Changes in the overall survival of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma in the era of immune-checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) has brought about a significant transformation in the treatment of immunogenic tumors. On November 23, 2015, the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Nivolumab to treat metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). We aimed to assess potential changes in the survival rates of patients with metastatic RCC at a population level after the approval of Nivolumab.

Telehealth as a Component of One Health: a Position Paper.

Introduction: One Health (OH) refers to the integration of human, animal, and ecosystem health within one framework in the context of zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and stewardship, and food security. Telehealth refers to distance delivery of healthcare. A systems approach is central to both One Health and telehealth, and telehealth can be a core component of One Health.

Basal Plate Myofibers and the Risk of Placenta Accreta Spectrum in the Subsequent Pregnancy: A Large Single-Center Cohort.

Objective: We aimed to evaluate whether there is a significant association between a placental pathology diagnosis basal plate myofibers (BPMF) in an index pregnancy with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) in the subsequent pregnancy.

Study Design: We conducted a retrospective nested cohort study of all cases with a histopathological finding of BPMF between August 2012 and March 2020 at a single tertiary referral center. Data were collected for all subjects (cases and controls) with at least two consecutive pregnancies (the initial index pregnancy and at least one subsequent pregnancy) accompanied by a concomitant record of histopathological study of the placenta at our center.

Zero-Contrast Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion Using a Hybrid Echocardiography-Fluoroscopy Technique Without Iodinated Contrast.

Contrast exposure during left atrial appendage occlusion may be harmful in those with chronic kidney disease or allergy. This single-center registry (n = 31) demonstrates the feasibility and safety of zero-contrast percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion using echocardiography, fluoroscopy, and fusion imaging, with 100% procedural success and no device complications at 45 days.

Developing a Model to Predict High Health Care Utilization Among Patients in a New York City Safety Net System.

Background: Health care facilities use predictive models to identify patients at risk of high future health care utilization who may benefit from tailored interventions. Previous predictive models that have focused solely on inpatient readmission risk, relied on commercial insurance claims data, or failed to incorporate social determinants of health may not be generalizable to safety net hospital populations. To address these limitations, we developed a payer-agnostic risk model for patients receiving care at the largest US safety net hospital system.

Online Complex Decongestive Therapy (CDT) Initiation for Lymphoedema - A Case Study.

Lymphoedema is a chronic disease affecting millions. Standard treatment is Complex Decongestive Therapy (CDT) which entails physical interaction with a therapist to imitate the drainage of the edematous fluid along with training to continue self-care at home. We present a case study of initiating CDT totally online.

COVID 19 Care Call-in Helpline. A Report from India.

A COVID 19 call helpline was established by a noted TV channel along with a group of consultant doctors at the height of the second wave COVID 19 pandemic in India. It helped the general public to understand dos and donts as well as long term implications. We retrospectively analysed the questions asked to get a feel of the misunderstandings and perceptions within the general public.

Simplified Community Based Telecare During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Telehealth has evolved as a very comprehensive tool for treating patients with mild to moderate symptoms across the globe during the global pandemic. Adoption of Telehealth in India posed special challenges because of its diversity in languages. Lack of proper healthcare infastructure and especially poor network connectivity have affected pre-hospitalisation care.

Telehealth as a Means of Enabling Health Equity.

Objective: The goal of this paper is to provide a consensus review on telehealth delivery prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic to develop a set of recommendations for designing telehealth services and tools that contribute to system resilience and equitable health.

Methods: The IMIA-Telehealth Working Group (WG) members conducted a two-step approach to understand the role of telehealth in enabling global health equity. We first conducted a consensus review on the topic followed by a modified Delphi process to respond to four questions related to the role telehealth can play in developing a resilient and equitable health system.

Disease Burden Estimation of Lymphatic Filariasis in an Endemic Area.

Anecdotal evidence collected by a community organization suggested high prevalence of lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Sitapur district, Uttar Pradesh. Village volunteers subsequently conducted a line listing in 13 villages of Pisawan block and recorded 261 cases of known LF complications, namely hydrocele and lymphedema. This being far higher than official projections, a block-wide cluster survey was conducted to estimate the disease burden more accurately.

