Opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently recommended for patients aged 65 years and older. However, this has recently been called into question by two studies that report that opportunistic screening is no more effective than usual care. Furthermore, there seems to be no consensus on which is the most effective screening strategy (opportunistic or systematic). Thus, we aimed to compare the different AF detection strategies with each other using the methodology of systematic review with network meta-analysis. An electronic database search of MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and EMBASE was performed. In addition, we also searched OpenGrey, experts' knowledge and screened the reference list of included studies or other relevant publications. The search was performed on the 2nd of November of 2020 and updated on the 20th of September of 2021. We performed a random-effects pairwise meta-analysis and a random-effects network meta-analysis within a frequentist framework in an intention to screen analysis. We reported the results as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). We assessed the confidence in the evidence using the GRADE framework. Nine studies were included, enrolling 80,665 participants. Pooled effect sizes suggested that systematic screening was effective when compared with usual care (RR 2.11; 95% CI 1.48-3.02; high GRADE confidence) and when compared with opportunistic screening (RR 1.86; CI 1.23-2.82; high GRADE confidence) but no significant difference was found between opportunistic screening and usual care (RR 1.13; 95% CI 0.79-1.63; low GRADE confidence). Systematic screening was the most effective strategy for detecting atrial fibrillation in individuals aged 65 years or older. Opportunistic screening was no more effective than usual care, but the results were weakened by a low quality of evidence due to risk of bias of the included studies and imprecision in the results. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020218672.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00392-022-02117-9 | DOI Listing |
BMC Infect Dis
January 2025
Department of Oncology, General Hospital of Western Theatre Command, No. 270, Tianhui Road, Rongdu Avenue, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610000, People's Republic of China.
Background: Nocardia are widely present in nature and considered opportunistic pathogens. They can result in hematogenous spread infection through the ruptured skin or respiratory tract when the host's immune system is compromised. Currently, 119 species of Nocardia have been identified, with 54 capable of causing infections in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur Radiol
January 2025
Department of Radiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Objective: To evaluate the repeatability of AI-based automatic measurement of vertebral and cardiovascular markers on low-dose chest CT.
Methods: We included participants of the population-based Imaging in Lifelines (ImaLife) study with low-dose chest CT at baseline and 3-4 month follow-up. An AI system (AI-Rad Companion chest CT prototype) performed automatic segmentation and quantification of vertebral height and density, aortic diameters, heart volume (cardiac chambers plus pericardial fat), and coronary artery calcium volume (CACV).
United European Gastroenterol J
January 2025
Gastroenterology Department, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBEREHD), Hospital General Universitario Dr Balmis de Alicante, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria y Biomédica de Alicante (ISABIAL), Madrid, Spain.
Background: Leishmaniasis (LI) is a vector-borne illness caused by a protozoan of the genus Leishmania. Data on the features of LI in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are scarce.
Aim: To describe the characteristics of patients with IBD who present with leishmaniasis, infection outcomes and the risk factors associated with developing visceral leishmaniasis (VL).
J Bras Nefrol
January 2025
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Clínica, Niterói, RJ, Brazil.
Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that infection by enteroparasites can affect ~3.5 billion people around the world. Hemodialysis (HD) patients may be more susceptible to infections by opportunistic pathogens due to impaired immune function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMycopathologia
January 2025
Department of Clinical Microbiology, St. James Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.
Magnusiomyces capitatus is an environmental fungus found in soil, water, air, plants, and dairy products which may cause opportunistic infections in patients with haematological disorders resulting in high mortality rates. This series of the first reported cases in Ireland discusses investigation of two patients with underlying haematological disorders, hospitalised in the Irish National Adult Stem Cell Transplant Unit (NASCTU), who developed line-related fungaemias with M. capitatus within a three-month period.
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