Mild-to-Moderate Kidney Dysfunction and Cardiovascular Disease: Observational and Mendelian Randomization Analyses.

Background: End-stage renal disease is associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events. It is unknown, however, whether mild-to-moderate kidney dysfunction is causally related to coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.

Methods: Observational analyses were conducted using individual-level data from 4 population data sources (Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration, EPIC-CVD [European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Cardiovascular Disease Study], Million Veteran Program, and UK Biobank), comprising 648 135 participants with no history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes at baseline, yielding 42 858 and 15 693 incident CHD and stroke events, respectively, during 6.

Growth Differentiation Factor 15: A Novel Growth Biomarker for Children With Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: Failure to thrive (FTT), defined as weight or height less than the lowest 2.5 percentile for age, is prevalent in up to 66% of children with congenital heart disease (CHD). Risk stratification methods to identify those who would benefit from early intervention are currently lacking.

Immediate pressor response to oral salt and its assessment in the clinic: a time series clinical trial.

Background: High blood pressure (BP) is associated with high-salt consumption especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Although the pressor effect of salt is viewed as a chronic effect, some studies suggest that a salty meal may increase BP immediately in some individuals, and that this effect may cause endothelial dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of our research was to study the immediate pressor response to oral salt (IPROS) and its determinants, with the expectation that a simple methodology may be devised to diagnose it in the clinic or in low-resource environments.

Upcoming and urgent challenges in critical care research based on COVID-19 pandemic experience.

While the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic placed a heavy burden on healthcare systems worldwide, it also induced urgent mobilisation of research teams to develop treatments preventing or curing the disease and its consequences. It has, therefore, challenged critical care research to rapidly focus on specific fields while forcing critical care physicians to make difficult ethical decisions. This narrative review aims to summarise critical care research -from organisation to research fields- in this pandemic setting and to highlight opportunities to improve research efficiency in the future, based on what is learned from COVID-19.

Associations between comorbidity-related functional limitations and pneumonia outcomes.

Background: Underlying comorbidities are common in children with pneumonia.

Objective: To determine associations between comorbidity-related functional limitations and risk for severe pneumonia outcomes.

Design, Setting, And Participants: We prospectively enrolled children <18 years with and without comorbidities presenting to the emergency department with clinical and radiographic pneumonia at two institutions.

Pharmacogenetic variants and risk of remdesivir-associated liver enzyme elevations in Million Veteran Program participants hospitalized with COVID-19.

Remdesivir is the first US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We conducted a retrospective pharmacogenetic study to examine remdesivir-associated liver enzyme elevation among Million Veteran Program participants hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 15, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Pharmacogene phenotypes were assigned using Stargazer.

Geographic Variation in Hospital-Based Physician Participation in Insurance Networks.

This cross-sectional study documents 2021 insurance network participation rates among hospital-based physicians nationally and by state.

Computed Tomography of the Chest to Screen for Interstitial Lung Disease in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis at Expert Scleroderma Centers in the United States.

Objective: Although a high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan of the chest is the gold standard test for the detection of interstitial lung disease (ILD), there is no consensus among rheumatologists regarding the use of HRCT to screen for ILD in their patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The aims of this study were to describe the HRCT ordering practices at SSc centers in the United States and to determine which patient characteristics are associated with HRCT performance.

Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study of patients with SSc enrolled in the US-based Collaborative National Quality and Efficacy Registry (CONQUER).

A case of percutaneous cryoablation complicated by subcapsular hemorrhage managed conservatively.

Herein, we report a patient who underwent percutaneous cryoablation for suspected renal cell carcinoma and developed a subcapsular hematoma with numerous pseudoaneurysms and dramatic structural deformity. Despite the severity suggested by the radiologic presentation, a conservative management approach was selected due to the patient's favorable hemodynamic status. This resulted in a positive outcome as alternative treatment options would have resulted in loss of the organ.

The effect of baseline cognition and delirium on long-term cognitive impairment and mortality: a prospective population-based study.

Background: There is an unmet public health need to understand better the relationship between baseline cognitive function, the occurrence and severity of delirium, and subsequent cognitive decline. Our aim was to quantify the relationship between baseline cognition and delirium and follow-up cognitive impairment.

Methods: We did a prospective longitudinal study in a stable representative community sample of adults aged 70 years or older who were registered with a Camden-based general practitioner in the London Borough of Camden (London, UK).

Rate of and Factors Associated with Palliative Care Referral among Patients Declined for Liver Transplantation.

End-stage liver disease (ESLD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality, with liver transplantation as the only existing cure. Despite reduced quality of life and limited life expectancy, referral to palliative care (PC) rarely occurs. Moreover, there is scarcity of data on the appropriate timing and type of PC intervention needed.

Concordance in RT-PCR detection of SARS-CoV-2 between samples preserved in viral and bacterial transport medium.

Background: While the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in samples preserved in viral transport medium (VTM) by RT-PCR is a standard diagnostic method, this may preclude the study of bacterial respiratory pathogens from the same specimen. It is unclear if the use of skim milk, tryptone, glucose, and glycerin (STGG) transport media, used for study of respiratory bacteria, allows an efficient and concurrent study of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Objectives: To determine the concordance in SARS-CoV-2 detection by real time RT-PCR between paired nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs preserved in STGG and nasal (NS) swabs preserved in VTM.

Analysis of Hearing Preservation in Middle Cranial Fossa Resection of Vestibular Schwannoma.

Objective: Describe the effect of preoperative hearing on the likelihood of hearing preservation after middle cranial fossa (MCF) approach for resection of vestibular schwannoma (VS) and the effect of hearing preservation on disease-specific quality of life (QOL).

Study Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Academic tertiary care skull base surgery program.

SARS-CoV-2 infections in households in a peri-urban community of Lima, Peru: A prospective cohort study.

Background: We assessed the prevalence and incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in a prospective study of households in Lima, Peru.

Methods: Households with a child, a young adult 18-50 years, and an adult age >50 years in peri-urban Lima were followed with twice-a-week household visits during a 2-month period. Nasal swabs and saliva specimens were collected twice weekly, and nasopharyngeal swabs were collected weekly from each participant, regardless of symptoms.

Training Healthcare Professionals to Work With People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

This study assessed 155 healthcare providers, from nine disciplines, who work professionally with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Using a national, web-based survey, respondents rated their experience, comfort, and competence in treating individuals with different disability types and preferred methods of continuing education; respondents also provided suggestions for attracting others to work with the IDD population. Findings revealed that experiences, comfort, and competence were all higher concerning persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID), lower for those with deaf-blindness.

All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality in Psoriatic Arthritis and Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondylitis (AS) are chronic inflammatory diseases associated with a higher risk of cardiometabolic comorbidities compared to the general population. Individual studies examining mortality in these patients have produced conflicting results. The present study was undertaken to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to analyze the all-cause and cause-specific mortality in PsA and AS from the available literature.