Tranexamic ACid during PancereaticoDuodenectomy (TAC-PD)

alkiviadis.1961 shared this article with you from Inoreader Tranexamic ACid during PancereaticoDuodenectomy (TAC-PD): study protocol for a multicentre randomised, blind, placebo-controlled trial Via BMJ Open Current Issue Introduction Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is a major gastroenterological surgery that results in a substantial amount of blood loss. Several studies have demonstrated that major blood loss during PD is associated with both short-term and long-term poor outcomes. Administration of perioperative tranexamic acid (TXA) has been reported to reduce intraoperative blood loss in various surgeries, including cardiovascular surgery and orthopaedic surgery. Nevertheless, the effect of perioperative TXA use in patients undergoing PD has not been investigated. This study aims to investigate the effect of TXA on blood loss during PD. Methods and analysis A multicentre (six hospitals), randomised, blind (patient-blinded, surgeon-blinded, anaesthesiologist-blinded, monitor-blinded), placebo-controlled trial of TXA during PD was started in September 2019. Patients undergoing PD for biliary, duodenal or pancreatic diseases are randomly assigned to the TXA or placebo group. The stratification factors are the institutions and preoperative clinical diagnosis. Before skin incision, the participants in TXA group are administrated 1 g TXA as a loading infusion followed by a maintenance infusion of 125 mg/hour TXA until the end of surgery or 8 hours from the incision. Participants in the placebo group are administrated the same volume of saline that is indistinguishable from the TXA. The primary outcome is blood loss during PD. The secondary outcomes are intraoperative and postoperative (up to day 2) blood transfusions, operation time, anaesthesia time, postoperative laboratory variables, length of hospital stay, in-hospital and 90-day morta lity and postoperative complications occurring within 28 days of surgery or requiring readmission. To date, 115 patients of a planned 220 have been enrolled in the study. Ethics and dissemination This protocol was approved by the Nagoya University Clinical Research Review Board and is registered with Japan Registry of Clinical Trials on 15 August 2019. The results of this trial will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number jRCTs041190062. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) on pregnancy

alkiviadis.1961 shared this article with you from Inoreader Impact of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) on pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol Via BMJ Open Current Issue Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, has been growing at an accelerating rate, and has become a public health emergency. Pregnant women and their fetuses are susceptible to viral infection, and outcomes in this population need to be investigated. Methods and analysis PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHAL, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, clinicaltrials.gov, SCOPUS, Google Scholar and Cochrane Central Controlled Trials Registry will be searched for observational studies (cohort and control cases) published from December 2019 to present. This systematic review and meta-analysis will include studies of pregnant women at any gestational stage diagnosed with COVID-19. The primary outcomes will be maternal and foetal morbidity and mortality. Three independent reviewers will select the studies and extract data from the original publications. The risk of bias will be assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies. To evaluate the strength of evidence from the included data, we will use Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation method. Data synthesis will be performed using Review Manager software V.5.2.3. To assess heterogeneity, we will compute the I2 statistics. Additi onally, a quantitative synthesis will be performed if the included studies are sufficiently homogenous. Ethics and dissemination This study will be a review of the published data, and thus it is not necessary to obtain ethical approval. The findings of this systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO registration number PROSPERO 2020: CRD42020181519. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

