α-2,6-sialic acid/IgG anti-dsDNA ratios correlate with human lupus disease activity and possible mechanisms: A pilot study.

Objective: To study the association of α2,6-sialic acid (SIA) content in serum IgG anti-dsDNA with human systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) and the effect of sialylated and desialylated (deSIA) IgG anti-dsDNA on lupus B cells.

Methods: Blood from lupus patients was collected to determine the ratio of SIA in isolated IgG anti-dsDNA over serum IgG anti-dsDNA (SIA/IgG anti-dsDNA) ratios, which were plotted against SLEDAI using a receiver-operating-characteristics curve. Lupus B cells were cultured in vitro with chimeric sialylated IgG anti-dsDNA and its deSIA form.

Role of helmet ventilation during the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization; it has affected millions of people and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Patients with COVID-19 pneumonia may develop acute hypoxia respiratory failure and require noninvasive respiratory support or invasive respiratory management. Healthcare workers have a high risk of contracting COVID-19 while fitting respiratory devices.

Clinical Significance of Frailty on Treatment Outcome in Nongeriatric Patients With Head and Neck Cancer and Esophageal Cancer Undergoing Curative-Intent Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy.

Background: Whether the prevalence of frailty and its clinical significance are relevant to treatment outcomes in younger (aged < 65 years) cancer patients remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of frailty on treatment outcomes in younger cancer patients with head and neck and esophageal malignancy.

Material And Methods: This multicenter prospective study recruited 502 patients with locally advanced head and neck and esophageal cancer during 2016-2017 in Taiwan, aged 20-64 years who received curative-intent concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) as first-line antitumor treatment.

Survival after multiple nail gun injuries to the brain, lung, and heart: a case report and a review of the literature.

Most nail gun injuries involve the extremities and result from work-related accidents. Injuries to the brain or thorax are relatively rare, and cases with injuries to both regions are even rarer and often lethal. Initial evaluation, resuscitation, and surgical planning can be challenging for emergency physicians and surgeons.

Biomechanical Comparison of Different Numbers and Configurations of Cross-Links in Long-Segment Spinal Fixation-An Experimental Study in a Porcine Model.

Study Design: Biomechanical study.

Objective: Cross-links are a type of common clinical spinal instrumentation. However, the effects of the position and number of cross-links have never been investigated in long-segment spinal fixation, and the variables have not been optimized.

Increased incidence, morbidity, and mortality in cirrhotic patients with hip fractures: A nationwide population-based study.

Objectives: Hip fractures mostly require surgical treatment and are associated with increased health-care costs and mortality rates. Patients with cirrhosis have low bone marrow density and inferior immune status which contribute to a higher fracture rate and higher surgical complication rate. This population-based study evaluated the prevalence, complication, and mortality rates due to hip fractures in cirrhotic patients.

Atrial fibrillation trial to evaluate real-world procedures for their utility in helping to lower stroke events: A randomized clinical trial.

Background: Enhancing detection of unrecognized atrial fibrillation among acute ischemic stroke patients is crucial for secondary stroke prevention.

Aim: To evaluate whether the detection rate of new atrial fibrillation in acute ischemic stroke patients without known atrial fibrillation could be improved by doing serial 12-lead electrocardiograms once daily for five days, compared with conventional 24-h Holter monitoring (24-h Holter).

Methods: We conducted a randomized clinical trial to compare the detection rates of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation between serial electrocardiograms versus 24-h Holter from October 2015 to October 2018 at six hospitals.

Clinical Features and Risk Factors for Mortality in Children With Acute Encephalitis Who Present to the Emergency Department.

Acute encephalitis is an important pediatric emergency that tends to be associated with neurological morbidity, critical illness, and mortality. Few data have specifically focused on evaluating various early clinical parameters in the pediatric emergency department as candidate predictors of mortality. The present retrospective study assessed the clinical, laboratory, and neuroimaging findings of children with acute encephalitis who presented to the emergency department.