Efficacy and Safety of Mydriatic Microdrops for Retinopathy of Prematurity Screening: The MyMiROPS Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Commercial mydriatics administered in preterm infants during retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) screening have been associated with various cardiorespiratory and gastrointestinal adverse events.

Objective: To examine whether microdrops of a combined mixture of 1.67% phenylephrine and 0.

Microbiological water quality assessment of swimming pools and jacuzzis in Northern Greece: a retrospective study.

Swimming pools and jacuzzis can pose significant public health risks as potential sources of infections. The present study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and concentration of microbiological indicators in recreational water facilities in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece, focusing on their hygiene status before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Between January 2018 and December 2022, 1114 water samples were analyzed by the regional Water Hygiene Laboratory at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, using standardized ISO methods.

Predicting the risk of treatment-requiring retinopathy of prematurity in preterm infants in Greece. External validation of DIGIROP prognostic models.

Purpose: To assess the predictive performance of DIGIROP-v1.0 models in identifying treatment-requiring ROP among infants undergoing ROP screening at a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit in Greece.

Methods: Retrospective cohort analysis of 640 consecutive screened preterm infants with gestational age (GA) 24 to 30 weeks and known ROP outcome in the 2nd Neonatology Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (2009-2021).

Effectiveness of hand reconstruction techniques for the treatment of postburn contractures of the hand: A systematic review.

Introduction: Despite the multitude of preventative methods, postburn hand contractures are poorly controlled and often require surgery. However, there is no consensus on which hand reconstruction technique is most efficacious. This systematic review aims to compare the efficacy of available postburn hand contracture reconstruction techniques over the long term and to evaluate the quality of current literature.

Qualitative Insights Into Healthcare Professionals' Perceived Barriers in Providing Equitable and Patient-Centered Care to Members of the LGBTQI+ Community in Greece.

LGBTQI+ individuals often face health disparities, with encumbered outcomes. We investigated the perspectives of a wide range of Greek health professionals using a battery of questionnaires examining LGBTQI+ health-related knowledge, attitudes, and clinical preparedness, while exploring the potential challenges they face when providing care for LGBTQI+ patients via qualitative analysis of their free text answers. In total, 220 health professionals participated, including physicians, nurses, dentists, physiotherapists, social workers, nutritionists, medical laboratory professionals, pharmacists, radiographers, and health promotion specialists.

Effectiveness and Feasibility of Home-Based Palliative Care Interventions for Geriatric Oncology Patients: A Systematic Review Using Narrative Synthesis.

Background: Due to an urgent need to develop palliative care services for geriatric patients with advanced cancer, an overview of available information regarding home-based palliative care interventions would be valuable.

Aim: To summarize current literature for interventions targeted to homebound, older patients with incurable cancer, and investigate whether these patients can be benefited from home-based palliative care and achieve improved outcomes.

Design: A search strategy consisting of terms related to home care, palliation, oncology, and geriatrics was employed.

Unravelling the mechanisms of CE-SSFP in imaging myocardium at risk: The effect of relaxation times on myocardial contrast.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the contrast mechanisms of Contrast-enhanced steady-state free-precession (CE-SSFP) through the utilization of Bloch simulations in an experimental porcine model and in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: Six pigs and ten patients with myocardial infarction underwent CMR and tissue characterization at 1.5 T whereas a Bloch simulation framework was utilized to simulate the CE-SSFP signal formation and compare it against the actual CE-SSFP signal acquired from the experimental porcine model and the patient population.

The Effect of Phacoemulsification on the Intraocular Pressure of Patients With Open Angle Glaucoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Prcis: There is evidence that cataract surgery can reduce intraocular pressure in patients with primary open angle, normal tension, or exfoliative glaucoma. The complete effect of phacoemulsification is masked by topical intraocular pressure-lowering medications.

Purpose: To assess the impact of phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation on intraocular pressure (IOP) level in individuals with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), exfoliative glaucoma (XFG), exfoliation syndrome (XFS), normal tension glaucoma (NTG), ocular hypertension (OH), or healthy controls 12 months after the surgery.

The Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, as a prognostic factor, in current smokers with and without COPD: A cross-sectional study in northern Greece.

Background: Smoking poses the most common risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and aggravates disease progression. Tobacco dependence inhibits smoking cessation and may affect smoking patterns that increase tobacco exposure and predispose to lung function decline.

Aims And Objectives: We aimed to assess tobacco dependence in current smokers with and without COPD and evaluate its role in disease development.

A Simple Guide to Randomized Controlled Trials.

Randomized controlled trials represent the cornerstone for the regulatory approval of drugs and evidence-based medicine and policy. Compared with observational studies random assignment of participants to each study arm guarantees an equal distribution of potential confounders thus achieving impartiality in the evaluation of between group differences and allowing for causal inferences to be drawn. These complex and costly medical experiments are tightly regulated and require substantial planning with great attention to several methodological aspects ranging from allocation concealment and blinding to sample size estimation, statistical analysis, and handling of protocol deviations.

amstar2Vis: An R package for presenting the critical appraisal of systematic reviews based on the items of AMSTAR 2.

Systematic reviews (SRs) have an important role in the healthcare decision-making practice. Assessing the overall confidence in the results of SRs using quality assessment tools, such as "A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2" (AMSTAR 2), is crucial since not all SRs are conducted using the most rigorous methods. In this article, we introduce a free, open-source R package called "amstar2Vis" (https://github.

