Guidelines for management of actual or suspected inadvertent intra-arterial injection of sclerosants.

Background: Inadvertent intra-arterial injection of sclerosants is an uncommon adverse event of both ultrasound-guided and direct vision sclerotherapy. This complication can result in significant tissue or limb loss and significant long-term morbidity.

Objectives: To provide recommendations for diagnosis and immediate management of an unintentional intra-arterial injection of sclerosing agents.

High end-of-treatment hepatitis B core-related antigen levels predict hepatitis flare after stopping nucleot(s)ide analogue therapy.

Background And Aims: Accurate biomarkers to predict outcomes following discontinuation of nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) therapy are needed. We evaluated serum hepatitis B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) level as a biomarker for predicting outcomes after NA discontinuation.

Methods: Patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) without cirrhosis were enrolled in a prospective trial evaluating clinical outcomes until 96 weeks after NA discontinuation.

Induction cyclophosphamide with maintenance immunosuppression in high-risk myasthenia gravis: long-term follow-up and safety profile.

Background: Patients with refractory or high-risk myasthenia gravis (MG) respond poorly to conventional immunosuppressive therapy, requiring rescue therapies and often experiencing treatment toxicity. Rescue and injectable therapies do not induce remission and require repetitive administration leading to significant constraints on patients and the healthcare system. This long-term follow-up study demonstrates cyclophosphamide as a rapidly effective and safe treatment in patients with refractory or high-risk MG.

Protocol Variation in Functional Coronary Angiography Among Patients With Suspected Angina With Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries: A Nationwide Snapshot of Current Practice Within Australia and New Zealand.

Background: Functional coronary angiography (FCA) for endotype characterisation (vasospastic angina [VSA], coronary microvascular disease [CMD], or mixed) is recommended among patients with angina with non-obstructive coronary arteries. Whilst clear diagnostic criteria for VSA and CMD exist, there is no standardised FCA protocol. Variations in testing protocol may limit the widespread uptake of testing, generalisability of results, and expansion of collaborative research.

A recurrent missense variant in ITPR3 causes demyelinating Charcot-Marie-Tooth with variable severity.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is a neuromuscular disorder affecting the peripheral nervous system. The diagnostic yield in demyelinating CMT (CMT1) is typically ∼80-95%, of which at least 60% is due to the PMP22 gene duplication. The remainder of CMT1 is more genetically heterogeneous.

Factors Correlated with Anticoagulation Choice in Primary Care Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and High Stroke Risk.

Background: The available data on anticoagulation therapy in real-world primary care settings for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at high risk of stroke is limited.

Objective: To evaluate anticoagulation therapy and elucidate the factors associated with the selection between direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and warfarin.

Design And Participants: This is a retrospective cohort study that included patients ≥ 18 years old at a large primary care outpatient group, a network of twenty clinics in the northeast United States between January 4, 2021 - January 4, 2023.

A multi-centre longitudinal study analysing multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapy prescribing patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic raised concern amongst clinicians that disease-modifying therapies (DMT), particularly anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and fingolimod, could worsen COVID-19 in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This study aimed to examine DMT prescribing trends pre- and post-pandemic onset.

Methods: A multi-centre longitudinal study with 8,771 participants from MSBase was conducted.

Prevalence of Coronary Vasomotor Disorders in Patients With Angina and Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries: A Sydney Experience.

Background: Patients with angina and non-obstructive coronary arteries (ANOCA) frequently have coronary vasomotor disorders (CVaD), characterised by transient pathological vasoconstriction and/or impaired microvascular vasodilatation. Functional coronary angiography is the gold standard for diagnosing CVaD. Despite recommendations, testing is only available at a limited number of Australian and New Zealand centres.

Real-world biologics response and super-response in the International Severe Asthma Registry cohort.

Background: Biologic asthma therapies reduce exacerbations and long-term oral corticosteroids (LTOCS) use in randomized controlled trials (RCTs); however, there are limited data on outcomes among patients ineligible for RCTs. Hence, we investigated responsiveness to biologics in a real-world population of adults with severe asthma.

Methods: Adults in the International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) with ≥24 weeks of follow-up were grouped into those who did, or did not, initiate biologics (anti-IgE, anti-IL5/IL5R, anti-IL4/13).

Testosterone and Erythrocyte Lifespan.

Context: Endogenous and exogenous androgens increase circulating erythrocytes and hemoglobin but their effects on erythrocyte lifespan is not known.

Objective: To investigate androgen effects on immature and mature erythrocyte lifespan in humans and mice using novel nonradioactive minimally invasive methods.

Design: Human erythrocyte lifespan was estimated using alveolar carbon monoxide concentration and blood hemoglobin in Levitt's formula in hypogonadal or transgender men before and up to 18 weeks after commencing testosterone (T) treatment.

