1,620 results match your criteria: "Institute of Inflammation and Ageing.[Affiliation]"

Self-Reported Penicillin Allergy and antibiotic use in critical care: An observational, retrospective study.

Anaesth Crit Care Pain Med

December 2024

Department of Critical Care Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom; Birmingham Acute Care Research Group, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Background: Patients with Self-Reported Penicillin Allergy (SRPA) receive alternative antibiotics, which increase the length of stay and hospital costs, but the impact of SRPA on mortality in critically ill patients is not well described.

Methods: This was a single-center, retrospective analysis of routinely gathered clinical data for all intensive care unit (ICU) admissions over nine years. The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, which was analyzed using a time-to-event approach with multivariable models to adjust for confounding factors, including age, comorbidities, sex, and admission SOFA score (as a measure of organ dysfunction).

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An expert consensus statement on biomarkers of ageing for use in intervention studies.

J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci

December 2024

Human Nutrition & Exercise Research Centre, Centre for Healthier Lives, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK.

Biomarkers of ageing serve as important outcome measures in longevity-promoting interventions. However, there is limited consensus on which specific biomarkers are most appropriate for human intervention studies. This work aimed to address this need by establishing an expert consensus on biomarkers of ageing for use in intervention studies via the Delphi method.

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The effect of smoking on Sjögren's disease development and severity: a comprehensive literature review.

Clin Exp Rheumatol

December 2024

Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, and National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre and Department of Rheumatology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK.

Unlike other autoimmune diseases, little is known about the environmental risk factors for Sjögren's disease (SjD). Smoking is an important risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis but the relationship between smoking and SjD is more complex to understand. Current smoking seems to be negatively linked to SjD, whereas there is mixed data on past smoking.

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Objective: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a leading cause of hospitalisation in older adults and is associated with a high likelihood of adverse outcomes. Given the ageing population and lack of therapeutic advances in CAP, new strategies to manage the burden of this disease are needed. Neutrophil dysfunction has been widely demonstrated in CAP and is associated with poor outcomes.

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Background: Benign airway stenoses are complex disorders that present with progressive dyspnoea, stridor, and significant respiratory distress. These conditions have a high recurrence rate and despite the plethora of endoscopic and open techniques available for treatment, the outcomes are variable. Our primary was to determine the pre-operative factors associated with an increased hazard of cricotracheal resection (CTR)/tracheal resection (TR) and reconstruction in cases of benign subglottic and tracheal strictures.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to explore parents' views and experiences of managing preschool wheeze, including opinions on the use of investigations to inform treatment pathways.

Design: Purposive sampling was used to recruit 16 participants from 14 families across England and Wales. Qualitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews with parents of children aged 1-5 years with preschool wheeze, conducted on Microsoft (MS) Teams.

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Cutaneous vasculitis in systemic lupus erythematosus: epidemiology and risk factors over a 20-year follow-up.

Rheumatology (Oxford)

December 2024

Rheumatology Research Group, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Objectives: Cutaneous vasculitis (CV) is common in SLE, but the epidemiology and risk factors remain unclear. We aimed to identify the trends and risk factors for CV in patients with SLE over a period of 20 years.

Methods: The Birmingham Lupus Cohort is an observational longitudinal cohort of SLE patients.

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Inflammation is associated with localized acidosis, however, attributing physiological and pathological roles to proton-sensitive receptors is challenging due to their diversity and widespread expression. Here, agonists of the proton-sensing GPCR, GPR65, were systematically characterized. The synthetic agonist BTB09089 (BTB) recapitulated many proton-induced signaling events and demonstrated selectivity for GPR65.

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Importance: For hospitalized critically ill adults with suspected sepsis, procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) monitoring protocols can guide the duration of antibiotic therapy, but the evidence of the effect and safety of these protocols remains uncertain.

Objective: To determine whether decisions based on assessment of CRP or PCT safely results in a reduction in the duration of antibiotic therapy.

Design, Setting, And Participants: A multicenter, intervention-concealed randomized clinical trial, involving 2760 adults (≥18 years), in 41 UK National Health Service (NHS) intensive care units, requiring critical care within 24 hours of initiating intravenous antibiotics for suspected sepsis and likely to continue antibiotics for at least 72 hours.

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Background And Aim: Head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGN) are tumours that carry significant morbidity The role of the stroma in the pathogenesis of HNPGN is not completely understood. This study explores the profile of fibroblasts and macrophages in HNPGN.

Methods: Ten patients undergoing HNPGN surgery were recruited.

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Diversity, inclusivity and traceability of mammography datasets used in development of Artificial Intelligence technologies: a systematic review.

Clin Imaging

November 2024

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK; Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; National Institute for Health and Care Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Birmingham Health Partners Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. Electronic address:

Article Synopsis
  • This review analyzes various mammography datasets used for AI development in breast cancer screening, focusing on their transparency, content, and accessibility.
  • A search identified 254 datasets, with only 28 being accessible; most datasets came from Europe, East Asia, and North America, raising concerns over poor demographic representation.
  • The findings highlight significant gaps in diversity within these datasets, underscoring the need for better documentation and inclusivity to enhance the effectiveness of AI technologies in breast cancer research.
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Early versus delayed timing of vitrectomy after open-globe injury.

