Relevance of comorbidities for main outcomes during different periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Throughout the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, the severity of the disease has varied. The aim of this study was to determine how patients' comorbidities affected and were related to, different outcomes during this time.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of all patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 1, 2020, and January 9, 2022.

Age or lifestyle-induced accumulation of genotoxicity is associated with a length-dependent decrease in gene expression.

DNA damage has long been advocated as a molecular driver of aging. DNA damage occurs in a stochastic manner, and is therefore more likely to accumulate in longer genes. The length-dependent accumulation of transcription-blocking damage, unlike that of somatic mutations, should be reflected in gene expression datasets of aging.

Clinical prediction rules for adverse evolution in patients with COVID-19 by the Omicron variant.

Objective: We identify factors related to SARS-CoV-2 infection linked to hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality and develop clinical prediction rules.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 380,081 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection from March 1, 2020 to January 9, 2022, including a subsample of 46,402 patients who attended Emergency Departments (EDs) having data on vital signs. For derivation and external validation of the prediction rule, two different periods were considered: before and after emergence of the Omicron variant, respectively.

Five-year follow-up mortality prognostic index for colorectal patients.

Purpose: To identify 5-year survival prognostic variables in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) and to propose a survival prognostic score that also takes into account changes over time in the patient's health-related quality of life (HRQoL) status.

Methods: Prospective observational cohort study of CRC patients. We collected data from their diagnosis, intervention, and at 1, 2, 3, and 5 years following the index intervention, also collecting HRQoL data using the EuroQol-5D-5L (EQ-5D-5L), European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer's Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaires.

Injuries are negatively associated with player progression in an elite football academy.

Background: The aim was to investigate the association of injuries with male football player continuity, progression and chances of reaching the First team in an elite academy.

Methods: Injuries and exposure time were prospectively recorded, following the FIFA guidelines, over 6 seasons (2011-2017) in Under (U)12, U14, U16, U19, 2nd/3rd team and First team players from the same professional football club.

Results: U19 and 2nd/3rd team players progressing to the next level had a lower injury burden and higher match availability compared to players that did not progress.

Machine learning-based model for prediction of clinical deterioration in hospitalized patients by COVID 19.

Despite the publication of great number of tools to aid decisions in COVID-19 patients, there is a lack of good instruments to predict clinical deterioration. COVID19-Osakidetza is a prospective cohort study recruiting COVID-19 patients. We collected information from baseline to discharge on: sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities and associated medications, vital signs, treatment received and lab test results.

Selecting the number of categories of the lymph node ratio in cancer research: A bootstrap-based hypothesis test.

The high impact of the lymph node ratio as a prognostic factor is widely established in colorectal cancer, and is being used as a categorized predictor variable in several studies. However, the cut-off points as well as the number of categories considered differ considerably in the literature. Motivated by the need to obtain the best categorization of the lymph node ratio as a predictor of mortality in colorectal cancer patients, we propose a method to select the best number of categories for a continuous variable in a logistic regression framework.

A Computer Application to Predict Adverse Events in the Short-Term Evolution of Patients With Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic disease. Exacerbations of COPD (eCOPD) contribute to the worsening of the disease and the patient's evolution. There are some clinical prediction rules that may help to stratify patients with eCOPD by their risk of poor evolution or adverse events.

COPD classification models and mortality prediction capacity.

Objective: Our aim was to assess the impact of comorbidities on existing COPD prognosis scores.

Patients And Methods: A total of 543 patients with COPD (FEV <80% and FEV/FVC <70%) were included between January 2003 and January 2004. Patients were stable for at least 6 weeks before inclusion and were followed for 5 years without any intervention by the research team.

Genetic Variants and Hamstring Injury in Soccer: An Association and Validation Study.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the association of candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with noncontact hamstring muscle injuries in elite soccer players and to create and validate a model to assess the risk of hamstring injury.

Methods: A total of 107 elite male outfield players were prospectively followed for six seasons. Players were genotyped for 37 SNP previously investigated in relation to musculoskeletal injuries.

Acute toxicity, bioaccumulation and effects of dietary transfer of silver from brine shrimp exposed to PVP/PEI-coated silver nanoparticles to zebrafish.

