Oncological outcomes of tumor ablation compared to surgical resection in early-stage hepatocellular carcinomas: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Background: The optimal choice of treatment for early-stage hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) remains controversial, with recent conflicted guidelines. This systematic review evaluated whether ablation is oncologically non-inferior to surgical resection.

Methods: We performed a systematic search of the EMBASE, MEDLINE, CENTRAL and Web of Science databases to identify randomized controlled trials comparing tumor ablation and surgical resection for early-stage HCCs.

Practicing nurses' and nursing students' perceptions of climate change: A scoping review.

Background: Human activities have significantly contributed to a persistent climate change trend, posing substantial threats to human health. Nurses regularly interact with patients experiencing the consequences of climate change, making their engagement in addressing this issue crucial. Nonetheless, our understanding of nurses' viewpoints regarding climate change remains limited.

Connected and supported: a scoping review of how online communities provide social support for breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: To (i) assess how and to what extent online communities are used among breast cancer survivors (BCS) as a source of social support, (ii) describe the kind of support BCS access through online communities, and (iii) explore how these communities foster social support for BCS that promotes well-being and reduces the challenges of survivorship.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review. A professional librarian performed a comprehensive search in multiple databases from January 2010 to May 2023.

Comparison of Weekly Paclitaxel Regimens in Recurrent Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer: A Single Institution Retrospective Study.

Weekly paclitaxel (WP) is a chemotherapeutic cornerstone in the management of patients with platinum-resistant ovarian carcinoma. Multiple WP dosing regimens have been used clinically and studied individually. However, no formal comparison of these regimens is available to provide objective guidance in clinical decision making.

Hidradenitis suppurativa patient requiring cardiac procedure with inguinal access: Case management with ertapenem.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that usually presents in young adults with painful abscesses in intertriginous areas. We present a case of severe hidradenitis suppurativa (Hidradenitis Suppurativa Investigator Global Assessment (HS-IGA) = 5; Hurley stage III) investigated by cardiology and respirology specialists for dyspnea. The patient's symptoms required right-sided cardiac catheterization via the right femoral vein in the inguinal area.

Platelet extracellular vesicles preserve lymphatic endothelial cell integrity and enhance lymphatic vessel function.

Lymphatic vessels are essential for preventing the accumulation of harmful components within peripheral tissues, including the artery wall. Various endogenous mechanisms maintain adequate lymphatic function throughout life, with platelets being essential for preserving lymphatic vessel integrity. However, since lymph lacks platelets, their impact on the lymphatic system has long been viewed as restricted to areas where lymphatics intersect with blood vessels.

Assessment of the economic relevance of the use of single-use digital flexible ureteroscopes A systematic review.

Introduction: Breakages and repairs related to flexible digital reusable ureteroscopes (flURS) are expensive. Thus, we aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of single-use flexible digital ureteroscopes ureteroscopes (SUFDU).

Methods: We conducted a literature review on MEDLINE and EMBASE until September 19, 2018.

Development and Validation of a Novel Human-Fixed Cadaveric Model Reproducing Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation for Simulation of Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery.

Background And Objectives: Endoscopic endonasal surgery is a well-established surgical approach to the skull base. Surgeons need a reusable long-lasting tool to acquire the skills needed for skull base reconstruction. The aim of this study was to elaborate and validate a human formalin-fixed cadaveric model that reproduces a realistic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation and that adequately renders a CSF leak.

Heparin Dose Intensity and Organ Support-Free Days in Patients Hospitalized for COVID-19.

Background: Clinical trials suggest that therapeutic-dose heparin may prevent critical illness and vascular complications due to COVID-19, but knowledge gaps exist regarding the efficacy of therapeutic heparin including its comparative effect relative to intermediate-dose anticoagulation.

Objectives: The authors performed 2 complementary secondary analyses of a completed randomized clinical trial: 1) a prespecified per-protocol analysis; and 2) an exploratory dose-based analysis to compare the effect of therapeutic-dose heparin with low- and intermediate-dose heparin.

Methods: Patients who received initial anticoagulation dosed consistently with randomization were included.

Optimizing in silico drug discovery: simulation of connected differential expression signatures and applications to benchmarking.

Background: We present a novel simulation method for generating connected differential expression signatures. Traditional methods have struggled with the lack of reliable benchmarking data and biases in drug-disease pair labeling, limiting the rigorous benchmarking of connectivity-based approaches.

Objective: Our aim is to develop a simulation method based on a statistical framework that allows for adjustable levels of parametrization, especially the connectivity, to generate a pair of interconnected differential signatures.

Revaccination outcomes among adolescents and adults with suspected hypersensitivity reactions following COVID-19 vaccination: A Canadian immunization research network study.

Background: COVID-19 vaccination has been associated with anaphylaxis and hypersensitivity reactions. Infectious disease physicians and allergists in the Canadian Special Immunization Clinic (SIC) Network developed guidance for evaluating patients with adverse events following immunization (AEFI) including suspected hypersensitivity. This study evaluated management and adverse event recurrence following subsequent COVID-19 vaccinations.

Mucosal bivalent live attenuated vaccine protects against human metapneumovirus and respiratory syncytial virus in mice.