End-stage renal disease as a risk factor for epiglottitis

alkiviadis.1961 shared this article with you from Inoreader End-stage renal disease as a risk factor for epiglottitis: a population-based cohort study in Taiwan Via BMJ Open Current Issue Objectives Patients with uremia are prone to infection; however, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) as a risk factor for acute epiglottitis warrants study. We investigated the risk of severe epiglottitis requiring hospitalisation in patients with ESRD. Setting We conducted a retrospective matched cohort study by using the claims data of Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Participants We identified an ESRD cohort with 87 908 patients newly diagnosed in 2000–2013 and underwent dialysis. The non-ESRD cohort comprised patients who had not received a diagnosis of ESRD, and they were matches to the ESRD cohort (1:1) by sex, age, residence urbanisation level, monthly income, and diabetes and hypertension status. Primary and secondary outcome measures The cumulative incidence of epiglottitis at the end of 2013 was analysed with Kaplan-Meier methods and log-rank tests. The HR of epiglottitis was calculated using the Cox proportional hazards model after adjustment for confounding factors. Results The overall epiglottitis incidence rate was 94% greater in the ESRD cohort than in the non-ESRD cohort (10.3 vs 5.3 cases per 100 000 person-years, p=0.002), with an adjusted HR of 1.89 (95% CI: 1.23 to 2.91, p=0.004). In the log-rank analysis, compared with the non-ESRD group, the epiglottitis cumulative incidence was significantly higher in the ESRD group (p=0.003). Epiglottitis did not exhibit an association with higher rates of airway interventions, intensive care unit admissions or longer hospitalisation in patients with ESRD than in controls. Conclusions This nationwide matched cohort study indicated that ESRD patients should be monitored for the risk of severe epiglottitis requiring hospitalisation. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Reduced activity, reactivity and functionality of the sympathetic nervous system in fibromyalgia: An electrodermal study

als.fakia shared this article with you from Inoreader Reduced activity, reactivity and functionality of the sympathetic nervous system in fibromyalgia: An electrodermal study Via PLOS ONE Alerts: New Articles by Gustavo A. Reyes del Paso, Pablo de la Coba Alterations in autonomic activity are well established in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Previous studies found reduced parasympathetic activity and sympathetic reactivity to physical and stress manipulations. However, sympathetic activity at rest has not been well studied in FMS. Sweating is exclusively controlled by sympathetic mechanisms. In this study, skin conductance (SC), as an indirect measure of sweating, was analyzed in 45 women with FMS and 38 healthy women. Tonic SC levels were recorded during a 4-minute rest period, and a breathing maneuver consisting of deep breathing with posterior breath holding was used to evoke SC responses. Associations of tonic SC with state anxiety and body temperature, measured in the hand, were explored to determine sweat functionality. The results showed reduced tonic SC levels, with a less marked decrease in SC during the recording period, and blunted SC reactivity to the breathing manipulation in FMS patients relative to healthy participants. Positive associations of SC with state anxiety and body temperature were observed in healthy participants, but these associations were absent in FMS patients. These results indicate alterations of sweating in FMS, suggesting reduced tonic and reactivity sympathetic influences. Furthermore, the absence of associations between SC levels and state anxiety and body temperature in the patient sample suggested a loss of functionality of the autonomic nervous system in FMS. Diminished autonomic regulation in FMS would reduce the ability to cope with environmental demands, thus favoring increases in stress and pain levels. Finally, the observed reduction in sweating is in accordance with evidence of small nerve fiber neuropathy in FMS. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Comparable human reconstitution following Cesium-137 versus X-ray irradiation preconditioning in immunodeficient NOG mice

als.fakia shared this article with you from Inoreader Comparable human reconstitution following Cesium-137 versus X-ray irradiation preconditioning in immunodeficient NOG mice Via PLOS ONE Alerts: New Articles by Anna Halling Folkmar Andersen, Stine Sofie Frank Nielsen, Rikke Olesen, Jakob Le Fèvre Harslund, Ole Schmeltz Søgaard, Lars Østergaard, Paul W. Denton, Martin Tolstrup Humanized mouse models are used extensively in research involving human pathogens and diseases. However, most of these models require preconditioning. Radio-active sources have been used routinely for this purpose but safety issues have motivated researchers to transition to chemical or X-ray based preconditioning. In this study, we directly compare 350 kV X-ray and Cs-137 low-dose precondition of NOG mice before human stem cell transplantation. Based on flow cytometry data, we found that engraftment of human cells into the mouse bone marrow was similar between radiation sources. Likewise, human engraftment in the peripheral blood was comparable between Cs-137 and three different X-ray doses with equal chimerization kinetics. In primary lymphoid organs such as the thymus and lymph nodes, and spleen, liver and lung, human-to-mouse chimerization was also comparable between irradiation sources. Development of different CD4 and CD8 T cells as well as these cells' maturation stages, i.e . from naïve to effector and memory subsets were generally analogous. Based on our results, we conclude that there are no discernable differences between the two sources in the low-dose spectrum investigated. However, while we encourage the transition to X-ray-based sources, we recommend all research groups to consider technical specifications and dose-finding studies. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Development of the life change adaptation scale for family caregivers of individuals with acquired brain injury

