BackgroundParticipatory Web 2.0 interventions promote collaboration to support chronic disease self-management. Growth in Web 2.0 interventions has led to the emergence of e-patient communication tools that enable older adults to (1) locate and share disease management information and (2) receive interactive healthcare advice. The evolution of older e-patients contributing to Web 2.0 health and medical forums has led to greater opportunities for achieving better chronic disease outcomes. To date, there are no review articles investigating the planning, implementation, and evaluation of Web 2.0 chronic disease self-management interventions for older adults.ObjectiveTo review the planning, implementation, and overall effectiveness of Web 2.0 self-management interventions for older adults (mean age ≥ 50) with one or more chronic disease(s).MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted using six popular health science databases. The RE-AIM (Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) model was used to organize findings and compute a study quality score (SQS) for 15 reviewed articles.ResultsMost interventions were adopted for delivery by multidisciplinary healthcare teams and tested among small samples of white females with diabetes. Studies indicated that Web 2.0 participants felt greater self-efficacy for managing their disease(s) and benefitted from communicating with health care providers and/or website moderators to receive feedback and social support. Participants noted asynchronous communication tools (eg, email, discussion boards) and progress tracking features (eg, graphical displays of uploaded personal data) as being particularly useful for self-management support. Despite high attrition being noted as problematic, this review suggests that greater Web 2.0 engagement may be associated with improvements in health behaviors (eg, physical activity) and health status (eg, HRQoL). However, few studies indicated statistically significant improvements in medication adherence, biological outcomes, or health care utilization. Mean SQS scores were notably low (mean=63%, SD 18%). Studies were judged to be weakest on the Maintenance dimension of RE-AIM; 13 reviewed studies (87%) did not describe any measures taken to sustain Web 2.0 effects past designated study time periods. Detailed process and impact evaluation frameworks were also missing in almost half (n=7) of the reviewed interventions.ConclusionsThere is need for a greater understanding of the costs and benefits associated with using patient-centered Web 2.0 technologies for chronic disease self-management. More research is needed to determine whether the long-term effectiveness of these programs is sustainable among larger, more diverse samples of chronically ill patients. The effective translation of new knowledge, social technologies, and engagement techniques will likely result in novel approaches for empowering, engaging, and educating older adults with chronic disease.

A CCMP in patients with severe COPD had not decreased COPD-related hospitalizations when the trial was stopped prematurely. The CCMP was associated with unanticipated excess mortality, results that differ markedly from similar previous trials. A data monitoring committee should be considered in the design of clinical trials involving behavioral interventions.

Purpose Severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) requiring intensive care unit admission is associated with significant acute and long-term morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that downregulation of systemic and pulmonary inflammation with prolonged low-dose methylprednisolone treatment would accelerate pneumonia resolution and improve clinical outcomes. Methods This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial recruited adult patients within 72–96 h of hospital presentation. Patients were randomized in 1:1 ratio; an intravenous 40 mg loading bolus was followed by 40 mg/day through day 7 and progressive tapering during the 20-day treatment course. Randomization was stratified by site and need for mechanical ventilation (MV) at the time of randomization. Outcomes included a primary endpoint of 60-day all-cause mortality and secondary endpoints of morbidity and mortality up to 1 year of follow-up. Results Between January 2012 and April 2016, 586 patients from 42 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers were randomized, short of the 1420 target sample size because of low recruitment. 584 patients were included in the analysis. There was no significant difference in 60-day mortality between the methylprednisolone and placebo arms (16% vs. 18%; adjusted odds ratio 0.90, 95% CI 0.57–1.40). There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes or complications. Conclusions In patients with severe CAP, prolonged low-dose methylprednisolone treatment did not significantly reduce 60-day mortality. Treatment was not associated with increased complications. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00134-022-06684-3.

The atypical manifestations of dengue fever are no more a rare entity. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion and vigilance for atypical manifestations of dengue fever as lack of timely detection and management could be fatal. Impaired consciousness was the most ominous atypical manifestation of severe dengue infection.

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Objective:To study the clinical profile and outcome of dengue fever in children at a tertiary care hospital in Puducherry.Materials and Methods:All children (0-12 years of age) diagnosed and confirmed as dengue fever from August 2012 to January 2015 were reviewed retrospectively from hospital case records as per the revised World Health Organization guidelines for dengue fever. The diagnosis was confirmed by NS1 antigen-based ELISA test or dengue serology for IgM and IgG antibodies, and the data were analyzed using SPSS 16.0 statistical software. After collecting the data, all the variables were summarized by descriptive statistics.Results:Among the 261 confirmed cases of dengue fever non-severe and severe dengue infection was seen in 60.9% and 39.1%, respectively. The mean age (standard deviation) of the presentation was 6.9 + 3.3 years and male: female ratio was 1.2:1. The most common clinical manifestations were fever (94.6%), conjunctival congestion (89.6%), myalgia (81.9%), coryza (79.7%), headache (75.1%), palmar erythema (62.8%), and retro-orbital pain (51.3%). The common early warning signs at the time of admission were persistent vomiting (75.1%), liver enlargement (59.8%), cold and clammy extremities (45.2%), pain abdomen (31.0%), hypotension (29.5%), restlessness (26.4%), giddiness (23.0%), bleeding (19.9%), and oliguria (18.4%). The common manifestation of severe dengue infection was shock (39.1%), bleeding (19.9%), and multi-organ dysfunction (2.3%). The most common complications were liver dysfunction, acute respiratory distress syndrome, encephalopathy, pleural effusion, ascites, myocarditis, myositis, acute kidney injury, and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. Platelet count did not always correlate well with the severity of bleeding. There were six deaths (2.3%) and out of them four presented with impaired consciousness (66.6%). The common causes for poor outcome were multiorgan failure, encephalopathy, and fluid refractory shock.Conclusion:There has been a resurgence of dengue fever with a change in the pattern of presentation during the recent epidemics. Clinical vigilance and awareness regarding the changing epidemic pattern and timely detection of cases are vital to reduce mortality and morbidity due to severe dengue infection.

Rituximab is a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody used to treat CD20+ non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Although pulmonary adverse reactions such as cough, rhinitis, bronchospasm, dyspnea and sinusitis are relatively common, other respiratory conditions like cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, interstitial pneumonitis and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage have rarely been reported. Only 2 possible cases of rituximab-associated hypersensitivity pneumonitis have been described to date. We present a case of hypersensitivity pneumonitis with classic radiographic and histopathologic findings in a patient treated with rituximab who responded to prednisone.

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