Medicine
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Public hospitals in Thailand recently adopted a new nutrition screening tool to satisfy documentation requirements for reimbursements through the diagnosis-related group system. However, data on the performance of this instrument remains limited. This study was designed to assess the validity and cutoff points of the Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition of Thailand (SPENT) nutrition screening tool against the patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA) and malnutrition diagnostic criteria proposed by the global leadership initiative on malnutrition (GLIM) in cancer patients receiving outpatient radiation therapy. ⋯ Against PG-SGA and GLIM malnutrition diagnosis, the SPENT nutrition screening tool demonstrated good sensitivity (85.3% and 82.8%), specificity (84.1% and 59.4%), positive predictive value (90.5% and 64.0%), negative predictive value (76.3% and 79.9%), with moderate strength of agreement (Cohen kappa 0.678, P < .001 and 0.414, P < .001). Using only the first 2 out of 4 questions revealed an acceptable sensitivity and specificity. The SPENT nutrition screening tool is an accurate, sensitive, and specific tool for malnutrition screening in cancer patients receiving outpatient radiotherapy.
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Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic diseases in the world. Although cardiovascular complications of human brucellosis account for only 3% of morbidity, they are the leading cause of death. Peripheral vascular disease due to brucellosis is rare and under-reported in the literature. ⋯ Chronic damage to human blood vessels by brucellosis may not disappear with brucellosis treatment, and peripheral blood vessels should be examined annually in people previously diagnosed with brucellosis. Clinicians in related departments should pay attention to peripheral vascular complications of brucellosis.
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The hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte, and platelet (HALP) values were marked as a original index of general nutritional and inflammatory conditions. The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the potential relationship between HALP and prognosis in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Patients with maintenance HD from multiple dialysis centers in China were retrospectively analyzed. ⋯ The composite model with the supplement of HALP outperformed the traditional factor model in the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve. High HALP values at baseline are related to a diminished risk of CVD death and all-cause death in HD patients. HALP is a novel and potent index for the prognosis of HD patients.
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Case Reports
A case series of acute ischemic strokes with contralateral perfusion time delay on brain computed tomography.
Collateral circulation sustains cerebral perfusion in patients with arterial occlusion. Extensive arterial occlusion may redirect cerebral blood flow to compensate for insufficient perfusion. Cerebral artery occlusion can be observed in computed tomography perfusion imaging with increased mean transit time (MTT). However, in some cases, MTT delay occurs contralateral to the site of stenosis or occlusion. This delay cannot be explained simply by the collateral blood supply. Therefore, the authors considered the similarity of the perfusion delay observed at the normal site to that observed in subclavian steal syndrome. ⋯ The site of stenosis or occlusion did not correlate with ipsilateral perfusion delay in these 3 cases. Based on the precedent relationship between infarction and perfusion delay, we developed 2 hypotheses to explain why perfusion decreases on the contralateral side of the occlusion or stenosis. However, this study was limited because we could not identify events, like volume loss or decreased blood pressure, before stroke development.
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Lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus (L-HNP) is a condition in which fibroblasts escape due to degenerative changes or external forces in the intervertebral disc, causing neurological symptoms by compressing the dura mater or nerve root. ⋯ In future, this study is expected to serve as a basis for follow-up studies on the development and application of CPs in integrated medical services for various diseases, including lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus.