The incidence and risk factors of fetuses with mirror-image dextrocardia with solitus inversus.

Objective: This research seeks to ascertain the prevalence and determinants of mirror-image dextrocardia in fetuses.

Study Design: With December 2022 as the reference point, we compiled colleted data on pregnant women who carried fetuses with mirror-image dextrocardia in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province: September-October 2022, November 2022, and December 2022-January 2023. An online questionnaire was distributed to 209 pregnant across China who had contracted COVID-19.

Case report: A rare but fatal complication of hysteroscopy-air embolism during treatment for missed abortion.

Hysteroscopic procedures complicated by air embolism (AE) are exceptionally rare occurrences in clinical practice, and there have been no previously reported cases of AE associated with hysteroscopic dilation and curettage. While the overall incidence of this complication is low, the consequences can be devastating. During early pregnancy, the unique physiological changes, such as elevated hormonal levels and increased uterine blood supply, significantly heighten the risk of AE development.

Evaluating post-cardiac arrest blood pressure thresholds associated with neurologic outcome in children: Insights from the pediRES-Q database.

Background: Current Pediatric Advanced Life Support Guidelines recommend maintaining blood pressure (BP) above the 5th percentile for age following return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) after cardiac arrest (CA). Emerging evidence suggests that targeting higher thresholds, such as the 10th or 25th percentiles, may improve neurologic outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the association between post-ROSC BP thresholds and neurologic outcome, hypothesizing that maintaining mean arterial pressure (MAP) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) above these thresholds would be associated with improved outcomes at hospital discharge.

Epidemiology and Outcomes of Antibiotic De-escalation in Patients with Suspected Sepsis in US Hospitals.

Background: Little is known about the frequency, hospital-level variation, predictors, and clinical outcomes of antibiotic de-escalation in suspected sepsis.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed all adults admitted to 236 US hospitals between 2017-2021 with suspected sepsis (defined by a blood culture draw, lactate measurement, and intravenous antibiotic administration) who were initially treated with ≥2 days of anti-MRSA and anti-pseudomonal antibiotics but had no resistant organisms requiring these agents identified through hospital day 4. De-escalation was defined as stopping anti-MRSA and anti-pseudomonal antibiotics or switching to narrower antibiotics by day 4.

Being pregnant and obese: A qualitative study of the experiences of pregnancy and birth of women who are obese.

Objectives: This study explored the views and experiences of maternity care of postnatal women identified as being obese.

Design: A qualitative methodology was adopted using individual semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using a framework approach.

Impact of antibiotic duration and type on short- and long-term outcomes in very-low-birthweight infants.

Aim: To determine the association between the duration and types of antibiotic exposure and the occurrence of short- and long-term outcomes among preterm, very-low-birthweight (VLBW) infants.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of VLBW infants born <32 weeks gestation between January 2017-December 2021. Association between antibiotic exposure and the occurrence of death and/or major morbidities, and neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI) at 18-24 months corrected age, was evaluated.

VX-548 in the treatment of acute pain.

Acute pain management requires balancing analgesia with adverse effects risk. The voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.8 plays an important role in pain physiology, and its inhibition was shown to have analgesic effects.

Metal implants in children.

Background: Metal implants are increasingly used in children for trauma and deformity correction. This review outlines the current knowledge on the types of metals used and explores reasons for removal and the potential for long-term health issues of metal implants.

Methods: The literature pertaining to these aspects was studied and summarised in this review.

Re-programming by a six-factor-secretome in the patient tumor ecosystem during nutrient stress and drug response.

Cancer cells need nutrients to grow and proliferate. During nutrient stress in the microenvironment, it is unclear or cancer cells can adopt alternative resources to re-wire and survive in patients. We discovered a 6-factor-secretome remarkably sustains a critical cell mass during nutrient stress in a pediatric embryonal brain tumor, atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT).

Biologics in congenital ichthyosis: are they effective?

Background: Congenital ichthyoses (CI) comprise a heterogeneous group of genetic diseases requiring lifelong treatment and having a major effect on quality of life. Conventional treatments reduce scaling and skin discomfort; however, they usually have little or no effect on erythema and pruritus. The identification of cytokine alterations in CI raised the possibility of repurposing available biologics.

Betamethasone improved near-term neonatal lamb lung maturation in experimental maternal asthma.

Maternal asthma is associated with increased rates of neonatal lung disease, and fetuses from asthmatic ewes have fewer surfactant-producing cells and lower surfactant-protein B gene (SFTPB) expression than controls. Antenatal betamethasone increases lung surfactant production in preterm babies, and we therefore tested this therapy in experimental maternal asthma. Ewes were sensitised to house dust mite allergen, and an asthmatic phenotype induced by fortnightly allergen lung challenges; controls received saline.

