Balloon atrioseptostomy for transposition of the great arteries in Europe: characteristics and outcomes.

Introduction And Objectives: Balloon atrial septostomy (BAS) improves oxygenation in neonates with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and restrictive foramen ovale. Currently, there is a global shortage of dedicated BAS catheters, while new unmarked catheters have recently become available at some European centers. This study aimed to characterize BAS outcomes using the currently available BAS catheters in Europe.

Attitudes toward scale-up of an Intensive Combination Approach to Rollback the Epidemic in Nigerian adolescents (iCARE) intervention for youth in Nigeria: results of a mixed methods early-implementation study.

Background: Youth living with HIV (YLH) are disproportionately impacted by HIV with poor outcomes along the entire HIV care continuum. In a 2020-2022 pilot study, iCARE Nigeria, successfully tested a combination intervention incorporating mobile health technology and peer navigation to: 1) improve testing and linkage to HIV care for young men, especially young men who have sex with men (YMSM) and 2) improve medication adherence and treatment outcomes for YLH. The intervention was scaled up to 5 sites in 3 Nigerian cities.

Food Allergy Prevalence in Two Population-Based UK Cohorts Born 12 Years Apart.

Background: Adverse food reactions include food allergy (FA; immune-mediated) and food intolerances (non-immune-mediated). FA are classified into IgE- and non-IgE-mediated FA. There is limited information available about changes in FA prevalence over time.

Feasibility of clinical newborn metabolic screening in a high-volume maternity center in Nepal.

Background: Strategic action plans around newborn health evaluation are needed, to address the high neonatal mortality rate in Nepal. Surveillance systems, like Newborn Metabolic Screening (NBS), could reveal unrecognized drivers of neonatal death. NBS is not routinely performed in Nepal.

Global Insights from Patients, Providers, and Staff on Challenges and Solutions in Managing Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Introduction: Neovascular age-related macular degeneration is a global public-health concern, associated with a considerable burden to individuals, healthcare systems, and society. The objective of this study was to understand different perspectives on the challenges associated with the clinical management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration, which could elucidate measures to comprehensively improve clinical care and outcomes.

Methods: A survey was carried out of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration, their providers, and clinic staff in 77 clinics across 24 countries on six continents, from a diverse range of healthcare systems, settings, and reimbursement models.

Improving Clinical Management of Diabetic Macular Edema: Insights from a Global Survey of Patients, Healthcare Providers, and Clinic Staff.

Introduction: In contrast with patients receiving therapy for retinal disease during clinical trials, those treated in routine clinical practice experience various challenges (including administrative, clinic, social, and patient-related factors) that can often result in high patient and clinic burden, and contribute to suboptimal visual outcomes. The objective of this study was to understand the challenges associated with clinical management of diabetic macular edema from the perspectives of patients, healthcare providers, and clinic staff, and identify opportunities to improve eye care for people with diabetes.

Methods: We conducted a survey of patients with diabetic macular edema, providers, and clinic staff in 78 clinics across 24 countries on six continents, representing a diverse range of individuals, healthcare systems, settings, and reimbursement models.

Teaching residents in emergency surgery for acute bowel obstruction-is supervised surgery safe and feasible? A retrospective single-center analysis from a MIS-specialized hospital.

Objective: Emergency surgery for acute bowel obstruction (ABO) is a common and occasionally technically demanding procedure, requiring both surgical skill and strategic planning. The risk entailed in teaching residents during ABO surgery has not been defined or investigated in detail to date. It is the aim of this study to reveal whether surgery for ABO, performed by resident surgeons under supervision, is safe and feasible.

Analytic performance of ScreenFire HPV RS assay Zebra BioDome format and its potential for large-scale population HPV screening.

Background: Easy-to-use, rapid, scalable, high-throughput, and cost-effective HPV tests are urgently needed for low-resource settings. Atila Biosystems' high-throughput, cost-effective, and clinically validated ScreenFire HPV Risk Stratification (RS) assay identifies 13 high risk HPV (hrHPV) in 4 groups based on their oncogenic risk (i.e.

International cross-sectional survey on current and updated definitions of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome.

Background: The Abdominal Compartment Society (WSACS) established consensus definitions and recommendations for the management of intra-abdominal hypertension (IAH) and abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) in 2006, and they were last updated in 2013. The WSACS conducted an international survey between 2022 and 2023 to seek the agreement of healthcare practitioners (HCPs) worldwide on current and new candidate statements that may be used for future guidelines.

Methods: A self-administered, online cross-sectional survey was conducted under the auspices of the WSACS to assess the level of agreement among HCPs over current and new candidate statements.

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BALANCED SCORECARD IN IMPROVING STAFF PERFORMANCE, PATIENT OUTCOMES AND RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW.

Introduction/background: Low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) usually have weak health systems with poor health outcomes. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic management tool widely used to improve healthcare services by aligning operational activities with long-term objectives across four dimensions namely patient, financial, internal process, and learning and growth. While BSC has been adopted in various high-income countries with positive impacts, its effectiveness in improving public health systems in LMIC is still unclear.

Blood biomarkers of trans-fatty acid intake among Nigerian adults in the Federal Capital Territory: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Intake of trans-fatty acids (TFAs) is an established risk factor for cardiovascular disease. In April 2023, Nigeria passed regulations limiting TFA content in foods, fats, and oils, but the current level of TFA exposure in the Nigerian population is unknown.

Objectives: To quantify trans-fatty acid (TFA) biomarkers in dried blood spots from Nigerian adults in the Federal Capital Territory before policy enforcement, establish baseline levels for future evaluations, assess subgroup variations by demographic and socioeconomic factors, and compare TFA levels with data from 30 countries worldwide.

A Multidimensional Approach to the Management of Patients in Prolonged Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation: The Concept of Treatable Traits - A Narrative Review.

Background: Established structured weaning approaches, which are effective for patients in simple and difficult weaning, are often not appropriate for patients undergoing prolonged weaning. Addressing the complexity of weaning failure requires personalized precision medicine. The therapeutic concept of treatable traits (TTs) has been proposed as a new paradigm for the management of chronic respiratory diseases.

International expert guidance for defining and monitoring small bowel strictures in Crohn's disease on intestinal ultrasound: a consensus statement.

Background: Diagnostic imaging using CT enterography, magnetic resonance enterography, and intestinal ultrasound are important tools in evaluating stricturing Crohn's disease. Definitions of strictures have been developed for CT enterography and magnetic resonance enterography. However, expert recommendations for definitions and treatment response of strictures on intestinal ultrasound are not available.

A systematic analysis of neurologic manifestations of Long COVID in Nigeria.

Long COVID, also called post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC) affects millions of people in the world. The neurologic manifestations of PASC (Neuro-PASC) are among the most debilitating but they are largely unreported in Africa. We sought to compare the demographics, symptoms and cognitive profile of post-hospitalization Neuro-PASC (PNP) and non-hospitalized Neuro-PASC (NNP) patients in Nigeria.