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Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia =... 2024To examine spatiotemporal variability and identify clustering patterns of hospitalization rates for diarrhea in children younger than five years in Mato Grosso, Brazil,...
OBJECTIVE
To examine spatiotemporal variability and identify clustering patterns of hospitalization rates for diarrhea in children younger than five years in Mato Grosso, Brazil, from 2011 to 2020.
METHODS
An ecological study was conducted using hospitalization records associated with diarrhea from the Brazilian Hospital Information System/Unified Health System. The relative risk of hospitalization for diarrhea in each municipality was calculated using SaTScan software considering a statistical significance level of 5% and 999 Monte Carlo replications.
RESULTS
A total of 13,315 diarrhea-associated hospitalizations for 5-year-old children were recorded. From 2011 to 2020, the annual rates for hospitalizations related to diarrhea decreased from 8.50 to 3.45/1,000 live births among children younger than one year and from 4.99 to 1.57 for children aged 1-4 years. Clusters of municipalities with high relative risk for hospitalizations due to diarrhea, statistically significant, predominated in the North, Northeast, and Southwest health administrative macro-regions of Mato Grosso for both age groups until 2016. From 2016 to 2020, clusters of the lowest relative risk were identified in the North and Center South health administrative macro-regions for children younger than five years.
CONCLUSION
Results showed that hospitalization rates for diarrhea in children younger than five years reduced with the presence of low-risk clusters in Mato Grosso in the final years of the study. Public health surveillance should incorporate spatial analysis to investigate the diarrhea-related morbidity.
Topics: Humans; Brazil; Hospitalization; Child, Preschool; Infant; Diarrhea; Spatio-Temporal Analysis; Male; Female; Time Factors; Infant, Newborn; Cluster Analysis; Age Distribution
PubMed: 38922201
DOI: 10.1590/1980-549720240035 -
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024The 11th Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death (ICD-11) will replace its predecessor as international...
Coding Diagnoses from the Electronic Death Certificate with the 11th Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems: An Exploratory Study from Germany.
The 11th Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, Injuries, and Causes of Death (ICD-11) will replace its predecessor as international standard for cause-of death-statistics. The digitization of healthcare is a main motivation for its introduction. In parallel, the replacement of the paper-based death certificate with an electronic format is under evaluation. At the moment, the death certificate is used in paper-based format with ICD-10 for coding in Germany. To be prepared for the switch to ICD-11, the compatibility between ICD-11 and the electronic certificate should be assured. Objectives were to check the appropriateness of diagnosis-related information found on death certificates for an ICD-11 coding and to describe enhancements to the certificate's structure needed to fully utilize the strengths of ICD-11. As part of an exploratory test of a respective application, information from 453 electronic death certificates were provided by one local health authority. From a sample of 200 certificates, 433 diagnosis texts were coded into the German version of ICD-11. The appropriateness of the results as well as the further requirements of ICD-11, particularly with regard to post-coordination, were checked. For 430 diagnosis texts, 649 ICD-11 codes were used. Three hundred and sixty two diagnosis texts were rated as appropriately represented through the coding result. Almost all certificates contained diagnosis texts that lacked details required by ICD-11 for a precise coding. The distribution of diseases was very similar between ICD-10 and ICD-11 coding. A few gaps in ICD-11 were identified. Information requested by ICD-11 for a mandatory post-coordination were almost entirely absent from the death certificates. The structure and content of the death certificate are currently not well prepared for an ICD-11 coding. Necessary information was frequently missing. The line-oriented structure of death certificates has to be supplemented with a more flexible approach. Then, the semantic knowledge base of ICD-11 should better guide the content related input fields of a future electronic death certificate.
PubMed: 38921328
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12121214 -
Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Gender equity in healthcare ensures equal access to services and resources for all individuals, regardless of gender. Studies show that patients' gender influences their...
BACKGROUND
Gender equity in healthcare ensures equal access to services and resources for all individuals, regardless of gender. Studies show that patients' gender influences their healthcare experiences and decisions, and societal gender preferences impact surgeon selection. Therefore, the objective of this study was to address the surgeons' gender preferences among Saudi Arabia's population.
METHODS
This study used a cross-sectional research design and survey methodology to gather data from a representative sample of adults aged 18 and older from the general population in Saudi Arabia. This study used SPSS version 26 for statistical data entry and analysis, employing descriptive and inferential statistics, frequency distributions, descriptive statistics, and multivariate analysis using multiple logistic regression for variables significantly associated with population gender in univariate analysis.
