Medicine
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Use of Traditional and Complementary Medicine as Self-Care Strategies in Community Health Centers: Cross-Sectional Study in Urban Pearl River Delta Region of China.
In China, Community Health Centers (CHCs) are major providers of primary care services, but their potential in empowering patients' self-management capacity has not been assessed. This study aims to describe self-care practice patterns amongst CHC attendees in urban China. In this cross-sectional quantitative study, 3360 CHC patients from 6 cities within the Pearl Delta Region were sampled using multistage cluster sampling. ⋯ These results suggest that CHCs should start initiatives in fostering appropriate use of OTC CHM, vitamins, and minerals. Engaging community pharmacists in guiding safe and effective use of OTC CHM amongst the uninsured is essential given their low accessibility to CHC services. Prescription of Taiji instead of physical exercises to women and older people could be more culturally appropriate, and the possibility of including this as part of the CHC services worth further exploration.
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Review Case Reports
Multiorgan resection with inferior vena cava reconstruction for hepatic alveolar echinococcosis: A case report and literature review.
Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a life-threatening parasitic disease characterized by its tumor-like growth. Radical operation is deemed the curable method for AE treatment if R0-resection is achievable. ⋯ This patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and a good prognosis. Multiorgan resection is justified and unavoidable in selected patients when AE lesions invade different organs and the main vascular structures.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A 2-week Nitazoxanide-based quadruple treatment as a rescue therapy for Helicobacter pylori eradication: A single center experience.
As there are increasing reports of fluoroquinolone resistance on use as a first- or second-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori (H pylori), we aimed at evaluation of the efficacy and safety of nitazoxanide-based regimen as a rescue regimen in Egyptian patients whose previous traditional treatment for H pylori infection failed. In total, 100 patients from the outpatient clinic of the Tropical medicine department, Tanta University hospital in whom the standard triple therapy (clarithromycin-based triple therapy) failed were enrolled in the study. Nitazoxanide (500 mg bid), levofloxacin (500 mg once daily), omeprazole (40 mg bid), and doxycyclin (100 mg twice daily) were prescribed for 14 days. ⋯ However, 83 patients had successful eradication of H pylori with total eradication rates 83% (95 % CI 75.7-90.3%) and 88.30% (95 % CI 81.8-94.8%) according to an intention-to-treat and per-protocol analysis, respectively. Adverse events were reported in 21% of patients: abdominal pain (6%), nausea (9%) and constipation (12%), (2%) headache, and (1%) dizziness. A 2-week nitazoxanide-based regimen is an effective and safe rescue therapy in Egyptian patients whose previous standard triple therapy has failed.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Prediction of future development of cardiovascular disease with an equation to estimate apolipoprotein B: A community-based cohort study.
Apolipoprotein B (apoB) has additional benefits over conventional lipid measurements in predicting future cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to validate the clinical relevance of our equation to estimate apoB in a large-scale, prospective, community-based cohort study (Ansung-Ansan cohort study). A total of 9001 Korean subjects were assessed. ⋯ Both non-HDL cholesterol (HR per 1-SD [95% CI]; 1.13 [1.05-1.23], P = 0.002) and estimated apoB (HR per 1-SD [95% CI]; 1.14 [1.05-1.24], P = 0.001) were independently associated with the development of CVD; however, the LDL cholesterol level was not predictive of future CVD (HR per 1-SD [95% CI]; 1.07 [0.99-1.16], P = 0.08). Both non-HDL cholesterol and estimated apoB level were independently associated with the development of CVD. Because LDL cholesterol has limited value to predict incident CVD, we recommend calculating non-HDL cholesterol or apoB with our equation to predict risk of incident CVD in the general Korean population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Correlation of platelets count with endoscopic findings in a cohort of Egyptian patients with liver cirrhosis.
Screening endoscopy is recommended for early detection of esophageal varices (EVs) in cirrhotic patients with portal hypertension. However, this approach is limited by its invasiveness and cost. The aim of the study was to determine if platelet count can predict the presence of EVs, especially large (grade III, IV) EVs in need of prophylactic therapy, in a cohort of Egyptian patients with liver cirrhosis. ⋯ Platelet count is a noninvasive parameter with high accuracy for prediction of EVs. Cirrhotic patients with normal platelet counts (above 150,000), especially in financially deprived developing countries, can avoid screening endoscopy as they are at a low risk for variceal bleeding, and presence of large EVs in these patients is much less common than in those with thrombocytopenia. A 3.175 cut-off value of FIB-4 could be useful as a noninvasive predictor of large varices requiring prophylactic banding in cirrhotic patients.