Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a public health concern, especially in resource-constrained countries like Cameroon. TB drug resistance is a major obstacle to control and prevent.
Design: Data from 2014 to 2016 on the outcome of anti-TB treatment in the Littoral Region were reviewed manually and analysed using the meta-analysis concept. The treatment success rates (TSR) were the primary outcome used for this study. The heterogeneity statistics ( ) was computed to orientate the choice of the best statistical model (binary fixed effect or random) to compute pooled value of TSR.
Results: Using an intention-to-treat analysis, the pooled proportions of HIV-uninfected TB patients successfully cured from TB were low and slightly decreased by 1% between 2014 and 2016. Regarding HIV-infected TB patients, pooled values of TSR were lower than those of their HIV-negative counterparts with values ranging from 71% (95% CI: 63%-83%; = 71.16%) in 2014 to 68% (95% CI: 58%-79%; = 70.97%) in 2016. In addition, no heterogeneity was found in three years ( = 0.0%; value = 1). These cure rates were strongly and negatively correlated with the rates of patients lost to follow-up regardless of the year. In HIV-infected patients, the pooled values of ITT analysis-based treatment success rates were 73% ( = 13.92, value = 0.0002), 71% ( = 7.26, value = 0.007), and 68% ( = 8.02, value = 0.004), respectively. The coverage rates with cotrimoxazole (CTX) gradually increased over year ranging from 78.90% in 2014 to 94.17% in 2016, similar to the coverage rate for ARV therapy that was 60.06% in 2014 against 90% in 2016. A positive and statistically significant correlation was found between the success of the anti-TB therapy in HIV-infected patients and coverage rates with CTX and ARV.
Conclusion: An improvement in the reduction of percentage of lost to follow-up and coverage with CTX and ARV therapy could greatly increase chances to efficiently control TB in Cameroon.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8298291 | DOI Listing |
Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg
January 2025
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA.
Objective: To provide an updated evaluation of clinical effectiveness and sequelae of maxillomandibular advancement surgery in obstructive sleep apnea.
Data Sources: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL.
Review Methods: Included studies described patients with obstructive sleep apnea that completed maxillomandibular advancement with any reported sequelae.
Int J Med Robot
February 2025
Department of Urology, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao, China.
Background: The emergence of telesurgery has received global interest, with secure network transmission identified as a crucial determinant of its success. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and viability of employing quantum cryptography communication in remote partial nephrectomy.
Methods: The surgeon operated on the patient from a distance of over 260 km using remote control of a surgical robot.
Therapies against hematological malignancies using chimeric antigen receptors (CAR)-T cells have shown great potential; however, therapeutic success in solid tumors has been constrained due to limited tumor trafficking and infiltration, as well as the scarcity of cancer-specific solid tumor antigens. Therefore, the enrichment of tumor-antigen specific CAR-T cells in the desired region is critical for improving therapy efficacy and reducing systemic on-target/off-tumor side effects. Here, we functionalized human CAR-T cells with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), making them magnetically controllable for site-directed targeting.
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January 2025
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Al Thagher General Hospital, Jeddah, SAU.
Heterotopic pregnancy is defined as the concurrent presence of both an intrauterine pregnancy and an extrauterine (typically ectopic) pregnancy. This report presents the case of a 36-year-old female patient who presented to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain. A comprehensive evaluation, including transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound imaging, revealed a heterotopic pregnancy at an estimated gestational age of six weeks and two days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCureus
January 2025
Department of Surgery, King Saud University, College of Medicine, Riyadh, SAU.
Laparoscopic liver resection (LLR) is a minimally invasive surgical approach. Initially utilized for low-risk procedures, such as the resection of benign lesions, now LLR has evolved to include more complex operations such as metastatic lesions. We present in this article two cases with liver metastasis who underwent a successful two-stage total LLR: a 57-year-old man diagnosed with sigmoid cancer and liver metastasis and a 36-year-old man diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor and liver metastasis.
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