RESULTS
This study involved 2085 participants, with 51.2% aged 18-25, 18.4% aged 26-35, 16.7% aged 36-45, and 13.8% aged 45 and above. The majority were Saudi Arabian, with a majority holding a university degree. The majority worked in the healthcare sector, while the remaining 29.7% were unemployed. This study found that there were significant gender preferences among survey respondents for different types of surgical procedures. Male participants preferred male surgeons for routine non-emergency visits and sensitive obstetric, genital, sexual, and minor procedures ( < 0.001). Female participants, on the other hand, had no preference for emergency surgeries and major surgical procedures ( < 0.001). This study found that participants were more likely to prefer female surgeons for regular non-emergency visits to the surgery clinic ( < 0.001; aOR = 2.344). Additionally, participants had a high preference for female surgeons for sensitive cases ( < 0.001; aOR = 7.064) and minor surgical procedures ( < 0.001; aOR = 2.489).
CONCLUSION
This study underscores the significance of cognizance and the incorporation of a patient's gender preferences when selecting surgical procedures, thus fostering an environment that is more accommodating and focused on the patient.
PubMed: 38921298
DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12121185 -
Dentistry Journal Jun 2024The goal was to evaluate the efficacy of the sausage technique in reconstructing the crestal buccal bone thickness, focusing on the distribution shape of the regenerated...
The goal was to evaluate the efficacy of the sausage technique in reconstructing the crestal buccal bone thickness, focusing on the distribution shape of the regenerated volume. Ten implants were placed in five patients with Cawood-Howell class IV defects. A cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) was executed at T0 (before surgery). Guided bone regeneration (GBR) with the sausage technique utilized a resorbable collagen membrane, made of a 50% autologous bone and a 50% anorganic bovine bone matrix (ABBM) mixture. After 6 months, a CBCT (T1) was performed before implant placement. Using CBCT software, a plane parallel to the implant axis intersected perpendicular planes every 1.5 mm from the crest level. T0 and T1 CBCT sections were analyzed, yielding 140 measurements. Statistical analysis via SPSS revealed a significant increase in thickness (average 2.82 ± 1.79 mm). Maximum gains occurred at 4.5 mm from the coronal crest line (3.8 ± 1.51 mm). The GBR sausage technique was effective with minimal post-operative complications, yielding the biggest gain at the mid-ridge sagittal area. Within the analysis limitations, it can be assumed that the sausage technique is effective for horizontal GBR in the maxilla, but a lesser volume might be achieved at the crestal level because it seems to follow a bowed regeneration shape.
PubMed: 38920881
DOI: 10.3390/dj12060180 -
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024Due to its capacity to unveil the dynamic characteristics of time series data, entropy has attracted growing interest. However, traditional entropy feature extraction...
Due to its capacity to unveil the dynamic characteristics of time series data, entropy has attracted growing interest. However, traditional entropy feature extraction methods, such as permutation entropy, fall short in concurrently considering both the absolute amplitude information of signals and the temporal correlation between sample points. Consequently, this limitation leads to inadequate differentiation among different time series and susceptibility to noise interference. In order to augment the discriminative power and noise robustness of entropy features in time series analysis, this paper introduces a novel method called Tsallis entropy-based complexity-improved permutation entropy casualty plane (TC-IPE-CP). TC-IPE-CP adopts a novel symbolization approach that preserves both absolute amplitude information and inter-point correlations within sequences, thereby enhancing feature separability and noise resilience. Additionally, by incorporating Tsallis entropy and weighting the probability distribution with parameter q, it integrates with statistical complexity to establish a feature plane of complexity and entropy, further enriching signal features. Through the integration of multiscale algorithms, a multiscale Tsallis-improved permutation entropy algorithm is also developed. The simulation results indicate that TC-IPE-CP requires a small amount of data, exhibits strong noise resistance, and possesses high separability for signals. When applied to the analysis of heart rate signals, fault diagnosis, and underwater acoustic signal recognition, experimental findings demonstrate that TC-IPE-CP can accurately differentiate between electrocardiographic signals of elderly and young subjects, achieve precise bearing fault diagnosis, and identify four types of underwater targets. Particularly in underwater acoustic signal recognition experiments, TC-IPE-CP achieves a recognition rate of 96.67%, surpassing the well-known multi-scale dispersion entropy and multi-scale permutation entropy by 7.34% and 19.17%, respectively. This suggests that TC-IPE-CP is highly suitable for the analysis of complex time series.
PubMed: 38920530
DOI: 10.3390/e26060521 -
Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) Jun 2024A methodology to study statistical properties of anomalous transport in fusion plasma is investigated. Three time traces generated by the full-f gyrokinetic code GKNET...
