Anatomical description of malformations of the neck of the left atrial appendage.

The recently-described left atrial appendage (LAA) neck is a truncated cone-shaped structure that connects the LAA orifice to its lobe. It shows malformations in some cases, but their exact description and clinical significance are unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide a detailed anatomical and morphometric analysis of LAA neck malformations in clinical context.

Completion and reporting of COVID-19 clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov during the first 6 months of the pandemic: cohort study.

Background: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous clinical trials were initiated. Although concerns were raised regarding the quality of the trials, the eventual research output yielded from the trials remains unknown. The objective of this study was to include all clinical trials registered on ClinicalTrials.

Food Swamps and Food Deserts Impact on Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Mortality in U.S. Counties.

Background And Aims: Lacking access to quality food may increase the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). We investigated associations between food environment factors (food deserts and food swamps) and MASLD-related mortality across the United States.

Methods: MASLD-related deaths were obtained from the National Vital Statistics System (2016-2020) and food environment factors from Food Environment Atlas.

Frontal Lobe Epilepsy: Bermuda's Triangle.

Despite great progress in imaging, genetics, surgery, and therapeutics, frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) continues to be a challenge for neurologists and epileptologists. This manuscript summarizes the latest advancements in FLE discussed at the 2023 Epilepsy Specialist Symposium during the American Epilepsy Society Annual meeting. Correlation between stereoelectroencephalography and clinical symptoms has reinvigorated symptomatology literature in FLE, allowing for more precise aura anatomical localization.

Physicians' perspectives on cancer-related fatigue management and their suggestions for improvements in medical training: a cross-sectional survey study in Germany.

Purpose: Contrary to guidelines, many cancer patients are not screened for cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and do not receive information or adequate treatment. As physicians play a key role in cancer therapy, their knowledge of this common sequela and perspectives on its management are of major interest.

Methods: For an online survey, physicians working in oncology in Germany were systematically drawn from registers and invited by using institutional newsletters or colleagues.

Specialty choices among new generation of doctors - insights from a Polish survey study.

The choice of medical specialty for future doctors is a multidimensional issue, associated with many factors. This study aimed to explore the factors influencing the specialty choices of doctors entering the Polish healthcare system. A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted from May until August 2023.

The use of telehealth technology for lifestyle modification among patients with hypertension in Nigeria and Ghana.

Introduction: Sedentary lifestyle and consumption of an unhealthy diet are significantly associated with hypertension in Nigeria and Ghana. Increasing the uptake of physical activity and diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been a challenge in the region. This study aimed at assessing the effect of a mobile health intervention (mhealth) on physical activity, and fruits and vegetables intake in patients with hypertension in Nigeria and Ghana.

Healthcare costs in relation to kidney function among older people: the SCOPE study.

Purpose: In this study, a comprehensive analysis of costs of chronic kidney disease (CKD) was performed, to understand factors associated with the economic burden of the disease in a multicentre international framework.

Methods: The impact on costs of demographics, socio-economics, clinical, and functional variables was tested in 2204 subjects aged 75 years or more attending outpatient clinics in Europe using a multicentre 2-year prospective cohort study. By means of collected resources consumption and unit cost data a comprehensive cost database was built and then investigated using multilevel regression modeling.

Level 4 seizure monitoring unit admissions are associated with reduced long-term health care costs.

Objective: This study was undertaken to determine whether admission to dedicated seizure monitoring units (SMUs) result in reduced health care use (HCU).

Methods: This was a retrospective open cohort study covering the years 2010-2018 of patients residing in Alberta, Canada, who were referred to the Calgary Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and admitted to a level 4 SMU. Patients were required to have ≥3 years pre- and postadmission follow-up.

Radiomic features based automatic classification of CT lung findings for COVID-19 patients.

. The lung CT images of COVID-19 patients can be typically characterized by three different findings- Ground Glass Opacity (GGO), consolidation and pleural effusion. GGOs have been shown to precede consolidations and has different heterogeneous appearance.

Bilayer Scaffolds Synergize Immunomodulation and Rejuvenation via Layer-Specific Release of CK2.1 and the "Exercise Hormone" Lac-Phe for Enhanced Osteochondral Regeneration.

