Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Comparison between EQ-5D and SF-6D utility in rural residents of Jiangsu Province, China.
The SF-6D and EQ-5D are widely used generic index measures as health-related quality of life. We assessed within-subject agreement between SF-6D and EQ-5D utilities with different preference weights, and their validities in measuring Chinese rural residents, before and after standardization scores. ⋯ SF-6D and next EQ-5D in Japan weights could be used for Chinese rural residents. Further research with larger sample size of population is needed to establish and determine the feasibility of standardization score.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disorder characterized by incompletely reversible airflow obstruction. Bacterial infection of the lower respiratory tract contributes to approximately 50% of COPD exacerbations. Even during periods of stable lung function, the lung harbors a community of bacteria, termed the microbiome. ⋯ Principal coordinate analyses demonstrated separation of control and COPD samples, but samples did not cluster based on disease severity. However, samples did cluster based on the use of inhaled corticosteroids and inhaled bronchodilators. Metastats analyses demonstrated an increased abundance of several oral bacteria in COPD samples.
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Recent studies have demonstrated the association between increased concentrations of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (hs-cTnT) and the incidence of myocardial infarction, heart failure, and mortality. However, most prognostic studies to date focus on the value of hs-cTnT in the elderly or general population. The value of hs-cTnT in symptomatic patients visiting the outpatient department remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of hs-cTnT as a biomarker in patients with symptoms of chest discomfort suspected for coronary artery disease and to assess its additional value in combination with other risk stratification tools in predicting cardiac events. ⋯ Hs-cTnT is a useful prognostic biomarker in patients with chest discomfort suspected for coronary artery disease. In addition, hs-cTnT was an independent predictor for cardiac events when corrected for cardiovascular risk profiling, calcium score and CT-angiography results.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Historical Article
Managing end-of-life decision making in intensive care medicine--a perspective from Charité Hospital, Germany.
End-of-life-decisions (EOLD) have become an important part of modern intensive care medicine. With increasing therapeutic possibilities on the one hand and many ICU-patients lacking decision making capacity or an advance directive on the other the decision making process is a major challenge on the intensive care unit (ICU). Currently, data are poor on factors associated with EOLD in Germany. In 2009, a new law on advance directives binding physicians and the patient's surrogate decision makers was enacted in Germany. So far it is unknown if this law influenced proceedings of EOLD making on the ICU. ⋯ In our ICU EOLD proceedings were performed patient-individually. But EOLDs follow a standard of shared decision making within the caregiverteam and the patient's surrogate decision makers. Enacting a law on advance directives has not affected the decision making-process in EOLDs nor has it affected population's advance care planning habits. However, it has led to increased EOLD-associated documentation on the ICU.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The relationships between body composition and the systemic inflammatory response in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer.
Weight loss is recognised as a marker of poor prognosis in patients with cancer but the aetiology of cancer cachexia remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between CT measured parameters of body composition and the systemic inflammatory response in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer. ⋯ The present study highlights a direct relationship between low levels of skeletal muscle and the presence of a systemic inflammatory response in patients with primary operable colorectal cancer.