Acute polyneuropathy: a serious complication of levodopa/ /carbidopa intestinal gel treatment for Parkinson's Disease.

Aim Of Study: To determine whether a high dose of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG), expressed as levodopa equivalent daily dose (LE daily dose), is a risk factor for acute polyneuropathy in patients treated with LCIG.

Clinical Rationale For Study: Treatment with LCIG is an effective device-assisted therapy in the advanced stages of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Polyneuropathy is a well-known complication of PD treatment.

Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales in diverse foodstuffs: a prospective, longitudinal study in the city of Basel, Switzerland.

Background: The involvement of non-human-to-human transmission of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) remains elusive. Foodstuffs may serve as reservoirs for ESBL-PE and contribute to their spread.

Aim: We aimed to systematically investigate the presence and spatiotemporal distribution of ESBL-PE in diverse unprocessed foodstuffs of different origin purchased in a central European city.

Cefepime versus carbapenems for treatment of AmpC beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales bloodstream infections.

Purpose: Cefepime is recommended for treating infections caused by AmpC beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales (AmpC-PE), though supporting evidence is limited. Therefore, this study compared outcomes associated with cefepime versus carbapenem therapy for bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by AmpC-PE after phenotypic exclusion of ESBL-co-producing isolates.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study compared definite cefepime versus carbapenem treatment for AmpC-PE BSI in hospitalized patients of the University Hospital Basel, Switzerland, between 01/2015 and 07/2020.

Spatiotemporal dissemination of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales in municipal sewer systems: a prospective, longitudinal study in the city of Basel, Switzerland.

Background: The contribution of community and hospital sources to the transmission of extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) remains elusive.

Aim: To investigate the extent of community dissemination and the contribution of hospitals to the spread of ESBL-PE by exploring their spatiotemporal distribution in municipal wastewater of the central European city of Basel.

Methods: Wastewater samples were collected monthly for two consecutive years throughout Basel, Switzerland, including 21 sites across 10 postcode areas of the city collecting either community wastewater (urban sites,  = 17) or community and hospital wastewater (mixed sites,  = 4).

Improving fMRI in Parkinson's disease by accounting for brain region-specific activity patterns.

In functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) in Parkinson's disease (PD), a paradigm consisting of blocks of finger tapping and rest along with a corresponding general linear model (GLM) is often used to assess motor activity. However, this method has three limitations: (i) Due to the strong magnetic field and the confined environment of the cylindrical bore, it is troublesome to accurately monitor motor output and, therefore, variability in the performed movement is typically ignored. (ii) Given the loss of dopaminergic neurons and ongoing compensatory brain mechanisms, motor control is abnormal in PD.

Is retina affected in Huntington's disease? Is optical coherence tomography a good biomarker?

Aim Of The Study: Comparative cross-sectional study of retinal parameters in Huntington's disease and their evaluation as marker of disease progression.

Clinical Rationale For The Study: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with dominant motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Involvement of sensory functions in HD has been investigated, however studies of retinal pathology are incongruent.

Unsupervised machine learning predicts future sexual behaviour and sexually transmitted infections among HIV-positive men who have sex with men.

Machine learning is increasingly introduced into medical fields, yet there is limited evidence for its benefit over more commonly used statistical methods in epidemiological studies. We introduce an unsupervised machine learning framework for longitudinal features and evaluate it using sexual behaviour data from the last 20 years from over 3'700 participants in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS). We use hierarchical clustering to find subgroups of men who have sex with men in the SHCS with similar sexual behaviour up to May 2017, and apply regression to test whether these clusters enhance predictions of sexual behaviour or sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) after May 2017 beyond what can be predicted with conventional parameters.

Digitized and structured informed patient consent before contrast-enhanced computed tomography: feasibility and benefits in clinical routine.

Background: To evaluate the feasibility and benefits of digitized informed patient consent (D-IPC) for contrast-enhanced CT and compare digitized documentation with paper-based, conventional patient records (C-PR).

Methods: We offered D-IPC to 2016 patients scheduled for a CT. We assessed patient history (e.

Mitochondrial organization and structure are compromised in fibroblasts from patients with Huntington's disease.

Huntington´s disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with onset in adulthood that leads to a complete disability and death in approximately 20 years after onset of symptoms. HD is caused by an expansion of a CAG triplet in the gene for huntingtin. Although the disease causes most damage to striatal neurons, other parts of the nervous system and many peripheral tissues are also markedly affected.

Automated Detection, Segmentation, and Classification of Pleural Effusion From Computed Tomography Scans Using Machine Learning.

Objective: This study trained and evaluated algorithms to detect, segment, and classify simple and complex pleural effusions on computed tomography (CT) scans.

Materials And Methods: For detection and segmentation, we randomly selected 160 chest CT scans out of all consecutive patients (January 2016-January 2021, n = 2659) with reported pleural effusion. Effusions were manually segmented and a negative cohort of chest CTs from 160 patients without effusions was added.