Repairing osteochondral defects necessitates the intricate reestablishment of the microenvironment. The cartilage layer consists of a porous gelatin methacryloyl hydrogel (PGelMA) covalently crosslinked with the chondroinductive peptide CK2.1 via a "linker" acrylate-PEG-N-hydroxysuccinimide (AC-PEG-NHS).

Association of hearing, vision, and dual sensory impairment and risk of Alzheimer's disease: a nested case-control study.

Background: Hearing impairment is a known risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), although less is known about vision impairment or dual sensory impairment (DSI) as risk factors for AD. We studied the association between diagnosed hearing impairment, visual impairment, or DSI, and the risk of AD.

Method: The Medication use and Alzheimer's disease study (MEDALZ) is a register-based nested case-control study including 70,718 community-dwelling persons diagnosed with incident AD in 2005-2011 in Finland and their 282,845 matched controls.

Certified peer recovery support specialists and substance use related emergency department visits: A mixed methods study of the patient experience.

Introduction: Emergency department (ED) peer-delivered interventions have been implemented across the country to improve outcomes for people who use drugs. In this study we describe what elements patients believe led to a positive interaction with a certified peer recovery support specialist (CPRSS) in the ED and discuss implications when those elements were missing.

Methods: This is a qualitatively driven mixed methods study embedded within a larger longitudinal study.

Follow-up and transition practices in esophageal atresia: a review of European Reference Network on rare Inherited and Congenital Anomalies (ERNICA) centres and affiliates.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to understand the provision and distribution of esophageal atresia (EA) follow-up (FU) and transition services across European Reference Network for rare Inherited and Congenital Anomalies (ERNICA) member and affiliate centers.

Methods: A REDCap questionnaire was sent to clinical leads of 18 ERNICA members and 14 affiliate centers.

Results: 29 of 32 centers responded (91%), the majority of which were highly specialized.

Healthcare workers' knowledge and preparedness for unprecedented foodborne botulism outbreak in Saudi Arabia.

Background: The recent unprecedented foodborne botulism outbreak in Saudi Arabia necessitated an assessment of healthcare workers' (HCWs) knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). This study assessed healthcare workers' knowledge regarding the transmission, contagiousness, presentation, and diagnosis of foodborne botulism, as well as their management practices, including contacting public health authorities, administering antitoxin, preparedness to respond to botulism cases and consulting generative Artificial Intelligent (AI)-chatbots, like ChatGPT.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey targeting Saudi HCWs was conducted from May 6-19, 2024, following the first foodborne botulism outbreak.

[The accessibility of oncologic medical care in the Russian Federation in context of radiotherapy: The last years analysis].

The accessibility of medical care plays important role in ensuring basic human needs and means unimpeded access to all services in national health care system. It is conditioned by: balance of necessary volumes of medical care of population, national medical and financial resources, availability and qualification of medical personnel, rendering of necessary types of medical care in territories, possibility of patient free choice of physician in charge and medical organization, available transport possibilities, level of public education on health promotion and diseases prevention. The availability of radiotherapy, as an integral part of oncological care, is determined by possibility of its timely delivery to all patients and is conditioned by total number of oncological centers equipped with radiotherapy equipment and qualified specialists.

The Frozen Elephant Trunk Procedure-8 Years of Experience from Poland.

The frozen elephant trunk method combines the implantation of a Dacron prosthesis with a self-expanding stent graft, which allows for complex repairs of the aortic arch and thoracic aorta in one procedure. Despite the advantages of hybrid treatment for aortic arch aneurysms, in Poland, only a few such surgeries are performed annually compared to in Western countries. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the 8-year outcomes of treatment at the center where the Aortic Team operates, which is one of the centers in Poland with the most extensive experience in hybrid FET treatment.

Aortic Stent Graft Treatment in a Medium-Size Aortic Center Performed by a Cardiac Surgeon Only-The 9 Years Experience in Poland.

: The incidence of thoracic aortic aneurysms is estimated at 3.0-8.3/100,000 persons per year.