Publications by authors named "L A Alfonso Fernandez"

The rapid development and worldwide distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is a remarkable achievement of biomedical research and logistical implementation. However, these developments are associated with the risk of a surge of substandard and falsified (SF) vaccines, as illustrated by the 184 incidents with SF and diverted COVID-19 vaccines which have been reported during the pandemic in 48 countries, with a paucity of methods for their detection in supply chains. In this context, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight (MALDI-ToF) mass spectrometry (MS) is globally available for fast and accurate analysis of bacteria in patient samples, offering a potentially accessible solution to identify SF vaccines.

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Approximately one-third of patients with breast cancer have comorbidities at the time of their diagnosis. Recommendations for managing metastatic breast cancer are usually based on the results of clinical trials, which often limit patients with comorbidities. However, comorbidities greatly influence the quality of life, patient survival rate and treatment choice, particularly in older patients.

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Background: ANDROMEDA-SHOCK 2 is an international, multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing hemodynamic phenotype-based, capillary refill time-targeted resuscitation in early septic shock to standard care resuscitation to test the hypothesis that the former is associated with lower morbidity and mortality in terms of hierarchal analysis of outcomes.

Objective: To report the statistical plan for the ANDROMEDA--SHOCK 2 randomized clinical trial.

Methods: We briefly describe the trial design, patients, methods of randomization, interventions, outcomes, and sample size.

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Purpose: Responsive neurostimulation of the centromedian nucleus of the thalamus (CM RNS) is being investigated for treatment of drug-resistant generalized epilepsy with promising results. The aim of this study is to report outcomes of seven patients with pediatric-onset drug-resistant generalized epilepsy, including both genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), who underwent treatment with bilateral CM RNS.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed for patients with drug-resistant generalized epilepsy who underwent treatment with bilateral CM RNS at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from 2020 to 2022.

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