The American journal of the medical sciences
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Heart transplantation represents one of the last treatment options for advanced heart failure. Little is known about the factors associated with return to work in patients after heart transplantation. The aim of this study was to identify those factors. ⋯ Return to work after heart transplantation is variable, with a tendency to be low, and is lower in patients near to retirement age. Protective factors were related to the social, physical and mental environment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Story-Based Audiovisual Mnemonics in Comparison with Text-Reading Method on Memory Consolidation among Medical Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Traditional teaching methods via faculty lectures and text-based materials lack interactivity. Hence, this research aimed to compare the effectiveness of story-based audiovisual mnemonics and the conventional text-reading method on medical students' memory consolidation. ⋯ The story-based audiovisual mnemonics method is more effective than the conventional text-reading method in promoting memory retention among medical students.
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The therapeutic benefits and rationale for treating fevers with external cooling methods remain unclear. We aimed to describe the clinical settings in which cooling blankets (CBs) are used. ⋯ Documentation of CB use including temperature set points, time of discontinuation and duration in EMRs was poor. We could not establish benefits of CB use in this study but observed that almost a third of patients developed adverse effects in the form of shivering. Thus, adverse effects of CB use may outweigh potential benefits. Their use should be reevaluated and institutional protocols developed for their use.
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Dysregulation of the circadian rhythm is linked to immune response deficiencies. Diurnal temperature variation-a surrogate for the circadian rhythm, exists in humans, yet its preservation during illness is not well understood. ⋯ Hospitalization is associated with disruption in the circadian rhythm as reflected by patients' body temperature. Since abnormality in body temperature is known to affect patient outcomes, an understanding of the diurnal cycle during hospitalization is the first step towards devising approaches to re-establish the circadian rhythm.