Medicine
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Racial Disparities in Treatment Rates for Chronic Hepatitis C: Analysis of a Population-Based Cohort of 73,665 Patients in the United States.
Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) disproportionately affects racial minorities in the United States (US). Although prior studies have reported lower treatment rates in Blacks than in Caucasians, the rates of other minorities remain understudied. We aimed to examine antiviral treatment rates by race and to evaluate the effect of other demographic, medical, and psychiatric factors on treatment rates. ⋯ Despite fewer medical and psychiatric comorbidities and higher incomes and educational levels, Asians had the lowest treatment rates. Hispanics also had lower treatment rates than Caucasians despite having higher rates of cirrhosis. Future studies should aim to identify underlying racial-related barriers to hepatitis C virus treatment besides socioeconomic status and medical or psychiatric comorbidities.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A Randomized Cadaver Study Comparing First-Attempt Success Between Tibial and Humeral Intraosseous Insertions Using NIO Device by Paramedics: A Preliminary Investigation.
Medical personnel may encounter difficulties in obtaining intravenous (IV) access during cardiac arrest. The 2015 American Heart Association guidelines and the 2015 European Resuscitation Council guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) suggest that rescuers establish intraosseous (IO) access if an IV line is not easily obtainable.The aim of the study was to compare the success rates of the IO proximal tibia and proximal humerus head access performed by paramedics using the New Intraosseous access device (NIO; Persys Medical, Houston, TX, USA) in an adult cadaver model during simulated CPR.In an interventional, randomized, crossover, single-center cadaver study, a semi-automatic spring-load driven NIO access device was investigated. In total, 84 paramedics with less than 5-year experience in Emergency Medical Service participated in the study. The trial was performed on 42 adult cadavers. In each cadaver, 2 IO accesses to the humerus head, and 2 IO accesses to the proximal tibia were obtained.The success rate of the first IO attempt was 89.3% (75/84) for tibial access, and 73.8% (62/84) for humeral access (P = 0.017). The procedure times were significantly faster for tibial access [16.8 (interquartile range, IQR, 15.1-19.9] s] than humeral access [26.7 (IQR, 22.1-30.9) s] (P < 0.001).Tibial IO access is easier and faster to put in place than humeral IO access. Humeral IO access can be an alternative method to tibial IO access.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Dexmedetomidine Alone for Intravenous Patient-Controlled Analgesia After Gynecological Laparoscopic Surgery: A Consort-Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial.
Gynecological laparoscopic surgery is minimally invasive compared with open surgical approaches, but postoperative pain is generally undermanaged. Pain management strategies related to the procedure-specific efficacy are needed. Many studies have shown that dexmedetomidine (DEX) has opioid-sparing properties. ⋯ The Ramsay sedation scores were not significantly between the groups (P > 0.05). Satisfaction with pain control was higher and time to recovery of gastrointestinal function was lower in group D (P < 0.05). DEX alone is effective for intravenous patient-controlled analgesia after gynecological laparoscopic surgery without a change in sedation and with fewer side effects, and this effect was associated with better satisfaction with postoperative pain control and earlier recovery of gastrointestinal function.
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Review Case Reports
Endovascular Treatment of Behcet Disease With Recurrent Infrainguinal Arterial Pseudoaneurysms: A Case Report and Literature Review.
Aneurysm or pseudoaneurysm formation is one of the vascular complications of Behcet disease. At present, the optimal treatment for the disease has not been established. The authors report a case of vasculo-Behcet disease (v-BD) with recurrent pseudoaneurysms in the left infrainguinal arteries (common femoral artery, superficial femoral artery, and popliteal artery), as well as thrombosis in the popliteal vein and posterior tibial vein. ⋯ The pseudoaneurysm regressed without recurrence for more than 1 year. For v-BD, treatment with immunosuppressive therapy alone may not be sufficient to prevent the recurrence of pseudoaneurysms. For the endovascular treatment of pseudoaneurysms affecting the infrainguinal arteries in v-BD, a fully covered stent graft without oversizing is essential to prevent the recurrence of pseudoaneurysms.
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Review Meta Analysis Retracted Publication
Hybrid Surgery Versus Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion in Multilevel Cervical Disc Diseases: A Meta-Analysis.
To investigate the outcomes and reliability of hybrid surgery (HS) versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylosis and disc diseases. Hybrid surgery, combining cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) with fusion, is a novel treatment to multilevel cervical degenerated disc disease in recent years. However, the effect and reliability of HS are still unclear compared with ACDF. ⋯ The results demonstrate that HS provides equivalent outcomes and functional recovery for cervical disc diseases, and significantly better preservation of cervical ROM compared with ACDF in 2-year follow-up. This suggests the HS is an effective alternative invention for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylosis to preserve cervical ROM and reduce the risk of adjacent disc degeneration. Nonetheless, more well-designed studies with large groups of patients are required to provide further evidence for the benefit and reliability of HS for the treatment of cervical disk diseases.