The cardiovascular effects of long-acting bronchodilators inhalers and inhaled corticosteroids purchases among asthma and COPD patients.

Background: Confounding reports of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the use of Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), long-acting beta-agonists, and muscarinic antagonists (LABA and LAMA) have been reported.

Objective: To explore the relationship between the purchase of ICS, LABA and LAMA inhalers and the incidence of CVDs.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with COPD and/or asthma, aged ≥ 18 years, who purchased LABA, LAMA, and ICS inhalers alone or in combination between 2017 and 2019.

Iron deficiency anemia among infants: a retrospective cohort study.

Postnatal iron deficiency, especially from ages 6 to 24 months, has long-term consequences lasting into adolescence and adulthood. We aimed to characterize iron deficiency anemia among infants from one central Israeli district by demographic and laboratory parameters. A retrospective chart review was performed on all infants from a single district who had undergone a complete blood count as part of a routine survey for iron deficiency anemia during 2010-2021.

Optimizing outcomes: A retrospective analysis of discharge safety for elderly mTBI patients on anticoagulation therapy.

Background: Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) pose a significant risk, particularly in the elderly population on anticoagulation therapy. The safety of discharging these patients from the emergency department (ED) with a negative initial computed tomography (CT) scan has been debated due to the risk of delayed intracranial hemorrhage (d-ICH).

Objective: To compare outcomes, including d-ICH, between elderly patients on anticoagulation therapy presenting with mTBI who were admitted versus discharged from the ED after an initial negative head CT scan.

Fluoroquinolones and the risk for incidental seizures: a comparative retrospective study.

Background: Over the years, reports have associated fluoroquinolones (FQ) with seizures. The incidence and whether FQ compared to non-epileptogenic antibiotic are associated with increased risk of seizures has yet to be examined.

Methods: A retrospective observational study of hospitalized patients treated with FQ (ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, moxifloxacin) or macrolides (MA: azithromycin or roxithromycin) between January 2009 and January 2021 in a large tertiary academic medical centre.

Association between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and COVID-19 severity.

Obstructive sleep apnea and sleep-related hypoxia have been associated with higher rates of hospitalization and mortality among patients with Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We further explored the association between obstructive sleep apnea, COVID-19 severity and related mortality. In addition, we examined the effects of clinical and demographic parameters on COVID-19.

The association of medical, social, and normative factors with the implementation of end-of-life care practices.

Background: End-of-life (EoL) care practices (EoLCP) are procedures carried out at the EoL and bear directly on this stage in the patient's life. Public support of these practices in Israel is far from uniform. Previous studies show that while ∼30% of participants support artificial respiration or feeding of terminally ill patients, 66% support analgesic treatment, even at the risk of shortening life.

Polarization in public attitudes toward end-of-life decisions in Israel - A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: End-of-life (EoL) processes are a complex socio-normative and ethical phenomenon. This study aimed to generate a database of public opinion in Israel concerning EoL processes and decisions and to identify differences in attitudes across subgroups in the population, particularly based on experience as a family caregiver of a dying patient.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed in late March 2022.

Benign transient hyperphosphatasemia in infants and children: a retrospective database study.

Unlabelled: Benign transient hyperphosphatasemia is a condition characterized by greatly increased serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) without laboratory or clinical evidence of underlying bone or liver disease. It is usually identified incidentally during routine blood testing. We describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of benign transient hyperphosphatasemia in a cohort of healthy infants and children.

Predictors and Adverse Outcomes of Acute Kidney Injury in Hospitalized Renal Transplant Recipients.

Data about in-hospital AKI in RTRs is lacking. We conducted a retrospective study of 292 RTRs, with 807 hospital admissions, to reveal predictors and outcomes of AKI during admission. In-hospital AKI developed in 149 patients (51%).

COVID-19 lockdown impact on quality of treatment and outcomes of STEMI and stroke patients in a large tertiary medical center: an observational study.

Background: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected health-care systems worldwide, leading to fewer admissions and raising concerns about the quality of care. The objective of this study was to investigate the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on quality of care among stroke and ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients, focusing on clinical outcomes and direct treatment costs.

Method: This retrospective, observational study was based on the 10-week period that included the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel (15 February 2020-30 April 2020).

Duplicate Prescription Rates of Long-Acting Bronchodilator Inhalers.

Long-acting bronchodilator inhalers are widely used with or without inhaled corticosteroids (ICs) by patients with lung diseases. In Israel alone, there are 21 inhalers containing long-acting β2 agonists (LABAs) and/or long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs). Some patients are treated incorrectly with several inhalers of the same pharmacologic group.

Fermented Wheat Germ Extract (FWGE) as a Treatment Additive for Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: A Pilot Clinical Trial.

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is a devastating and incurable disease. Combined therapy using conventional anticancer drugs and a proprietary medical nutriment, fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE), also known as Avemar, has been suggested as a treatment for progressing prostate cancer (PCa) patients, who have become resistant to first line hormonal therapy (gonadotropin releasing hormone, GnRH). The primary aim of this study was to test if this combined therapy would slow down disease progression in CRPC patients.

Improved transplant outcomes with myeloablative conditioning for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in HLA-matched and mismatched donors: a national multicenter retrospective study.

