Wound hygiene survey: awareness, implementation, barriers and outcomes.

Objective: In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in changes to caseload management, access to training and education, and other additional pressures, a survey was developed to understand current awareness and implementation of the wound hygiene concept into practice one year on from its dissemination. Barriers to implementation and outcomes were also surveyed.

Method: The 26-question survey, a mixture of multiple choice and free-text, was developed by the projects team, in consultation with ConvaTec, and distributed globally via email and online; the survey was open for just over 12 weeks.

Evaluation of the mental health of care home staff in the Covid-19 era. What price did care home workers pay for standing by their patients?

Background: The characteristics of this pandemic increase the potential psychological impact on care homes workers (CHWs). The aims of this study were to analyse the mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of a broad sample of CHWs in Spain and to identify potential factors that have a significant effect on their mental health and HRQoL.

Method: This descriptive study comprised 210 CHWs who completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Impact Event Scale-Revised, the Insomnia Severity Index, and the Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire.

Evaluation of the mental health of health professionals in the COVID-19 era. What mental health conditions are our health care workers facing in the new wave of coronavirus?

Background: The aims of this study were to analyse the mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of a broad sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) in Spain and to identify potential factors that have a significant effect on their mental health and HRQoL.

Method: This prospective cohort study comprised 2089 HCWs who completed the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Impact Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), and the health-related quality of life Questionnaire (EQ-5D). Sociodemographic and clinical data in relation to Covid-19 were also recorded.

Attachment anxiety as mediator of the relationship between childhood trauma and personality dysfunction in borderline personality disorder.

Insecure attachment has been described as mediating the relationship between childhood trauma and dysfunctional personality traits in different mental disorders. Despite the role insecure attachment and childhood trauma have independently demonstrated to play as determinants of borderline personality disorder, less is known about the mediating mechanisms explaining these associations. For the first time, we assessed adult attachment, childhood trauma and dimensional personality pathology in a sample of outpatients with borderline personality disorder and tested whether the association between childhood trauma and personality dysfunction was at least partially attributable to insecure attachment.

Tramadol-induced hiccups: a case-noncase study in the European pharmacovigilance database.

Background: Hiccups are usually benign and self-limiting, but can sometimes be persistent. If left untreated, they can provoke severe discomfort, and even death. Hiccups can be idiopathic, organic, psychogenic, and caused by drugs.

Do cariprazine and brexpiprazole cause impulse control symptoms? A case/non-case study.

Aripiprazole has been associated with impulse control symptoms (ICS). Recently, two drugs with similar pharmacological features have become available: cariprazine and brexpiprazole. All of them interact with the D receptor, which plays a role in cerebral circuits involved in reward pathways.

Biochemical and Metabolomic Changes after Electromagnetic Hyperthermia Exposure to Treat Colorectal Cancer Liver Implants in Rats.

Background: Hyperthermia (HT) therapy still remains relatively unknown, in terms of both its biological and therapeutic effects. This work aims to analyze the effects of exposure to HT, such as that required in anti-tumor magnetic hyperthermia therapies, using metabolomic and serum parameters routinely analyzed in clinical practice.

Methods: WAG/RigHsd rats were assigned to the different experimental groups needed to emulate all of the procedures involved in the treatment of liver metastases by HT.

Mature and Immature/Activated Cells Fractionation: Time for a Paradigm Shift in Differential Leucocyte Count Reporting?

Leucocytes, especially neutrophils featuring pro- and anti-cancerous characteristics, are involved in nearly every stage of tumorigenesis. Phenotypic and functional differences among mature and immature neutrophil fractions are well reported, and their correlation with tumor progression and therapy has emerging implications in modern oncology practices. Technological advancements enabled modern hematology analyzers to generate extended information (research parameters) during complete blood cell count (CBC) analysis.

Molecular aspects and long-term outcome of patients with primary distal renal tubular acidosis.

Background: Primary distal renal tubular acidosis (dRTA) is a rare genetic disorder caused by impaired distal mechanisms of urinary acidification. Most cases are secondary to pathogenic variants in ATP6V0A4, ATP6V1B1, and SLC4A1 genes, which encode transporters regulating acid-base balance in the collecting duct.

Methods: Retrospective study of molecular and clinical data from diagnosis and long-term follow-up (10, 20, and 40±10 years) of 16 patients with primary dRTA diagnosed in childhood.

High mortality rate following periprosthetic femoral fractures after total hip arthroplasty. A multicenter retrospective study.

Background: The main objective of this study was to evaluate the morbidity and mortality following periprosthetic femoral fractures (PFFs) after total hip arthroplasty. The secondary objectives were to explore risk factors for mortality and compare outcomes by method of treatment.

Methods: A multicenter retrospective study was conducted (2016-2017) of all PFFs after total hip arthroplasty.

Intra-Arterial Infusion of Magnetic Nanoparticle-Based Theragnostic Agent to Treat Colorectal Cancer Liver Implants in Rats.

Introduction: Nowadays, surgical excision remains the gold standard to treat liver metastases of colorectal cancer (CRCLM). However, as more than 50% of patients are not eligible for surgery, other alternatives such as percutaneous or intravascular interventional therapies (thermal ablation, chemoembolization, or radioembolization), are quite relevant. Recently, the use of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has been suggested as an adjuvant for these therapies, as they could increase their necrotising effect on the tumour while reducing doses and exposure times of thermal therapies.

