Multiple use of preservative-free single dose unit dexamethasone 0.1% eye drops is safe within 24 hours.

Background: Unpreserved single-dose unit (SDU) eye drops are commonly used to avoid benzalkonium chloride-related toxicity. Although intended for single use, many patients report off-label repeated use of SDUs over a prolonged period. We investigated whether repeated use of dexamethasone 0.

Comparing State-Level and Facility-Based Review to Assess Quality of Severe Maternal Morbidity Reviews.

Objective: To compare results from facility-level and state-level severe maternal morbidity (SMM) reviews in Illinois.

Design: We report descriptive characteristics about SMM cases and compare the results of both review processes, including the primary cause, assessment of preventability, and factors that contributed to the severity of the SMM cases.

Setting: All birthing hospitals in Illinois.

Spontaneous rupture of an unscarred uterus in a woman at 37 weeks of pregnancy with abdominal pain: a case report.

A 34-year-old gravida 2, para 1 woman at 37+4 weeks of pregnancy presented with abdominal pain. She had no medical history. Complete examination was unremarkable.

Patients' perceptions of conflicting information on chronic medications: a prospective survey in Switzerland.

Objective: The number of patients with chronic diseases and subsequent visits to various healthcare professionals has been rising over the past decades, exposing patients to potential risks of receiving conflicting medication information. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of conflicting information on medications perceived by chronic patients in Switzerland and to understand its impact on patients' medication self-management and navigation in the healthcare system.

Participants: This cross-sectional study included adult patients taking at least one prescribed medication for at least 6 months, who had visited at least two physicians in the past 3 months.

Reducing the cesarean delivery rate.

Background: The cesarean delivery rate has been rising in recent years, having associated maternal morbidities. Elective induction of labor has also been seen to rise during this same time period.

Objective: This current study investigated the difference in the cesarean delivery rate between induction of labor and spontaneous labor among nulliparous, term, singleton, and vertex-presenting women.

Prevalence and Neighborhood Geomapping of COVID-19 in an Underserved Chicago Pregnant Population.

 The Chicago area is known to harbor some of the deepest racial and ethnic socioeconomic inequalities in the United States. We studied the prevalence and neighborhood distribution of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 after implementation of universal screening at an academic hospital providing obstetrical services to an underserved Chicago population.  From April 16 to June 16, 2020, a total of 369 patients were screened for COVID-19 at University of Illinois at Chicago with either the Abbott Point-of-Care (POC,  = 266) or reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test (RT-PCR,  = 101).

An Adherence-Enhancing Program Increases Retention in Care in the Swiss HIV Cohort.

Background: This study tested a theory-based adherence-enhancing intervention: the "Interprofessional Medication Adherence Program" (IMAP) to increase human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) retention in care.

Methods: We retrospectively compared our intervention center (intervention group [IG]) with a standard of care center (control group [CG]) both participating in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study between 2004 and 2012. Endpoints were defined as >6-month and >12-month gaps in care for intervals of care longer than 6 and 12 months without any blood draw.

Low-Dose Hypofractionated Total Skin Electron Beam Therapy for Adult Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: Historically, the standard of care for total skin electron beam therapy (TSEBT) delivered 30 to 36 Gy over 5 to 10 weeks. Given the high risk of relapse, a majority of patients require additional treatments. Therefore, attempts to use a shortened course of TSEBT have been investigated.

Test performance of optical coherence tomography angiography in detecting retinal diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in detecting vascular characteristics of chorio-retinal disease.

Methods: Evidence acquisition: We searched Web of Science, Scopus, and Medline by the citation of references and complemented these electronic searches by checking the list of references of included and review articles. Screening, selection, assessment, and extraction was performed in parallel by two authors.

Routine blood markers from different biological pathways improve early risk stratification in cardiac arrest patients: Results from the prospective, observational COMMUNICATE study.

Introduction: Prognostication of cardiac arrest patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) may influence treatment decision, but remains challenging. We evaluated the incremental usefulness of routine blood markers from different biological pathways for predicting fatal outcome and neurological deficits in cardiac arrest patients.

Methods: We prospectively included consecutive, adult cardiac arrest patients upon ICU admission.

1-Benzyl-3-cetyl-2-methylimidazolium Iodide (NH125) Is a Broad-Spectrum Inhibitor of Virus Entry with Lysosomotropic Features.

Cellular kinases are crucial for the transcription/replication of many negative-strand RNA viruses and might serve as targets for antiviral therapy. In this study, a library comprising 80 kinase inhibitors was screened for antiviral activity against vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a prototype member of the family . 1-Benzyl-3-cetyl-2-methylimidazolium iodide (NH125), an inhibitor of eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2) kinase, significantly inhibited entry of single-cycle VSV encoding a luciferase reporter.

