Search results for "Techniques"
showing 10 items of 4426 documents
Alcohol consumption and risk of uterine myoma: A systematic review and meta analysis
2017
Background The published data about alcohol consumption and uterine myoma are scanty and controversial: some studies found positive association whereas other studies showed no association. Objectives To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine whether alcohol is a risk factor for myoma. Search strategy A MEDLINE/EMBASE search was carried out, supplemented by manual searches of bibliographies of the selected studies. Selection criteria Articles published as full-length papers in English. In the review we included all identified studies. Otherwise, the inclusion criteria for studies included in the meta-analysis were: a) case-control or cohort studies, reporting original dat…
Cervical pregnancy in assisted reproduction: an analysis of risk factors in 91,067 ongoing pregnancies
2019
Abstract Research question What is the frequency of cervical pregnancy in women undergoing assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and what are the risk factors? Design Case-control study of women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) at 25 private assisted reproduction clinics run by the same group in Spain. Two control groups (tubal ectopic pregnancies and intrauterine pregnancies) were established. The main outcome measure was frequency of cervical pregnancy. Demographic, clinical factors and IVF parameters were assessed for their influence on cervical pregnancy risk. Results Thirty-two clinical pregnancies were achieved out of 91,067 ongoing pregnancies, yielding a rate of …
A Comparison of Aspergillus and Mucorales PCR Testing of Different Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Fractions from Patients with Suspected Invasive Pulmo…
2018
ABSTRACT In patients with hematological malignancies, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens are commonly used for the diagnosis of mold infections. However, it is not clear whether the cell pellet (P) or the supernatant fraction (S) of the BALF specimen is optimal for molecular diagnostic testing. Thus, 99 BALF specimens were collected from 96 hematology patients with or without allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The cell pellets and supernatants were processed alone and in combination (S/P) for testing by two fungus-specific real-time PCR assays compliant with international recommendations. The results achieved with S/P were revealed to be superior in comparison to thos…
Economic evaluation of azoles as primary prophylaxis for the prevention of invasive fungal infections in Spanish patients undergoing allogeneic haema…
2016
Patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) are at risk of developing invasive fungal infections (IFIs). Even with introduction of oral triazole antifungal agents (fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole and voriconazole) IFI-associated morbidity and mortality rates and economic burden remain high. Despite their proven efficacy, it is currently unknown which is the most cost-effective antifungal prophylaxis (AFP) agent. To determine the costs and outcomes associated with AFP, a decision-analytic model was used to simulate treatment in a hypothetical cohort of 1000 patients undergoing alloHSCT from the perspective of the Spanish National Health System. …
A scoping review on interventions to promote physical activity among adults with disabilities
2018
Abstract Background Despite the strong evidence that physical activity (PA) is a key determinant of health, there is limited knowledge on the content and outcomes of PA promotion interventions among individuals with disabilities. Objective To conduct a scoping review in order to examine the published literature on PA promotion interventions among adults with disabilities. Methods A scoping review following the methodological framework provided by Arksey and O'Malley used electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL), reference lists, and journals to locate studies. Inclusion criteria were based on study aim, outcome measures, and a disability definition by the WHO International Class…
Mandibular incisor extraction: indications and long-term evaluation
1996
The extraction of a lower incisor constitutes a therapeutic alternative limited to certain occlusal situations, i.e. supernumerary incisors, tooth size anomalies (peg-shaped upper laterals), ectopic eruption and anterior crossbites. The effect of the extraction of a single incisor on the out of retention alignment of lower anterior teeth was studied in 26 treated cases. Initial (T1), final (T2) and 5-8 years out of retention (T3) dental casts were measured. Mean crowding at the start of treatment (T1 = 3.86 mm) relapsed out of retention (T3 = 1.49 mm), with a net mean improvement of 2.37 mm. Little's irregularity index at the start of treatment (T1 = 6.44) relapsed out of retention (T3 = 2.…
Optimising management of patients with hepatitis C virus in the age of direct-acting antivirals: results of a Delphi consensus.
2018
OBJECTIVE: To optimize the management of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We developed two questionnaires to determine Italian healthcare professionals’ opinions on the overall management of HCV chronic liver disease and the use of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in the treatment of HCV. A Delphi consensus method using the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method was used to determine opinions of an expert panel (EP) of specialists. RESULTS: Overall 443 physicians from 167 Italian centres completed the two questionnaires. The EP confirmed the importance of collaboration with general practitioners (GPs) and HCV testing in high-risk groups, but did not agree on tr…
ROUTINARY USE OF FIBRIN SEALANTS TO PREVENT PROLONGED AIR LEAK IN THORACIC SURGERT: OUR EXPERIENCE
2019
Introduction: prolonged air leak (PAL) is one of the most common postoperative complications after lung surgery. It is associatred with increased significant morbidity, lower quality of life, longer hospital stay and higher hospital costs. Since its great clinical and economic burden, it is important to establish the feasibility and the effectiveness of the routinary preventive use of a fibrin sealant in order to reduce the incidence of prolonged air leaks. Patients and methods: this is a randomized study on 189 adult patients - 118 men (62,4%) and 71 women (37,6%) aged from 39 to 87 y.o. (mean age 68,3 y.o.) - who underwent lung surgery (lobectomy or bilobectomy) with intraoperatory detect…
Diagnostic performance of 2D-shear wave elastography in the diagnosis of breast cancer: a clinical appraisal of cutoff values
2022
Purpose To assess the role of 2D-shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) in differentiating benign from malignant focal breast lesions (FBLs), providing new vendor-specific cutoff values. Methods 158 FBLs (size: 3.5-50 mm) detected in 151 women (age: 21-87 years) were prospectively evaluated by means 2D-SWE. For each lesion, an expert radiologist assessed US BI-RADS category and calculated the following four 2D-SWE parameters: (1) elasticity maximum (E-max); (2) mean elasticity (E-mean); (3) minimum elasticity (E-min); (4) elasticity ratio (E-ratio). US-guided core-biopsy was considered as standard of reference for all the FBLs classified as BI-RADS 4 or 5. For each 2D-SWE parameter, the optimal c…
β-Adrenoceptor stimulation up-regulates phosphodiesterase 4 activity and reduces prostaglandin E 2 -inhibitory effects in human neutrophils
2000
Human neutrophils were treated for 4 h with a combination of salbutamol (1 µM), a β2-adrenoceptor agonist, and rolipram (30 µM), a selective phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor, to investigate whether this treatment produces up-regulation of phosphodiesterase activity with functional consequences. Anion-exchange chromatography coupled with the use of selective activators and inhibitors demonstrated that a phosphodiesterase activity with characteristics of the isoenzyme type 4 was increased in drug-treated cells. Kinetic analysis showed a ~1.5-fold increase in V max without alteration of K m values. The augmented phosphodiesterase activity in drug-treated cells was abolished by actinomycin D. Cycl…