The eustachian valve (EV) is a vestigial structure found at the junction of the inferior vena cava and the right atrium, a remnant of the embryological sinus venosus that may persist throughout life. Right-sided infective endocarditis of the eustachian valve remains a distinctly rare and under-diagnosed entity. Commonly known risk factors of eustachian valve endocarditis (EVE) are intravenous drug use, in-dwelling intracardiac devices, and central lines, although more recently immunocompromised states, e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite the advancements in the management of heart failure, acute heart failure is one of the most common causes of mortality and morbidity. In light of the financial burden imposed by heart failure hospitalizations on the health care system, this area remains the focus of research, clinical advances, and policy changes aimed at improving the quality of care and outcomes. Despite practice guidelines, high-quality trial data, and consensus statements, barriers to therapy remain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA new series of (S)-flurbiprofen derivatives - and - were synthesized with different aromatic or aliphatic aldehydes and ketones to produce Schiff's bases and their structures were confirmed through HR-ESI-MS, H, and C-NMR spectroscopy. The α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of the newly synthesized compounds were scrutinized, in which six compounds , , , , and showed potent inhibition in the range of 0.93 to 10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are known to experience poorer quality of life (QoL). The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of psychotherapy on QoL among patients with ESRD.
Methods: We conducted a systematic search for studies in Medline, PubMed, and SAGE Journals databases from their dates of inception up to 10 April 2020.
Background: The protection conferred by natural immunity, vaccination, and both against symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection with the BA.1 or BA.2 sublineages of the omicron (B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFurther to plans to make England 'smoke-free' by 2030, a new English community pharmacy smoking cessation service was launched in March 2022. The service includes offering people admitted to hospital an opportunity to enrol on a smoking cessation service that allows care to be maintained through their community pharmacy upon discharge. There is a high expectation for this service, which is expected to increase 1-year quit rates by 11% and in its first year, save the UK NHS £85 million in healthcare resources.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRenal artery calcifications can be associated with insufficient stent expansion and in-stent restenosis. Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) uses shockwaves to disrupt calcium and treat calcific renal in-stent restenosis. Herein, the authors present a case to treat resistant reno-vascular hypertension and in-stent restenosis of an inadequately expanded renal stent in a patient with severe calcific renal artery stenosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants are genetically divergent.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditional composting is a well-suited biotechnology for on-farm management of livestock manure (LM) but still leads to the release of toxic micropollutants and imbalance of nutrients. One exoenzyme-assisted composting has shown promise to ameliorate the agronomical quality of end products by improving humification and polymerization. The naturally occurring extracellular laccase from microorganisms belongs to a multicopper phenoloxidase, which is verified for its versatility to tackle micropollutants and conserve organics through the reactive radical-enabled decomposition and polymerization channels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Standardization of software development processes using the software process improvement (SPI) frameworks like capability maturity model integration (CMMI) or the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are vital for better performance and defect-free delivery of software engineering projects.
Problem: The studies from developing countries show that the organizations are unable to get the desired SPI benefits during early adaptation due to lack of benchmarking initiatives. These initiative needed bridging of the gap between major software engineering fields such as project performance, productivity, and SPI measurement metrics like effort, schedule, cost, productivity, quality, and customer satisfaction.
The cycle threshold (Ct) value in real-time PCR (RT-PCR) is where a target-specific amplification signal becomes detectable and can infer viral load, risk of transmission and recovery. Use of Ct values in routine practice is uncommon. There is a lack of routine use of Ct values when reporting RT-PCR results in routine practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOchratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most dangerous and that pollute agricultural products, inducing a variety of toxic effects in humans and animals. The current study explored the protective effect of different concentrations of Aspergillus awamori (A. awamori) against OTA (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnic minority communities in the UK have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with increased risks of infection, severe disease, and death. Hesitancy around the COVID-19 vaccine may be contributing to disparities in vaccine delivery to ethnic minority communities. This systematic review aims to strengthen understanding of COVID-19 vaccine concerns among ethnic minorities in the UK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Global efforts are being made to improve health care standards and the quality of care provided. It has been shown through research that the introduction of patient safety (PS) and quality improvement (QI) concepts in the medical curriculum prepares medical students to face future challenges in their professional careers.
Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate how a brief course on QI and PS affects the knowledge, efficacy, and system thinking of medical students.
Background: The clinical outcomes following surgical management of insertional Achilles tendinopathy (IAT) vary depending on the surgical technique used to reattach the Achilles tendon following debridement. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with IAT who underwent surgical management with a double-row suture bridge technique used to reattach the Achilles tendon.
Methods: A retrospective review of consecutive patients diagnosed with IAT, who underwent surgical management utilising a double-row suture bridge technique (Arthex Speedbridge), and a minimum of 3-month follow-up were included.
CD19 CAR-T have emerged as a new standard treatment for relapsed/refractory (r/r) large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). CAR-T real-world (RW) outcomes published to date suggest significant variability across countries. We provide results of a large national cohort of patients intended to be treated with CAR-T in the UK.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: There is a paucity of data on the management and outcomes of chronic viral hepatitis (CVH) patients [including chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and chronic hepatitis C (CHC)] presenting with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).
Methods: We utilized the National Inpatient Sample database (2001-2019) and studied the management and outcomes of CVH patients with AMI and stratified them by subtypes of CVH. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of adverse outcomes in CVH groups were compared to no-CVH groups using multivariable logistic regression.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV- 2) was declared a pandemic by WHO in March 2020. The causative organism has since undergone a series of mutations. COVID-19 primarily being a respiratory illness causes pre-existing pulmonary diseases to show worse clinical outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Increasing reports suggest the safe use of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) in electrical cardioversion. The aim of this study was to assess the trends and 30-day outcomes associated with anticoagulation for cardioversion.
Methods: Patients who underwent electrical cardioversion from January 2015 to October 2020 with a 30-day follow-up were included; and outcomes including stroke, transient ischemic attack, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and major gastrointestinal bleeding were recorded.
Eur Heart J Qual Care Clin Outcomes
September 2022
Background: In ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), transradial access (TRA) for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is associated with less bleeding and mortality than transfemoral access (TFA). However, patients in cardiogenic shock (CS) are more often treated via TFA. The aim of this meta-analysis is to compare the safety and efficacy of TRA vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMobile crowd-sensing (MCS) is a well-known paradigm used for obtaining sensed data by using sensors found in smart devices. With the rise of more sensing tasks and workers in the MCS system, it is now essential to design an efficient approach for task allocation. Moreover, to ensure the completion of the tasks, it is necessary to incentivise the workers by rewarding them for participating in performing the sensing tasks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Pregnancy Childbirth
April 2022
Background: The perinatal period is often characterized by specific fear, worry, and anxiety concerning the pregnancy and its outcomes, referred to as pregnancy-related anxiety. Pregnancy-related anxiety is uniquely associated with negative maternal and child health outcomes during pregnancy, at birth, and early childhood; as such, it is increasingly studied. We examined how pregnancy-related anxiety is measured, where measures were developed and validated, and where pregnancy-related anxiety has been assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: External ureteral catheter (EUC) and double-J stent are both commonly used to drain upper urinary tract in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). We compared the outcomes of using EUC versus double-J stent in performing PCNL in patients with renal stones in our settings in order to identify a better technique for the management of renal stones in terms of postoperative stent-related symptoms.
Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Department of Urology, PAEC General Hospital, Islamabad, from January 2020 to December 2020.