Irish journal of medical science
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CoronaVac, an inactivated whole-virion vaccine against COVID-19, has been shown to be safe with acceptable antibody responses by various clinical trials. ⋯ In conclusion, antibody responses of recovered patients COVID-19 diagnosed by both CT and qRT-PCR were much robust than the patients diagnosed by either one of the techniques or undiagnosed/disease-free participants suggesting that severity of the disease likely contributes to the antibody responses after vaccination with CoronaVac.
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Little is known on the duration of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in patients following SARS-CoV-2 infection. ⋯ A substantial fraction of convalescents may exhibit a transient IgG response following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings suggest that patients who have recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection should also be vaccinated if their anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies are undetectable.
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The main indications for emergency subtotal colectomy (SC) include management of toxic colitis, refractory haemorrhage and/or perforation. Alternatively, elective surgery is performed for those refractory to medical therapy or with evidence of multifocal dysplasia. Overall, the annual incidence of SC has fallen since the introduction of biologic therapies and we aimed to review our current practices. ⋯ A significant proportion of IBD patients still require semi-urgent/emergency colectomy, which is associated with considerable length of stay and morbidity. The results of our study provide real-world outcomes to help counsel patients on expected outcomes.
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Clinical trials are often considered the gold standard in cancer care. However, patients face barriers in trial participation including distances to cancer centres and personal costs including changing employment status, cost of medications, inpatient admissions, and parking tariffs. ⋯ Patients enrolled on clinical trials often travel more than twice as far to receive their anti-cancer treatment compared to those receiving standard of care SACT and incur an increased cost of travel expenses.
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Breast cancer mortality has decreased due to improved screening and treatment options. Nevertheless, 25-30% of patients develop disease recurrence and die from the disease dissemination. Patients who develop metastatic disease represent a heterogeneous group and management plans are dependent on molecular subtype, disease burden and metastatic site. ⋯ Readily available clinicopathological factors predict risk of metastatic dissemination. Developing a tailored program to identify patients at risk of recurrence is crucial in controlling metastatic dissemination of breast cancer.