Cochrane Database Syst Rev

November 2024

Neuroscience and Ophthalmology, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Article Synopsis
  • This protocol outlines a Cochrane Review focused on the timing of vitrectomy following open-globe injuries.
  • The main goal is to compare the effects of performing the surgery early versus later on patients' visual outcomes.
  • The review aims to provide evidence that could guide clinical decisions regarding the optimal timing for vitrectomy in such cases.
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Article Synopsis
  • Pain is a significant issue for individuals with inflammatory arthritis (IA), affecting their overall well-being, and current UK pain management often relies on long-term opioids and gabapentinoids without sufficient evidence for their effectiveness.
  • Surveys indicate that non-drug therapies for pain relief are not being utilized as much as they could be, highlighting a gap in treatment options.
  • The British Society for Rheumatology is creating a new guideline to provide clear, evidence-based recommendations for pain management in IA, aimed at healthcare professionals, patients, and other stakeholders, ensuring comprehensive care for people living with this condition.
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The intestinal epithelium serves as a physical and functional barrier against harmful substances, preventing their entry into the circulation and subsequent induction of a systemic immune response. Gut barrier dysfunction has recently emerged as a feature of ageing linked to declining health, and increased intestinal membrane permeability has been shown to promote heightened systemic inflammation in aged hosts. Concurrent with age-related changes in the gut microbiome, the thymic microenvironment undergoes a series of morphological, phenotypical and architectural alterations with age, including disorganisation of the corticomedullary junction, increased fibrosis, increased thymic adiposity and the accumulation of senescent cells.

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Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a cause of profound and irreversible damage, with no effective therapy to promote functional recovery. Photobiomodulation (PBM) may provide a viable therapeutic approach using red or near-infrared light to promote recovery after SCI by mitigating neuroinflammation and preventing neuronal apoptosis. Our current study aimed to optimize PBM dose regimens and develop and validate the efficacy of an invasive PBM delivery paradigm for SCI.

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Exploiting blood-based biomarkers to align preclinical models with human traumatic brain injury.

Brain

November 2024

Department of Acute Brain and Cardiovascular Injury, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, 20156, Italy.

Rodent models are important research tools for studying the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and developing new therapeutic interventions for this devastating neurological disorder. However, the failure rate for the translation of drugs from animal testing to human treatments for TBI is 100%. While there are several potential explanations for this, previous clinical trials have relied on extrapolation from preclinical studies for critical design considerations, including drug dose optimization, post-injury drug treatment initiation and duration.

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Research in Acute Medicine. The results of a national survey of Society for Acute Medicine members.

Acute Med

November 2024

PhD. Director of PIONEER: Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) Health Data Research Hub for Acute Care, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2GW, UK. ORCiD ID: 0000-0003-3454-5482, NIHR West Midlands Applied Research Centre, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK, NIHR Midlands Patient Safety Research Collaboration, University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2GW.

Background: Medical research improves patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, staff morale and retention. It is unclear what research opportunities and training staff in acute medicine had.

Methods: The Society for Acute Medicine supported a survey to assess current research activity, training and perceived opportunities and barriers.

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Evaluating acute medical service performance against assessment time metrics: the Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit 2023 (SAMBA23).

Acute Med

November 2024

Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK and Division of Acute General Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Headington, Oxford. OX3 9DU.

Performance within acute medicine services is impacted by ongoing pressures on acute care services. Data from the Society for Acute Medicine Benchmarking Audit 2023 (SAMBA23), was used to assess performance of acute medicine services compared to key clinical quality indicators, comparing performance by initial assessment location. Data was analysed for 8213 unplanned attendances across 161 hospitals.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The development of the CompOsite iNdexes For Response in asthMa (CONFiRM) aimed to create patient-centered tools that measure responses to biologics for severe asthma in both adults and children, integrating clinical data and quality of life (QoL) indicators.
  • - Experts and patients collaborated to identify significant outcome changes and devised CONFiRM scores, which demonstrated high levels of agreement on key factors, with patients emphasizing the importance of quality of life more than healthcare professionals did.
  • - The CONFiRM scores effectively measure treatment response, with strong validity metrics indicating their reliability, and they facilitate a comprehensive assessment of biologics’ effectiveness; further studies are required for prospective validation.
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Cerebral blood flow and arterial transit time responses to exercise training in older adults.

Neuroimage

December 2024

School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, University Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

Brain vascular health worsens with age, as is made evident by resting grey matter cerebral blood flow (CBF) reductions and lengthening arterial transit time (ATT). Exercise training can improve aspects of brain health in older adults, yet its effects on CBF and ATT remain unclear. This randomised controlled trial assessed responses of CBF and ATT to a 26 week exercise intervention in 65 healthy older adults (control: n = 33, exercise: n = 32, aged 60-81 years), including whether changes in CBF or ATT were associated with changes in cognitive functions.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how major trauma leads to systemic immune suppression, specifically focusing on the role of prostaglandin E (PGE), a compound that increases after injury and may affect immune responses.
  • - Blood samples from 95 injured patients were analyzed over different time periods post-injury to measure PGE levels, immune responses, and the activity of enzymes related to PGE synthesis and signaling.
  • - Results showed that PGE levels peaked shortly after injury, leading to decreased immune function in monocytes, and higher levels of COX-2 and related enzymes were found in trauma patients, suggesting a link between trauma, PGE production, and immune suppression.
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Severe thermal injury significantly impacts upon hemostasis and is associated with classical changes to the circulating platelet count with a nadir followed by a rebound thrombocytosis at days ~3 and ~15 post-injury, respectively. To date, few studies have assessed platelet function following thermal injury as platelet tests often require large quantities of blood, are not representative of normal platelet pathophysiology, and are usually dependent on a normal platelet count. The purpose of this study was to measure platelet thrombus formation using a whole blood flow chip-based system following thermal injury and to study how platelet counts may impact upon the measurement.

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Vulnerable patients in an intensive care unit (ICU) setting are at high risk of infection from bacteria including gut-colonising and species. Complex ICU procedures often depend on successful antimicrobial treatment, underscoring the importance of understanding the extent of patient colonisation by multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in large UK ICUs. Previous work on ICUs globally uncovered high rates of colonisation by transmission of MDROs, but the situation in UK ICUs is less understood.

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