Background Benefits of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) have been observed in hypoxemic respiratory patients. Reports have shown the lack of observance among healthcare professionals of LTOT. Thus, this study aimed to determine the demographic characteristics and observance of the medical indication of LTOT according to the international guidelines. Methodology A cross-sectional study was conducted on patients who attended the Medical Unit in Aguascalientes, Mexico to re-evaluate the need for LTOT. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. Statistical analyses were performed using the chi-square test or unpaired t-tests. P-values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results From 813 outpatients attended to re-evaluate whether they met the medical criteria to use LTOT, 93 outpatients were excluded, and the remaining 714 outpatients were enrolled. The mean age of the patients was 70.0 ± 15.1 years, with a female gender predominance (59.1 %). The mean PaO level in room air was 7.9 ± 2.3 kPa. Hemoglobin and hematocrit levels were 14.9 ± 4.1 g/dL and 44.7 ± 8.4%, respectively. The mean levels of PaO were higher in female patients (8.1 ± 2.5 kPa vs. 7.6 ± 1.9 kPa; p = 0.01). The most common diagnosis was chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (60.5%). Moreover, the specialty that most indicated the use of LTOT was pulmonology (57.8%); however, 36.8% of patients who used LTOT did not have any criteria according to international guidelines. Conclusions Although a significant percentage of patients do not use LTOT correctly, the most important finding is that the medical indication of LTOT by physicians is not always correct, leading to an excessive prescription of oxygen.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.19634 | DOI Listing |
J Plant Physiol
December 2024
Federal Scientific Centre of the East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690022, Russia.
Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) are very effective calcium signal decoders due to their unique structure, which mediates substrate-specific [Ca] signalling through phosphorylation. However, Ca-dependence makes it challenging to study CDPKs. This work focused on the effects of the overexpression of native and modified forms of the AtCPK1 gene on the tolerance of tobacco plants to heat and cold.
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December 2024
Department of Ophthalmology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. Electronic address:
The increasing prevalence of LED technology heightened blue light (BL) exposure, raising concerns about its long-term effects on ocular health. This study investigated the transcriptomic response of conjunctiva to BL exposure, highlighting potential biomarkers for conjunctival injury. We exposed human conjunctival epithelial cells and C57BL/6 mice to BL to establish in vitro and in vivo models and identified the responsive genes in mice's conjunctiva to BL exposure by RNA sequencing transcriptome analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Biol Macromol
December 2024
Department of Dermatology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430022, China; Hubei Engineering Research Center for Skin Repair and Theranostics, Wuhan 430022, China. Electronic address:
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View Article and Find Full Text PDFRedox Biol
December 2024
Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine and Biocenter Oulu, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 3000, 90014, Oulu, Finland.
The increase in early-stage cancers, particularly gastrointestinal, breast and kidney cancers, has been linked to lifestyle changes such as consumption of processed foods and physical inactivity, which contribute to obesity and diabetes - major cancer risk factors. Conventional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation often lead to severe long-term side effects, including secondary cancers and tissue damage, highlighting the need for new, safer and more effective therapies, especially for young patients. Weak electromagnetic fields (WEMF) offer a promising non-invasive approach to cancer treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMembranes (Basel)
December 2024
School of Marine Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology at Weihai, Weihai 264209, China.
The issue of environmental pollution caused by wastewater discharge from fruit juice production has attracted increasing attention. However, the cost-effectiveness of conventional treatment technology remains insufficient. In this study, a gravity-driven membrane bioreactor (GDMBR) was developed to treat real fruit juice wastewater from secondary sedimentation at pressures ranging from 0.
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