Retirements of professional tennis players in ATP and WTA tour events.

Professional tennis competition at the highest levels requires high physical, technical, tactical, and mental demands. Player retirement is a scenario that often occurs at the highest echelons of the game. The objective of this study was to descriptively determine which factors influence retirement of matches in tennis.

Retirements of professional tennis players in second- and third-tier tournaments on the ATP and WTA tours.

The demands of professional tennis, including physical and psychological aspects, contribute to the frequency of retirements at elite levels of the sport. The aim of this study was to analyze epidemiological patterns and risk factors associated with retirements in previous ATP and WTA Tour tournaments. A retrospective cohort study was conducted.

Heterogeneity of treatment response to beta-blockers in the treatment of portal hypertension: A systematic review.

Background: It has been suggested that a relevant proportion of patients do not respond to nonselective beta-blockers (NSBB)s, which raises questions regarding the need for individualized therapy. The existence of potential heterogeneity in the treatment response can be assessed using the variability ratio (VR) of the outcome measurement (in this case, HVPG) between the treated and placebo groups. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to assess the potential heterogeneity in the portal pressure response to NSBBs.

Early and Delayed Infarct Growth in Patients Undergoing Mechanical Thrombectomy: A Prospective, Serial MRI Study.

Background: We studied the evolution over time of diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) lesion volume and the factors involved on early and late infarct growth (EIG and LIG) in stroke patients undergoing endovascular treatment (EVT) according to the final revascularization grade.

Methods: This is a prospective cohort of patients with anterior large artery occlusion undergoing EVT arriving at 1 comprehensive stroke center. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on arrival (pre-EVT), <2 hours after EVT (post-EVT), and on day 5.

Use of GPS to measure external load and estimate the incidence of muscle injuries in men's football: A novel descriptive study.

Measurement of external load in players provides objective information to optimise the weekly balance between training and recovery to improve performance and prevent injuries. Our aim was to evaluate the incidence of sports-related muscle injuries of the lower limb in relation to external load, measured by global positioning system (GPS), in football players. A descriptive study was carried out.

Targeting Pro-Oxidant Iron with Deferoxamine as a Treatment for Ischemic Stroke: Safety and Optimal Dose Selection in a Randomized Clinical Trial.

A role of iron as a target to prevent stroke-induced neurodegeneration has been recently revisited due to new evidence showing that ferroptosis inhibitors are protective in experimental ischemic stroke and might be therapeutic in other neurodegenerative brain pathologies. Ferroptosis is a new form of programmed cell death attributed to an overwhelming lipidic peroxidation due to excessive free iron and reactive oxygen species (ROS). This study aims to evaluate the safety and tolerability and to explore the therapeutic efficacy of the iron chelator and antioxidant deferoxamine mesylate (DFO) in ischemic stroke patients.

The use and adherence of oral anticoagulants in Primary Health Care in Catalunya, Spain: A real-world data cohort study.

Objective: We aimed to describe sociodemographic, comorbidities, co-medication and risk of thromboembolic events and bleeding in patients with NVAF initiating oral anticoagulants (OAC) for stroke prevention, and to estimate adherence and persistence to OAC.

Setting: Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Catalan Health Institute (ICS), Catalunya, Spain.

Participants: All NVAF adult patients initiating OAC for stroke prevention in August 2013-December 2015.

Validity of ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes used to identify acute liver injury: A study in three European data sources.

Purpose: Validating cases of acute liver injury (ALI) in health care data sources is challenging. Previous validation studies reported low positive predictive values (PPVs).

Methods: Case validation was undertaken in a study conducted from 2009 to 2014 assessing the risk of ALI in antidepressants users in databases in Spain (EpiChron and SIDIAP) and the Danish National Health Registers.

Adherence to reporting guidelines increases the number of citations: the argument for including a methodologist in the editorial process and peer-review.

Background: From 2005 to 2010, we conducted 2 randomized studies on a journal (Medicina Clínica), where we took manuscripts received for publication and randomly assigned them to either the standard editorial process or to additional processes. Both studies were based on the use of methodological reviewers and reporting guidelines (RG). Those interventions slightly improved the items reported on the Manuscript Quality Assessment Instrument (MQAI), which assesses the quality of the research report.

Transfer to the Local Stroke Center versus Direct Transfer to Endovascular Center of Acute Stroke Patients with Suspected Large Vessel Occlusion in the Catalan Territory (RACECAT): Study protocol of a cluster randomized within a cohort trial.

Rationale: Optimal pre-hospital delivery pathways for acute stroke patients suspected to harbor a large vessel occlusion have not been assessed in randomized trials.

Aim: To establish whether stroke subjects with rapid arterial occlusion evaluation scale based suspicion of large vessel occlusion evaluated by emergency medical services in the field have higher rates of favorable outcome when transferred directly to an endovascular center (endovascular treatment stroke center), as compared to the standard transfer to the closest local stroke center (local-SC).

Design: Multicenter, superiority, cluster randomized within a cohort trial with blinded endpoint assessment.

Risk of Acute Liver Injury in Agomelatine and Other Antidepressant Users in Four European Countries: A Cohort and Nested Case-Control Study Using Automated Health Data Sources.

