Publications by authors named "Borek A"

Background: Sepsis is a common cause of serious illness and death. Sepsis management remains challenging and suboptimal. To support rapid sepsis diagnosis and treatment, screening tools have been embedded into hospital digital systems to appear as digital alerts.

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  • * Conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 parent carers to uncover barriers affecting their engagement with these health programs, revealing themes related to reach, credibility, opportunity, reservations, and optimization.
  • * Highlighted modifiable factors that hinder participation, suggesting targeted strategies to ensure inclusivity and address the specific needs of underserved groups.
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Background: Antimicrobial resistance is a global patient safety priority and inappropriate antimicrobial use is a key contributing factor. Evidence have shown that delayed (back-up) antibiotic prescriptions (DP) are an effective and safe strategy for reducing unnecessary antibiotic consumption but its use is controversial.

Methods: We conducted a realist review to ask why, how, and in what contexts general practitioners (GPs) use DP.

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Objectives: To review the evidence on healthcare professionals' (HCPs) and patients' views of the use of point-of-care tests (POCTs) in the management of acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in primary care settings.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review of studies up to 28 April 2023. We included studies that included qualitative methods and results; focused on HCPs' and/or patients' views/experiences of POCTs for acute RTIs; and were conducted in primary care settings.

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Cytochrome bc is one of the enzymes of electron transport chain responsible for generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). While ROS are considered to be products of side reactions of quinol oxidation site (Q), molecular aspects of their generation remain unclear. One of them concerns significance of hemes b (b and b) redox potentials (E) and properties on ROS generation by Q.

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Background: Preschool children (aged≤5 years old) have the highest antibiotic prescribing rate in general practice, mostly for self-limiting acute respiratory tract infections (RTIs). Research from over 250 000 UK children suggests that a child's antibiotic history for RTI may be a good predictor for re-consulting a health professional for the same illness episode and increase clinical workload.

Aim: To develop a data-enabled nudge intervention to optimise antibiotic prescribing for acute RTI based on a child's antibiotic history in general practice DESIGN & SETTING: Two phase qualitative study with parents/carers of preschool children and primary care clinicians METHOD: In phase 1, through an initial focus group with eight parents/carers and 'think aloud' interviews with 11 clinicians, we co-designed the intervention (computer screen prompt and personalised consultation leaflet).

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Shortening standard antibiotic courses and stopping antibiotics when patients feel better are two ways to reduce exposure to antibiotics in the community, and decrease the risks of antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic side effects. While evidence shows that shorter antibiotic treatments are non-inferior to longer ones for infections that benefit from antibiotics, shorter courses still represent average treatment durations that might be suboptimal for some. In contrast, stopping antibiotics based on improvement or resolution of symptoms might help personalize antibiotic treatment to individual patients and help reduce unnecessary exposure.

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Theranostics utilize ligands that chelate radionuclides and selectively bind with cancer-specific membrane antigens. In the case of prostate cancer (PCa), the state-of-the-art lutetium-177-PSMA combines the radioactive β-emitter Lu with Vipivotide Tetraxetan, a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-binding ligand. Several studies have been conducted, and the therapy is not without adverse effects (e.

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Introduction: Parent carers of children with special educational needs or disabilities are at risk of poorer health and wellbeing outcomes because of the distinct and challenging circumstances they face. Evaluations of interventions promoting the health of parent carers should focus on measuring the aspects of health and wellbeing which are most relevant to this group. As part of a programme of research on parent carer-focused interventions, this study aimed to understand which aspects of health and wellbeing are perceived by parent carers as most meaningful and important.

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Streptococcus pyogenes (group A Streptococcus, GAS) is a major human pathogen and causes every year over 600 millions upper respiratory tract onfections worldwide. Untreated or repeated infections may lead to post-infectional sequelae such as rheumatic heart disease, a major cause of GAS-mediated mortality. There is no comprehensive, longitudinal analysis of the M type distribution of upper respiratory tract strains isolated in Poland.

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Cytochrome bc catalyzes electron transfer from quinol (QH) to cytochrome c in reactions coupled to proton translocation across the energy-conserving membrane. Energetic efficiency of the catalytic cycle is secured by a two-electron and two-proton bifurcation reaction leading to oxidation of QH and reduction of the Rieske cluster and heme b. The proton paths associated with this reaction remain elusive.

