Current medical research and opinion
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Review
Referral criteria to palliative care for patients with Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.
This systematic review aimed to identify the referral criteria for palliative care in patients with Parkinson's disease. ⋯ The 14 themes identified in this systematic review were categorized into disease- and needs-based criteria. These themes show the wide range of referral timing and procedures. Further studies should be conducted to reveal standardized referral criteria.
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Blood supply shortages may create unnecessary burden, including treatment delay, worsened quality of life, or increased healthcare resource utilization in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). This study examined physicians' experience with blood supply shortages in the MDS population. Additionally, physicians' perspectives on the factors that impact clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes of patients with MDS were investigated. ⋯ Our findings support the need for new treatments in MDS that reduce transfusions and thus blood supply needs, and that would have a beneficial effect on clinical, humanistic, and economic outcomes.
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We aimed to determine the effects of the pandemic on the inpatients in the geriatric unit by comparing the demographic and clinical characteristics, reasons for hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality of the patients before and during the pandemic. ⋯ Pandemic has greatly affected the geriatric unit. The prognosis of the patients has worsened and mortality rates have increased. Physiological and psychological deterioration caused by quarantine measures, worsening chronic diseases, and immunosenescence affected the prognosis of geriatric patients. This adds to the previous literature by proving the fact that older individuals are the most vulnerable group in the pandemic.
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Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC), one of the most common subtypes of lung cancer, is a leading cause of cancer-caused deaths in the world. It has been well demonstrated that a deep understanding of the tumor environment in cancer would be helpful to predict the prognosis of patients. This study aimed to evaluate the tumor environment in LUSC, and to construct an efficient prognosis model involved in specific subtypes. ⋯ We explored the tumor environment in LUSC and established a risk prognostic model that might have the potential to be applied in clinical practice.
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Ranitidine products contain unacceptable levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine. This study aimed to investigate changes in the treatment regimen and their influencing factors after the ranitidine recall. ⋯ Approximately two-thirds of patients with gastrointestinal disorders switched from ranitidine to alternative drugs within 3 months after ranitidine withdrawal. The Cox regression analysis showed that age (>55 years); insurance type (MedAid); comorbidities, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, asthma, and osteoarthritis, and gastrointestinal disorder severity influenced the switch from ranitidine to alternative drugs.