Plos One
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Data on initiation and utilization of direct-acting antiviral therapies for hepatitis C virus infection in the United States are limited. This study evaluated treatment initiation, time to treatment, and real-world effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral therapy in individuals with hepatitis C virus infection treated during the first 2 years of availability of all-oral direct-acting antiviral therapies. ⋯ In the early years of the direct-acting antiviral era, <10% of people diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C virus infection received direct-acting antiviral treatment; median time to treatment initiation was 300 days. Future analyses should evaluate time to treatment initiation among those with less advanced fibrosis.
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Positive fluid balance is a prognostic factor for mortality in patients with sepsis; however, the association between cumulated fluid balance (CFB) and sepsis-induced multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) has yet to be elucidated. In this study, we sought to determine whether CFB is correlated with MODS and mortality in cases of septic shock. ⋯ 72-hr CFB appears to be correlated with the likelihood of developing MODS and mortality in patients with septic shock. Thus, it appears that 72-hr CFB could perhaps be used as an indicator for MODS and a predictor for mortality in those patients.
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Delirium is a common and serious complication in elderly patients undergoing major abdominal surgery, with significant adverse outcomes. Successful strategies or therapies to reduce the incidence of delirium are scarce. The objective of this study was to assess the role of prehabilitation in reducing the incidence of delirium in elderly patients. ⋯ Current prehabilitation program is feasible and safe, and can reduce delirium incidence in elderly patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery. This program merits further evaluation.
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Black men who have sex with men, who account for less than 1% of the U.S. population, account for approximately 25% of new HIV infections annually. Condomless anal sex contributes to HIV infection among black men who have sex with men. The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties (resilience) may be protective against condomless anal sex, but has been understudied among black men who have sex with men. Psychosocial factors related to resilience, i.e., condom use self-efficacy and internalized homophobia, may also affect condomless anal sex. We assessed the association between resilience, condom use self-efficacy, internalized homophobia and condomless anal sex among black men who have sex with men. ⋯ Within this sample of black men who have sex with men, condomless anal sex was prevalent. Greater resilience was not protective against condomless anal sex. Interventions that support condom use are warranted for black men who have sex with men.
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Professional sporting organisations invest considerable resources collecting and analysing data in order to better understand the factors that influence performance. Recent advances in non-invasive technologies, such as global positioning systems (GPS), mean that large volumes of data are now readily available to coaches and sport scientists. However analysing such data can be challenging, particularly when sample sizes are small and data sets contain multiple highly correlated variables, as is often the case in a sporting context. Multicollinearity in particular, if not treated appropriately, can be problematic and might lead to erroneous conclusions. In this paper we present a novel 'leave one variable out' (LOVO) partial least squares correlation analysis (PLSCA) methodology, designed to overcome the problem of multicollinearity, and show how this can be used to identify the training load (TL) variables that influence most 'end fitness' in young rugby league players. ⋯ The LOVO PLSCA technique appears to be a useful tool for evaluating the relative importance of predictor variables in data sets that exhibit considerable multicollinearity. When used as a filtering tool, LOVO PLSCA produced a MLR model that demonstrated a significant relationship between 'end fitness' and the predictor variable 'accumulated distance at very-high speed' when 'starting fitness' was included as a covariate. As such, LOVO PLSCA may be a useful tool for sport scientists and coaches seeking to analyse data sets obtained using GPS and MEMS technologies.