Long-term outcomes of catheter ablation compared with medical therapy in atrial fibrillation.

Background: The long-term effects of catheter ablation (CA) compared with medical therapy on cardiovascular outcomes for atrial fibrillation (AF) remain undetermined.

Objective: Using a population-based cohort, we sought to determine what the association between CA and medical therapy was on these outcomes.

Methods: By use of Alberta administrative data, patients with AF as the primary diagnosis during hospitalization, emergency department visit, or physician visit were included between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2018.

Assessment of visual impairment and need of rehabilitation services for children attending schools for blind in an urban city of North India.

Background/aims: By understanding the prevalence and causes of childhood blindness, stakeholders can work toward comprehensive strategies that encompass prevention, treatment, rehabilitation, and support, ultimately improving the quality of life for affected children. The information about the pattern and causes of childhood blindness in Northern Indian states is limited, it highlights the need for further research and data collection to better understand and address the specific challenges in this region. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study was planned to ascertain the different causes and patterns of childhood blindness and to understand the barriers to the use of LVAs and its compliance among the students attending schools for the blind in a North Indian State.

Exploring the lived experiences of adults using home enteral nutrition and their caregivers: A meta-aggregation qualitative systematic review.

Home enteral nutrition (HEN) provides nutrition through a tube to individuals at home who cannot meet their needs by mouth. Systematic reviews have explored the experiences of HEN subpopulations, such as those with head and neck cancers. Given HEN services care for adults with various underlying conditions, a synthesis of the experiences of all adults using HEN and their caregivers is warranted.

Evaluation of Correlation Between Development of Multiple Cracks in Nonendodontically Treated Tooth and Placement of Dental Implants with Prosthesis.

Background: The result of increased occlusal stresses might be fractures in the teeth. It is still unclear how possible risk factors may affect the occurrence of tooth cracks after dental implants with prostheses in nonendodontically restored teeth.

Aim: To evaluate the correlation of dental implants with prostheses as a risk factor for the development of cracks in teeth restored nonendodontically.

Evaluation of Complications of Midface Fracture Including the Orbital Floor.

Background: Choosing an appropriate course of treatment for midface fracture can be challenging due to the variable presentations of midfacial fractures and concurrent orbital floor injuries.

Objectives: To evaluate complications of midface fracture including the orbital floor.

Materials And Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out on 456 patients diagnosed with midface fracture, including the orbital floor, clinically and radiographically.

Flap Fixation in Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy: A Comparative Study.

Background: The usual procedure for nasolacrimal duct obstruction is dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). Flap-based DCR techniques lead to better surgical outcome provided flaps do not dislocate in the post-operative period.

Objectives: This study was conducted to compare gelfoam with merocel tamponade for fixation of mucosal flaps in endoscopic DCR.

Distal esophageal spasm and gastroesophageal reflux disease: re-examining the association.

Distal esophageal spasm (DES) is a rare motility disorder presenting with dysphagia or chest pain. Although studies suggest a link between DES and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), data supporting a distinct GERD-related phenotype are limited. This study aims to investigate demographic, symptomatic, and physiologic differences between DES subjects with and without GERD.

Corrigendum to "Malignant retroperitoneal PEComa: A case report with emphasis on radiological findings" [Radiology Case Reports 18 (2023) 1358-1363].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.radcr.

"In the end, we had to leave": Truth-telling to unsettle whiteness in nursing academia.

Nursing is renowned for its high ethical standards and is considered one of the most trusted professions globally, yet it has deep historical ties to Eurocentric and white supremacist ideologies. These entrenched ideologies in nursing raise significant concerns regarding equity, diversity, and inclusion within the profession as they shape nursing education, research, and practice. Western nursing institutions are deeply engrained in a system designed to center and uphold whiteness, which frequently serves to safeguard dominant groups in power while detrimentally affecting faculty from underrepresented backgrounds.

Perspectives on and use of assistive technology by persons with MS: a scoping review.

Assistive technology (AT) provides persons with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) ability to engage in daily activities, however acquiring AT can be challenging. Understanding current state of knowledge about perspectives and use of AT by PwMS may support critical thinking about AT acquisition process. The aim of this scoping review was to map what is known about AT use by PwMS, to identify gaps in knowledge to guide future research and practice for AT matching.

Stroke Risk Reduction in Atrial Fibrillation Through Pharmacist Prescribing: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Major gaps in the delivery of appropriate oral anticoagulation therapy (OAC) exist, leaving a large proportion of persons with atrial fibrillation (AF) unnecessarily at risk for stroke and its sequalae.

