Current medical research and opinion
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Review
Sting operations in biomedical publishing violate truthfulness and undermine trust in research.
Biomedical research cannot function without the trust of peers and society. The truthfulness of claims made by knowledge-producing agents, such as authors of research, is a prerequisite for their trustworthiness, and violations of truthfulness are rightly seen as a threat to the existence and validity of such research. While most reflection on the lack of truthfulness has focused on fake research, little attention has been paid to how sting operations and hoaxes arguably pose an equally great risk to the ethical integrity of publishing. ⋯ From a deontological perspective, we also argue that the reliance on anonymity in sting operations makes them just as bad, if not worse, than fake research. We advocate for critical scholarship as an alternative to hoaxes and sting operations to expose fake research, in order to promote truthfulness rather than violate it. Finally, we argue that journalists reporting on sting operations should insist less on their entertainment and sensationalist value, and focus more on their unethical nature.
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Review
Pharmacology of chlorphenamine and pseudoephedrine use in the common cold: a narrative review.
The common cold is the most frequent upper respiratory viral infection. Although benign, it represents a high socioeconomic burden. Many over-the-counter drugs are available to manage the symptoms of this condition, with antihistamines and vasoconstrictors being the most widely used. ⋯ Chlorphenamine appears to exhibit a higher degree of efficacy in alleviating rhinorrhea and other specific cold symptoms compared to pseudoephedrine. Pharmacovigilance data and case report reviews showed that pseudoephedrine may induce a higher incidence of less common but potentially life-threatening adverse effects compared to chlorphenamine. We concluded that antihistamine drugs exhibit a more favorable benefit/risk profile than vasoconstrictors for treating symptomatic common colds.
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The purpose of this narrative review is to analyze the most recent studies about the role of C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), two of the main biomarkers of infection, in distinguishing viral from bacterial etiology, in predicting the severity of infection and in guiding antibiotic stewardship in children with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The studies examined reveal that both CRP and PCT play a valuable role in diagnosing pediatric CAP, though each has limitations. ⋯ However, even though CRP and PCT offer valuable insights into the diagnosis and management of pediatric CAP, their application should be always integrated with clinical assessment rather than used in isolation. More studies are needed to define standardized thresholds and decision algorithms that incorporate these biomarkers.
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The purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic investigation of the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) models in the prediction, detection of diagnostic biomarkers, and progression of diabetic kidney disease (DKD). In addition, we compared the performance of non-logistic regression (LR) machine learning (ML) models to conventional LR prediction models. ⋯ ML models showed solid DKD prediction effectiveness, with pooled AUROC values over 0.8, suggesting good performance. These data demonstrated that non-LR and LR models perform similarly in overall CKD management, but the RF model outperforms the LR model, particularly in predicting the occurrence of DKD. These findings highlight the promise of AI technologies for better DKD management. To improve model reliability, future study should include extended follow-up periods as well as external validation.
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Cancer remains a major global cause of death, posing significant treatment challenges. The interactions between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) are crucial in influencing tumor initiation, progression, metastasis, and treatment response. There has been significant research and clinical interest in targeting the TME as a therapeutic approach in cancer, with advancements being made through drug development. ⋯ The findings from these studies indicated that patients using H1-antihistamines concomitantly with I/O agents experienced longer median overall survival (mOS), progression-free survival (mPFS), or improved survival compared to those who did not use antihistamines. Additionally, these trials differentiated between cationic and non-cationic H1-antihistamines, revealing that users of cationic antihistamines had overall better outcomes in terms of longer mOS and mPFS. The assessed trials were consistent in their comparisons of quantitative and qualitative, efficacy, and safety outcomes.