AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess systematically the characteristics of patients and risk factors associated with nosocomial infections among ESRD patients undergoing hemodialysis.
METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed to identify eligible studies published during the period from inception to December 2018 pertaining to risk factors associated with nosocomial infections among hemodialysis patients. The relevant studies were generated through a computerized search on five databases (PubMed, EBSCOhost, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and Scopus) using the Mesh Words: nosocomial infections, hospital acquired infections, healthcare associated infections, end stage renal disease, end stage renal failure, hemodialysis, and risk factors. The complete protocol has been registered under PROSPERO (CRD42019124099).
RESULTS: Initially, 1411 articles were retrieved. Out of these, 24 were duplicates and hence were removed. Out of 1387 remaining articles, 1337 were removed based on irrelevant titles and/or abstracts. Subsequently, the full texts of 50 articles were reviewed and 41 studies were excluded at this stage due to lack of relevant information. Finally, nine articles were selected for this review. Longer hospital stay, longer duration on hemodialysis, multiple catheter sites, longer catheterization, age group, lower white blood cell count, history of blood transfusion, and diabetes were identified as the major risk factors for nosocomial infections among hemodialysis patients.
CONCLUSION: The results of this review indicate an information gap and potential benefits of additional preventive measures to further reduce the risk of infections in hemodialysis population. Moreover, several patient-related and facility-related risk factors were consistently observed in the studies included in this review, which require optimal control measures.
METHODS: This randomised controlled trial conducted from January 2018 until December 2018. Pregnant women below 34 weeks of gestation, with Hb concentration less than 11 g/dL and serum ferritin level less than 12 ug/L were randomised to receive either one tablet Zincofer® or one tablet Iberet Folate® daily for four weeks. Both groups were compared in terms of effect on Hb level, serum ferritin level, and other haematological indices adverse effect related to treatment, and treatment cost.
RESULTS: Hundred and thirty patients were recruited in this study with 68 patients in Iberet Folic group and 62 patients in Zincofer group. The change in the Hb and serum ferritin level from baseline to day 30 did not differ significantly between treatment groups. The mean (±SD) change from baseline to day 30 was 2.15 (±0.59) g/dL in the Iberet Folic group, and 1.98 (±0.49) in the Zincofer (p value = 0.08). Mean serum ferritin at day 30 was 17.2 (±3.68) ug/L and 16.7 (±4.28) ug/L with 8.44 (±3.41) and 8.55 (±3.50) difference, respectively (p = 0.86). Adverse events were comparable in between groups, with p value >0.05. GI intolerance and constipation were among the common side effects, occurred in 34.6 and 29.2% cases, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Zincofer® offers equivalent efficacy and side effect profile in comparison with Iberet Folic® for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) during pregnancy, but with lower cost.
METHODS: These models utilized experimental data of wavelengths and hemoglobin concentrations in building highly accurate Genetic Algorithm/Support Vector Regression model (GA-SVR).
RESULTS: The developed methodology showed high accuracy as indicated by the low root mean square error values of 4.65 × 10-4 and 4.62 × 10-4 for oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin, respectively. In addition, the models exhibited 99.85 and 99.84% correlation coefficients (r) for the oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin, thus, validating the strong agreement between the predicted and the experimental results CONCLUSIONS: Due to the accuracy and relative simplicity of the proposed models, we envisage that these models would serve as important references for future studies on optical properties of blood.