Plos One
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Severe pediatric sepsis continues to be associated with high mortality rates in children. Thus, an important area of biomedical research is to identify biomarkers that can classify sepsis severity and outcomes. The complex and heterogeneous nature of sepsis makes the prospect of the classification of sepsis severity using a single biomarker less likely. ⋯ Canonical Correlation Analysis with the Forward Selection and Random Forests methods identified a particular set of biomarkers that included Angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1), Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), and Bicarbonate (HCO[Formula: see text]) as having the strongest correlations with sepsis severity. The robustness and effectiveness of these biomarkers for classifying sepsis severity were validated by constructing a linear Support Vector Machine diagnostic classifier. We also show that the concentrations of Ang-1, Ang-2, and HCO[Formula: see text] enable predictions of the time dependence of sepsis severity in children.
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Common mental disorders (CMD) have become one of the leading causes for disability pension (DP). Studies on predictors of adverse health outcome following DP are sparse. This study aimed to examine the association of different socio-demographic factors and health care consumption with subsequent suicidal behaviour among individuals on DP due to CMD. ⋯ Along with socio-demographic factors, it is very important to consider type of previous healthcare use and medication history when designing further research or intervention aiming at individuals on DP due to CMD. Further research is warranted to investigate both characteristics of disability pension due to CMD, like duration, diagnoses and grade as well as mechanisms to subsequent suicidal behavior, taking potential gender differences into consideration.
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The District Health Information Management System-2 (DHIMS-2) is the database for storing health service data in Ghana, and similar to other low and middle income countries, paper-based data collection is being used by the Ghana Health Service. As the DHIMS-2 database has not been validated before this study aimed to evaluate its validity. ⋯ This study demonstrated that the percentage of missing data in the DHIMS-2 database was negligible while its accuracy was close to the acceptable range for high quality data.
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To examine the implementation of the Surgical Safety Checklist (SSC) among surgeons and anaesthetists working in Swiss hospitals and clinics and their perceptions of the SSC. ⋯ This survey indicates that the SSC has been largely implemented in many Swiss hospitals and clinics. Both surgeons and anaesthetists perceived the SSC as a valuable tool in improving intraoperative patient safety and communication among health care professionals, with lesser importance in facilitating teamwork (and eliminating hierarchical categories).
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This study aimed to develop a culturally acceptable and valid scale to assess depressive symptoms in older Indigenous Australians, to determine the prevalence of depressive disorders in the older Kimberley community, and to investigate the sociodemographic, lifestyle and clinical factors associated with depression in this population. ⋯ The KICA-dep has robust psychometric properties and can be used with confidence as a screening tool for depression among older Indigenous Australians. Depressive disorders are common in this population, possibly because of increased stressors and health morbidities.