Objective: To investigate whether pharmacist-led OAC prescription can increase the delivery of stroke risk reduction therapy in individuals with AF.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective, open-label, patient-level randomized clinical trial of early vs delayed pharmacist intervention from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2022, was performed in 27 community pharmacies in Alberta, Canada.

Evaluating stereotactic accuracy with patient-specific MRI distortion corrections for frame-based radiosurgery.

Purpose: This study examines how MRI distortions affect frame-based SRS treatments and assesses the need for clinical distortion corrections.

Methods: The study included 18 patients with 80 total brain targets treated using frame-based radiosurgery. Distortion within patients' MRIs were corrected using Cranial Distortion Correction (CDC) software, which utilizes the patient's CT to alter planning MRIs to reduce inherent intra-cranial distortion.

Long-Term Postoperative Outcomes Following Cionni Ring and In-the-Bag Intraocular Lens Implantation in Eyes With Subluxated Lenses.

Purpose: Evaluate long-term outcomes following Cionni modified capsule tension ring (MCTR) and in-the-bag intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in subluxated lenses.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Methods: Forty-one eyes of 31 patients from Raghudeep Eye Hospital, India, with subluxated lenses who had completed a minimum of 5 years' postoperative follow-up were included.

Diagnostic and Prognostic Electrocardiogram-Based Models for Rapid Clinical Applications.

Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for the analysis of electrocardiograms (ECGs) has the potential to transform diagnosis and estimate the prognosis of not only cardiac but, increasingly, noncardiac conditions. In this review, we summarize clinical studies and AI-enhanced ECG-based clinical applications in the early detection, diagnosis, and estimating prognosis of cardiovascular diseases in the past 5 years (2019-2023). With advancements in deep learning and the rapid increased use of ECG technologies, a large number of clinical studies have been published.

Development and validation of machine learning algorithms based on electrocardiograms for cardiovascular diagnoses at the population level.

Artificial intelligence-enabled electrocardiogram (ECG) algorithms are gaining prominence for the early detection of cardiovascular (CV) conditions, including those not traditionally associated with conventional ECG measures or expert interpretation. This study develops and validates such models for simultaneous prediction of 15 different common CV diagnoses at the population level. We conducted a retrospective study that included 1,605,268 ECGs of 244,077 adult patients presenting to 84 emergency departments or hospitals, who underwent at least one 12-lead ECG from February 2007 to April 2020 in Alberta, Canada, and considered 15 CV diagnoses, as identified by International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes: atrial fibrillation (AF), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), ventricular tachycardia (VT), cardiac arrest (CA), atrioventricular block (AVB), unstable angina (UA), ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-STEMI (NSTEMI), pulmonary embolism (PE), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), aortic stenosis (AS), mitral valve prolapse (MVP), mitral valve stenosis (MS), pulmonary hypertension (PHTN), and heart failure (HF).

Recombinant ACE2 - Opportunities and Challenges in COVID-19 Treatment.

It was in 2019 that the world experienced the devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2, contributing to a large number of deaths. This contagious virus not only challenged the health care system but has also hit the economy very badly. There has been a lot of research on effective vaccine development, and there has been some success in the same, but no effective antiviral drugs are available in the market.

A three-dimensional model of terrain-induced updrafts for movement ecology studies.

Background: Spatially explicit simulation models of animal movements through the atmosphere necessarily require a representation of the spatial and temporal variation of atmospheric conditions. In particular, for movements of soaring birds that rely extensively on vertical updrafts to avoid flapping flight, accurate and reliable estimation of the vertical component of wind is critical. The interaction between wind and complex terrain shapes both the horizontal and vertical wind fields, highlighting the need to model the coupling between local terrain features and atmospheric conditions at scales relevant to animal movement.

Eating at Risk within Long-Term Care: A Case for the Relational Ethics Lens.

Within long-term care homes (LTCHs), conflicts occur between residents' desires, LTCH constraints, and healthcare providers' concerns about risks of harm. Due to the high prevalence of dysphagia and malnutrition in these settings, decisions regarding food choices are a common source of such tensions. Existing biomedical ethical models fail to capture the complexity of the interprofessional chronic care environment.

Sex Differences in High-Cost Users of Healthcare for Atrial Fibrillation.

Background: Healthcare resource use for atrial fibrillation (AF) is high, but it may not be equivalent across all patients. We examined whether sex differences exist for AF high-cost users (HCUs), who account for the top 10% of total acute care costs.

Methods: All patients aged ≥ 20 years who presented to the emergency department (ED) or were hospitalized with AF were identified in Alberta, Canada, between 2011 and 2015.