METHODS: All patients with upper limb infections who were admitted in a tertiary hospital from June 2017 to December 2020 were included in this study. Demographic data, clinical presentations, investigations and outcomes were obtained retrospectively from electronic medical record. There were 117 patients with diabetes mellitus and 127 with no diabetes mellitus. Comparisons were made between these two groups, and statistical analysis was done with SPSS.
RESULTS: There were 244 patients included; 117 were diabetic and 127 were non-diabetic. Diabetic patients were more likely to present with emergent scenarios, especially necrotizing fasciitis and infective tenosynovitis (p < .05) with higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) readings (p < .05). Their microbiological cultures were less likely to be negative (p < .05). Diabetic patients also had poorer clinical outcomes with higher risk of amputation, re-operation and longer duration of hospital stay (p < .05).
CONCLUSION: Upper limb infections among diabetic patients should be treated aggressively. Early diagnosis and surgical intervention might decrease the morbidity and mortality in this group. Prevention of infections should be emphasized.
METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive literature search for YKP and their adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and retention in HIV care on PsycInfo (Ovid), PubMed and Google Scholar using combinations of the keywords HIV/AIDS, ART, adolescents, young adults, adherence (or compliance), retention, men who have sex with men, transgender, injection drug users, people who inject drugs and prisoners. We included empirical studies on key populations defined by WHO; included the terms youth and adolescents and/or aged between 10 and 24; examined adherence to or retention in HIV care; and published in English-language journals. All articles were coded using NVivo.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The systematic search yielded 10 articles on YKP and 16 articles on behaviourally infected youth and adolescents from 1999 to 2014. We found no studies reporting on youth and adolescents identified as sex workers, transgender people and prisoners. From existing literature, adherence to ART was reported to be influenced by age, access to healthcare, the burden of multiple vulnerabilities, policy involving risk behaviours and mental health. A combination of two or more of these factors negatively impacted adherence to ART among YKP. Collectively, these studies demonstrated that future programmes need to be tailored specifically to YKP to ensure adherence.
CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need for more systematic research in YKP. Current limited evidence suggests that healthcare delivery should be tailored to the unique needs of YKP. Thus, research on YKP could be used to inform future interventions to improve access to treatment and management of co-morbidities related to HIV, to ease the transition from paediatric to adult care and to increase uptake of secondary prevention methods.
METHODS: PC-12 cells was pre-treated with HESAE for 48 h followed by 400 μM corticosterone for 24 h to induce oxidative stress. Cells in complete medium without any treatment or pre-treated with 3.125 μg/mL desipramine served as the negative and positive controls, respectively. The cell viability, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities, aconitase activity, mitochondrial membrane potentials (MMPs), intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and number of apoptotic nuclei were quantified. In addition, HESAE ethanol extract was separated into fractions by chromatographic methods prior to spectroscopic analysis.
RESULTS: We observed that PC-12 cells treated with high-dose corticosterone at 400 μM had decreased cell viability, reduced endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities, disrupted mitochondrial function, and increased oxidative stress and apoptosis. However, pre-treatment with HESAE ranging from 0.25 to 1 mg/mL had increased cell viability, decreased LDH release, enhanced endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities, restored MMP, attenuated intracellular ROS and protected from ROS-mediated apoptosis. The neuroprotective effects could be attributed to significant amounts of adenosine and herierin III isolated from HESAE.
CONCLUSIONS: HESAE demonstrated neuroprotective effects against high-dose corticosterone-induced oxidative stress in an in vitro model mimicking depression. HESAE could be a potential dietary supplement to treat depression.