METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 138 patients selected through universal sampling. Data on socio-demographics, illness characteristics such as psychopathology and illness severity [measured using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS)], and cognitive function [assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)] were collected. The Personal and Social Performance (PSP) scale was used to evaluate psychosocial functioning. Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analyses were applied to identify the correlates and predictors of psychosocial functioning.
RESULTS: This study found that 47.8% and 16.7% of the patients had moderate and severe cognitive impairments, respectively. The mean PSP score was 69.68 (standard deviation (SD) = 15.48). Female gender, previous unemployment and more severe cognitive impairments were significantly associated with poorer psychosocial functioning. Meanwhile, negative symptoms and age of onset were negatively correlated with psychosocial functioning. By contrast, the duration of illness was positively correlated with psychosocial functioning. The regression model indicated that being female (β = -7.32, p < 0.001), previously unemployed (β = -3.67, p < 0.047), having negative symptoms (β = -4.18, p < 0.001), experiencing a longer illness duration (β = -0.60, p = 0.004), and the presence of severe cognitive impairment (β = -9.80, p < 0.001) significantly predicted poorer psychosocial functioning.
CONCLUSION: Long-stay schizophrenia patients experience substantial difficulties in psychosocial functioning. Factors such as gender, last employment status, negative symptoms, illness duration, and cognitive function affect psychosocial functioning.
METHODS: This study was aimed to sequence the G gene region of RSV isolated from patients admitted to hospitals in Baghdad, Iraq, during the autumn of 2022 and winter of 2023. To achieve this goal, 150 patients with lower respiratory symptoms were screened for RSV infections. RSV-positive samples were detected and confirmed using the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) approach, which involved the use of specific TaqMan primer sets targeting RSV subgroups. Then, a G gene region that included hypervariable region 2 (HVR2) was amplified and sequenced using the Sanger sequencing method. Furthermore, molecular and phylogenetic analyses were performed on the G gene region to determine the variability profile of the tested specimens.
RESULTS: There were 41 (26.6%) RSV-positive cases. Of these, the RSV-B subgroup was the most prevalent (82.90%), while the RSV-A subgroup incidence rate was 17.07%. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the RSV-B isolates were related to the BA genotype and shared nucleotide sequence similarities with isolates from India, Australia and the UK. The RSV-A isolates belonged to the ON genotype and had some degree of similarities with isolates from Italy, Tunisia, and France.
CONCLUSION: Seasonal tracking of the RSV isolates would facilitate a better understanding of virus evolution, viral pathogenesis, and genetic diversity.
METHODS: Data from the 2023 National Socioeconomic Survey were used in this cross-sectional study that included 130,331 participants. Hospital utilisation was the dependent variable and NHI membership was the independent variable. Residence, age, sex, marital status, education, occupation, and wealth status were control factors. A multinomial logistic regression was employed in the final stage for data evaluation.
RESULTS: In 2023, the hospital utilisation rate in Indonesia's disadvantaged regions was 1.5% and the percentage of NHI members was 74.5%. People with an NHI membership were 3.01 times more likely to utilise the hospital than those without [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.58-3.50]. Seven control variables related to hospital utilisation were identified, namely, residence type, age, sex, marital status, education level, employment status, and wealth status.
CONCLUSION: This study concluded that NHI membership influenced hospital utilisation in disadvantaged areas of Indonesia. Individuals with NHI membership were three times more likely to visit hospitals.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among older persons aged ≥ 60 years, and the exclusion criteria were older persons with known cases of dementia or the inability to stand and have hand problems that limit the ability to hold the dynamometer. Sociodemographic data and anthropometry assessment were conducted. Malnutrition risk screening tool-hospital, modified Barthel Index and the Elderly Cognitive Assessment Questionnaire were used in this study. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression.
RESULTS: A total of 200 older persons participated in the study, and the proportion of the high risk of malnutrition was 27 (13.5%). Poor handgrip strength odd ratio (OR) = 3.56, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.41, 8.98; p = 0.007) and living arrangements (OR = 4.6, 95% CI = 1.31, 16.1; p = 0.017) were significantly associated with a high risk of malnutrition in older persons.
CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of older persons at high risk of malnutrition was low (13.5%). Poor handgrip strength and living arrangements are significant factors associated with a high risk of malnutrition among older persons. Nutrition screening can help identify the cause and other factors of malnutrition. The role of healthcare personnel should be emphasised in nutrition screening, as they are commonly the first point of contact for patients seeking medical advice.
METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in the Critical Care Unit of HPUSM from September 2019 to March 2021. Eligible participants included patients with a positive blood culture recorded after 48 hours of admission to hospital.
RESULTS: There was a total of 250 patients, whose positive blood cultures were isolated. The main isolated organisms were Klebsiella pneumonia (23.6%), Pseudomonas spp. (19.2%), Escherichia coli (12.8%) and Acinetobacter sp. (9.2%). The mortality of hospital-acquired BSI was 27.6%. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that age [adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.06; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.03, 1.09; p < 0.001], cases with extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) (adjusted OR = 5.57; 95% CI: 2.04, 15.21; p = 0.001), with multidrug-resistant (MDR) organisms (adjusted OR = 14.70; 95% CI: 3.97, 54.48; p < 0.001) and those with a sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score > 11 (adjusted OR = 4.16; 95% CI: 1.31, 13.19; p = 0.015) had statistically significant associations with treatment failure. Factors significantly associated with 28-day mortality included age (adjusted OR: 1.06: 95% CI; 1.03, 1.09; p < 0.001), MDR organisms (adjusted OR = 14.70; 95% CI: 3.97, 54.48; p < 0.001) and SOFA score > 11 (adjusted OR = 4.16; 95% CI: 1.31, 13.19; p = 0.015).
CONCLUSION: The elderly, ESBL, MDR organisms and high SOFA scores were associated with treatment failure and 28-day mortality in hospital-acquired BSI.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, symptomatic angina patients scheduled for coronary angiograms were recruited and separated into obstructive coronary artery disease (OCAD) and NOCAD groups based on those angiograms. Peripheral and coronary blood samples were taken to measure inflammation biomarkers [high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15)], and adhesion molecules [vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)]. Subjects without angina symptoms were recruited for the control group.
RESULTS: The hsCRP, GDF-15, and VCAM-1 levels were higher in the OCAD and NOCAD groups than in the control group. VCAM-1 levels successfully predicted the incidence of NOCAD [p = 0.010, area under the curve (AUC) = 0.716]. All biomarkers' levels in the peripheral and coronary blood were correlated in OCAD and NOCAD patients (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Elevated levels of the hsCRP, GDF-15, and VCAM-1 were found with NOCAD, despite the absent of significant coronary obstruction. VCAM-1 successfully predicted NOCAD and may thus serve as an early NOCAD biomarker. Significant correlations of hsCRP, GDF-15, and VCAM-1 level in peripheral and coronary blood indicate that the peripheral levels of these biomarkers reflect the levels and changes that occur at the coronary level.