International journal of clinical practice
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Oct 2021
Effectiveness of apixaban versus enoxaparin in preventing wound complications and deep venous thrombosis following total knee replacement surgery: a retrospective study.
Enoxaparin, a thromboprophylactic drug that is widely used for preventing deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and surgical wound complications after total knee replacement surgery, can only be administered subcutaneously. Apixaban, a novel factor Xa inhibitor that could be comparable to enoxaparin, is an oral formulation and thus would be easier to manage. ⋯ Oral apixaban is an effective alternative to enoxaparin as a thromboprophylactic drug for patients undergoing elective total knee replacement surgery.
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Aerosol therapy has the advantage of a higher safety because of the local deposition of inhaled medication to the lung; however, the main drawback is the low and variable amount of delivered drug to patients. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the effect of different accessory connections on aerosol delivery from different nebulisers. ⋯ Using a valved chamber with jet and VMNs significantly improved the inhaled amount of the emitted aerosol. VMNs were more effective than jet nebulisers with both connections.
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Galectin-3 is a β-galactoside-binding lectin associated with cellular proliferation, inflammation and angiogenesis, which are the major characteristics of psoriatic skin. ⋯ Elevated serum galectin-3 levels in psoriasis patients may indicate a possible role of galectin-3 in pathogenesis of psoriasis.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Oct 2021
Adverse reactions to Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination of healthcare workers at Malta's state hospital.
The long-term control of COVID-19 depends on an effective global vaccination strategy. Protecting healthcare workers (HCWs) from serious infection is critical. Malta, a European country, initiated the vaccination roll-out using Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine targeting HCWs. This study determined vaccination adverse effects (AEs) in this cohort. ⋯ Vaccination benefits outweigh the minor AEs experienced, with females exhibiting a higher susceptibility. The general low vaccination AEs observed within the HCW cohort is encouraging and should help in allaying vaccine hesitancy among the population.
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Int. J. Clin. Pract. · Oct 2021
The Relationship Between Frontal QRS-T Angle and the Severity of Newly Diagnosed Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterised by persistent airflow restriction and respiratory symptoms. Studies demonstrated that cardiac arrhythmias and cardiovascular mortality increased in these patients as a result of altered myocardial repolarization. Frontal QRS-T angle is a novel marker of myocardial depolarization and repolarization heterogeneity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between frontal QRS-T angle and disease severity in patients with newly diagnosed COPD. ⋯ Frontal QRS-T angle is an easily obtainable marker form surface electrocardiography. In this study, we have shown for the first time that frontal QRS-T angle was significantly increased in patients with severe and very severe COPD.