Plos One
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Comparative Study
Gene expression profiling in preterm infants: new aspects of bronchopulmonary dysplasia development.
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is one of the most serious complications observed in premature infants. Thanks to microarray technique, expression of nearly all human genes can be reliably evaluated. ⋯ The results of the whole genome expression study revealed alteration of the expression of nearly 10% of the genome in bronchopulmonary dysplasia patients.
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The relative contributions of genetics and environment to asthma in Hispanics or to asthma in children younger than 3 years are not well understood. ⋯ Our longitudinal study in Puerto Rican twins demonstrates a changing contribution of shared environmental effects to liability for physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use between ages 1 and 3 years. Early-life environmental tobacco smoke reduction could markedly reduce asthma morbidity in young Puerto Rican children.
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In obstructive sleep apnea patients (OSA), continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence is crucial to improve symptoms and cardiometabolic outcomes. The choice of mask may influence CPAP adherence but this issue has never been addressed properly. ⋯ As oronasal masks negatively impact on CPAP adherence, a nasal mask should be preferred as the first option. Patients on oronasal masks should be carefully followed.
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Achieving a rapid microbiological diagnosis is crucial for decreasing morbidity and mortality of patients with a bloodstream infection, as it leads to the administration of an appropriate empiric antimicrobial therapy. Molecular methods may offer a rapid alternative to conventional microbiological diagnosis involving blood culture. In this study, the performance of a new technology that uses broad-spectrum PCR coupled with mass spectrometry (PCR/ESI-MS) was evaluated for the detection of microorganisms directly from whole blood. ⋯ Interestingly, the PCR/ESI-MS technology led to the additional identification of 13 pathogens that were not found by conventional methods. Using the PCR/ESI-MS technology the microbiological diagnosis of bloodstream infections could be anticipated in about half of the patients in our setting, including a small but significant proportion of patients newly diagnosed. Thus, this promising technology could be very useful for the rapid diagnosis of sepsis in combination with traditional methods.
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Observational Study
Temperature variability during delirium in ICU patients: an observational study.
Delirium is an acute disturbance of consciousness and cognition. It is a common disorder in the intensive care unit (ICU) and associated with impaired long-term outcome. Despite its frequency and impact, delirium is poorly recognized by ICU-physicians and -nurses using delirium screening tools. A completely new approach to detect delirium is to use monitoring of physiological alterations. Temperature variability, a measure for temperature regulation, could be an interesting component to monitor delirium, but whether temperature regulation is different during ICU delirium has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate whether ICU delirium is related to temperature variability. Furthermore, we investigated whether ICU delirium is related to absolute body temperature. ⋯ Our study suggests that temperature variability is increased during ICU delirium.