The reporting completeness and transparency of systematic reviews of prognostic prediction models for COVID-19 was poor: a methodological overview of systematic reviews.

Objectives: To conduct a methodological overview of reviews to evaluate the reporting completeness and transparency of systematic reviews (SRs) of prognostic prediction models (PPMs) for COVID-19.

Study Design And Setting: MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Epistemonikos (epistemonikos.org) were searched for SRs of PPMs for COVID-19 until December 31, 2022.

Appraisal methods and outcomes of AMSTAR 2 assessments in overviews of systematic reviews of interventions in the cardiovascular field: A methodological study.

This study aimed to assess the methods and outcomes of The Measurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) 2 appraisals in overviews of reviews (overviews) of interventions in the cardiovascular field and identify factors that are associated with these outcomes. MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched until November 2022. Eligible were overviews of cardiovascular interventions, analyzing systematic reviews (SRs) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

The severity of menopausal symptoms is associated with diabetes, and cardiometabolic risk factors in middle-aged women.

Background: Ovarian senescence is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We aimed to evaluate the association between menopausal symptoms and cardiometabolic risk factors in a cohort of apparently healthy middle-aged women.

Methods: The cohort included 2793 peri- and postmenopausal women not on menopausal hormone therapy.

Assessment of histologic risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic hepatitis B of advanced stage.

Histologic markers of increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma can provide useful information for the management of patients with chronic hepatitis B. The expression of epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM, a marker of hepatic progenitor cells), p21 (a marker of hepatocyte senescence), glutamine synthetase (a marker of perivenular hepatocytes) and CD34 (a marker of sinusoidal capillarization) were assessed by immunohistochemistry in 52 liver biopsy specimens from patients with advanced stage chronic hepatitis B. Nineteen patients developed hepatocellular carcinoma during a follow-up period of 133 months.

Epicardial Versus Endocardial Pacing in Paediatric Patients with Atrioventricular Block or Sinus Node Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Pacing indications in children are clearly defined, but whether an epicardial (EPI) or an endocardial (ENDO) pacemaker performs better remains to be elucidated. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to directly compare the incidence of pacemaker (PM) lead-related complications, mortality, hemothorax and venous occlusion between EPI and ENDO in children with atrioventricular block (AVB) or sinus node dysfunction (SND). Literature search was conducted in MEDLINE (via PubMed), Scopus by ELSEVIER, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science, and OpenGrey databases until June 25, 2022.

Total Atrial Conduction Time as a Predictor of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to evaluate the predictive value of total atrial conduction time (TACT) assessed by tissue Doppler echocardiography (PA-TDI) in atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrence in patients following a rhythm-control strategy. A systematic approach following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines was applied in electronic databases (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science), supplemented by scanning through studies' references. TACT was compared using a random-effects model and presented as a difference in means (MD).

Diet Quality and Nutritional Risk Based on the FIGO Nutrition Checklist among Greek Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Routine Antenatal Care Study.

The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) nutrition checklist is a tool for everyday antenatal clinical practice, easy to use by most healthcare professionals, aiming to initiate a conversation regarding gestational weight gain (GWG) and nutrition and identify women who might require further assessment. The present cross-sectional study aimed to apply the FIGO nutrition checklist to pregnant women attending routine antenatal care and identify nutritional risk factors. Pregnant women ( = 200) were recruited from the outpatient pregnancy clinics of two hospitals in Thessaloniki and completed the checklist.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening: A Systematic Review.

Background/aim: COVID-19 has dramatically impacted non-pandemic-related care, including preventive medicine. Our objective was to quantify the alterations in the volume of screening tests for breast and cervical cancer during the COVID-19 era compared to pre-pandemic levels. Secondarily, we discussed the causes responsible for this change, presented suggestions for screening optimization and conducted a targeted search of the relevant literature for worsening of future mortality due to screening setback.

An overview of systematic reviews on imaging tests for diagnosis of pulmonary embolism applying different network meta-analytic methods.

Purpose: This study aimed to apply different methods of diagnostic test accuracy network meta-analysis (DTA-NMA) for studies reporting results of five imaging tests for the diagnosis of suspected pulmonary embolism (PE): pulmonary angiography (PA), computed tomography angiography (CTPA), magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), planar ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scintigraphy and single-photon emission computed tomography ventilation/perfusion (SPECT V/Q).

Methods: We searched four databases (MEDLINE [via PubMed], Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and Epistemonikos) from inception until June 2, 2022 to identify systematic reviews (SRs) describing diagnostic accuracy of PA, CTPA, MRA, V/Q scan and SPECT V/Q for suspected PE. Study-level data were extracted and pooled using a hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) meta-regression approach and two DTA-NMA models to compare accuracy estimates of different imaging tests.

Overviews of reviews in the cardiovascular field underreported critical methodological and transparency characteristics: a methodological study based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews (PRIOR) statement.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the epidemiology, reporting characteristics, and adherence to the Preferred Reporting Items for Overviews of Reviews (PRIOR) statement of overviews of reviews (overviews) of interventions in the cardiovascular field.

Study Design And Setting: MEDLINE, Scopus, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched from January 1, 2000, to October 15, 2020. An updated search was performed in MEDLINE, Epistemonikos, and Google Scholar up to August 25, 2022.