A methodology to study statistical properties of anomalous transport in fusion plasma is investigated. Three time traces generated by the full-f gyrokinetic code GKNET are analyzed for this purpose. The time traces consist of heat flux as a function of the radial position, which is studied in a novel manner using statistical methods. The simulation data exhibit transport processes with both medium and long correlation length along the radius. A typical example of a phenomenon with long correlation length is avalanches. In order to investigate the evolution of the turbulent state, two basic configurations are studied, one flux-driven and one gradient-driven with decaying turbulence. The information length concept in tandem with Boltzmann-Gibbs and Tsallis entropy is used in the investigation. It is found that the dynamical states in both flux-driven and gradient-driven cases are surprisingly similar, but the Tsallis entropy reveals differences between them. This indicates that the types of probability distribution function are nevertheless quite different since the higher moments are significantly different.
PubMed: 38920503
DOI: 10.3390/e26060494 -
The Archives of Bone and Joint Surgery 2024This study aimed to examine the incidence of distal radius fractures in patients aged 55 and above who had also experienced hip fractures. Osteoporosis-associated...
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to examine the incidence of distal radius fractures in patients aged 55 and above who had also experienced hip fractures. Osteoporosis-associated fractures, particularly hip fractures, are common and serious in older individuals with reduced bone density. Previous research has suggested a relationship between hip fractures and distal radius fractures.
METHODS
The study included patients over 55 years old who had presented with hip fractures at Akhtar Hospital in the past five years. Patients with a history of hip fractures more than five years before experiencing the distal radius fracture were excluded. Personal information was extracted from medical records, and the collected data were analyzed in SPSS software using statistical methods, such as t-tests and paired t-tests.
RESULTS
This study involved 1,745 patients with hip fractures and 183 individuals without fractures. The average age of the patients was 75.8±10.4 years old, with the majority being female (59.6%). Among the hip fractures, 59.6%, 34.5%, and 5.9% were intertrochanteric fractures, neck of femur fractures, and subtrochanteric fractures, respectively. Overall, 15.8% of individuals with hip fractures also had distal radius fractures. The average age and gender distribution of the patients were similar in both groups, with no significant difference. However, the prevalence of distal radius fractures was significantly higher in the hip fracture group, compared to the control group.
CONCLUSION
It was found that individuals over the age of 55 with distal radius fractures, especially females, are more susceptible to hip fractures. Distal radius fractures have a significant impact on the occurrence of hip fractures in patients. Therefore, older individuals with osteoporosis should be cautious and avoid high-risk activities that could lead to falls and fractures.
PubMed: 38919743
DOI: 10.22038/ABJS.2023.75188.3477 -
Cureus May 2024Background and objective Morphea, or localized scleroderma (LS), is an autoimmune skin disorder characterized by inflammation and sclerosis. Its potential causes include...
Background and objective Morphea, or localized scleroderma (LS), is an autoimmune skin disorder characterized by inflammation and sclerosis. Its potential causes include infections, genetic predisposition, and trauma. The disease involves cycles of inflammation and fibrosis, leading to skin hardening and scarring, which can cause deformities if untreated. Research exploring the link between morphea and rheumatoid factor (RF), a marker associated with other autoimmune conditions, is ongoing. This study aimed to examine the less-explored role of RF, a marker typically linked to rheumatoid arthritis (RA), in the severity of morphea. It focused on assessing the levels of RF among morphea patients and its correlation with disease severity, intending to provide deeper insights into the condition and its management. Methods This study involved a simple randomized cross-sectional analysis to evaluate the role of the RF in measuring morphea severity among patients at the Dermatology and Venereology Department of Al-Sader Teaching Hospital from October 2022 to December 2023. We included participants with clinically and laboratory-confirmed morphea while excluding those with other autoimmune dermatological diseases, recent systemic steroid or immunosuppressive therapy, and pregnant women. The assessment of disease severity was done by utilizing the Localized Scleroderma Cutaneous Assessment Tool (LoSCAT). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Statistics version 27 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY), with a significance threshold of p<0.05. Results Elevated RF levels were significantly associated with increased morphea severity, with severe cases showing higher RF levels (mean: 30.34 U/mL) compared to moderate (25.83 U/mL) and mild cases (21.56 U/mL) (p = 0.028). However, no significant correlation was found between RF levels and demographic factors such as age, gender, or occupation. Patients with high RF levels had a longer disease duration (mean: 57.15 years) compared to those with normal levels (25.83 years, p = 0.020). Significant differences were observed in lesion distribution on the back (p = 0.002). Logistic regression indicated that severe morphea patients were more likely to have elevated RF levels [odds ratio (OR): 1.158, p = 0.014]. Conclusions This study enriches our understanding of RF's role in morphea, revealing no significant correlation with demographic factors but suggesting its potential role in disease chronicity and severity.
PubMed: 38919251
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.61105 -
Cureus May 2024Beta-thalassemia is one of the most common inherited hematological diseases caused by more than 350 mutations in the β-globin gene (HBB). Beta-thalassemia carrier or...
