Diagnostic yield of semi rigid thoracoscopy in unexplained exudative pleural effusion- Experience from tertiary care hospital of east India.

Introduction: In most of the pleural effusion, fluid analysis generally gives the etiological diagnosis but in almost 20% it remains unclear. This study was designed to determine the diagnostic yield of a pleural biopsy using semi rigid thoracoscope and its complication rates.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective observational study conducted in the Department of Pulmonary Medicine, AIIMS Patna.

Porous Hydrophobic-Hydrophilic Composite Hollow Fiber and Flat Membranes Prepared by Plasma Polymerization for Direct Contact Membrane Distillation.

High water vapor flux at low brine temperatures without surface fouling is needed in membrane distillation-based desalination. Brine crossflow over surface-modified hydrophobic hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) yielded fouling-free operation with supersaturated solutions of scaling salts and their precipitates. Surface modification involved an ultrathin porous polyfluorosiloxane or polysiloxane coating deposited on the outside of porous polypropylene (PP) HFMs by plasma polymerization.

Preoperative Quadriceps Muscle Strength and Functional Ability Predict Performance-Based Outcomes 6 Months After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review.

Background: One-third of individuals report limitations in activities of daily living even 6 months after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Moderate-quality evidence exists for several sociodemographic and clinical predictors of patient-reported outcome measures of perceived functionality. Objectively measured performance-based measures (PBMs) provide a less subjective approach to informing patient treatment after TKA; however, information about predictors of functionally relevant PBMs is scarce.

Functional compared to anatomical imaging in the initial evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease: An international, multi-center, randomized controlled trial (IAEA-SPECT/CTA study).

Objective: To test the hypothesis that, in the initial evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) would result in less downstream testing than coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA).

Methods: In this international, randomized trial, mildly symptomatic patients with an intermediate likelihood of having CAD, and asymptomatic patients at intermediate risk of cardiac events, underwent either initial stress-rest MPI or CCTA. The primary outcome was downstream noninvasive or invasive testing at 6 months.

Determinants of childhood immunisation coverage in urban poor settlements of Delhi, India: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Aggregate data on childhood immunisation from urban settings may not reflect the coverage among the urban poor. This study provides information on complete childhood immunisation coverage among the urban poor, and explores its household and neighbourhood-level determinants.

Setting: Urban poor community in the Southeast district of Delhi, India.

Reproductive healthcare utilization in urban poor settlements of Delhi: Baseline survey of ANCHUL (Ante Natal and Child Health care in Urban Slums) project.

Background: Disparity in utilization of reproductive healthcare services between the urban poor and the urban non-poor households in the developing nations is well known. However, disparity may also exist within urban poor households. Our objective was to document the extent of disparity in reproductive healthcare utilization among the urban poor and to identify the socio-demographic determinants of underutilization with a view to characterizing this vulnerable subpopulation.