Prescription and Usage Pattern of Opioids after Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery.

Objective: We seek to characterize the prescribing patterns of opioids, opioid consumption, and pain severity after thyroid and parathyroid surgery. We also aim to determine if a relationship exists between preoperative medication use and postoperative pain or opioid consumption.

Study Design: Case series with chart review.

Participation, Retention, and Utilization of a Web-Based Chronic Disease Self-Management Intervention Among Older Adults.

Background: Web-based self-management (web-based SM) interventions provide a potential resource for older adults to engage in their own chronic disease management. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of age on participation, retention, and utilization of a web-based SM intervention.

Materials And Methods: This study reports the results of a secondary data analysis of the effects of age in a randomized trial of a web-based diabetes SM intervention.

Health-Related Quality of Life after Restorative Proctocolectomy: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background And Aims:: Patients undergoing restorative proctocolectomy have often suffered from active ulcerative colitis which should be remembered when assessing quality of life after operation. The aim of this study was to explore health-related quality of life after restorative proctocolectomy in those with poor or good pouch function and to compare that to patients with active or inactive ulcerative colitis and to the general population.

Material And Methods:: Altogether, 282 restorative proctocolectomy patients were investigated.

Factors Predictive of Postoperative Acute Respiratory Failure Following Inpatient Sinus Surgery.

Objective: The impact of perioperative risk factors on outcomes following outpatient sinus surgery is well defined; however, risk factors and outcomes following inpatient surgery remain poorly understood. We aimed to define risk factors of postoperative acute respiratory failure following inpatient sinus surgery.

Methods: Utilizing data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample Database from the years 2010 to 2014, we identified patients (≥18 years of age) with an Internal Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) procedure code of sinus surgery.

Neuropathological Developments in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

A wide variety of neuropathological abnormalities have been investigated in infants who have died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Issues which detracted from early studies included failure to use uniform definitions of SIDS and lack of appropriately matched control populations. Development of the triple risk model focused attention on the concept of an inherent susceptibility to unexpected death in certain infants, with research demonstrating a role for the neurotransmitter serotonin within the brainstem.

Efficacy of Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Transplantation in Rat Models with Traumatic Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disease that results in severe motor, sensory, and autonomic dysfunction, for which there are currently no available treatments. Subsequent to the primary mechanical damage, progressive secondary damage further exacerbates the functional deficit. Demyelination may play an important role in the pathogenesis of SCI.

Incidence of Vestibular Schwannoma over the Past Half-Century: A Population-Based Study of Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Objective The absence of a centralized health system has limited epidemiologic research surrounding vestibular schwannoma (VS) in the United States. The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) comprises a unique medical consortium that covers a complete population of all ages in a well-defined geographic region over the past half-century. The objective of this study was to characterize the incidence of sporadic VS over this extended period.

Cognitive and educational outcomes of maltreated and non-maltreated youth: A birth cohort study.

Objectives: Previous research suggests that child maltreatment is associated with adverse outcomes, but the potential impact on cognitive and educational outcomes into adulthood has rarely been studied using a birth cohort design. The aim of this study is to investigate whether child maltreatment is associated with adverse outcomes in cognitive function, high school completion and employment by the age of 21.

Methods: Longitudinal birth cohort study commencing in the prenatal period, with mothers and infants followed up to age 21.

Association Between Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Severe Male Reproductive Organ Impairment (Germinal Epithelial Loss): Study on a Mouse Model and on Human Patients.

Metabolic syndrome (MS) has been associated with testicular damage. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a multisystemic disease that affects different organs, but its effect on the testes is unknown. A study analyzing germ cell involvement on BALB/c mice was carried out.

CHA2DS2-VASc score for prediction of ischemic stroke in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus without atrial fibrillation.

Objective We conducted this study to assess the role of CHA2DS2-VASc score in predicting ischemic stroke among systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients without atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods We selected the SLE patients from the Registry of Catastrophic Illnesses Patient Database in Taiwan. We excluded the SLE patients with AF or atrial flutter.

The association of genotype polymorphisms with vascular access patency in hemodialysis patients.

Some hemodialysis patients suffer from repeat dysfunction of dialysis vascular access and need procedures of angioplasty, thrombectomy, and even temporary catheter use. Why these patients are vulnerable to vascular access dysfunction and how to improve its patency are imperative to be discovered. Traditional risk factors for vascular access function had been widely investigated but could not fully explain this question.

Evidence-Based Medicine in Otolaryngology Part 7: Introduction to Shared Decision Making.

Shared decision making (SDM) is a collaborative process in which patients, families, and clinicians develop a mutually agreed upon treatment plan when more than one reasonable treatment option exists. This cooperative engagement fosters improvements in patient satisfaction, disease management, and outcomes and also has the capacity to promote evidence-based care. Thus, this seventh installment of our Evidence-Based Medicine in Otolaryngology series focuses on SDM.

Whether Patients Want It or Not, Physician Recommendations Will Convince Them to Accept HIV Testing.

Physicians are not routinely offering patients HIV testing, partly due to perceived patient discomfort with discussing HIV. This study assessed patients' comfort level and whether physician recommendations can overcome any discomfort that does exist. In a publicly funded primary care clinic, we administered a survey exploring patient facilitators to HIV testing, with 266 patients answering the 2 main survey questions of interest.

Extensive Cutaneous Botryomycosis With Subsequent Development of Nocardia-Positive Wound Cultures.

Botryomycosis is a rare, chronic granulomatous infection caused by a response to bacteria, most commonly Staphylococcus aureus. Cutaneous manifestations, such as subcutaneous nodules, nonhealing ulcers, or sinus tracks, typically occur following inoculation of bacteria after trauma. Drainage from the skin lesions may contain yellow grains resembling those seen in actinomycosis and nocardiosis.

Moderately hypofractionated prostate external-beam radiotherapy: an emerging standard.

Research over recent years has demonstrated that curative external-beam radiotherapy can be safely and efficaciously delivered with roughly half the number of treatments which was previously considered standard. We review the data supporting this change in practice, methods for implementation, as well as emerging future directions.

Staged Palliation of Cyanotic Obstructive Lesions With a Modified Right Ventricular Outflow Procedure.

Background: Traditional palliation for biventricular cyanotic congenital heart lesions often involves staging with systemic-to-pulmonary arterial shunts to secure pulmonary blood flow (PBF) in the newborn period prior to complete repair. However, shunts may lead to life-threatening events secondary to shunt occlusion or acute coronary steal. They may be associated with morbidity secondary to diastolic runoff, systemic steal and volume loading, and do not provide pulsatile flow which has the potential to promote pulmonary artery (PA) growth.