Topk ruling queries about incomplete significant dataset

From World News
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Infection is one of the most commonly described complications, and a major cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients treated using central venous catheters (CVCs). Taurolidine lock solutions have been used to decrease catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs) in both adult and pediatric patients. The purpose of this study was to systematically search the literature and conduct a meta-analysis to determine the efficacy of taurolidine in reducing CRBSI in children. We conducted an electronic search of the PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, TRIP Database, CINAHL, and Google Scholar databases for articles published up to 1st November 2019. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effects of taurolidine with control for preventing CRBSI in pediatric patients. Four studies were included. Our results indicated a statistical significant reduction in the total number of CRBSI with taurolidine as compared to control (RR 0.23; 95% CI0.13, 0.40; I2 = 0%; P less then 0.00001). The pooled analysis also indicated a statistical significant reduction in the incidence of CRBSI (defined as the number of CRBSI events/1000 catheter days) in the taurolidine group (MD -1.12; 95% CI-1.54, -0.71; I2 = 1%; P less then 0.00001). The number of catheters removed due to infection or suspected infection was not significantly different between the two groups (RR 0.68; 95% CI0.22, 2.10; I2 = 56%; P = 0.50) (Fig 5). The quality of the included studies was not high. The use of taurolidine as a catheter locking solution may significantly reduce CRBSI in pediatric patients. However, the quality of current evidence is not high and further high-quality large scale RCTs are needed to corroborate our results.Zoonotic diseases affect resource-poor tropical communities disproportionately, and are linked to human use and modification of ecosystems. Disentangling the socio-ecological mechanisms by which ecosystem change precipitates impacts of pathogens is critical for predicting disease risk and designing effective intervention strategies. Despite the global "One Health" initiative, predictive models for tropical zoonotic diseases often focus on narrow ranges of risk factors and are rarely scaled to intervention programs and ecosystem use. This study uses a participatory, co-production approach to address this disconnect between science, policy and implementation, by developing more informative disease models for a fatal tick-borne viral haemorrhagic disease, Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), that is spreading across degraded forest ecosystems in India. We integrated knowledge across disciplines to identify key risk factors and needs with actors and beneficiaries across the relevant policy sectors, to understand diseask factors; and tailoring the spatial grain and outputs to the scale of forest use, and public health interventions. We argue this inter-disciplinary approach to risk prediction is applicable across zoonotic diseases in tropical settings.BACKGROUND Retaining patients starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) and ensuring good adherence remain cornerstone of long-term viral suppression. In this era of test and treat (T&T) policy, ensuring that patients starting ART remain connected to HIV clinics is key to achieve the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets. buy SB505124 Currently, limited studies have evaluated the effect of early ART initiation on loss to follow up in a routine health care delivery setting. We studied the cumulative incidence, incidence rate of loss to follow up (LTFU), and factors associated with LTFU in a primary healthcare clinic that has practiced T&T since 2012. METHODS We retrospectively analyzed extracted routine program data on patients who started ART from January 2012 to 4th July 2016. We defined LTFU as failure of a patient to return to the HIV clinic for at least 90 days from the date of their last appointment. We calculated cumulative incidence, incidence rate and fitted a multivariable Cox proportion hazards regression model to determine facto level (aHR ranging from aHR = 0.77, 95% CI, 0.62-0.94 for primary education level to 0.50, 95% CI, 0.34-0.75 for post-secondary education level), and having a BMI ≥ 30 (aHR = 0.28, 95% CI, 0.15-0.51). CONCLUSION The risk of loss to follow up increased with time and was higher among patients who started ART within seven days following HIV diagnosis, higher among patients without a telephone set, lower among patients aged ≥ 25 years, lower among patients with at least primary education and lower among patients with BMI of ≥ 30. In this era of T&T, it will be important for HIV programs to initiate and continue enhanced therapeutic education programs that target high risk groups, as well as leveraging on mHealth to improve patients' retention on ART throughout the cascade of care.Scabies is a highly contagious parasitic disease associated with long-term residence in nursing homes, and it is a public health burden worldwide. However, atypical skin manifestations are frequent and the widely used diagnostic test based on microscopic examinations has limited sensitivity. We evaluated the diagnostic value of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from skin scraping in patients with suspected scabies. Adult patients with suspected scabies, unrelated diseases or healthy volunteers were enrolled at a tertiary hospital, in Seoul, South Korea, from December 2017 through October 2018. We classified participants based on the consensus criteria established by the International Alliance for the Control of Scabies in 2018; confirmed (microscopic mite detection), clinical (scabies burrow or typical lesions with two history features including itch and close contact with scabies patients), suspected scabies (typical lesion with one history feature or atypical lesion with two history features), or no scabies. PCR was performed on the skin scrapings to target the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene of Sarcoptes scabiei. A total of 47 participants, 33 with suspected scabies, 10 with unrelated diseases, and 4 healthy volunteers were enrolled. Of the 33 patients, 22 were classified as confirmed scabies, 2 as clinical scabies, 6 as suspected scabies, and 3 as no scabies. The sensitivities of the microscopic examination were 100%, 92%, and 73% in confirmed scabies; confirmed and clinical scabies; and confirmed, clinical, and suspected scabies, respectively (p = 0.006). The sensitivities of PCR were 86%, 83%, and 80% in confirmed scabies; confirmed and clinical scabies; and confirmed, clinical, and suspected scabies, respectively (p = 0.59). The specificity of the scabies PCR in the no scabies control was 100% (95% CI = 80-100).PCR testing for scabies may be helpful in the improvement of sensitivity for the diagnosis of scabies by clinical criteria.