A gender breakdown of unexpected benefits generated by work from home in STEM fields - A qualitative analysis of the WiMPBME Task Group survey.

Background: Working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic was perceived differently by men and women working in STEM fields. The aim of this paper is to highlight the unexpected benefits generated by working from home during the pandemic.

Methods: Qualitative methodology was used to analyze data, collected via survey.

Discordance of 3rd and 4th generation QuantiFERON-TB Gold assays by pregnancy stages in India.

Background: Pregnancy and HIV affect CD4+ T lymphocytes and impact performance of QuantiFERON-TB Gold (QFT). We compared the results of QFT with QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus (QFT-Plus), which also measures CD8+ responses to TB antigens, during pregnancy and postpartum.

Methods: We screened 516 pregnant women for TB infection (TBI) with IGRA.

Factors Affecting Vancomycin Trough Concentration; a Population Pharmacokinetic Model in Non-Critical Care Saudi Patients.

Background And Objective: Vancomycin is commonly prescribed in treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections. While, vancomycins' pharmacokinetic vary among older patients, there is a paucity of data regarding specific characteristics influencing pharmacokinetics in Saudi adult patients. This study aims to establish a population-pharmacokinetic (Pop-PK) model for vancomycin in patients admitted to medical wards, with the focus on identification of patient characteristics influencing vancomycin trough concentrations.

A Strategy for Bone Conduction Device Adoption: Study of Non-Usage Challenges, Skin-Deep Insights and Patient Satisfaction.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction and usage patterns of bone conduction devices (BCDs) for hearing rehabilitation, focusing on both users and non-users. Specific objectives included assessing reasons for non-use, exploring patient perceptions of BCD efficacy, and examining complications associated with BCD implantation.

Methods: A monocentric investigation was conducted at the Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat Diseases, Head and Neck Surgery at General Hospital Sint-Jan, Bruges.

Predictive metabolite signatures for risk of progression to active TB from QuantiFERON supernatants of household contacts of TB patients.

The identification of individuals with the greatest risk of progression to active tuberculosis (TB) disease from the huge reservoir of () infected individuals continues to remain an arduous ascent in the global effort to control TB. In a two-year prospective study, we analysed metabolic profiles in the unstimulated and TB antigen stimulated QuantiFERON supernatants of 14 healthy household contacts (HHCs) who progressed to TB disease (Progressors) and 14 HHCs who remained healthy (Non-Progressors). We identified 21 significantly dysregulated metabolites in the TB antigen-stimulated QuantiFERON supernatants of Progressors, of which the combination of Malic acid and N-Arachidonoylglycine had maximum AUC of 0.

Dual Chamber Pacemaker Implant in Coronary Sinus Leading to Several Complications.

Permanent pacemaker implantation is a low-risk procedure. However, complications may occur at a rate of around 4-8%. We present a case where initial implantation resulted in complications that could have been avoided by meticulous assessment of lead position in different projections and early post-procedure X-ray that would have delineated other serious complications.

Long-term risk of mortality and loss to follow-up in children and adolescents on antiretroviral therapy in Asia.

Objective: We described mortality and loss to follow-up (LTFU) in children and adolescents who were under care for more than 5 years following initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Methods: Patients were followed from 5 years after ART until the earlier of their 25th birthday, last visit, death, or LTFU. We used Cox regression to assess predictors of mortality and competing risk regression to assess factors associated with LTFU.

Association of cardiovascular disease risk with liver steatosis and fibrosis in people with HIV in low- and middle-income countries.

Objective: The aim of this study was to understand the relationship between cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and liver steatosis and fibrosis among people with HIV (PLWH) at least 40 years of age on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low and middle-income countries (LMIC).

Design: We used cross-sectional behavioral and clinical data collected during study enrollment visits in 2020-2022 for the Sentinel Research Network of International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (SRN of IeDEA).

Methods: Ten-year CVD risk was calculated using 2019 WHO nonlaboratory and laboratory models.

Tracking KP.2 SARS-CoV-2 Variant in India and the Clinical Profile of KP.2 Cases in Maharashtra, India.

Background:  Following the emergence of the JN.1 SARS-CoV-2 variant, variants with key mutations in the spike protein, such as L455F, F456L, and R346T, were identified. In early January 2024, the KP.

The Diagnostic Utility of Holter Monitoring in Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia.

Background: Holter monitoring may raise suspicion of an underlying catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT) diagnosis. Although not a primary investigation for CPVT, Holter monitoring is ubiquitously used as a diagnostic tool in the heart rhythm clinic.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to explore Holter monitoring in CPVT diagnosis.

Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of lifitegrast 5% eye drops: A randomized, double-blind, active-controlled trial in Indian patients with dry eye disease.

Purpose: To compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of lifitegrast 5% versus carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) 0.5% in adult patients with dry eye disease (DED).

Methods: A total of 370 eligible patients with DED were randomized equally to receive twice-daily doses of a single drop in each eye of either lifitegrast 5% or CMC 0.

Development and validation of metrics for assessment of ultrasound-guided fascial block skills.

Background: As few anaesthetists provide lumbar erector spinae block for disc surgery, there is a need to provide training to enable a randomised controlled trial investigating analgesia after painful spinal surgery (NIHR153170). The primary objective of the study was to develop and measure the construct validity of a checklist for assessment of skills in performing lumbar and thoracic erector spinae fascial plane injection using soft-embalmed Thiel cadavers.

Methods: Twenty-four UK consultant regional anaesthetists completed two iterations of a Delphi questionnaire.

Pharmaceutical cost dynamics for the treatment of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in children and adolescents in South Africa, India, and the Philippines.

Rifampicin-resistant (RR) tuberculosis (TB) in children is a major global health concern but is often neglected in economics research. Accurate cost estimations across the spectrum of paediatric RR-TB treatment regimens are critical inputs for prioritisation and budgeting decisions, and an existing knowledge gap at local and international levels. This normative cost analysis was nested in a Phase I/II pharmacokinetics, safety, tolerability, and acceptability trial of TB medications in children in South Africa, the Philippines and India.

Factors Associated With Unfavorable Treatment Outcomes Among Persons With Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Multicentric Prospective Cohort Study From India.

In this prospective cohort of 2006 individuals with drug-susceptible tuberculosis in India, 18% had unfavorable treatment outcomes (4.7% treatment failure, 2.5% recurrent infection, 4.