Background: Agomelatine is a melatonin receptor agonist and serotonin 5-HT receptor antagonist indicated for depression in adults. Hepatotoxic reactions like acute liver injury (ALI) are an identified risk in the European risk management plan for agomelatine. Hepatotoxic reactions have been reported for other antidepressants, but population studies quantifying these risks are scarce.

Antidepressant use in Denmark, Germany, Spain, and Sweden between 2009 and 2014: Incidence and comorbidities of antidepressant initiators.

Background: We aimed to describe patterns of use and characteristics of 10 commonly used antidepressants for the period 2009-2014 in Denmark, Germany, Spain, and Sweden.

Methods: Adult initiators from 2009 to 2014 of each study antidepressant were identified in four countries using five data sources: the Danish National registers, GePaRD (Germany), EpiChron (Aragon, Spain), SIDIAP (Catalonia, Spain), and the Swedish National Registers. The study included 10 study antidepressants: citalopram, escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, duloxetine, venlafaxine, amitriptyline, mirtazapine, and agomelatine.

Characteristics of Apixaban-Treated Patients, Evaluation of the Dose Prescribed, and the Persistence of Treatment: A Cohort Study in Catalonia.

Background: Apixaban is a direct oral anticoagulant, which inhibits factor Xa. It has demonstrated clinical efficacy in prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and a better safety profile compared to warfarin.

Objectives: (1) To describe the characteristics of patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation beginning treatment with apixaban, (2) to analyze concomitant prescriptions of medications that could potentially interact with apixaban, (3) to evaluate the level of appropriate usage according to the recommended dosage, and (4) to estimate the level of apixaban persistence among naive and non-naive patients.

Impact of Medication Adherence on Mortality and Cardiovascular Morbidity: Protocol for a Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels, such as coronary heart disease (CHD), cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral artery disease. CVD is the leading threat to global health, whether measured by mortality, morbidity, or economic cost. Long-term administration of aspirin, statins, beta-blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers improves survival in patients with stablished coronary heart disease.

Does evidence support the high expectations placed in precision medicine? A bibliographic review.

: Precision medicine is the Holy Grail of interventions that are tailored to a patient's individual characteristics. However, conventional clinical trials are designed to find differences in averages, and interpreting these differences depends on untestable assumptions. Although only an ideal, a constant effect of treatment would facilitate individual management.

Efficacy of high doses of penicillin versus amoxicillin in the treatment of uncomplicated community acquired pneumonia in adults. A non-inferiority controlled clinical trial.

Introduction: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is treated with penicillin in some northern European countries.

Objectives: To evaluate whether high-dose penicillin V is as effective as high-dose amoxicillin for the treatment of non-severe CAP.

Design: Multicentre, parallel, double-blind, controlled, randomized clinical trial.

Reported Prestroke Physical Activity Is Associated with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression and Good Outcomes after Stroke.

Introduction: Physical activity (PhA) prior to stroke has been associated with good outcomes after the ischemic insult, but there is scarce data on the involved molecular mechanisms.

Methods: We studied consecutive acute ischemic stroke patients admitted to a single tertiary stroke center. Prestroke PhA was evaluated with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (metabolic equivalent of minutes/week).

Predictive Value of Modifications of the Prehospital Rapid Arterial Occlusion Evaluation Scale for Large Vessel Occlusion in Patients with Acute Stroke.

Background: Prehospital clinical scales to identify patients with acute stroke with a large vessel occlusion (LVO) and direct them to an endovascular-capable stroke center are needed. We evaluated whether simplification of the Rapid Arterial oCclusion Evaluation (RACE) scale, a 5-item scale previously validated in the field, could maintain its high performance to identify patients with LVO.

Methods: Using the original prospective validation cohort of the RACE scale, 7 simpler versions of the RACE scale were designed and retrospectively recalculated for each patient.

A hazard ratio was estimated by a ratio of median survival times, but with considerable uncertainty.

Objectives: To evaluate the empirical concordance between the hazard ratio (HR) and the median ratio (MR) in survival cancer studies.

Study Design And Setting: We selected all cancer survival articles from the New England Journal of Medicine published between 2000 and 2010. The qualitative concordance was estimated by the proportion of measured pairs in which the treatment effects for the MR and HR are in the same direction.

Circadian rhythms in the efficacy of intravenous alteplase in patients with acute ischemic stroke and middle cerebral artery occlusion.

Circadian rhythm interactions of hemostatic factors can modify tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) effects. We assess the relationship of the time frame of intravenous tPA administration with the outcome of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). We studied 135 consecutive patients with AIS and transcranial duplex documented middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion treated with intravenous tPA.

Effect of high-flow nasal cannula and body position on end-expiratory lung volume: a cohort study using electrical impedance tomography.

Background: Electrical impedance tomography measures changes in lung impedance, which are mainly related to changes in lung volume. We used electrical impedance tomography to investigate the effects of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) and body position on global and regional end-expiratory lung impedance variation (ΔEELI).

Methods: Prospective study with 20 healthy adults.