Publications by authors named "Casandro J Chan"

The emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-AB), which most commonly manifests as pneumonia, has posed significant clinical challenges and called for novel treatment strategies. Phage depolymerases, which degrade bacterial surface carbohydrates, have emerged as potential antimicrobial agents. However, their preclinical application is limited to systemic infections due to their dependency on serum-mediated bacterial killing.

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Miscommunication in the OR is a threat to patient safety and surgical efficiency. Our objective was to measure the frequency and causes of communication interference between robotic team members. We observed 78 robotic surgeries over 215 h.

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Immunohistochemistry (IHC) plays a crucial role in biological research and clinical diagnosis, serving as the most commonly used method for identifying and visualizing tissue antigens. However, traditional IHC staining methods have limitations in distinguishing various subtypes of immune cells. This challenge has driven scientists to explore new technologies and methodologies for precise identification and differentiation of immune cell subtypes.

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Background: The association between platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) with cerebral small-vessel disease and cognition in dementia-free subjects remains uninvestigated.

Methods And Results: A prospective cohort of dementia-free subjects was recruited from memory clinics and followed up for 5 years. Annual neurocognitive assessments and twice-yearly brain magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed.

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There are routine hospital workflows that are not addressed by certain institutional electronic medical records, including the detection of patients requiring haemodialysis who are admitted under non-nephrology services. In this study, the feasibility and performance of a clinician-developed automated haemodialysis patient finder was evaluated. The programme ran with zero downtime for 6 months and had zero false negatives or false positives.

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An increasing number of newer targeted oncologic therapies approved for clinical use can cause drug-related pneumonitis. Drug-related pneumonitis can be difficult to diagnose and requires a high index of suspicion. This review serves as an update to a prior review in this journal about pneumonitis with precision oncology therapies.

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With a reliable retrospective link to early-life traumatic stress, dissociation has been formulated as a pathology of abnormal socioemotional development. Dissociation hence should be identifiable and diagnosable in childhood. This study aimed to address the extent to which current formulation and diagnostic criteria of adult dissociation is applicable to children.

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  • Telemedicine became a popular option for epilepsy care during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering effective and quality care beyond just preventing virus transmission.
  • A survey conducted from June to October 2023 gathered responses from 285 participants across 60 countries, showing a significant rise in telemedicine usage during the pandemic but a decrease afterward, especially in terms of reimbursement and regulations.
  • While telemedicine usage and acceptance have improved, issues like reimbursement, regulations, and patient privacy need to be addressed for better implementation in the future.
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  • - The study explores how high magnesium levels (hypermagnesemia) affect patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) who are receiving continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT), noting that while low magnesium levels are known to increase AKI risk, the effects of high levels were unclear.
  • - Analysis of data from over 2,600 patients revealed that those with hypermagnesemia had a similar chance of recovering kidney function as those with normal magnesium levels, but faced higher risks of death and heart issues within a year.
  • - The findings indicate that high magnesium levels in AKI patients on CKRT do not lead to better kidney recovery and are associated with negative health outcomes, highlighting the importance of monitoring magnesium levels in these patients.
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Purpose: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prevalent and distressing symptom experienced by people affected by cancer. A breakdown of the clinician-patient partnership and suboptimal clinician communication has been identified as a significant barrier to implementing into clinical practice effective self-management strategies for CRF. This study examined the use and impact of communication practices employed by trained cancer nurse counsellors when providing CRF self-management support to cancer survivors.

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  • - The study investigated the effectiveness of mobile modular high-efficiency particulate air filter units (MMHUs) in reducing SARS-CoV-2 air dispersal during a COVID-19 outbreak in a hospital setting.
  • - Over 69% of patients in the affected wards contracted COVID-19 within four days, with the virus detectable in the air for up to 20 days, highlighting significant air transmission risk.
  • - Results showed that using MMHUs significantly reduced the viral load in the air, making it five times lower in treated areas compared to untreated ones, and confirmed all strains were related to the Omicron variant.
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Purpose: Navigating the feeding journey of medically complex infants on long-term high flow nasal cannula support can be challenging for caregivers, especially given inconsistencies in clinical practice for oral feeding on high flow nasal cannula support. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of caregivers who have experienced this journey, to inform best practice care.

Method: This study used a generic qualitative inquiry approach.