We report the results of national retrospective study of 45 children with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) in Israel between the years 2000-2018. Donors were either HLA-matched (n = 26), partially mismatched (n = 7), haploidentical (n = 8), or cord-blood (n = 4). Myeloablative conditioning (MAC) was used in 20 procedures, and reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) in 25.

Sick Euthyroid Syndrome on Presentation of Patients With COVID-19: A Potential Marker for Disease Severity.

Objective: Precise risk stratification and triage of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients are essential in the setting of an overwhelming pandemic burden. Clinical observation has shown a somewhat high prevalence of sick euthyroid syndrome among patients with COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of free triiodothyronine (FT3) at the clinical presentation of COVID-19 for disease severity and death.

Latent tuberculosis infection prevalence in second generation immigrants from high to low TB burden countries.

Background: Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) diagnosis in a country with a low tuberculosis burden is complicated. Since the prevalence of LTBI in second generation immigrants has not been well recognized, we conducted a cross-sectional study which aimed to explore the differences in LTBI prevalence between offspring of immigrants from high tuberculosis (TB) burden countries and those whose parents were born in countries with a low TB burden.

Methods: Between May 2014 and April 2018 young native Israelis who were required to perform pre-occupational tuberculin skin tests (TST) (medical and paramedical personnel or teaching assistants of immigrants from high TB burden countries) and who had a TST result of 10mm and above were tested for QuantiFERON-TB In Tube (QFT-GIT).

Short-acting bronchodilators purchase as a marker for asthma control.

: Administrative data has been used to quantify the amount of medication use in order to identify at-risk asthma patients. In our previous study we used short-acting beta-agonists (SABA) inhalers as a marker for asthma control.: We further analyzed patient data from the SABA inhalers study in which asthma control was classified by GINA guidelines, physician assessment and the patients overall estimation.

Associations of physicians' prescribing experience, work hours, and workload with prescription errors.

Objective: We aimed to assess associations of physician's work overload, successive work shifts, and work experience with physicians' risk to err.

Materials And Methods: This large-scale study included physicians who prescribed at least 100 systemic medications at Sheba Medical Center during 2012-2017 in all acute care departments, excluding intensive care units. Presumed medication errors were flagged by a high-accuracy computerized decision support system that uses machine-learning algorithms to detect potential medication prescription errors.

Factors associated with disparities in out-of-pocket expenditure on dental care: results from two cross-sectional national surveys.

Background: Socioeconomic differences in oral health and dental care utilization are a persistent problem in many high-income countries. We evaluated demographic, geographic and socioeconomic factors associated with disparities in households' out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on dental care, and the effect of ongoing dental health reform on these disparities.

Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used data collected in two Israeli Household Expenditure Surveys conducted in 2014 and 2018.

Safety and efficacy of VB-111, an anticancer gene therapy, in patients with recurrent glioblastoma: results of a phase I/II study.

Background: VB-111 is a non-replicating adenovirus carrying a Fas-chimera transgene, leading to targeted apoptosis of tumor vascular endothelium and induction of a tumor-specific immune response. This phase I/II study evaluated the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of VB-111 with and without bevacizumab in recurrent glioblastoma (rGBM).

Methods: Patients with rGBM (n = 72) received VB-111 in 4 treatment groups: subtherapeutic (VB-111 dose escalation), limited exposure (LE; VB-111 monotherapy until progression), primed combination (VB-111 monotherapy continued upon progression with combination of bevacizumab), and unprimed combination (upfront combination of VB-111 and bevacizumab).

Incidence and Risk Factors for Anastomotic Leakage in Colorectal Surgery: A Historical Cohort Study.

Background: Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a major complication following colorectal surgery, with many risk factors established to date. The incidence of AL varies in the medical literature and is dependent on research inclusion criteria and diagnostic criteria.

Objectives: To determine the incidence of and the potential risk factors for AL following colorectal surgery at a single academic medical center.

Quality of life and correlating factors in children, adolescents with epilepsy, and their caregivers: A cross-sectional multicenter study from Germany.

Purpose: To identify factors correlating with poorer quality of life (QoL) in children and adolescents with epilepsy and regarding QoL and depression of their caregivers in Germany.

Method: A cross-sectional multicenter study on QoL and depression was performed in two representative German states (Hessen and Schleswig-Holstein). Variance analysis, linear regression, and bivariate correlation were used to identify correlating factors for poorer QoL and symptoms of depression.

Dog-Bite-Related Craniofacial Fractures among Pediatric Patients: A Case Series and Review of Literature.

Dog bites in the pediatric population commonly cause injuries to the head and can be associated with fractures, often leading to prolonged hospital stays, multiple surgical interventions, and long-term complications. Our goal was to evaluate our experience with dog-bite-related craniofacial fractures, understand frequency and demographics of these fractures, identify common fracture patterns, and provide recommendations based on management and complications encountered. The institution's electronic medical record was reviewed.

Adverse Drug Event Rate in Israeli Hospitals: Validation of an International Trigger Tool and an International Comparison Study.

Background: Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Hence, identifying and monitoring ADEs is of utmost importance. The Trigger Tool introduced by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement in the United States has been used in various countries worldwide, but has yet to be validated in Israel.