Urologic morbidity associated with placenta accreta spectrum surgeries: single-center experience with a multidisciplinary team.

Background: Hysterectomy for placenta accreta spectrum may be associated with urologic morbidity, including intentional or unintentional cystostomy, ureteral injury, and bladder fistula. Although previous retrospective studies have shown an association between placenta accreta spectrum and urologic morbidities, there is still a paucity of literature addressing these urologic complications.

Objective: We sought to report a systematic description of such morbidity and associated factors.

Retrospective analysis of infection and antimicrobial resistance patterns of among pregnant women in the southwestern USA.

Background: is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) pathogen. There have been no published studies concerning symptomatology, prevalence data, antibiotic resistance profiling or reports of co-infection with other STI in pregnant women.

Objective: To describe these characteristics among pregnant women attending prenatal clinics in a large tertiary care centre.

Evidence-Based Health Informatics as the Foundation for the COVID-19 Response: A Joint Call for Action.

Background: As a major public health crisis, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrates the urgent need for safe, effective, and evidence-based implementations of digital health. The urgency stems from the frequent tendency to focus attention on seemingly high promising digital health interventions despite being poorly validated in times of crisis.

Aim: In this paper, we describe a joint call for action to use and leverage evidence-based health informatics as the foundation for the COVID-19 response and public health interventions.

Telehealth and the COVID-19 Pandemic: International Perspectives and a Health Systems Framework for Telehealth Implementation to Support Critical Response.

Objectives: Telehealth implementation is a complex systems-based endeavour. This paper compares telehealth responses to (COrona VIrus Disease 2019) COVID-19 across ten countries to identify lessons learned about the complexity of telehealth during critical response such as in response to a global pandemic. Our overall objective is to develop a health systems-based framework for telehealth implementation to support critical response.

Pulmonary Embolism Response Team utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may predispose patients to venous thromboembolism (VTE). Limited data are available on the utilization of the Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT) in the setting of the COVID-19 global pandemic. We performed a single-center study to evaluate treatment, mortality, and bleeding outcomes in patients who received PERT consultations in March and April 2020, compared to historical controls from the same period in 2019.

Therapeutic Approach to Calcified Coronary Lesions: Disruptive Technologies.

Purpose Of Review: Moderate or severe calcification is present in approximately one third of coronary lesions in patients with stable ischemic heart disease and acute coronary syndromes and portends unfavorable procedural results and long-term outcomes. In this review, we provide an overview on the state-of-the-art in evaluation and treatment of calcified coronary lesions.

Recent Findings: Intravascular imaging (intravascular ultrasound or optical coherence tomography) can guide percutaneous coronary intervention of severely calcified lesions.

Motherhood: What every ophthalmologist needs to know.

The aim of this review article is to summarize the available literature on physiologic and pathologic ocular changes during pregnancy and the effect of diseases in pregnancy. A literature search was conducted using PUBMED, MEDLINE, and Cochrane library in English. In addition, the cited references in the published articles were manually reviewed for the relevant results.

Medical considerations in delusion of pregnancy: a systematic review.

Purpose: Delusions of pregnancy are associated with functional impairment and psychological distress. Previous works have focused on characterizing their etiology and identifying contributory social and cultural factors. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of the literature on medical or surgical comorbidities associated with delusions of pregnancy.

Ethics in Telehealth: Comparison between Guidelines and Practice-based Experience -the Case for Learning Health Systems.

Objectives: To understand ethical issues within the tele-health domain, specifically how well established macro level telehealth guidelines map with micro level practitioner perspectives.

Methods: We developed four overarching issues to use as a starting point for developing an ethical framework for telehealth. We then reviewed telemedicine ethics guidelines elaborated by the American Medical Association (AMA), the World Medical Association (WMA), and the telehealth component of the Health Professions council of South Africa (HPCSA).