Publications by authors named "Rajan Sharma"
Aims: Stress echocardiography is widely used to assess patients with chest pain. The clinical value of a positive or negative test result to inform on likely longer-term outcomes when applied in real world practice across a healthcare system has not been previously reported.
Methods And Results: 5503 patients recruited across 32 UK NHS hospitals between 2018 and 2022, participating in the EVAREST/BSE-NSTEP prospective cohort study, with data on medical outcomes up to 2023 available from NHS England were included in analysis.
Formalin has been reported to be added to milk to prolong the shelf life of milk. The present study was conducted to develop and validate liquid-phase and paper-based strip methods for the rapid detection of formalin in milk using four different procedures i.e.
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- Hydatid cysts are caused by the larvae of the Echinococcus granulosus parasite, often affecting the liver, lungs, and spleen, but rare cases occur in the brain, making up 2%-3% of all hydatidosis instances.
- Involvement of the cerebrum can lead to nonspecific symptoms like raised intracranial pressure, which is especially important to consider in children from areas where the parasite is common.
- A case study highlighted a 9-year-old girl with severe headaches and vomiting, later diagnosed with a giant hydatid cyst in her brain, which was successfully treated through surgery.
Article Synopsis
- Carers of children with disabilities often face worse job outcomes compared to those with typically developing children, prompting this study on the impact of interventions on carer employment.
- Using data from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study, the research focused on Australian DHH children and analyzed employment outcomes for their primary carers.
- Results showed that primary carers of DHH children with cochlear implants were more likely to be employed, especially among those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, suggesting that improved support for these children could alleviate stress and increase carers' work opportunities.
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a mixture of autologous serum with cyclosporine (CsA) and sodium hyaluronate (SH) in treating dry eye disease by analyzing inflammatory markers and growth factor stability.
- - Researchers measured the levels of inflammatory markers IL-6 and TNF-α in limbal epithelial cells, finding minimal toxicity and stable growth factors (EGF and TGF-β) over a month at 4°C in both formulations.
- - The results suggest that the combinations of AS + CsA and AS + SH are both safe and possess anti-inflammatory properties, potentially improving treatment outcomes for dry eye disease by enhancing cellular health.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze how Body Mass Index (BMI) and height influence left ventricular (LV) size and structure in healthy elite athletes.
- The research involved 1857 athletes, divided into three groups based on BMI and height, and used echocardiograms to assess LV measurements.
- Results indicated that athletes with high BMI had similar LV dimensions but thicker walls and a higher rate of concentric remodeling compared to taller athletes, especially those with larger body surface areas (BSA).
Background: Studies reporting on the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and/or death (SCA/D) in athletes commonly lack methodological and reporting rigor, which has implications for screening and preventative policy in sport. To date, there are no tools designed for assessing study quality in studies investigating the incidence of SCA/D in athletes.
Methods And Results: The International Criteria for Reporting Study Quality for Sudden Cardiac Arrest/Death tool (IQ-SCA/D) was developed following a Delphi process.
Article Synopsis
- - Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and early death, with global health efforts focusing on lifestyle changes, particularly exercise, to manage it.
- - While traditional aerobic and resistance exercises are commonly recommended, isometric exercise training (IET) has shown even better results in lowering blood pressure, but is not widely used in clinical settings.
- - The review discusses IET's effectiveness, how to prescribe it, the quality of supporting research, its physiological benefits, and suggests future research directions to enhance its use in blood pressure management.
Customized therapeutic deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty in perforated Mooren's ulcer: A novel technique.
Indian J Ophthalmol
January 2024
Article Synopsis
- Customized therapeutic deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) was performed on a patient with a perforated Mooren's ulcer characterized by extensive corneal melt and iris prolapse.
- The procedure involved using two different-sized trephines to precisely fit donor tissue, avoiding complex manual dissection.
- Post-surgery, the patient had a smooth recovery, achieving a visual acuity of 6/9 at 4 months that was maintained for 36 months, along with a regimen of topical steroids and oral methotrexate.
Article Synopsis
- A 55-year-old woman had a wooden foreign body (FB) lodged in her left cornea, requiring surgical removal with a specialized technique using vitreoretinal forceps and a 26-gauge needle to access the FB.
- Post-surgery, she was treated with a regimen of gatifloxacin, voriconazole, and atropine, with dosages gradually reduced as she showed no signs of complications like infection.
- At 8 weeks after the procedure, her vision improved to a best-corrected visual acuity of 6/9, which she maintained after 7 months of follow-up.
Article Synopsis
- - The research explored how ultrasound treatment affects isolated pearl millet starch (PMS) and sorghum starch (SS) over durations of 10, 15, and 20 minutes, assessing various properties like pasting profile, morphology, and in vitro digestibility.
- - Ultrasound treatment improved several functional characteristics of the starches, including increased water/oil absorption, swelling power, solubility, paste clarity, freeze-thaw stability, and in vitro digestibility, while color values remained unchanged.
- - Analysis through SEM, FTIR, and XRD indicated that ultrasound created pores on the starch surface and led to a decrease in crystallinity and peak intensity, suggesting enhanced gel strength and elastic behavior in ultrasonicated
Article Synopsis
- Effective prevention of keratoconus progression in children is essential, with corneal collagen cross-linking emerging as a safe and effective treatment, particularly through the Dresden protocol.