Live-Attenuated Vaccines (LAVs) stimulate robust mucosal and cellular responses and have the potential to protect against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV), the main etiologic agents of viral bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children. We inserted the RSV-F gene into an HMPV-based LAV (Metavac®) we previously validated for the protection of mice against HMPV challenge, and rescued a replicative recombinant virus (Metavac®-RSV), exposing both RSV- and HMPV-F proteins at the virion surface and expressing them in reconstructed human airway epithelium models. When administered to BALB/c mice by the intranasal route, bivalent Metavac®-RSV demonstrated its capacity to replicate with reduced lung inflammatory score and to protect against both RSV and lethal HMPV challenges in vaccinated mice while inducing strong IgG and broad RSV and HMPV neutralizing antibody responses.

Role of Antitroponin Antibodies and Macrotroponin in the Clinical Interpretation of Cardiac Troponin.

Cardiac troponin is extensively used as a biomarker in modern medicine due to its diagnostic capability for myocardial injury, as well as its predictive and prognostic value for cardiac diseases. However, heterophile antibodies, antitroponin antibodies, and macrotroponin complexes can be observed both in seemingly healthy individuals and patients with cardiac diseases, potentially leading to false positive or disproportionate elevation of cTn (cardiac troponin) assay results and introducing discrepancies in clinical interpretations with impact on medical management. In this review article, we describe the possible mechanisms of cTn release and the sources of variations in the assessment of circulating cTn levels.

Premature thymic functional senescence is a hallmark of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivorship.

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) survivors suffer early-onset chronic diseases classically associated with aging. Normal aging is accompanied by organ dysfunctions, including immunological ones. We hypothesize that thymic immunosenescence occurs in cALL survivors and that its severity may correlate with early-onset chronic diseases.

Liberal or Restrictive Transfusion Strategy in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background: The effect of a liberal transfusion strategy as compared with a restrictive strategy on outcomes in critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury is unclear.

Methods: We randomly assigned adults with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury and anemia to receive transfusion of red cells according to a liberal strategy (transfusions initiated at a hemoglobin level of ≤10 g per deciliter) or a restrictive strategy (transfusions initiated at ≤7 g per deciliter). The primary outcome was an unfavorable outcome as assessed by the score on the Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended at 6 months, which we categorized with the use of a sliding dichotomy that was based on the prognosis of each patient at baseline.

Blood Pressure Management in Early Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A National Cross-Sectional Survey of Canadian Intensivists and Cerebrovascular Neurosurgeons.

Background: In aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), rebleeding of the culprit aneurysm is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Blood pressure reduction to specific target levels, with the goal of preventing rebleeding, has been a mainstay of care prior to definitively securing the aneurysm. Clinical practice guidelines have recently changed and no longer recommend specific blood pressure targets.

Relationship of Fatigue, Pain Interference, and Physical Disability in Children Newly Diagnosed With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Objective: Our objectives were to quantify the relationships among fatigue, pain interference, and physical disability in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and to test whether fatigue mediates the relationship between pain interference and physical disability in JIA.

Methods: Patients enrolled within three months of JIA diagnosis in the Canadian Alliance of Pediatric Rheumatology Investigators (CAPRI) Registry between February 2017 and May 2023 were included. Their parents completed the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System fatigue and pain interference short proxy questionnaires and the Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index at registry enrollment.

The Changing Landscape of Respiratory Viruses Contributing to Hospitalizations in Quebec, Canada: Results From an Active Hospital-Based Surveillance Study.

Background: A comprehensive description of the combined effect of SARS-CoV-2 and respiratory viruses other than SARS-CoV-2 (ORVs) on acute respiratory infection (ARI) hospitalizations is lacking.

Objective: This study aimed to compare the viral etiology of ARI hospitalizations before the pandemic (8 prepandemic influenza seasons, 2012-13 to 2019-20) and during 3 pandemic years (periods of increased SARS-CoV-2 and ORV circulation in 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23) from an active hospital-based surveillance network in Quebec, Canada.

Methods: We compared the detection of ORVs and SARS-CoV-2 during 3 pandemic years to that in 8 prepandemic influenza seasons among patients hospitalized with ARI who were tested systematically by the same multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay during periods of intense respiratory virus (RV) circulation.

Comparison of rectal swabs and fecal samples for the detection of infections with a new in-house PCR assay.

Unlabelled: The detection of infections (CDI) relies on testing the stool of patients by toxin antigen detection or PCR methods. Although PCR and antigenic methods have significantly reduced the time to results, delays in stool collection can significantly add to the turnaround time. The use of rectal swabs to detect could considerably reduce the time to diagnosis of CDI.

Impact of Recombinant VSV-HIV Prime, DNA-Boost Vaccine Candidates on Immunogenicity and Viremia on SHIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques.

Currently, no effective vaccine to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is available, and various platforms are being examined. The vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vaccine vehicle can induce robust humoral and cell-mediated immune responses, making it a suitable candidate for the development of an HIV vaccine. Here, we analyze the protective immunological impacts of recombinant VSV vaccine vectors that express chimeric HIV Envelope proteins (Env) in rhesus macaques.