The extensive use and release to the aquatic environment of silver nanoparticles (NPs) could lead to their incorporation into the food web. Brine shrimp larvae of 24h showed low sensitivity to the exposure to PVP/PEI-coated Ag NPs (5nm), with EC values at 24h of 19.63mgAgL, but they significantly accumulated silver after 24h of exposure to 100μgL of Ag NPs.

Developmental and reproductive toxicity of PVP/PEI-coated silver nanoparticles to zebrafish.

Cellular and molecular mechanisms of toxicity of silver nanoparticles (NPs) and their toxicity to fish embryos after waterborne exposure have been widely investigated, but much less information is available regarding the effect of Ag NPs on physiological functions such as growth or reproduction. In this work, the effects of waterborne exposure of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) to PVP/PEI coated Ag NPs (~5nm) on reproduction (fecundity) were investigated. Moreover, the development of the embryos after parental exposure was compared with the development of embryos after direct waterborne exposure to the NPs.

A new approach to categorising continuous variables in prediction models: Proposal and validation.

When developing prediction models for application in clinical practice, health practitioners usually categorise clinical variables that are continuous in nature. Although categorisation is not regarded as advisable from a statistical point of view, due to loss of information and power, it is a common practice in medical research. Consequently, providing researchers with a useful and valid categorisation method could be a relevant issue when developing prediction models.

Predictive score for mortality in patients with COPD exacerbations attending hospital emergency departments.

Background: Limited information is available about predictors of short-term outcomes in patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (eCOPD) attending an emergency department (ED). Such information could help stratify these patients and guide medical decision-making. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical prediction rule for short-term mortality during hospital admission or within a week after the index ED visit.

Use of generalised additive models to categorise continuous variables in clinical prediction.

Background: In medical practice many, essentially continuous, clinical parameters tend to be categorised by physicians for ease of decision-making. Indeed, categorisation is a common practice both in medical research and in the development of clinical prediction rules, particularly where the ensuing models are to be applied in daily clinical practice to support clinicians in the decision-making process. Since the number of categories into which a continuous predictor must be categorised depends partly on the relationship between the predictor and the outcome, the need for more than two categories must be borne in mind.

Application of appropriateness criteria for hospitalization in COPD exacerbation.

The IRYSS-COPD appropriateness study was developed in 16 hospitals belonging to the Spanish National Health Service from June 2008 to September 2010 (n = 2,877). The objectives were to apply a set of explicit criteria for the appropriateness of hospital admission created by the RAND/UCLA methodology to patients evaluated in the emergency department (ED) for exacerbations of COPD. This is a prospective cohort study.

Applying a coping with stress questionnaire for cancer patients to patients with non-cancer chronic illnesses.

One of the few instruments to evaluate coping skills among patients with chronic illnesses is the Cuestionario de Afrontamiento al Estrés para Pacientes Oncológicos (CAEPO), created initially for cancer patients. We evaluate how well CAEPO applies to patients with non-cancer chronic illnesses. A total of 344 patients (115 with chronic hepatitis C, 120 with inflammatory bowel disease and 109 with recurrent vertigo) completed the CAEPO.

Impact of clinical and patient-reported outcomes on patient satisfaction with cataract extraction.

Background: To date, factors that influence satisfaction with cataract surgery have not been broadly explored.

Objective: To identify variables related to patient satisfaction after cataract extraction by phacoemulsification and to determine the relationship between satisfaction and visual acuity (VA) and visual function (VF).

Design: Prospective cohort study.

Outcomes after total hip replacement based on patients' baseline status: what results can be expected?

Objective: We evaluated patient satisfaction with total hip replacement (THR) to establish cut points of sufficient improvement based on the patient acceptable symptom state (PASS) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and compared them with measures derived from the minimum clinically important difference (MCID), taking into account patients' baseline status.

Methods: Two cohorts of prospectively recruited patients on waiting lists for THR were studied. Sociodemographic data and comorbidities were recorded.

The IRYSS-COPD appropriateness study: objectives, methodology, and description of the prospective cohort.

Background: Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often experience exacerbations of the disease that require hospitalization. Current guidelines offer little guidance for identifying patients whose clinical situation is appropriate for admission to the hospital, and properly developed and validated severity scores for COPD exacerbations are lacking. To address these important gaps in clinical care, we created the IRYSS-COPD Appropriateness Study.