Beta-thalassemia is one of the most common inherited hematological diseases caused by more than 350 mutations in the β-globin gene (HBB). Beta-thalassemia carrier or trait is associated with defects in one allele of the HBB gene. The majority of beta-thalassemia trait cases remain concealed in society and remain unnoticed as they are mostly asymptomatic or present with mild symptoms of anemia. There is a 25% chance of having children with beta-thalassemia major and a 50% chance of having carrier babies when two people with beta-thalassemia trait are married. Hence, it is important to identify the individuals with beta-thalassemia trait and provide counseling to understand the risks of pregnancy and its outcome. Aim To study the identification of beta-thalassemia trait cases along with their clinical findings and hematological correlation. Materials and methods Study Design This was a retrospective study conducted at Saveetha Medical College and Hospital for a period of four years from January 2020 to December 2023. Inclusion Criteria Age group more than 18 years, antenatal mother, cases of anemia who were refractory to iron treatment, and screening of family members in the positive cases of beta-thalassemia trait. Exclusion Criteria History of blood transfusion within three months was excluded. A total number of 837 cases were screened to rule out the presence of beta-thalassemia trait/hemoglobin (Hb) variants. A 2 mL of intravenous blood samples were collected in an ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) vacutainer tube and processed in a Sysmex XN 1000 (Hyogo, Japan: Sysmex Corporation) automated hematology analyzer. The hematological parameters were analyzed. Statistical Analysis The study included both descriptive and analytical characteristics. Mean and standard deviation (SD) were calculated for all the hematological parameters. Beta-thalassemia trait was diagnosed with an HbA2 level of more than 4.0% through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Results Among the 837 samples studied for HPLC screening, 74 (8.8%) cases were found to have beta-thalassemia trait. The age group included was from 18 years to 56 years. Of 74 cases studied, 32(43%) were females and 42(57%) were males. Among the 74 cases studied, the Mentzer index <13 was seen in 58 (78%) cases and the Mentzer index >13 was seen in 16 cases (22%). Thirty-four cases (46%) of beta-thalassemia traits presented to the hospital with a history of fever for evaluation and antenatal screening accounted for 19 cases (26%). The mean red blood cell (RBC) count was 5.5 million/cu.mm; mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was 63.8 fL; mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) was 19.6 pg; red cell distribution width coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) was 17.8%. Among the 74 cases studied, 37(46%) cases had an Hb of more than 11 g/dL, 22 cases had mild anemia, 12 cases had moderate anemia, and three cases had severe anemia. Conclusion This study concluded that regular monitoring of the Mentzer index along with HPLC analysis is an effective approach in identifying beta-thalassemia trait cases and further providing genetic counseling among the couples that will help in reducing high-risk pregnancy and the birth of a child with thalassemia major.
PubMed: 38919232
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.61093 -
Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina,... Jun 2024This study explores the immunogenetic associations of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and the calcium release-activated calcium modulator 1 (ORAI1) and stromal...
INTRODUCTION
This study explores the immunogenetic associations of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and the calcium release-activated calcium modulator 1 (ORAI1) and stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1) genes in HIV-1‒positive patients with HIV-related skin disorders.
METHODS
This study assessed the distribution of variants of HLA class II alleles and expression levels of ORAI1 and STIM1 genes in the blood between HIV-1‒positive patients with HIV-related skin disorders and the control group with no HIV within the Latvian population.
RESULTS
The research group comprised 115 HIV-1‒positive patients with HIV-related skin disorders, and the control group included 80 healthy individuals. Risk alleles (HLA- DQB1*02:01-0301 and HLA-DQA1*01:01-0501) and protective alleles (HLA-DRB1*07-13, DRB1*01-13, DRB1*04-11, and HLA-DQA1*05:01-0501) showed statistical significance in the groups. In 38 out of 115 patients, higher expression levels of ORAI1 and STIM1 genes were detected in the blood at the beginning of treatment. A significantly higher level of the microribonucleic acid (mRNA) ORAI1 gene was also found in the control group.
CONCLUSIONS
The results demonstrate that HLA class II alleles are associated with a trend toward risk/protection concerning HIV-related skin disorders in HIV-1‒positive patients. It was also shown that a low level of ORAI1 mRNA and the risk allele HLA-DQB1*0201-0301 were simultaneously present in the research group.
Topics: Humans; ORAI1 Protein; Male; Latvia; Female; Stromal Interaction Molecule 1; Adult; HIV Infections; Middle Aged; Polymorphism, Genetic; Skin Diseases; Case-Control Studies; Neoplasm Proteins; Genetic Predisposition to Disease
PubMed: 38918943
DOI: No ID Found