Aims Cardiovascular co‐morbidities like congestive heart failure (CHF) alter the course of coronavirus disease 2019. Factors associated with the outbreak and lockdown can exacerbate CHF. Methods and results We analysed the answers of 124 randomly selected CHF outpatients (mean age 71.0 ± 14.0 years, 60.5% male) interviewed by phone during the sixth and seventh weeks of the lockdown. Most patients were treated for New York Heart Association class II (38.7%) and reduced ejection fraction HF (70.2%). Psychological distress (Kessler 6 score ≥ 5) was common (18.5%), and 21.8% felt worse than before the lockdown. Few patients ( n = 10) adjusted their intake of HF medications, always on medical prescription. Decreased physical activity was common (41.9%) and more frequent in women ( P = 0.025) and urban dwellers ( P = 0.009). Almost half of respondents (46.0%) declared increased screen time, but only few declared more alcohol intake (4.0%). Weight gain was common (27.4%), and 44.4% of current smokers increased tobacco consumption. Adherence to recommended salt or fluid intake restrictions was reduced in 14.5%. Increase in HF symptoms was commonly reported (21.8%) and tended to be higher in women than in men ( P = 0.074). Of the 23 patients who had a phone teleconsultation during the pandemic, 16 had initially planned an in‐person consultation that they switched for teleconsultation. Conclusions During the lockdown, psychological distress and decreased well‐being were common in CHF outpatients, and there was an increase in unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. These changes may negatively impact short‐term and long‐term prognoses. Medication adherence was maintained, and limitations in access to care were partly counterbalanced by use of telehealth.
• Activated CD81 T cells are preferentially found in the spleen of ITP patients who are nonresponders to rituximab.The pathogenic role of B cells in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) has justified the therapeutic use of anti-CD20 antibodies such as rituximab (RTX). However, 60% of ITP patients do not respond to RTX. To decipher the mechanisms implicated in the failure of RTX, and because the spleen plays a well-recognized role in ITP pathogenesis, 12 spleens from ITP patients who had been nonresponders to RTX therapy were compared with 11 spleens from RTX-untreated ITP patients and 9 controls. We here demonstrate that in RTX-nonresponder ITP patients, preferential Th1 and Tc1 T lymphocyte polarizations occur, associated with an increase in splenic effector memory CD8 1 T-cell frequency. Moreover, in the RTX-nonresponder patient group, the CD8 1 T-cell repertoire displays a restricted pattern. In the blood, the phenotype of CD8 1T cells before and after RTX treatment is not modified in responders or nonresponders. Altogether, these results demonstrate for the first time an activation of splenic CD8 1 T cells in ITP patients who did not respond to RTX and suggest their involvement in platelet destruction in these patients. (Blood. 2013;122(14):2477-2486
Background Non-tunneled hemodialysis catheters are currently used for critically ill patients with acute kidney injury requiring extracorporeal renal replacement therapy. Strategies to prevent catheter dysfunction and infection with catheter locks remain controversial. Methods In a multicenter, randomized, controlled, double-blind trial, we compared two strategies for catheter locking of non-tunneled hemodialysis catheters, namely trisodium citrate at 4% (intervention group) versus unfractionated heparin (control group), in patients aged 18 years or older admitted to the intensive care unit and in whom a first non-tunneled hemodialysis catheter was to be inserted by the jugular or femoral vein. The primary endpoint was length of event-free survival of the first non-tunneled hemodialysis catheter. Secondary endpoints were: rate of fibrinolysis, incidence of catheter dysfunction and incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), all per 1000 catheter-days; number of hemorrhagic events requiring transfusion, length of stay in intensive care and in hospital; 28-day mortality. Results Overall, 396 randomized patients completed the trial: 199 in the citrate group and 197 in the heparin group. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics between groups. The duration of event-free survival of the first non-tunneled hemodialysis catheter was not significantly different between groups: 7 days (IQR 3–10) in the citrate group and 5 days (IQR 3–11) in the heparin group ( p = 0.51). Rates of catheter thrombosis, CRBSI, and adverse events were not statistically different between groups. Conclusions In critically ill patients, there was no significant difference in the duration of event-free survival of the first non-tunneled hemodialysis catheter between trisodium citrate 4% and heparin as a locking solution. Catheter thrombosis, catheter-related infection, and adverse events were not statistically different between the two groups. Trial registration Registered with Clinicaltrials.gov under the number NCT01962116. Registered 14 October 2013. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13613-019-0553-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
BackgroundSchizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that affects 1 % of the world’s population, including 600,000 people in France. Persons with schizophrenia (PWS) have excess mortality (their life expectancy is reduced by 20 %) and excess morbidity. In addition, such persons may have a large number of missing or decayed teeth. Dental caries and periodontal measurement indexes are often twice as high as the level found in the general population. Poor oral health can also affect quality of life and oral health is inseparable from general health. The management of oral health problems needs a multidisciplinary approach. According to the World Health Organization, the aim of therapeutic education (TE) is to help patients take care of themselves and to improve empowerment and recovery. In this educational approach, it is important to take into account the patient’s personal experience. Though rarely investigated, the personal experience of PWS in oral health quality of life (OHRQoL) must be used to build a therapeutic educational programme in oral health (TEPOH) in a multidisciplinary approach, and the effectiveness of this program must be evaluated.Methods/designWe report the protocol of a randomized controlled cluster study. This study will be conducted in twelve hospitals in France. We hypothesized that a decrease of 20 % in the proportion of patients with CPI ≥ 3 would establish the effectiveness of TEPOH. Therefore, 12 hospitals will be randomly allocated to either TEPOH or no TEPOH. Altogether, they will have to recruit 230 PWS, who will be randomly allocated with a ratio of 1:1 to one of two conditions: control without intervention versus the group benefitting from TEPOH.DiscussionIf successful, the study will generate methodologically sound results that provide knowledge on the effectiveness of a TEP in oral health for PWS. The results can be used to promote OHRQoL in a global health approach and develop appropriate strategies to encourage and facilitate financial support for healthcare, the multidisciplinary treatment of dental disorders, and the development of training in oral and mental health for caregivers. Trial registration Clinical Trials Gov NCT02512367. Date registered 19 July, 2015
Objectives To investigate the performance of cranial PET/CT for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA). Methods All patients with a suspected diagnosis of GCA were prospectively enrolled in this study and had a digital PET/CT with evaluation of cranial arteries if they had not started glucocorticoids more than 72 hours previously. The diagnosis of GCA was retained after at least 6 months of follow-up if no other diagnosis was considered by the clinician and the patient went into remission after at least 6 consecutive months of treatment. Cranial PET/CT was considered positive if at least one arterial segment showed hypermetabolism similar to or greater than liver uptake. Results For cranial PET/CT, sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were 73.3%, 97.2%, 91.7% and 89.7%, respectively. For extracranial PET/CT, diagnostic performance was lower (Se = 66.7%, Sp = 80.6%, PPV = 58.8%, NPV = 85.3%). The combination of cranial and extracranial PET/CT improved overall sensitivity (Se = 80%) and NPV (NPV = 90.3%) while decreasing overall specificity (Sp = 77.8%) and PPV (PPV = 60%). Conclusion Cranial PET/CT can be easily combined with extracranial PET/CT with a limited increase in examination time. Combined cranial and extracranial PET/CT showed very high diagnostic accuracy for the diagnosis of GCA. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, https://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT05246540.
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