods: Patients with fibrotic ILD at the McMaster University ILD programme were prospectively followed up from November 2015 to March 2020. Read More

J Genet Couns 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Division of Gynaecologic Oncology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

Women with pathogenic variants in BRCA1/2 have a significantly increased lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancers. The availability of genetic testing to identify BRCA1/2 carriers is imperative to disease prevention and treatment. We evaluated the effectiveness of a new collaborative care model in Nova Scotia, involving the integration of genetic counselors into tumor board rounds, reduction in time allotted for initial genetic counseling appointments from 60 to 45 min, and a standardized dictation template, to increase referral rate for genetic counseling. Read More