The American journal of the medical sciences
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Dexrazoxane protects breast cancer patients with diabetes from chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
To evaluate the cardioprotective effect of dexrazoxane (DEX) on chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer with concurrent type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2). ⋯ DEX protects against cardiotoxicity induced by chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer with concurrent DM2.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Early initiation of continuous renal replacement therapy improves clinical outcomes in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.
The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a common devastating syndrome in intensive care unit in critically ill patients. Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has been shown beneficial effects on oxygenation and survival in patients with ARDS. However, it is still controversial about the timing of initiation of CRRT. ⋯ Our findings showed that early initiation of CRRT is associated with favorable clinical outcomes in ARDS patients, which might be due to the reduced serum and BALF TGF-β1 levels through CRRT. However, large multi-center studies are needed to make further recommendations as to the optimal use of CRRT in ARDS patient populations.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Characteristics and health perceptions of complementary and alternative medicine users in the United States.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use has been increasing and these unconventional therapies do have important adverse effects. We evaluated predictors of CAM use among U.S. adults. ⋯ Many adults in the United States use CAM without informing their doctors. Care providers should inquire about CAM usage from their patients, document them and counsel their patients regarding their use of these less regulated therapies.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The role of donor chronic alcohol abuse in the development of primary graft dysfunction in lung transplant recipients.
Primary graft dysfunction (PGD) following lung transplantation is clinically similar to the acute respiratory distress syndrome. Because alcohol abuse independently increases the incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome in at-risk individuals, we hypothesized that donor alcohol use is correlated with an increased risk of PGD. As a pilot study, we collected alcohol use histories using a validated instrument, the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test questionnaire, from 74 donors and correlated these with the development of PGD in corresponding recipients. ⋯ In the 1st 4 days post-transplantation, similar percentages of recipients developed grade 3 PGD on at least 1 day (heavy alcohol user=29% [4/14] versus lighter alcohol user=27% [16/60]); however, recipients receiving a lung from a heavy alcohol user were more likely to have multiple and consecutive days of grade 3 PGD, especially in the 1st 48 hours post-transplant. Both median length of stay in the intensive care unit and hospital were somewhat longer in the heavy alcohol user group (9 versus 7 days and 19.5 versus 17.5 days, respectively). If these preliminary findings are validated in a multi-center study, they would have important implications not only for our understanding of the pathophysiology of PGD but also for the development of novel treatments based on the evolving evidence from experimental and clinical studies on how alcohol abuse renders the lung susceptible to acute edematous injury.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Activation of the interleukin-34 inflammatory pathway in response to influenza A virus infection.
Interleukin 34 (IL-34) is a newly recognized cytokine that functions similarly to macrophage colony-stimulating factor. This study investigated the mechanism by which IL-34 is produced in response to exogenous pathogen infections in humans. The results showed that the IL-34 levels were higher in the serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 155 influenza A virus (IAV)-infected patients than in those from 145 healthy individuals. ⋯ This result showed that the production of IL-22 and IL-34 is both from the same and different subset of cells, which indicated that the regulatory mechanism of IL-22/IL-34 is through the autocrine or paracrine systems. In conclusion, IL-34 is induced by IL-22 in the inflammatory cascade in response to IAV infection. Therefore, IL-34 is a promising target for the screening of anti-inflammatory medicines.