SCANPatient: study protocol for a multi-centre, batched, stepped wedge, comparative effectiveness, randomised clinical trial of synoptic reporting of computerised tomography (CT) scans assessing cancers of the pancreas.

Background: Complete surgical removal of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is central to all curative treatment approaches for this aggressive disease, yet this is only possible in patients technically amenable to resection. Hence, an accurate assessment of whether patients are suitable for surgery is of paramount importance. The SCANPatient trial aims to test whether implementing a structured synoptic radiological report results in increased institutional accuracy in defining surgical resectability of non-metastatic PDAC.

Data-driven collaborative QUality improvement in Cardiac Rehabilitation (QUICR) to increase program completion: protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Background: Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of deaths and disability worldwide. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) effectively reduces the risk of future cardiac events and is strongly recommended in international clinical guidelines. However, CR program quality is highly variable with divergent data systems, which, when combined, potentially contribute to persistently low completion rates.

Tropoelastin modulates systemic and local tissue responses to enhance wound healing.

Wound healing is facilitated by biomaterials-based grafts and substantially impacted by orchestrated inflammatory responses that are essential to the normal repair process. Tropoelastin (TE) based materials are known to shorten the period for wound repair but the mechanism of anti-inflammatory performance is not known. To explore this, we compared the performance of the gold standard Integra Dermal Regeneration Template (Integra), polyglycerol sebacate (PGS), and TE blended with PGS, in a murine full-thickness cutaneous wound healing study.

Long-term outcomes of ADEM-like and tumefactive presentations of CNS demyelination: a case-comparison analysis.

A minority of initial multiple sclerosis (MS) presentations clinically or radiologically resemble other central nervous system (CNS) pathologies, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) or tumefactive demyelination (atypical demyelination presentations). With the aim of better defining the long-term outcomes of this group we have performed a retrospective cohort comparison of atypical demyelination versus 'typical' MS presentations. Twenty-seven cases with atypical presentations (both first and subsequent demyelinating events) were identified and compared with typical MS cases.

The effects of multidisciplinary collaborative care on cardiovascular risk factors among patients with diabetes in primary care settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Multidisciplinary collaborative care has been widely recommended as an effective strategy for managing diabetes; however, the cardiovascular risk factors of patients with diabetes are often inadequately managed in primary care settings. This study aimed to assess the effect of multidisciplinary collaboration on cardiovascular risk factors among patients with diabetes in primary care settings.

Methods: Five databases (i.

CSF sphingolipids are correlated with neuroinflammatory cytokines and differentiate neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder from multiple sclerosis.

Background: There is a need for biomarkers of disease progression and therapeutic response in multiple sclerosis (MS). This study aimed to identify cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lipids that differentiate MS from other neuroinflammatory conditions and correlate with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores, gadolinium-enhancing lesions or inflammatory mediators.

Methods: Lipids and inflammatory cytokines/chemokines were quantified with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and multiplex ELISA, respectively, in CSF from people with untreated MS, neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), other inflammatory neurological diseases and non-inflammatory neurological diseases (NIND).

Risk of Seizure Recurrence Due to Autoimmune Encephalitis With NMDAR, LGI1, CASPR2, and GABAR Antibodies: Implications for Return to Driving.

Background And Objectives: Patients with ongoing seizures are usually not allowed to drive. The prognosis for seizure freedom is favorable in patients with autoimmune encephalitis (AIE) with antibodies against NMDA receptor (NMDAR), leucine-rich glioma-inactivated 1 (LGI1), contactin-associated protein-like 2 (CASPR2), and the gamma-aminobutyric-acid B receptor (GABAR). We hypothesized that after a seizure-free period of 3 months, patients with AIE have a seizure recurrence risk of <20% during the subsequent 12 months.

Process evaluation of a data-driven quality improvement program within a cluster randomised controlled trial to improve coronary heart disease management in Australian primary care.

Background: This study evaluates primary care practices' engagement with various features of a quality improvement (QI) intervention for patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) in four Australian states.

Methods: Twenty-seven practices participated in the QI intervention from November 2019 -November 2020. A combination of surveys, semi-structured interviews and other materials within the QUality improvement in primary care to prevent hospitalisations and improve Effectiveness and efficiency of care for people Living with heart disease (QUEL) study were used in the process evaluation.

Strategic testing following toxic epidermal necrolysis allows reintroduction of chemotherapy in a patient with progressive myeloma.

Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome belong to a family of severe cutaneous adverse reactions that can be life-threatening and carry a risk of significant morbidity and potential mortality in the event of re-exposure. Lifelong avoidance of the culprit agent is mandated, which can lead to the exclusion of multiple medications if the trigger is unclear. This can result in adverse health outcomes analogous to that of a penicillin allergy label.