Clinical profile and management of non-tubal ectopic pregnancy: Experience from a tertiary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Objective: To study the clinical profile and management outcomes of non-tubal ectopic pregnancy at a tertiary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Methods: Case files of non-tubal ectopic pregnancy (NTEP) patients from October 2017 to October 2020 presented to Alqasmi Women and Children's Hospital, Sharjah, were included in the study. The data was extracted from available medical records.

Intradyadic Correlation Between Parent-reported and Child-reported Quality of Life in Patients With Anorectal Malformation and Hirschsprung's Disease in Comparison to Healthy Controls.

Background: Quality of life (QOL) is an important clinical endpoint in paediatric chronic conditions. How parent-proxy reports differ from child self-reported QOL in patients with anorectal malformation (ARM) and Hirschsprung's disease (HD) has not been well examined to date. This study evaluates agreement between parent-proxy and child-reported QOL scores in ARM and HD patients compared to healthy controls.

Scopolamine for patients with motion sickness: a systematic review and meta-analysis with trial sequential analysis.

Background: Scopolamine has been demonstrated to relieve motion sickness. However, repeated significance testing may increase false-positive results.

Objectives: Review the efficacy and safety of scopolamine in the prevention of motion sickness by performing a meta-analysis with Trial Sequential Analysis (TSA).

Pickering emulsion of pepper essential oil stabilized by Octenyl succinic acid starch: Characterization, in vitro release and anticancer activity.

Under high humidity and high temperature conditions, the quality of pepper essential oil easily deteriorates, and the oxidation of oil restricts its application, especially for the insolubility in water. This study investigated pepper essential oil encapsulated in Pickering emulsion with octenyl succinic acid starch, which was effectively able to reduce 100 times of the release rate. The smooth surface and complete particles of the emulsion were observed and no new chemical bonds were formed.

Preimplantation Genetic Testing of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 3/Machado-Joseph Disease-Robust Tools for Direct and Indirect Detection of the (CAG) Repeat Expansion.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3/Machado-Joseph disease (SCA3/MJD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by the CAG repeat expansion. Preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) of SCA3/MJD should include reliable repeat expansion detection coupled with high-risk allele determination using informative linked markers. One couple underwent SCA3/MJD PGT-M combining (CAG) triplet-primed PCR (TP-PCR) with customized linkage-based risk allele genotyping on whole-genome-amplified trophectoderm cells.

Dual-mode detection of glucose based on pistol-like DNAzyme-mediated exonuclease-assisted signal cycle.

Detecting glucose accurately and sensitively from clinical samples like tears and saliva is still difficult. We have created a sensor that can detect glucose with high sensitivity and accuracy by combining the use of glucose oxidase (GOx) to catalyze glucose, a pistol-like DNAzyme (PLDz) to transform the signal, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to enhance the optical properties and the exonuclease-III (Exo-III) to amplify the signal. As a result, the proposed method exhibits a low detection limit of 7.

Increased antipsychotic drug concentration in hospitalized patients with mental disorders following COVID-19 infection: a call for attention.

Purpose: Examine the alterations in antipsychotic concentrations following coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) infection among hospitalized patients with mental disorders and conduct an analysis of the factors influencing these changes.

Methods: Data were collected from inpatients at Beijing Huilongguan Hospital between December 12, 2022, and January 11, 2023, pre- and post-COVID-19. Based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, 329 inpatients with mental disorders were included (3 with incomplete data excluded).

Counting Conditions on Newborn Bloodspot Screening Panels in Australia and New Zealand.

A greater number of screened conditions is often considered to equate to better screening, whereas it may be due to conditions being counted differently. This manuscript describes a harmonised Australasian approach to listing target conditions found on bloodspot screening panels. Operational definitions for target disorders and incidental findings were developed and applied to disorder lists.

Pentavalent Rotavirus Vaccine Coverage and Trends in Rotavirus Detection Before and After This Vaccination in Chengdu, China.

Pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RV5) coverage and changes in rotavirus detection in the prevaccine and postvaccine era in Chengdu were investigated. The results showed that the coverage of RV5 had been increasing but still relatively low. Nevertheless, the dramatical decline in the rotavirus detection was observed after the introduction of RV5.

Organoids for Cancer Research: Advances and Challenges.

As 3D culture technology advances, new avenues have opened for the development of physiological human cancer models. These preclinical models provide efficient ways to translate basic cancer research into clinical tumor therapies. Recently, cancer organoids have emerged as a model to dissect the more complex tumor microenvironment.