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  • - Mefenamic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, can both enhance and inhibit cardiac ion currents formed by KCNQ1 and KCNE1 channels, revealing its dual effect on these channels, especially in patients with long and short QT syndromes.
  • - The study used whole cell patch clamp techniques and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how mefenamic acid interacts with these channels, particularly noting its inhibition at high concentrations and its potential to preserve some current potentiation effects.
  • - Findings emphasize the importance of specific structural regions in the KCNQ1/KCNE1 channels that influence how drugs like mefenamic acid affect ion current, which has significant implications for developing treatments for certain genetic long QT syndrome mutations.*
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Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are essential for muscle protein synthesis and are widely acknowledged for mitigating sarcopenia. Oligonol (Olg), a low-molecular-weight polyphenol from , has also been found to attenuate sarcopenia by improving mitochondrial quality and positive protein turnover. This study aims to investigate the effect of Olg on BCAA-stimulated protein synthesis in sarcopenia.

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The ternary blending strategy is a fundamental approach that is widely recognized in the field of organic optoelectronics. In our investigation, leveraging the inherent advantages of the ternary component blending methodology, we introduced an innovative design for organic photodetectors (OPDs) aimed at reducing the dark current density (J) under reverse bias. This pioneering effort involved combining two distinct conjugated molecules (IT-4F and IEICO-4F) with a conjugated polymer (PM7), resulting in a composite material characterized by a well-defined vertical phase separation.

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Optimal upper extremity motor control and range of motion are necessary to achieve even the basic activities of daily living (ADL) function. Stroke, with resulting hemiparesis, can significantly and negatively impact an individual's ADL function. Functional Independence Measure (FIM) self-care score can provide an assessment of what aspects and to what degree ADL functions are impaired.

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Advancements in the treatment of burns have considerably improved overall survival rates, but they have also highlighted several long-term sequelae related to the injury. Hypertrophic scars can impair function, reduce quality of life, and require multiple procedures as well as physical therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of topical application of anti-inflammatory drugs in the treatment of burns.

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Background: Medication is crucial for managing chronic diseases, yet adherence rates are often suboptimal. With advanced integration of IT and mobile internet into health care, mobile apps present a substantial opportunity for improving adherence by incorporating personalized educational, behavioral, and organizational strategies. However, determining the most effective features and functionalities for these apps within the specific health care context in Asia remains a challenge.

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Climate change, with increasing temperatures, poses a health threat to patients on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Seasonal variations in body composition have been documented in this population. We hypothesized that climate warming could further exacerbate these effects.

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Background: Guideline-concordant care (GCC) is associated with improved survival for patients with cancer; however, variations in receipt of GCC remain a concern. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of Commission on Cancer (CoC) hospital accreditation status with receipt of GCC and survival among patients with colon cancer.

Methods: This retrospective observational study identified patients diagnosed with stage I-IV colon cancer from 2018 to 2020 from the National Program of Cancer Registries and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program Database.

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  • The study highlights the challenges in determining minimum ventilation rates needed to prevent airborne infections due to unknown quanta generation rates of viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
  • Researchers investigated a specific outbreak in a restaurant using various analytical methods, revealing that all secondary infections occurred in one zone (Zone B) while two other interconnected zones remained unaffected.
  • The findings suggest that the quanta generation rates during this outbreak were extremely high, indicating that simply relying on air dilution may not be enough to prevent infections in spaces with super-spreader events, necessitating the development of additional prevention strategies.
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Introduction: Spinal pain at night is a major contributor to the patient burden of radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (r-axSpA), resulting in substantial functional limitations and impairment of health-related quality of life (QoL). Ixekizumab (IXE), an interleukin-17A inhibitor, has shown efficacy in patients with r-axSpA.

Objective: To assess spinal pain at night improvement up to week (W) 52 in COAST-V and to determine if clinically important improvement in spinal pain at night at W16 is associated with improvement in disease activity and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs) at W16 and W52.

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Background: Tobacco smoke may affect atopic dermatitis (AD) because of its known effects on humoral and cellular immunity, but prior studies lack data on disease severity and biomarkers over time.

Objective: We investigated the association between passive and active tobacco smoke exposure (TSE) during childhood and adolescence and the activity and severity of AD.

Methods: A birth cohort of 10,521 individuals was followed through adolescence as part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children.

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