The 1-year trajectory of older patients transferred from an intensive care unit to an acute geriatric unit.

Purpose: The benefits of intensive care (in terms of the maintenance of functional independence and a reduction in the mortality rate in older patients) are still subject to debate, and the value of geriatric care of older adults discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU) has not been extensively studied. The objective of the present study was to examine the 1-year trajectory of patients transferred from an ICU to an acute geriatric unit (AGU).

Methods: We conducted an ambispective, descriptive, single-center study of older adults aged 75 and over from the DAMAGE cohort and having been transferred from an ICU to an AGU.

Auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs in patients with severe Powassan, Usutu, or Ross River virus disease.

Arboviral diseases are a growing global health concern. Pre-existing autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I interferons (IFNs) can underlie encephalitis due to West Nile virus (WNV) (∼40% of patients) and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE, due to TBE virus [TBEV]) (∼10%). We report here that these auto-Abs can also underlie severe forms of rarer arboviral infections.

Effect of Advanced Footwear Technology Spikes on Sprint Acceleration: A Multiple N-of-1 Trial.

Background: In contrast with Advanced Footwear Technology-AFT running shoes for long-distance, little is known about AFT sprint spikes on performance and acceleration parameters. However, their use has become widespread since the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and knowledge of their effects would seem to be an essential starting point before any clinical or socio-economic considerations.

Objectives: Our objectives were to determine intra- and inter-subject sprinting performance modifications with Nike AFT spikes (NAS) compared to standard spiked-shoes (SS).

Impact of Sex on Severity Assessment and Cardiac Remodeling in Primary Mitral Regurgitation.

Background: Women with severe primary mitral regurgitation (MR) have lower surgery rates than men and could suffer from delayed referral for mitral valve (MV) intervention, exposing them to an increased risk of postoperative adverse outcomes.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the sex-based differences in patients with primary MR.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 420 patients (median age: 62 years, 26% women) with primary MR due to valve prolapse referred for preoperative assessment who underwent transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging.

Intra-Articular Mineralization on Computerized Tomography of the Knee and Risk of Cartilage Damage: The Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study.

Objective: Intra-articular (IA) mineralization may contribute to osteoarthritis (OA) structural progression. We studied the association of IA mineralization on knee computed tomography (CT) with cartilage damage worsening on knee magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), with a focus on location- and tissue-specific effects.

Methods: Participants from the Multicenter Osteoarthritis Study with knee CT and MRI scans were included.

Cancer and multiple sclerosis: 2023 recommendations from the French Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Background: Epidemiological data reveal that 45% of persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) in France are more than 50 years. This population more than 50 is more susceptible to cancer, and this risk may be increased by frequent use of immunosuppressive drugs. Consequently, concerns have arisen about the potential increased risk of cancer in PwMS and how patients should be screened and managed in terms of cancer risk.

Impact of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors on the Course of Multiple Sclerosis.

Objectives: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly used in cancer treatment. Their mechanism of action raises the question of possible exacerbation of preexisting multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim of our study was to assess the risk of increased MS activity, defined by the occurrence of a relapse and/or a new MRI lesion, after ICI initiation.

A new ex vivo human model of osteoarthritis cartilage calcification.

Objective: Cartilage pathologic calcification is a hallmark of osteoarthritis (OA). Here, we aimed to describe a new ex vivo human model to study the progression of cartilage calcification.

Method: Cartilage explants (n = 11), as well as primary chondrocytes (n = 3), were obtained from OA patients undergoing knee replacement.

Optical coherence tomography angiography macular biomarkers of peripheral retinal ischemia in diabetic macular edema: secondary endpoints from the clinical study "FOVEA".

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between the macular values of fractal dimension (FD) and lacunarity (LAC) on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images and the presence of peripheral retina non-perfusion areas (NPAs) on fluorescein angiography (FA) in patients with treatment-naïve diabetic macular edema (DME).

Methods: Fifty patients with treatment-naïve DME underwent a full ophthalmic examination, including best-corrected visual acuity measurement, FA, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, and OCTA. Specifically, FA was performed to detect the presence of retinal NPAs, whereas fractal OCTA analysis was used to determine macular FD and LAC values at the level of the superficial and deep capillary plexus (SCP and DCP).

Yoga in the Rehabilitation of Post-Stroke Sequelae: A Non-Inferiority Randomized Controlled Trial.

Stroke survivors can experience various consequences that affect their physical and psychological balance. Yoga seems to be relevant for this population as it allows to work on both the body and the mind. The first objective of this study was to investigate the non-inferiority of yoga compared with conventional physical activity in improving physical function in patients with chronic post-stroke sequelae.

Additive Prognostic Value of Left Ventricular Dispersion and Deformation in Patients With Severe Aortic Stenosis.

Background: Speckle tracking strain echocardiography allows one to visualize the timing of maximum regional strain and quantifies left ventricular-mechanical dispersion (LV-MD). Whether LV-MD and LV-global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS) provide similar or complementary information in mortality risk stratification in patients with severe aortic stenosis (SAS) remains unknown.

Objectives: The authors hypothesized that LV mechanical dyssynchrony assessed by LV-MD is associated with an increased risk of mortality and provides additional prognostic information on top of LV-GLS in patients with SAS.

Prediction of renal and cardiometabolic outcomes in gout during urate-lowering therapy by sonography.

