Current medical research and opinion
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Clinical Trial
CercaTest RedTM, a novel urine-based point-of-care test for the detection of preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia (PE) poses a serious threat to the health of the pregnant woman and her developing fetus due to the difficulty in diagnosing the condition. The disease can develop and worsen suddenly without noticeable signs and symptoms. Thus, there is an urgent need for a simple Point of Care Test (POCT) that improves accessibility to testing and can be used as an aid in the diagnosis of PE. CercaTest Red is a noninvasive detection kit for impending preeclampsia using urine from pregnant women. This is especially pertinent for women who have limited access to secondary/tertiary healthcare as those in remote settings, low-income countries or simply lack of out of hours laboratory services. ⋯ This test is easy to use, cost-effective and portable with short turnaround time and no laboratory instrument requirement. In the future, the test may have the potential to become quantitative using spectroscopy (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry No. ChiCTR1800017692).
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In Jordan, individuals recently diagnosed with chronic illnesses have expressed concerns with regard to COVID-19 vaccines. This study aims to investigate potential associations between COVID-19 vaccination and the likelihood of recipients developing chronic conditions such as autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, asthma, and hypertension. ⋯ This study highlights an association between the occurrence of autoimmune diseases and COVID-19 vaccination, while findings related to diabetes, asthma, and hypertension did not display significant associations. The results emphasize the necessity for further research to ascertain potential causal relationship.
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Observational Study
The role of lactate-to-albumin ratio to predict 30-day risk of death in patients with sepsis in the emergency department: a decision tree analysis.
Accurately estimating the prognosis of septic patients on arrival in the emergency department (ED) is clinically challenging. The lactate-to-albumin ratio (LAR) has recently been proposed to improve the predictive performance of septic patients admitted to the ICU. ⋯ The LAR can be used as an index to better predict the 30-day risk of death in septic patients.
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To assess the journey of individuals from experiencing a traumatic event through onset of symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). ⋯ PTSD presents heterogeneously, with an extensive journey from trauma to diagnosis with low remission rates and limited treatment options.
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Real-world data is crucial to inform existing opportunistic colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention programs. This study aimed to assess CRC screening adherence and utilization of various screening modalities within a Primary Care network over a three-year period (2017-2019). ⋯ In an opportunistic CRC screening program, adherence increased but remained below the national 80% goal. While colonoscopy remained the most utilized modality, new colonoscopy uptake declined, compared with rising mt-sDNA and FIT utilization. Among minority populations, new uptake increased most with mt-sDNA and FIT.