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Background: Parent carers of disabled children are at increased risk of physical and mental health problems. The Healthy Parent Carers (HPC) programme is a manualised peer-led group-based programme that aims to promote parent carer health and wellbeing. Previously, the programme had been delivered in person, with recruitment and delivery managed in a research context.

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  • - The study investigated how staff from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in England supported antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that AMS initiatives were deprioritized to focus on pandemic-related health care efforts.
  • - Interviews with 14 professionals revealed challenges in maintaining AMS practices due to social distancing, but also identified opportunities for leveraging technology and shifting public perceptions regarding viruses and self-care.
  • - The authors concluded that AMS must be reinstated as a priority in general practice moving forward, recommending strategies that blend new ideas with familiar ones to enhance prescriber engagement and adapt to evolving patient attitudes.
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Cytochrome bc is a structural and functional homodimer. The catalytically-relevant inter-monomer electron transfer has been implicated by a number of experiments, including those based on analyses of the cross-dimer mutated derivatives. As some of the original data on these derivatives have recently been questioned, we extend kinetic analysis of these mutants to confirm the enzymatic origin of the observed activities and their relevance in exploration of conditions that expose electron transfer between the monomers.

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  • Trials have shown that antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) strategies can reduce antibiotic use in primary care, but they're not widely implemented in England.
  • The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a co-developed intervention that included enhanced communication, delayed prescriptions, and point-of-care C-reactive protein tests (POC-CRPTs) at nine high-prescribing practices over 12 months.
  • Results indicated that the intervention did not significantly change antibiotic prescribing; engagement varied by practice and was influenced by the antibiotic champions' prior knowledge and implementation efforts.
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Background: Antibiotic treatment duration may be longer than sometimes needed. Stopping antibiotics early, rather than completing pre-set antibiotic courses, may help reduce unnecessary exposure to antibiotics and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Aim: To identify clinicians' and patients' views on stopping antibiotics when better (SAWB) for urinary tract infections (UTIs), and to explore comparisons with other acute infections.

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Dental caries is listed by the WHO as one of the major non-communicable diseases that need to be prevented and treated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of caries expressed as the Decayed, Missing and Filled Permanent Teeth (DMFT) index in 12-year-old Polish children and to verify bacterial species related to the occurrence of dental caries. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis of DNA isolated from saliva samples was performed to detect 8 cariogenic and periopathogenic bacterial strains.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, setting up studies in time to gather relevant, real-world data enables researchers to capture current views and experiences, focus on practicalities on the ground, and deliver actionable results. Delivering high quality rapid studies in healthcare poses several challenges even in non-emergency situations. There is an expanding literature discussing benefits and challenges of conducting rapid research, yet there are relatively few examples related to methodological dilemmas and decisions that researchers may face when conducting rapid studies.

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Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) cause an increasing international concern, mainly due to their natural resistance to many antibiotics. The aim of this study was to conduct species identification and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of RGM isolated in Poland. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using broth microdilution and the RAPMYCOI panel.

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Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an urgent need to find effective treatment. It is widely known that virus attacks and damages mostly the lungs, but also infect vascular endothelial cells. Therefore, the protection of the endothelium is a promising target in the therapy of COVID-19 and its complications.

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In 2017, Poland introduced the 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) into its national immunization schedule. This prospective study was conducted between March and June 2020 to determine the impact of vaccination on prevalence of the nasopharyngeal carriage of in 176 healthy children and to determine how conjugate vaccines indirectly affect colonization of nasopharyngeal microbiota. Pneumococcal isolates were analyzed by serotyping and antimicrobial resistance tests.

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In order to design appropriate antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes, it is crucial to understand challenges to tackling antibiotic resistance (AMR) specific to each healthcare setting. Antibiotic prescribing in primary care accounts for most prescriptions with a significant proportion considered clinically inappropriate. Qualitative research has a long history in social sciences, but its value and contribution are still contested in medical journals including in the AMR/AMS field.

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Objective: To identify the experiences and concerns of health workers (HWs), and how they changed, throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Methods: Longitudinal, qualitative study with HWs involved in patient management or delivery of care related to COVID-19 in general practice, emergency departments and hospitals. Participants were identified through snowballing.

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