Medicine
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Meta Analysis
Diagnostic performance of mono-exponential DWI versus diffusion kurtosis imaging in breast lesions: A meta-analysis.
This meta-analysis aimed to explore the diagnostic value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) compared to mono-exponential diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in the diagnosis of breast cancer. ⋯ Although DKI is feasible for identifying breast cancer, MD and MK offer similar diagnostic performance to ADC values. Thus, we recommend that DKI should not be included in the routine evaluation of breast lesions now.
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The association between serum albumin (ALB) and cardiovascular events has been well established, but the relationship with atrial fibrillation (AF) remains controversial. This study aims to evaluate the association between ALB and AF in a Chinese population. We reviewed the medical records of 2000 hospitalized patients, 1000 patients with AF were included in the AF group, and 1000 age- and sex-matched patients with sinus rhythm and no history of AF were included in the control group. ⋯ The optimal cutoff value of ALB for predicting AF was 37.25 g/L, the sensitivity was 78.0%, and the specificity was 4.6%. Low ALB level is independently associated with AF. Since the current study design cannot establish causalities, further prospective cohort studies are needed to determine this finding.
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We aimed to compare the effect of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) and Crenel lateral interbody fusion (CLIF) on single segmental lumbar degenerative disease. Patients with single segmental lumbar degenerative disease undergoing MIS-TLIF (n = 28) and CLIF (n = 28) were enrolled from April to October 2017. Preoperative medical history, anthropometric data, and clinical data were recorded. ⋯ Both groups had similar lumbar fusion rate (P > .05). Overall, CLIF has less complications, less trauma and faster recovery for the treatment of single segmental lumbar degenerate disease when compared with MIS-TLIF. Evaluation of more patients and long-term follow-up are still needed to further validate our findings.
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Previous studies have shown that mean corpuscular volume (MCV) levels are associated with the prognosis of patients with cardiovascular disease. However, the relationship between MCV levels and mortality in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains unclear. Patients with ICH were extracted from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III database. ⋯ In subgroups analysis's the results remained stable. We demonstrated that MCV at admission was positively associated with 30-day mortality. The Kaplan-Meier (KM) method was used to plot survival curves of three groups with different admission MCV levels.
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The importance of pain education is widely accepted and recognized. This is a key part of educating the undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare workforce is an essential strategy for promoting effective pain practice. This study aims to evaluate the pain management module training courses for newly graduated doctors to address the knowledge gap between specialist care and primary care physicians. ⋯ There was a marked improvement in the post-test as evidenced by statistically significant increases in mean scores differences. We developed an educational training courses for physicians to address the limitation in existing medical undergraduate training of neuropathic pain management. The training led to improvement in participant's knowledge and skills with positive outcomes.