Prolonged pleural drainage and chylothorax are common in postoperative Fontan patients and are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Multiple medical and interventional treatment strategies exist and vary between centers. This is a retrospective multicenter observational cohort study of pediatric patients who underwent Fontan operation at 8 pediatric cardiac surgical institutions from 1/1/2019 to 12/31/2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe introduction of non-native fish species into new environments has raised global concerns due to potential ecological impacts on recipient ecosystems. A previous study focusing on the introduced fish species Arapaima gigas in Bolivian Amazon waters showed that its isotopic niche significantly overlapped with most co-occurring native fish species, suggesting potential competition. To evaluate this hypothesis, we extended here the investigation by comparing the trophic position and isotopic niche width of eleven abundant native fish species inhabiting both colonized and non-colonized floodplain lakes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough medical advancements have improved the mortality of CHD, morbidity still exists, impacting patient quality of life. Returning to baseline in the early surgical recovery phase is an area of potential improvement. This preliminary project aims to qualitatively understand CHD family perspectives concerning the immediate postoperative recovery phase.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Defining "high-risk bladder" or "high-pressure bladder" involves recognizing the potential for an unsafe lower urinary tract, where dysfunction in storage and micturition can threaten upper urinary tract health, leading to unfavorable outcomes like dialysis, recurrent infections, systemic impact, or mortality.
Methods: ICI-RS was held in Bristol in June 2024, and Think Tank 2 aimed to define research priorities including identifying clinical predictors and developing prevention and monitoring strategies.
Results: Risk factors encompass both congenital and neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction, bladder outlet obstruction, vascular diseases, and inflammatory disorders, but a validated stratification risk is lacking.
Background: Chylothorax after pediatric cardiac surgery is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Poor understanding exists regarding inflammation within the pleural fluid. Our aim was to determine the relationship between proinflammatory markers and chylothorax.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Outcomes for children with heart disease improved over the past decades. Quality improvement (QI) research in paediatric cardiac critical care is a key driver of improvement. The availability and variability of QI research across the field is unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF: A reliable assessment of liver volume, necessary before transplantation, remains a challenge. Our work aimed to assess the differences in the evaluation and measurements of the liver between independent observers and compare different formulas calculating its volume in relation to volumetric segmentation. : Eight researchers measured standard liver dimensions based on 105 abdominal computed tomography (CT) scans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: Working in a healthcare setting is associated with high levels of stress and burnout syndrome. Work-related quality of life (WRQoL) remains insufficiently evaluated among physicians. The aim of this study is to assess the WRQoL among physicians of interventional, non-interventional, and diagnostic specialties in Poland.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: To assess the effectiveness of contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) recombinant images in detecting malignant lesions in patients with extremely dense breasts compared to the all-densities population.
Material And Methods: 792 patients with 808 breast lesions, in whom the final decision on core-needle biopsy was made based on CEM, and who received the result of histopathological examination, were qualified for a single-centre, retrospective study. Patient electronic records and imaging examinations were reviewed to establish demographics, clinical and imaging findings, and histopathology results.
Seagrass habitats play a major role in fisheries productivity through nursery functions and feeding grounds for diverse fish species. However, little is known about the seasonal distribution of fish larvae at large spatial scales in coastal East Africa. We investigated drivers of the seasonal fish larvae abundance and composition in seagrass habitats in Kenya and Tanzania.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Probl Diagn Radiol
July 2024
Purpose: The ultrasound specialists face a substantial issue with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs), characterized by occupation-related pain, reaching an estimated frequency of up to 90.5%. The type and location of pain vary depending on the sonographers specialty and the specific anatomical areas being examined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn highly seasonal systems, the emergence of planktonic resting stages from the sediment is a key driver for bloom timing and plankton community composition. The termination of the resting phase is often linked to environmental cues, but the extent to which recruitment of resting stages is affected by climate change remains largely unknown for coastal environments. Here we investigate phyto- and zooplankton recruitment from oxic sediments in the Baltic Sea in a controlled experiment under proposed temperature and light increase during the spring and summer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn aquatic ecosystems, zooplankton-associated bacteria potentially have a great impact on the structure of ecosystems and trophic networks by providing various metabolic pathways and altering the ecological niche of host species. To understand the composition and drivers of zooplankton gut microbiota, we investigated the associated microbial communities of four zooplankton genera from different seasons in the Baltic Sea using the 16S rRNA gene. Among the 143 ASVs (amplified sequence variants) observed belonging to heterotrophic bacteria, 28 ASVs were shared across all zooplankton hosts over the season, and these shared core ASVs represented more than 25% and up to 60% of relative abundance in zooplankton hosts but were present at low relative abundance in the filtered water.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Artificial intelligence-based large language models, like ChatGPT, have been rapidly assessed for both risks and potential in health-related assessment and learning. However, their applications in public health professional exams have not yet been studied. We evaluated the performance of ChatGPT in part of the Faculty of Public Health's Diplomat exam (DFPH).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To evaluate the association between postoperative cumulative fluid balance (FB) and development of chylothorax in neonates after cardiac surgery.
Design: Multicenter, retrospective cohort identified within the Neonatal and Pediatric Heart and Renal Outcomes Network (NEPHRON) Registry.
Setting: Twenty-two hospitals were involved with NEPHRON, from September 2015 to January 2018.
Introduction: Chylothorax following paediatric cardiac surgery is associated with significant morbidity, particularly those that are refractory to conservative therapy. It is our impression that there is important variability in the medical, surgical, and interventional therapies used to manage refractory chylothorax between congenital heart programmes. We therefore conducted a survey study of current practices for managing refractory chylothorax.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Benign prostatic enlargement (BPE) can impact lower urinary tract function due to its potential progression to benign prostatic obstruction (BPO). Treatment options include removal of the obstruction by surgery or through use of therapeutics designed to slow growth or reduce tissue stress imposed by muscular stromal components. Inflammation and development of fibrosis can also raise intrinsic tissue stress within the gland, further impacting obstruction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The nitric oxide (NO•)/soluble guanylate cyclase/cyclic-GMP (cGMP) signaling pathway is ubiquitous and regulates several functions in physiological systems as diverse as the vascular, nervous, and renal systems. However, its roles in determining normal and abnormal lower urinary tract functions are unclear. The aim was to identify potential therapeutic targets associated with this pathway to manage lower urinary tract functional disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer, as the second leading cause of death in the world, is one of the major public health concerns today. Accurate diagnosis and prompt initiation of adequate treatment are of key importance for prognosis. Abbreviated magnetic resonance protocols (AMRI) are promising techniques based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols that shorten acquisition time without significant loss of examination quality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDue to its chemical properties, functional responses to nitric oxide (NO) are often difficult to examine. In the present study, we established a method to produce NO in an aqueous solution and validated its capacity to evoke functional responses in isolated rat bladders. Furthermore, we compared the NO responses to the commonly used NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Analysis of the morphology of lesions classified into the BI-RADS 4 category and assessment of the possibility of downgrade the BI-RADS category in those that did not show enhancement on recombinant contrast-enhanced mammography (CEM) images.
Method: The retrospective, single-center study included 528 patients who underwent a core needle biopsy performed from January 2017 to November 2022 due to a breast lesion classified as BI-RADS 4 on CEM. Patients' electronic records and imaging examinations were reviewed.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)
August 2023
The most frequent extrathyroidal Graves' disease manifestation is Graves' orbitopathy (GO). The treatment of GO is determined by its severity and activity. There is currently no reliable, impartial method for assessing it clinically or distinguishing fibrosis from active inflammatory disorders.
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