Publications by authors named "West N"

Background: The FOxTROT trial has reported advantages of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in locally advanced colon cancer (LACC). Here we present results of the embedded randomized phase II trial testing the addition of panitumumab to neoadjuvant FOLFOX compared with FOLFOX alone in RAS and BRAF-wild-type patients and with biomarker hyperselction.

Patients And Methods: Patients had operable, CT-predicted stage T3-4, N0-2, M0 colon adenocarcinoma.

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Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder caused by decreased activity of the enzyme porphobilinogen deaminase in the heme synthesis pathway. This leads to the accumulation of toxic porphyrin precursors, such as porphobilinogen and δ-aminolevulinic acid. Clinical manifestations typically include episodic bouts of severe neurovisceral pain and autonomic dysfunction.

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Rate coefficients for the reaction of CH with CHO were measured for the first time over the temperature range of 37-603 K, with the CH radicals produced by pulsed laser photolysis and detected by CH radical chemiluminescence following their reaction with O. The low temperature measurements (≤93 K) relevant to the interstellar medium were made within a Laval nozzle gas expansion, while higher temperature measurements (≥308 K) were made within a temperature controlled reaction cell. The rate coefficients display a negative temperature dependence below 300 K, reaching (1.

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Background: Qualitative experience data can inform health care providers how to best support families during pediatric postoperative recovery. Patient experience data can also provide actionable information to guide health care quality improvement; positive feedback can confirm the efficacy of current practices and systems, while negative comments can identify areas for improvement.

Objective: This study aimed to understand families' perspectives regarding their children's surgical recovery using qualitative patient experience data (free-text comments) from a prospective cohort study conducted within a larger study developing a postoperative-outcome risk stratification model.

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Introduction: Adolescents and young adults are at risk of poor adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment and subsequently worse TB treatment outcomes. Digital adherence technologies, including the mobile phone-based 99DOTS platform, can support TB treatment, but there is limited data on their use among adolescents.

Objective: To evaluate factors associated with the uptake of 99DOTS among adolescents with TB.

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Objective: To evaluate cochlear implant speech perception among patients with sporadic inner ear schwannoma who underwent ipsilateral implantation.

Study Design: Retrospective multi-institutional cohort study.

Setting: Eleven tertiary academic medical centers across Germany, Denmark, and the United States.

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Background: Local priming of the innate immune system with a Toll-like receptor (TLR)2/6 agonist may reduce morbidity and mortality associated with viral respiratory tract infections, particularly for the elderly and those with chronic diseases. The objectives of the present study were to understand the potential of prophylactic treatment with a TLR2/6 agonist as an enhancer of innate immunity pathways leading to accelerated respiratory virus clearance from the upper airways.

Methods: Two randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials were conducted in healthy adult participants.

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Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death for women, yet they remain underrepresented in interventional CAD studies. Women have been shown to be at increased risk of mortality and major adverse events after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The poorer outcomes are likely because women are typically diagnosed with CAD late, at an older age, with more comorbidities, and with more challenging anatomy including smaller vessels and higher prevalence of coronary artery calcification.

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Article Synopsis
  • Coronary intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is an effective method for stent implantation in severely calcified lesions, specifically those with calcified nodules (CNs).
  • In a study of 155 patients, IVL demonstrated similar outcomes in terms of stent area and expansion, regardless of the presence of CNs, even though CNs had higher calcium volume and angle.
  • The 2-year rate of target lesion failure was not significantly different between CN and non-CN lesions, suggesting that further research is needed to evaluate different treatment methods for these types of lesions.
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Background: The recent World Health Organization (WHO) resolution on oral health urges pivoting to a preventive approach and integration of oral health into the non-communicable diseases agenda. This study aimed to: 1) explore the healthcare costs of managing dental caries between the ages of 12 and 65 years across socioeconomic groups in six countries (Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, UK), and 2) estimate the potential reduction in direct costs from non-targeted and targeted oral health-promoting interventions.

Methods: A cohort simulation model was developed to estimate the direct costs of dental caries over time for different socioeconomic groups.

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Tuberculosis (TB) caused by has been a threat to human health for thousands of years and still leads to millions of deaths each year. TB is a disease that is refractory to treatment, partially due to its capacity for in-host persistence. The cell wall of mycobacteria, rich in mycolic acid, is broadly associated with bacterial persistence together with antimicrobial and immunological resistance.

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Article Synopsis
  • Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, especially mutants resistant to isoniazid, creates significant global health challenges due to mutations in the katG gene, affecting a crucial enzyme.
  • Researchers employed CRISPRi, transcriptomics, and metabolomics to identify metabolic and transcriptional changes in an isoniazid-resistant katG mutant, revealing new weaknesses in processes like respiration and ribosome biogenesis.
  • The study indicates that these identified vulnerabilities could be targeted for therapeutic strategies, offering potential improvements in treatment effectiveness against drug-resistant tuberculosis strains.
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Article Synopsis
  • The text discusses the challenges in treating below-the-knee (BTK) lesions, particularly due to their complexity and calcification, with existing studies showing varied outcomes and often excluding severely calcified cases.
  • The Disrupt BTK II study aimed to assess the efficacy of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) on patients with moderate to severe calcification in BTK lesions, enrolling 250 subjects across various sites in the U.S. and Europe, focusing on safety and procedural success.
  • The results showed a high procedural success rate of 97.9%, with significant reductions in stenosis after treatment, and no major adverse limb events reported at the 30-day mark, indicating IVL may be an effective option
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Background: Patients with refractory angina are often ineligible for revascularization and have poor quality of life despite optimal medical therapy. The coronary sinus (CS) Reducer (Shockwave Medical Inc) was safe and effective in the treatment of refractory angina in the COSIRA (Coronary Sinus Reducer for Treatment of Refractory Angina) randomized sham-controlled trial.

Objectives: This study sought to perform the primary endpoint analysis of the complete REDUCER-I (An Observational Study of the Neovasc Reducer System) study cohort.

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Background: Malaria infection is associated with many adverse outcomes for pregnant women and neonates, yet pregnant women in East and Southern Africa remain frequently exposed to malaria. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) can help prevent malarial infections and the associated adverse events. The Hati Salama (HASA) study was a cluster-randomized controlled trial implemented in 100 antenatal health facilities in urban and rural settings of Tanzania that provided pregnant women in both intervention and control groups with e-vouchers to redeem for LLINs for malaria prevention.

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Objectives: Each year, 5.3 million children under 5 years of age die in low-resource settings, often due to delayed recognition of disease severity, inadequate treatment, or a lack of supplies. We describe the use of a comprehensive digital facility-readiness survey tool, recently developed by the Pediatric Sepsis Data CoLaboratory, which aims to identify target areas for quality improvement related to pediatric emergency and critical care.

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Purpose Of Review: To explore the impact of digitally-enabled peer support interventions on diabetes distress and depression for individuals living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

Recent Findings: We synthesized the results of nine key studies from a review of 3,623 English-language articles published between January 2012 and January 2024. Three studies demonstrated significant reductions in diabetes distress, and two studies reported reductions in depression.

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