Workflow and Short-Term Functional Outcomes in Simultaneous Acute Code Stroke Activation and Stroke Reperfusion Therapy.

The burden of simultaneous acute code stroke activation (ACSA) is not known. We aim to assess the effect of simultaneous ACSA on workflow metrics and home time at 90 days in patients undergoing reperfusion therapies in the emergency department. Simultaneous ACSA was defined as code activation within 60 min of the arrival of any patient receiving intravenous thrombolysis, within 150 min of the arrival of any patient receiving endovascular thrombectomy, within 45 min of the arrival of any patient receiving no reperfusion therapies (based on mean local door-to-needle and door-to-puncture times).

Centering Digital Health Equity During Technology Innovation: Protocol for a Comprehensive Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Tools and Approaches.

Background: In the rush to develop health technologies for the COVID-19 pandemic, the unintended consequence of digital health inequity or the inability of priority communities to access, use, and receive equal benefits from digital health technologies was not well examined.

Objective: This scoping review will examine tools and approaches that can be used during digital technology innovation to improve equitable inclusion of priority communities in the development of digital health technologies. The results from this study will provide actionable insights for professionals in health care, health informatics, digital health, and technology development to proactively center equity during innovation.

Extrinsic compression of left main coronary artery due to pulmonary artery aneurysm and pulmonary hypertension.

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension is a serious condition that carries a poor prognosis. While exertional dyspnea is the most common symptom, angina like chest pain, most often due to right ventricle ischemia, may occur at advanced stages. We present a patient with pulmonary hypertension symptomatic for dyspnea and angina in whom computed coronary tomography angiography showed compression of the left main coronary artery by a large pulmonary artery aneurysm.

Clinical uncertainty in large vessel occlusion ischemic stroke: does automated perfusion imaging make a difference? An intra-rater and inter-rater agreement study.

Background: Limited research exists regarding the impact of neuroimaging on endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) decisions for late-window cases of large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke.

Objective: T0 assess whether perfusion CT imaging: (1) alters the proportion of recommendations for EVT, and (2) enhances the reliability of EVT decision-making compared with non-contrast CT and CT angiography.

Methods: We conducted a survey using 30 patients drawn from an institutional database of 3144 acute stroke cases.

General Characteristics and Design Taxonomy of Chatbots for COVID-19: Systematic Review.

Background: A conversational agent powered by artificial intelligence, commonly known as a chatbot, is one of the most recent innovations used to provide information and services during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the multitude of conversational agents explicitly designed during the COVID-19 pandemic calls for characterization and analysis using rigorous technological frameworks and extensive systematic reviews.

Objective: This study aims to describe the general characteristics of COVID-19 chatbots and examine their system designs using a modified adapted design taxonomy framework.

Five-year (2015-2019) follow-up study of 6,526 cases of medical repatriation of Filipino seafarers.

Background: There is a limited number of studies on the medical repatriation of seafarers. The aim of the study was to follow up on the previous 2010-2014 study using data from 2015-2019 to evaluate the epidemiology of medical repatriation among Filipino seafarers.

Materials And Methods: Data from medical repatriation records of Filipino seafarers from January 2015 to December 2019 were collected from various claims departments of different manning agencies in Manila, Philippines.

A New Risk Prediction Model for Venous Thromboembolism and Death in Ambulatory Lung Cancer Patients.

(1) Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent complication in ambulatory lung cancer patients during chemotherapy and is associated with increased mortality. (2) Methods: We analyzed 568 newly diagnosed metastatic lung cancer patients prospectively enrolled in the HYPERCAN study. Blood samples collected before chemotherapy were tested for thrombin generation (TG) and a panel of hemostatic biomarkers.

Burden of disease attributable to risk factors in European countries: a scoping literature review.

Objectives: Within the framework of the burden of disease (BoD) approach, disease and injury burden estimates attributable to risk factors are a useful guide for policy formulation and priority setting in disease prevention. Considering the important differences in methods, and their impact on burden estimates, we conducted a scoping literature review to: (1) map the BoD assessments including risk factors performed across Europe; and (2) identify the methodological choices in comparative risk assessment (CRA) and risk assessment methods.

Methods: We searched multiple literature databases, including grey literature websites and targeted public health agencies websites.

Assessment of remote ischemic conditioning delivery with optical sensor in acute ischemic stroke: Randomised clinical trial protocol.

Background: Remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) is delivered by a blood pressure cuff over the limb, raising pressure 50 mmHg above the systolic blood pressure, to a maximum of 200 mmHg. The cuff is inflated for five minutes and then deflated for five minutes in a sequential ischemia-reperfusion cycle 4-5 times per session. Elevated pressure in the limb may be associated with discomfort and consequently reduced compliance.

Utility of the Khorana and the new-Vienna CATS prediction scores in cancer patients of the HYPERCAN cohort.

Background: Risk assessment models (RAMs) are relevant approaches to identify cancer outpatients at high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Among the proposed RAMs, the Khorana (KRS) and the new-Vienna CATS risk scores have been externally validated in ambulatory patients with cancer.

Objectives: To test KRS and new-Vienna CATS scores in 6-month VTE prediction and mortality in a large prospective cohort of metastatic cancer outpatients during chemotherapy.

BET inhibitor trotabresib in heavily pretreated patients with solid tumors and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas.