- While the Dresden protocol is successful, it has downsides like longer operating times and pain; alternatives like accelerated CXL and transepithelial treatments offer benefits but vary in effectiveness.
Article Synopsis
- - A 60-something woman had poor vision after cataract surgery, leading to a diagnosis of impacted Descemet's membrane detachment (DMD) following examination.
- - Surgical intervention was planned, starting with a method called the 'push technique' to inject air, but it was unsuccessful in positioning the cannula correctly.
- - Switching to the 'pull technique', the team managed to dislodge the inferior border of the DMD and successfully reattach it by injecting an air bubble.
Article Synopsis
- Acute heart failure leads to many urgent hospitalizations, increasing the risk of death and rehospitalization, which highlights the need for careful management before and after discharge.
- * Optimizing patient care during and after hospitalization can help prevent future rehospitalizations by addressing lingering symptoms of heart failure and ensuring proper medication adjustments.
- * The Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology aims to share new insights on managing patients with acute heart failure, focusing on the critical time around hospital discharge.
Article Synopsis
- - The study examined the effects of various bioprocessing techniques (soaking, germination, fermentation, dual processing) on white and red sorghum grains, revealing improvements in antioxidant activity and bioactive compounds post-germination and fermentation, while soaking led to a reduction in beneficial phenolic components due to leaching.
- - Bioprocessing significantly altered the functional properties, color, and morphological structure of the starch-protein matrix in the sorghum flours, driven by hydrolytic enzymes that break down starch granules and unfold proteins, enhancing nutrient digestibility.
- - Principal component analysis confirmed the differences among the treatments, suggesting that these bioprocessed flours could serve as valuable ingredients in the
Article Synopsis
- The study examined the effectiveness and hospital costs related to stress echocardiography for coronary artery disease across 31 NHS hospitals in the UK, using data from over 7,600 patients collected between 2014 and 2020.!
- It utilized a decision tree and multi-level regression analysis to evaluate variations in diagnostic accuracy and costs, identifying key patient and hospital characteristics that impacted outcomes.!
- Results showed that stress echocardiography accuracy varied significantly based on factors like hypertension and operator experience, with average downstream costs reaching £646 per patient, but varying widely across hospitals from £384 to £1730.!
Article Synopsis
- * In a study involving 18 unmedicated individuals, significant reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as arterial stiffness measurements were observed after 4 weeks of IET compared to a control period.
- * The findings suggest that IET can lead to beneficial vascular changes, although the exact mechanisms behind these improvements require further investigation.
Article Synopsis
- * Treatment often involves diuretic therapy, with options for intravenous or increased oral doses, and the use of guideline-recommended medical therapy (GRMT) is also emphasized.
- * Early prevention and management, including outpatient care and rapid initiation of GRMT, are crucial in reducing the frequency of worsening HF episodes, as highlighted in the consensus statement by the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology.
A 62-year-old woman was referred with poor vision following manual small incision cataract surgery. On presentation, the uncorrected distance visual acuity in the involved eye was 3/60, whereas slit-lamp examination revealed a central corneal edema with the peripheral cornea relatively clear. Direct focal examination with a narrow slit upper border and lower margin of detached rolled up Descemet's membrane (DM) could be visualized.
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- The study aimed to assess how a dedicated orthopaedic trauma room (DOTR) impacts the volume of elective arthroplasties like total hip, knee, and shoulder surgeries at a Level I trauma center.
- Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis comparing data from two 3-year periods before and after the DOTR was established in January 2013, focusing on the number of surgeries performed.
- Results showed a significant increase in elective arthroplasty cases post-DOTR, with an average annual rise of over 173 cases per surgeon, suggesting that the DOTR effectively improved surgical volume in the region.
Article Synopsis
- Packaging is crucial in the food industry because it keeps food safe and fresh for longer, but traditional plastic can harm the environment.
- New, smart packaging made from proteins (like those from plants and animals) is better for the planet because it's biodegradable and can offer extra benefits like being able to work with the food.
- Researchers are exploring how to make these protein-based packages even better with added materials to improve their qualities, but they still need to figure out how to produce them efficiently on a larger scale.
Article Synopsis
- Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is a protein that is highly present in prostate cancer and is now a key target for advanced molecular imaging techniques, particularly PSMA PET/CT, which combines PET's sensitivity with CT's precision.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to assess the diagnostic accuracy of PSMA PET/CT across different stages of prostate cancer, including localized, lymph node metastasis, and recurrence, utilizing data from various medical databases.
- The findings revealed that PSMA PET/CT has varying sensitivity and specificity rates for detecting localized prostate cancer (71% and 92%), lymph node metastasis (57% and 96%), and biochemical recurrence (84% and 97%), with notable management changes
Article Synopsis
- * A 42-year-old man with a 3.5 mm corneal perforation after pterygium surgery was treated by placing a scleral patch on his iris and reinforcing it with cyanoacrylate adhesive.
- * The treatment successfully healed the corneal perforation without recurrence over an 18-month follow-up period.