Early Mortality Prediction in Intensive Care Unit Patients Based on Serum Metabolomic Fingerprint.

Predicting mortality in intensive care units (ICUs) is essential for timely interventions and efficient resource use, especially during pandemics like COVID-19, where high mortality persisted even after the state of emergency ended. Current mortality prediction methods remain limited, especially for critically ill ICU patients, due to their dynamic metabolic changes and heterogeneous pathophysiological processes. This study evaluated how the serum metabolomic fingerprint, acquired through Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, could support mortality prediction models in COVID-19 ICU patients.

Integrative Protocol for Generation of iPSC-Derived 3D Human Hepatic Organoids.

Obtaining stable hepatic cells in culture poses a significant challenge for liver studies. Bearing this in mind, an optimized method is depicted utilizing human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) to generate 3D cultures of human hepatic organoids (HHOs). The utilization of HHOs offers a valuable approach to understanding liver development, unraveling liver diseases, conducting high-throughput studies for drug development, and exploring the potential for liver transplantation.

Refractory Tophaceous Gout With Psoriatic Arthritis: A Case Report.

Although gout is a common intermittent crystalline arthropathy, tophaceous gout is a rare condition. Flares of this disease are usually treated with anti-inflammatory drugs followed by control of serum uric acid levels. We present a refractory, severe, tophaceous gout overlapping with psoriatic arthritis, presenting with a hyper-inflamed phenotype resistant to conventional anti-inflammatory and hypouricemic agents.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program Among Breast Cancer Survivors Post-Treatment: Evaluating Mediators of Cognitive Improvement.

Unlabelled: The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program for breast cancer survivors (MBSR [BCs]) is a stress-reducing program designed to increase cognitive functioning through four meditational practices. This randomized clinical trial aimed to determine if improvements in cognitive functioning and perceived cognitive abilities achieved from the MBSR(BC) were mediated through increased mindfulness, decreased rumination, and decreased perceived stress. Breast cancer survivors (BCSs) who met inclusion criteria of stage I, II, or III BC and received either chemotherapy (CT) or both CT and radiation were randomized to either the 6-week MBSR(BC), or Breast Cancer Education Support (BCES) program, or to a usual care (UC) regimen.

Economic burden of measles outbreaks: a cost-of-illness study in a middle-income country in the post-elimination era.

Objective: To estimate the direct costs associated with the diagnosis, treatment, and control of measles cases in Brazil from 2018 to 2020.

Methods: This cost-of-illness study utilized a prevalence-based approach, considering direct costs incurred by the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) related to measles outbreaks, including costs of inpatient care, outpatient care, and laboratory tests, as well as measles-containing vaccines and laboratory tests (viral isolation) used for outbreak control. Costs are presented in 2020 US dollars.