Publications by authors named "Awad C"

Introduction: Multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections are considered a major public health threat. Immunocompromised pediatric patients are at a great risk of severe or overwhelming infections. The aim of this study was to describe the frequency of infections with multidrug resistant (MDR) Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) in immunocompromised pediatric patients and to determine the risk factors.

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Article Synopsis
  • A scoping review conducted between April and May 2022 mapped digital health initiatives aimed at elderly individuals and their caregivers, using established methodologies and various databases.
  • The review analyzed 421 documents, most of which were published from 2013 to 2022, highlighting a trend towards home-based applications primarily tested in high-income countries, with common devices being telephones and computers.
  • Findings indicate a growing role of technology for health monitoring, prevention, and treatment, yet emphasize the need for more research focused on middle- and low-income countries and on the effectiveness of these digital health interventions.
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Introduction: Despite progress in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in medical education, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) individuals remain underrepresented and often face barriers to equitable advancement. Emergency medicine (EM) residency programs are instrumental in creating inclusive environments that attract diverse applicants and support LGBTQIA+ trainees. Since the COVID-19 pandemic's shift to virtual recruitment, residency websites have become vital tools for communicating DEI initiatives.

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Aim: Increasing evidence suggests that the inclusion of self-identified race in clinical decision algorithms may perpetuate longstanding inequities. Until recently, most pulmonary function tests utilized separate reference equations that are race/ethnicity based.

Purpose: We assess the magnitude and scope of the available literature on the negative impact of race-based pulmonary function prediction equations on relevant outcomes in African Americans with COPD.

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  • Androgenetic alopecia is a common type of hair loss, affecting about 58% of men and 40% of women by age 50, leading to psychological distress.
  • This study aimed to review and analyze the effectiveness of combining topical minoxidil with microneedling versus using minoxidil alone for treating this condition.
  • The analysis of eight selected studies showed significant improvement in total hair count with the combined treatment, although hair diameter increase wasn't statistically significant, and no serious side effects were reported.
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Eosinophilic colitis (EC) is the most uncommon disease within the spectrum of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders. Currently, there are no well-established diagnostic criteria and no approved Food and Drug Administration therapies. We discuss a case of a 30-year-old man with refractory malignant EC leading to ischemic colitis.

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Digital health innovations, such as telehealth and remote monitoring, have shown promise in addressing patient barriers to accessing evidence-based programs and providing a scalable path for tailored behavioral interventions that support self-management skills, knowledge acquisition and promotion of relevant behavioral change. However, significant attrition continues to plague internet-based studies, a result we believe can be attributed to characteristics of the intervention, or individual user characteristics. In this paper, we provide the first analysis of determinants of non usage attrition in a randomized control trial of a technology-based intervention for improving self-management behaviors among Black adults who face increased cardiovascular risk factors.

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Despite being disproportionately impacted by health disparities, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other underrepresented populations account for a significant minority of graduates in biomedical data science-related disciplines. Given their commitment to educating underrepresented students and trainees, minority serving institutions (MSIs) can play a significant role in enhancing diversity in the biomedical data science workforce. Little has been published about the reach, curricular breadth, and best practices for delivering these data science training programs.

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Identify barriers and facilitators in access to medicines for diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, considering patient, health provider, and health system perspectives. Scoping review based on Joanna Briggs methodology. The search considered PubMed, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Academic Search Ultimate, Web of Science, SciELO Citation Index, and grey literature.

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The use of machine learning (ML) for diagnosis support has advanced in the field of health. In the present paper, the results of studying ML techniques in a tuberculosis diagnosis loop in a scenario of limited resources are presented. Data are analyzed using a tuberculosis (TB) therapy program at a health institution in a main city of a developing country using five ML models.

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Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that is spread through the air from one person to another and is one of the top ten causes of death in the world according to the World Health Organization. From biomedical engineering, decision support systems based on artificial intelligence have shown advantages for healthcare personnel in tasks such as diagnosis and screening. A specific area of the artificial intelligence is the natural language processing, however, most of these approaches are based on available data.

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Understanding the factors that can influence people to pursue a career in nursing is essential for healthcare service managers, human resource professionals and nurse educators, particularly given the global shortage of nurses. There is evidence that the public perception of nursing can be negatively influenced by the media and nursing recruitment advertisements, and that this can discourage some people from choosing nursing as a career. At the Dalhousie University in Canada, evidence regarding the career choices of prospective nurses was used to inform a rebranding strategy for the School of Nursing's recruitment materials.

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Objectives: To report 12-year experience with replacing transvaginal mesh (TVM) with fascia lata autograft.

Methods: This was a chart review of TVM removal and replacement with a fascia lata autograft placement by a single surgeon between 2005 and 2017. The Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system before and 1 year following the procedure, patient-reported recurrence of symptoms, changes in the POP-Q examination and complication rates are analyzed.

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Lanthanum carbonate is a phosphate binder that is used to reduce serum phosphate levels in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Lanthanum forms insoluble lanthanum phosphate complexes that are supposed to pass through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract unabsorbed. Phosphate binders have been reported to deposit in the GI tract and can cause mucosal injury.

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Study Objective: To achieve tissue containment and extraction for numerous and large myomas in the complex minimally invasive difficult myomectomy setting via a surgical tutorial including technical pointers and suggestions DESIGN: A step-by-step explanation of the .surgery using video (instructive video) (Canadian Task Force classification III). Institutional review board approval was not required for this study.

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Recent data show that transabdominal cerclage placement via laparoscopy carries better obstetrical outcomes in comparison to transabdominal cerclage placement via laparotomy. In this surgical tutorial, we review the technique for minimally invasive abdominal cerclage and highlight the surgical differences between preconceptional and conceptional cerclage.

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Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate perineal body stiffness intrapartum using shear wave elastography ultrasound and to study its association with maternal and labor characteristics.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study. Pregnant women with term pregnancy who had been admitted for labor management were recruited into the study.

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Introduction: Tuberculosis is one of the most widely distributed infectious diseases worldwide. It is the most common cause of mortality among AIDS patients. In Colombia, 12,918 tuberculosis cases were notified, and 926 deaths were reported in 2015.

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Polycystic liver disease is the most common extrarenal manifestation of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Hepatic cysts are typically incidental findings, with occasional complications including cyst haemorrhage, infection and rupture. In contrast to the typically benign course of polycystic liver disease, we present a rare case of fatal decompensated liver failure in a patient with ADPKD.

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Background: Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory and neurodegenerative demyelinating disease. Current treatment of multiple sclerosis focuses on the use of immunomodulatory, immunosuppressant, and selective immunosuppressant agents. Some of these medications may result in high risk of opportunistic infections including tuberculosis.

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Objective: The anatomic and physiologic pathophysiology of obstructive defecatory symptoms is complex and poorly understood. As a consequence, there is no one surgical method that can achieve overall superiority. We aimed to investigate rectal architectural change in women with obstructive defecatory symptoms using three-dimensional pelvic floor ultrasound.

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The role of pharmacists in HIV outpatient clinics has greatly increased in the past decades. Given the limited resources of the health system, the prioritization of pharmacist consults is now a main concern. This study aimed to create a scoring system allowing for standardized prioritization of pharmacist consults for patients living with HIV.

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