Objectives: To assess whether the extent of monosodium urate (MSU) crystal deposition estimated by ultrasound could predict renal and cardiometabolic events during urate-lowering therapy (ULT).

Methods: A prospective study on gout patients from two referral centers initiating ULT who underwent baseline ultrasound and were followed for 1 year. Ultrasound scans assessed six joints for double-contour (DC) signs and tophi.

How to manage a ureteral injury after anterior lumbar spine interbody fusion surgery.

Background: Anterior lumbosacral interbody fusion (ALIF) surgery is a predominant approach used in various indications such as treating discogenic back pain, spondylolisthesis, degenerative lumbar scoliosis, intervertebral foraminal stenosis, or spondylolysis. In comparison with posterior conventional approach, ALIF surgery has several advantages: direct access to the spine without muscle dissection, reduced blood loss, decreased postoperative pain, and improved fusion rates. Rare complications following ALIF surgery need to be reported, therefore the authors present an uncommon case of a ureteral injury diagnosed early after surgery and its management.

Neutral posture education during cough can reduce urine leakage in women with cough-related stress urinary incontinence.

Background: Current literature highlights the difficulty in identifying an optimal educational technique for maintaining continence during cough.

Objective: To characterize the effects of an educational intervention focusing on neutral posture during cough in women with cough-induced urinary incontinence (UI).

Methods: This interventional study design included women with cough-induced UI.

New horizons in the analysis of hospital readmissions of older adults.

This short communication highlights analytical methods that can be usefully applied to the problem of hospital readmissions of older adults. The limitations of the models currently used in studies of hospital readmissions are described. In summary, analyses of hospital readmissions face two important methodological and statistical problems not accounted for by these currently used statistical models: the potential recurrence of readmissions, and death, a terminal event which absorbs the readmission process.

Predictive Factors of Visual Outcome in Treatment-Naïve Diabetic Macular Edema: Preliminary Results from the Clinical Study "FOVEA".

Unlabelled: Diabetic macular edema (DME) is a common cause of vision impairment in diabetic retinopathy. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between visual outcome and anatomic changes detected by traditional multimodal retinal imaging and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in DME eyes under treatment with Aflibercept.

Methods: Sixty-six DME eyes of 62 patients under treatment with intravitreal Aflibercept and with one-year follow-up were enrolled.

Associations of Changes in Knee Hyaline Cartilage Composition Measured With Dual-Energy Computed Tomography in Gout, Aging and Osteoarthritis.

Objective: To characterize dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) changes depicting hyaline cartilage changes in gout patients with and without osteoarthritis (OA) and in comparators without gout.

Design: Patients with suspected crystal-associated arthropathy were enrolled and underwent bilateral DECT scans of the knees. Standardized regions of interest were defined in the femorotibial hyaline cartilage.

Is "moderate" aortic stenosis still the right name? A review of the literature.

Current guidelines recommend aortic valve replacement for symptomatic or selected asymptomatic high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis. Conversely, a watchful waiting attitude applies to patients with moderate aortic stenosis, regardless of their risk profile and symptoms, until the echocardiographic thresholds of severe aortic stenosis are reached. This strategy is based on data reporting high mortality in untreated severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, whereas moderate aortic stenosis has always been perceived as a non-threatening condition, with a benefit-risk balance against surgery.

Comparison between local and three validated triage systems in an emergency department for 2126 children under 3 months.

Aim: Triage of patients less than 3 months old was not already studied. The aim was to evaluate Paediatric Emergency Department triage in patients less than 3 months old and newborns using a local system in comparison with three validated paediatric triage systems (Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, Manchester Triage System and Emergency Severity Index) and to determine inter-system agreement.

Methods: All admissions of patients less than 3 months old admitted to the Emergency Department of the Saint Vincent University Hospital between April 2018 and December 2019 were included.

Quantification of primary mitral regurgitation by echocardiography: A practical appraisal.

The accurate quantification of primary mitral regurgitation (MR) and its consequences on cardiac remodeling is of paramount importance to determine the best timing for surgery in these patients. The recommended echocardiographic grading of primary MR severity relies on an integrated multiparametric approach. It is expected that the large number of echocardiographic parameters collected would offer the possibility to check the measured values regarding their congruence in order to conclude reliably on MR severity.

The evolving role of cardiovascular magnetic resonance in the assessment of mitral valve prolapse.

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP), characterized by a displacement > 2 mm above the mitral annulus of one or both bileaflets, with or without leaflet thickening, is a common valvular heart disease, with a prevalence of approximately 2% in western countries. Although this population has a generally good overall prognosis, MVP can be associated with mitral regurgitation (MR), left ventricular (LV) remodeling leading to heart failure, ventricular arrhythmia, and, the most devastating complication, sudden cardiac death, especially in myxomatous bileaflet prolapse (Barlow's disease). Among several prognostic factors reported in the literature, LV fibrosis and mitral annular disjunction may act as an arrhythmogenic substrate in this population.

Ultrafast MRI using deep learning echoplanar imaging for a comprehensive assessment of acute ischemic stroke.

Objectives: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) is an emergency requiring both fast and informative MR sequences. We aimed to assess the performance of an artificial intelligence-enhanced ultrafast (UF) protocol, compared to the reference protocol, in the AIS management.

Methods: We included patients admitted in the emergency department for suspected AIS.