Immunogenicity of propagation-restricted vesicular stomatitis virus encoding Ebola virus glycoprotein in guinea pigs.

Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) expressing the Ebola virus (EBOV) glycoprotein (GP) in place of the VSV glycoprotein G (VSV/EBOV-GP) is a promising EBOV vaccine candidate which has already entered clinical phase 3 studies. Although this chimeric virus was tolerated overall by volunteers, it still caused viremia and adverse effects such as fever and arthritis, suggesting that it might not be sufficiently attenuated. In this study, the VSV/EBOV-GP vector was further modified in order to achieve attenuation while maintaining immunogenicity.

Clinical Value of 3-Dimensional Ultrasound in Gynecology.

This report provides examples of using 3-dimensional ultrasound diagnostically in gynecology. The cost efficiency it provides and the wide range of applications it has support the routine use of this ultrasound technology in the practice of gynecology.

Outcomes and costs of Ranibizumab and Aflibercept treatment in a health-service research context.

Background: To compare anti-VEGF treatments for macular disease in terms of costs and clinical outcomes.

Methods: We identified patients suffering from macular disease and treated either with aflibercept, ranibizumab or both at the largest public eye clinic in Switzerland between January 1st and December 31st 2016 who were insured in one of the two participating health insurance companies. Clinical data were extracted from the electronic health record system.

Synthetically derived bat influenza A-like viruses reveal a cell type- but not species-specific tropism.

Two novel influenza A-like viral genome sequences have recently been identified in Central and South American fruit bats and provisionally designated "HL17NL10" and "HL18NL11." All efforts to isolate infectious virus from bats or to generate these viruses by reverse genetics have failed to date. Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) encoding the hemagglutinin-like envelope glycoproteins HL17 or HL18 in place of the VSV glycoprotein were generated to identify cell lines that are susceptible to bat influenza A-like virus entry.

Quantification of Lyssavirus-Neutralizing Antibodies Using Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Pseudotype Particles.

Rabies is a highly fatal zoonotic disease which is primarily caused by rabies virus (RABV) although other members of the genus Lyssavirus can cause rabies as well. As yet, 14 serologically and genetically diverse lyssaviruses have been identified, mostly in bats. To assess the quality of rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin preparations, virus neutralization tests with live RABV are performed in accordance with enhanced biosafety standards.

Virus replicon particles expressing porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus proteins elicit immune priming but do not confer protection from viremia in pigs.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is the causative agent of one of the most devastating and economically significant viral disease of pigs worldwide. The vaccines currently available on the market elicit only limited protection. Recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) replicon particles (VRP) have been used successfully to induce protection against influenza A virus (IAV) in chickens and bluetongue virus in sheep.

Management of perforated essure with migration into small and large bowel mesentery.

The Essure permanent birth control system (Conceptus Inc, San Carlos, CA) is currently the only Food and Drug Administration-approved hysteroscopic sterilization method and has been widely accepted as a safe and effective procedure. We present a rare case of tubal perforation, coil fragmentation, and distal migration into small and large bowel mesentery 8 days after the insertion of the Essure device. We describe the successful management of this complication using laparoscopy and intraoperative fluoroscopy.

Characterization of carbon-coated magnetic nanoparticles using clinical blood coagulation assays: effect of PEG-functionalization and comparison to silica nanoparticles.

Intravascular application of magnetic nanocarriers is a critical step in the development of new therapeutic strategies, including magnetic drug targeting or hyperthermia. However, injection of particulate matter bears the intrinsic risk of contact activation of the blood coagulation cascade. In this work, we use point-of-care assays to study coagulation dynamics and clotting parameters in blood samples exposed to relevant concentrations of surface-functionalized carbon-coated iron carbide nanomagnets using unmodified nanomagnets and poly(ethylene)glycol-functionalized nanomagnets with different end-groups, including -OCH, -NH, -COOH, -IgG, and -ProteinA-protected-IgG (-IgG-ProtA).

Empathy and childhood maltreatment: a mixed-methods investigation.

Background: Impaired empathy is regarded as a psychological consequence of childhood maltreatment, yet few studies have explored this relationship empirically. We investigated whether empathy differed in healthy and maltreated individuals by examining their emotional responses to people in distress.

Methods: Forty-nine individuals (age 20 to 60) viewed short film clips from the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission testimonies depicting dialogues between victims and perpetrators of gross human rights violations.