Factors that Influence Treatment Delay for Patients with Breast Cancer.

Introduction: The diagnosis or treatment of breast cancer is sometimes delayed. A lengthy delay may have a negative psychological impact on patients. The aim of our study was to evaluate the sociodemographic, clinical and pathological factors associated with delay in the provision of surgical treatment for localised breast cancer, in a prospective cohort of patients.

Testicular dislocation: An atypical case and review of the literature.

Traumatic dislocation of testis is a rare event. We report a case of traumatic testicular dislocation in a 27-year-old patient presenting a right inguinal lump in a context of acute alcohol abuse with transient global amnesia. There was a tender mass in the right inguinal region and right hemiscrotum.

The CIREL Cohort: A Prospective Controlled Registry Studying the Real-Life Use of Irinotecan-Loaded Chemoembolisation in Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: Interim Analysis.

Purpose: Transarterial chemoembolisation (TACE) using irinotecan-eluting beads is an additional treatment option for colorectal cancer liver metastases (CRLM) patients that are not eligible for curative treatment approaches. This interim analysis focuses on feasibility of the planned statistical analysis regarding data distribution and completeness, treatment intention, safety and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the first 50 patients prospectively enrolled in the CIrse REgistry for LifePearl™ microspheres (CIREL), an observational multicentre study conducted across Europe.

Methods: In total, 50 patients ≥ 18 years diagnosed with CRLM and decided to be treated with irinotecan-eluting LifePearl™ microspheres TACE (LP-irinotecan TACE) by a multidisciplinary tumour board.

Dyslexia detection using 3D convolutional neural networks and functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Background And Objectives: Dyslexia is a disorder of neurological origin which affects the learning of those who suffer from it, mainly children, and causes difficulty in reading and writing. When undiagnosed, dyslexia leads to intimidation and frustration of the affected children and also of their family circles. In case no early intervention is given, children may reach high school with serious achievement gaps.

SGLT2 Inhibitors and Bladder Cancer: Analysis of Cases Reported in the European Pharmacovigilance Database.

The association between sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and cancer risk is unclear. The objective of this study was to analyze whether a disproportionate number of cases of bladder cancer are reported for SGLT2is in EudraVigilance. A case/noncase study was conducted to assess the association between bladder cancer and SGLT2is, calculating reporting odds ratios (RORs) from November 11, 2012 (approval date for the first SGLT2i, dapagliflozin) to May 19, 2020.

Gender differences in stage at diagnosis and preoperative radiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer.

Background: Few studies have examined gender differences in the clinical management of rectal cancer. We examine differences in stage at diagnosis and preoperative radiotherapy in rectal cancer patients.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted in 22 hospitals in Spain including 770 patients undergoing surgery for rectal cancer.

Ureteroarterial fistula treated by endovascular stent placement.

A 69-year-old woman with changes secondary to pelvic radiotherapy presents repeated episodes of massive hematuria associated with double J catheter replacements. After several imaging tests, an uretero-arterial fistula is confirmed by angiography and treated with a coated stent. Uretero-arterial fistula poses a diagnostic challenge, requiring a multidisciplinary approach through clinical suspicion and interventional procedures.

Assessment of Psychiatric Symptomatology in Bilingual Psychotic Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Language plays an important role in psychiatric conditions. Language disturbances are core symptoms of psychiatric ailments, and language is the main diagnostic tool to assess psychopathological severity. Although the importance of language in psychiatry, the effect of bilingualism, and more specifically of using the mother language or a later acquired language at the time of assessing psychotic symptoms, has been scarcely studied and, thus, remains unclear.

Role of RDW in mathematical formulas aiding the differential diagnosis of microcytic anemia.

Many mathematical formulas containing simple red blood cell parameters have been proposed for differentiating between iron deficiency and thalassemia in patients with microcytic anemia. Approximately half of these formulas do include red cell distribution width (RDW), along with other red cell parameters. In the present study we investigated the role of RDW, expressed in relative or in absolute units in relation with the formulas' discriminant performance.

Multicentre prospective study of drug-eluting bead chemoembolisation safety using tightly calibrated small microspheres in non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Purpose: To assess the safety and tolerability of transarterial drug-eluting bead chemoembolisation (DEB-TACE) using tightly calibrated 100-μm microspheres in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Method: This multicentre prospective study included 131 patients with a 2-year follow-up. All patients had Child-Pugh scores ≤ B7, a good performance status, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage A or B.

Ultrasound Tumor Size Assessment, Histology and Serum Enzyme Analysis in a Rat Model of Colorectal Liver Cancer.

During tumor development, tissue necrosis appears as a natural phenomenon directly associated with an increase in tumor size. The aim of this study was to assess the use of ultrasound (US) for predicting natural tumor necrosis in a rat liver implant model of colorectal cancer. To achieve this goal, we sought to establish a correlation between US-measured tumor volume, serum enzyme levels and histopathological findings, particularly those regarding necrosis phenomena in liver implants.