Annals of medicine
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Dupilumab has been approved for the treatment of severe asthma with type 2 inflammation by inhibiting interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 signaling. However, dupilumab-induced hypereosinophilia (HE) has been reported and should not be ignored. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of dupilumab in Chinese patients with severe asthma, whether HE affects its efficacy, and the possible risk factors for HE. ⋯ This study demonstrated that dupilumab was efficacious in Chinese patients with severe asthma, and some patients developed asymptomatic, self-limited HE, which did not affect its efficacy. Additionally, FeNO ≥60 ppb, food allergens positive, and co-morbidities with EOM may be the risk factors for developing HE.
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Providing the highest quality care with no biases is the goal of every healthcare system. As a part of that goal hospital readmission has been investigated due to its impact on healthcare cost and case fatality rate in patient outcome. Patient's demographics, substance use and insurance barriers have been investigated as factors for readmission rate but the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on those biases and barriers have not been studied extensively yet. ⋯ Our multivariable analysis showed that the rate of readmissions during the COVID-19 pandemic was statistically higher among substance users (p = 0.003) and Medicaid insured (p = 0.038), and less likely among Spanish speakers p = 0.003. This study is limited due to small sample size and does not accurately represent the full population of the United States. Our hope is to further investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the readmission rate and to identify any influencing factors, biases, and barriers that contributed to the increased rate of readmission to learn and avoid future readmissions during straining times in medicine such as during COVID-19 pandemic.
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Ischaemic encephalopathy is a common cerebrovascular disease caused by insufficient blood supply to the cerebral vessels. The ischaemic encephalopathy is closely associated with the development of many chronic diseases such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes. Neurotrophic therapy has become the main therapeutic strategy for ischaemic encephalopathy. However, neurotrophic drugs only slightly recover the neurological function of patients, and their long-term efficacy is uncertain. Previous reports revealed that the active ingredients of natural medicines play important roles in the treatment of cerebral ischemia. In this study, we reviewed clearing herbs with anti-ischaemic encephalopathy functions using the data from quantitative statistical and network pharmacological exploration methods. We also discussed the different bioactive components and pharmacological effects of these herbs. ⋯ Heat-clearing herbs are useful and promising for the protection against and prevention of ischemic encephalopathy. The results of the network pharmacological studies are similar to the mechanisms of anti-ischemic encephalopathy of the active ingredients of the purgative herbs we have listed; Thin either directly protects cerebrovascular tissues by improving vascular permeability and reducing the area of infarcted tissues, or produces protective effects through molecular signaling pathways. It can be seen that the components of heat-clearing Chinese medicines can exert cerebroprotective effects through multiple pathways, which provides us with a reference for further development and study of heat-clearing Chinese medicines in the treatment of ischemic cerebrovascular diseases.
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The administration of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) is anticipated to elevate an individual's susceptibility to enteric infections as a result of altering the gut flora. The influence of PPIs on the clinical manifestation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still uncertain. This study aims to investigate the impact of PPI usage on the clinical manifestation of COVID-19, namely its gastrointestinal symptoms. ⋯ This study shows that the use of PPIs could impact COVID-19 clinical presentation toward more gastrointestinal manifestations. Further studies investigating the link between other acid suppression medications and COVID-19 manifestations and severity should be carried out.
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This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) technology in screening for microdeletions in the 7q11.23 region. ⋯ NIPS screening for Williams syndrome can be achieved by enriching cell-free foetal DNA and improving bioinformatic analysis algorithms.