als.fakia shared this article with you from Inoreader Development of the life change adaptation scale for family caregivers of individuals with acquired brain injury Via PLOS ONE Alerts: New Articles by Yuka Shindo, Etsuko Tadaka Aim Life changes due to the sudden onset of acquired brain injury (ABI) are drastic personal and social changes that require adaptation and are also an important indicator of the quality of life of family caregivers. However, there are no instruments for evaluating life change adaptation among family caregivers of individuals with acquired brain injury. This study aimed to develop the Life Change Adaptation Scale (LCAS) for family caregivers of individuals with ABI and examine its reliability and validity. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using a self-reported questionnaire. A total of 1622 family caregivers of individuals with ABI who belonged to 82 associations for families of individuals with ABI were selected as eligible participants. The construct validity was evaluated using a confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach's alpha. The K6 was also administered to assess the criterion-related validity of the LCAS. Re sults In total, 339 valid responses were received. The confirmatory factor analysis identified eight items from two domains, "Changes in the appraisal of caregiving resources" and "Changes in the health belief as a caregiver" (goodness of fit index = 0.963, adjusted goodness of fit index = 0.926, comparative fit index = 0.986, root mean square error of approximation  = 0.043.) Cronbach's alpha was 0.84. The LCAS was negatively correlated with the K6 (r = -0.504; P Conclusions The LCAS is a brief, easy-to-administer instrument that is reliable and valid for family caregivers of individuals with ABI. This study contributes to the assessment and identification by family caregivers of individuals with ABI who require aid in adapting to life changes. Further research should be undertaken to verify the predictive value in a longitudinal study and to attempt to apply the LCAS to assess a broader range of subjects in a wider range of settings. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Adult-onset temporal lobe epilepsy suspicious for autoimmune pathogenesis: Autoantibody prevalence and clinical correlates

als.fakia shared this article with you from Inoreader Adult-onset temporal lobe epilepsy suspicious for autoimmune pathogenesis: Autoantibody prevalence and clinical correlates Via PLOS ONE Alerts: New Articles by Julia C. Kuehn, Carolin Meschede, Christoph Helmstaedter, Rainer Surges, Randi von Wrede, Elke Hattingen, Hartmut Vatter, Christian E. Elger, Susanne Schoch, Albert J. Becker, Julika Pitsch Temporal lobe adult-onset seizures (TAOS) related to autoimmunity represent an increasingly recognized disease syndrome within the spectrum of epilepsies. In this context, certain autoantibodies (autoABs) were often associated with limbic encephalitis (LE). Here, we aimed to gain insights into (a) the distribution of 'neurological' autoABs (neuroABs, defined as autoABs targeting neuronal surface structures or 'onconeuronal' ABs or anti-glutamate acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) autoABs) in a large consecutive TAOS patient cohort, to characterize (b) clinical profiles of seropositive versus seronegative individuals and to find (c) potential evidence for other autoABs. Blood sera/cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of TAOS patients (n = 800) and healthy donors (n = 27) were analyzed for neuroABs and screened for other autoABs by indirect immunofluorescence on hippocampal/cerebellar sections and immunoblots of whole brain and synaptosome lysates. Serological results were correlated with clin ico-neuropsychological features. 13% of TAOS patients (n = 105) were neuroAB+, with anti-GAD65 and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) as most frequent autoABs in this group. In our screening tests 25% of neuroAB- patients (n = 199) were positive (screening+), whereas all control samples were negative (n = 27). Intriguingly, key clinico-neuropsychological characteristics including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, epileptiform electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, and inflammatory cellular infiltrates in CSF were shared to a greater extent by neuroAB+ with neuroAB-/screening+ patients than with neuroAB-/screening- patients. Serological testing in a large consecutive TAOS patient series revealed seropositivity for anti-GAD65 autoABs as the most frequent neuroAB. Intriguingly, neuroAB+ individuals were virtually indistinguishable from neuroAB-/screening + patients in several major clinical features. In contrast, neuroAB-/screening- TAOS patients differed in many parameters. These data support the potential presence of so far unrecognized autoABs in patients with TAOS. View on the web Inoreader. Take back control of your news feed. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.