External Validation of the Revised Pretransplant Assessment of Mortality Score in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Cohort Study.

Pretransplant risk scores such as the revised Pretransplant Assessment of Mortality (rPAM) score help to predict outcome of patients receiving allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). Since the rPAM has not been validated externally in a heterogeneous patient population with different diseases, we aimed to validate the rPAM score in a real-world cohort of allo-HCT patients. A total of 429 patients were included receiving their first allo-HCT from 2008 to 2015.

SPG11: clinical and genetic features of seven Czech patients and literature review.

SPG11 is one of the most frequent autosomal recessively inherited types of hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSP or SPG). We describe the first seven patients from the Czech Republic with biallelic pathogenic variants in the SPG11. The typical HSP neurological findings are present in all the described patients in that the signs of a complicated phenotype develop slowly.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Imaging Findings in Pleural Empyema: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Computed tomography (CT) diagnosis of empyema is challenging because current literature features multiple overlapping pleural findings. We aimed to identify informative findings for structured reporting. The screening according to inclusion criteria (P: Pleural empyema, I: CT C: culture/gram-stain/pathology/pus, O: Diagnostic accuracy measures), data extraction, and risk of bias assessment of studies published between 01-1980 and 10-2021 on Pubmed, Embase, and Web of Science (WOS) were performed independently by two reviewers.

Decreasing Incidence and Determinants of Bacterial Pneumonia in People With HIV: The Swiss HIV Cohort Study.

Background: Bacterial pneumonia is a leading reason for hospitalization among people with HIV (PWH); however, evidence regarding its drivers in the era of potent antiretroviral therapy is limited.

Methods: We assessed risk factors for bacterial pneumonia in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study using marginal models. We further assessed the relationship between risk factors and changes in bacterial pneumonia incidence using mediation analysis.

Assessing the drivers of syphilis among men who have sex with men in Switzerland reveals a key impact of screening frequency: A modelling study.

Over the last decade, syphilis diagnoses among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) have strongly increased in Europe. Understanding the drivers of the ongoing epidemic may aid to curb transmissions. In order to identify the drivers of syphilis transmission in MSM in Switzerland between 2006 and 2017 as well as the effect of potential interventions, we set up an epidemiological model stratified by syphilis stage, HIV-diagnosis, and behavioral factors to account for syphilis infectiousness and risk for transmission.

Handrub dispensers per acute care hospital bed: a study to develop a new minimum standard.

Background: Accessibility to alcohol-based handrub (ABHR) dispenser is crucial to improve compliance to hand hygiene (HH), being offered as wall-mounted dispensers (ABHR-Ds), and/or pocket bottles. Nevertheless, information on the distribution and density of ABHR-Ds and their impact on HH have hardly been studied. Institutions such as the World Health Organisation or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not provide guidance.

A comparison of general and disease-specific machine learning models for the prediction of unplanned hospital readmissions.

Unplanned hospital readmissions are a burden to patients and increase healthcare costs. A wide variety of machine learning (ML) models have been suggested to predict unplanned hospital readmissions. These ML models were often specifically trained on patient populations with certain diseases.

Antimicrobial Prophylaxis for Postoperative Urinary Tract Infections in Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: The administration of antimicrobial prophylaxis for postoperative urinary tract infections following transurethral resection of bladder tumors is controversial. We aimed to systematically review evidence on the potential effect of antimicrobial prophylaxis on postoperative urinary tract infections and asymptomatic bacteriuria.

Materials And Methods: We conducted a systematic search in Embase®, Medline® and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials.

The worldwide clinical trial research response to the COVID-19 pandemic - the first 100 days.

: Never before have clinical trials drawn as much public attention as those testing interventions for COVID-19. We aimed to describe the worldwide COVID-19 clinical research response and its evolution over the first 100 days of the pandemic. Descriptive analysis of planned, ongoing or completed trials by April 9, 2020 testing any intervention to treat or prevent COVID-19, systematically identified in trial registries, preprint servers, and literature databases.

Monogenic variants in dystonia: an exome-wide sequencing study.

Background: Dystonia is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous condition that occurs in isolation (isolated dystonia), in combination with other movement disorders (combined dystonia), or in the context of multisymptomatic phenotypes (isolated or combined dystonia with other neurological involvement). However, our understanding of its aetiology is still incomplete. We aimed to elucidate the monogenic causes for the major clinical categories of dystonia.

Differential effects of deep brain stimulation and levodopa on brain activity in Parkinson's disease.

Levodopa is the first-line treatment for Parkinson's disease, although the precise mechanisms mediating its efficacy remain elusive. We aimed to elucidate treatment effects of levodopa on brain activity during the execution of fine movements and to compare them with deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nuclei. We studied 32 patients with Parkinson's disease using functional MRI during the execution of finger-tapping task, alternating epochs of movement and rest.