Bromodomain and extraterminal proteins (BET) play key roles in regulation of gene expression, and may play a role in cancer-cell proliferation, survival, and oncogenic progression. CC-90010-ST-001 (NCT03220347) is an open-label phase I study of trotabresib, an oral BET inhibitor, in heavily pretreated patients with advanced solid tumors and relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Primary endpoints were the safety, tolerability, maximum tolerated dose, and RP2D of trotabresib.

Thrombin Generation and D-Dimer for Prediction of Disease Progression and Mortality in Patients with Metastatic Gastrointestinal Cancer.

Background: the tight and reciprocal interaction between cancer and hemostasis has stimulated investigations on the possible role of hemostatic biomarkers in predicting specific cancer outcomes, such as disease progression (DP) and overall survival (OS). In a prospective cohort of newly diagnosed metastatic gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients from the HYPERCAN study, we aimed to assess whether the hemostatic biomarker levels measured before starting any anticancer therapy may specifically predict for 6-months DP (6m-DP) and for 1-year OS (1y OS). Methods: plasma samples were collected and tested for thrombin generation (TG) as global hemostatic assay, and for D-dimer, fibrinogen, and prothrombin fragment 1 + 2 as hypercoagulation biomarkers.

Methodological considerations in injury burden of disease studies across Europe: a systematic literature review.

Background: Calculating the disease burden due to injury is complex, as it requires many methodological choices. Until now, an overview of the methodological design choices that have been made in burden of disease (BoD) studies in injury populations is not available. The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify existing injury BoD studies undertaken across Europe and to comprehensively review the methodological design choices and assumption parameters that have been made to calculate years of life lost (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) in these studies.

Policy-driven mathematical modeling for COVID-19 pandemic response in the Philippines.

Around the world, disease surveillance and mathematical modeling have been vital tools for government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the face of a volatile crisis, modeling efforts have had to evolve over time in proposing policies for pandemic interventions. In this paper, we document how mathematical modeling contributed to guiding the trajectory of pandemic policies in the Philippines.

Usability testing of the Philippine Electronic National Newborn Hearing Screening Registry (ENNHSR).

Purpose And Objectives: The study determined the usability of the online and offline versions of the Philippine Electronic National Newborn Hearing Screening Registry (ENNHSR) as well as user perspectives and satisfaction on the training modules and the online and offline systems. The steps in creating the systems, training modules, and evaluation of the user training manual and video training modules, accuracy and time and motion studies on data entry as well as determination of user perspectives and satisfaction were the specific objectives.

Methodology: With the combined efforts of the staff of Newborn Hearing Screening Reference Center (NHSRC), Philippine National Ear Institute (PNEI) and the National Telehealth Center (NTHC) of the National Institutes of Health UP Manila, the development of the online and offline versions of the ENNHSR took six (6) months from January 2021 to June 2021 to complete.

Immunohistochemical Assessment of the P53 Protein as a Predictor of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Response to Immunotherapy.

Background: Determining predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is a current challenge in oncology. Previous studies on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have shown how gene mutations are correlated with different responses to ICIs. Strong and diffuse immuno-expression of p53 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) is interpreted as a likely indicator of a gene mutation.

Laboratory Hyperspectral Image Acquisition System Setup and Validation.

Hyperspectral Imaging (HSI) techniques have demonstrated potential to provide useful information in a broad set of applications in different domains, from precision agriculture to environmental science. A first step in the preparation of the algorithms to be employed outdoors starts at a laboratory level, capturing a high amount of samples to be analysed and processed in order to extract the necessary information about the spectral characteristics of the studied samples in the most precise way. In this article, a custom-made scanning system for hyperspectral image acquisition is described.

Parallel-plate compression test for soft materials: confocal microscopy-assisted ferrule-top nanoindentation.

The parallel-plate compression test is one of the simplest ways to measure the mechanical properties of a material. In this test, the Young's modulus ( ) and the Poisson's ratio ( ) of the material are determined directly without applying any additional modelling and parameter fitting in the post-processing. This is, however, limited when dealing soft biological materials due to their inherent properties such as being inhomogeneous, microscopic, and overly compliant.

Burden of non-communicable disease studies in Europe: a systematic review of data sources and methodological choices.

Background: Assessment of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) resulting from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires specific calculation methods and input data. The aims of this study were to (i) identify existing NCD burden of disease (BoD) activities in Europe; (ii) collate information on data sources for mortality and morbidity; and (iii) provide an overview of NCD-specific methods for calculating NCD DALYs.

Methods: NCD BoD studies were systematically searched in international electronic literature databases and in grey literature.

Rocuronium as Neuromuscular Blockade in Tetanus Patients With Methamphetamine Use Disorder: A Case Report.

Background: Spasm control is essential in the management of tetanus. Benzodiazepines are administered as initial treatment of tetanic spasms; however, sedation may be difficult to attain among patients with methamphetamine use disorder. Neuromuscular blocking agents, which act on an entire different mechanism, can be given to induce paralysis.

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome in a Patient With Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis: Case Report and Review of Related Literature.

Introduction: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a severe but treatable disease that presents with symptoms similar to neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS).

Case Report: We describe a 28-year old female who initially presented with headaches, behavioral changes, anxiety, lip tremors, and rigidity of extremities. She was prescribed with olanzapine and later manifested with neuroleptic malignant syndrome symptoms such as decrease in sensorium, muscle rigidity, hyperthermia and tachycardia.