METHODS: We conducted one-on-one in-depth interviews with ARM and HD patients aged ≥ 11 years who had undergone surgery at four tertiary referral centers. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed transcripts for recurring themes, and data were collected until data saturation was reached. Three researchers independently coded the transcripts for major themes using thematic analysis approach.
RESULTS: We interviewed 16 participants (11 males) between October 2022 and April 2023. Ages ranged from 11 to 26 years. Five major themes emerged: (1) personal impact (subthemes: physical, emotional and mental health, social, school), (2) impact on family, (3) perceptions of their future (subthemes: relationships, career, state of health), (4) sources of support (subthemes: family, peers, partner), and (5) transition care (subthemes: concerns, expectations). Only females expressed concerns regarding future fertility.
CONCLUSION: This study highlights the evolving problems faced by adolescents and young adults with ARM and HD, especially gender-specific concerns. Our findings can inform efforts to provide individualized care.
METHODS: In this multicenter randomized trial, critically ill patients will be randomized to receive supplemental enteral protein (1.2 g/kg/day) added to standard enteral nutrition to achieve a high amount of enteral protein (range of 2-2.4 g/kg/day) or no supplemental enteral protein to achieve a moderate amount of enteral protein (0.8-1.2 g/kg/day). The primary outcome is 90-day all-cause mortality; other outcomes include functional and health-related quality-of-life assessments at 90 days. The study sample size of 2502 patients will have 80% power to detect a 5% absolute risk reduction in 90-day mortality from 30 to 25%. Consistent with international guidelines, this statistical analysis plan specifies the methods for evaluating primary and secondary outcomes and subgroups. Applying this statistical analysis plan to the REPLENISH trial will facilitate unbiased analyses of clinical data.
CONCLUSION: Ethics approval was obtained from the institutional review board, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (RC19/414/R). Approvals were also obtained from the institutional review boards of each participating institution. Our findings will be disseminated in an international peer-reviewed journal and presented at relevant conferences and meetings.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04475666 . Registered on July 17, 2020.
METHODS: A survey consisting of two validated questionnaires was distributed to dental patients registered at the University of Malaya Faculty of Dentistry. The Fonseca Anamnestic Index (FAI) evaluates the prevalence and severity of TMD, while the Oral Health Impact Profile - Temporomandibular Disorder (OHIP-TMD) appraises the effects of TMD on oral health-related QoL.
RESULTS: Out of 342 patients (aged 16 to 50 years, 45% male and 55% female) enrolled in the survey, 50.9% had varying degrees of TMD. All 7 domains of OHIP-TMD showed a statistically significant correlation with TMD severity.
CONCLUSION: TMD seems to be prevalent among Malaysian dental patients. Not only does TMD affect the QoL of an individual, but the more severe the degree of reported symptoms, the poorer their perceived oral health QoL.
AIM: To assess the Malay-translated version of the ACDAS, postadaptation into the local context and validation by the content and construct experts.
DESIGN: The English ACDAS was translated into Malay first through forward translation and then through backward translation. The prefinal translated version of the instrument was designed, with the participation of 61 children and 61 parents or legal guardians. Subsequently, a final cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument was then made for another group of participants and evaluated for validity and test-retest reliability among 144 children and 144 parents or legal guardians participating in the self-report feedback process at the Paediatric Dental Clinic, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument considered translating to Malaysian national language and adapting to its culture.
RESULTS: The Malay-translated ACDAS consisted of 19 items. The translated version of Malaysian-ACDAS (MY-ACDAS) achieved an acceptable agreement between six expert committee members with an internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha value, αconsistency) of 0.839. The test-retest reliability results of all participants support semantic and conceptual equivalence as an accepted construct validity between the children, parents and DHPs across the multicultural Malaysian population.
CONCLUSION: The MY-ACDAS is a valid and reliable scale for measuring dental anxiety among Malaysian children.
METHODS: This is a prospective cross-sectional study conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre. A total of 30 patients who have undergone total laryngectomy were assessed objectively using the Sniffin' Sticks test and compared against normal age-matched Malaysians. Subsequently, they also filled out the modified Questionnaire on Olfactory Disorders. Correlations of patient demographics, disease and treatment variables against olfactory outcomes were conducted.
RESULTS: All subjects suffered olfactory impairment, with 66.7% of them being anosmic after total laryngectomy. The Sniffin' Sticks test demonstrated a statistically significant difference between laryngectomees and the normal age-matched Malaysian population in all three subtests for odor threshold, discrimination and identification. 37% of patients developed olfactory adaptive methods, which resulted in higher olfactory scores and a better quality of life. There were no patient demographics, disease or treatment variables associated with a poorer olfactory outcome identified.
CONCLUSION: Olfactory impairment should not be overlooked among patients after total laryngectomy. Although as many as a third of patients developed some sort of olfactory adaptive behavior, early rehabilitation should be integrated into the multidisciplinary rehabilitation program after total laryngectomy.
METHOD: This is a 6-month, single-center, prospective, randomized, two-arm, and parallel-group controlled trial. The trial recruits patients attending the otorhinolaryngology clinics of a tertiary referral hospital. Participants are randomized into control or intervention groups in a 1:1 ratio using permuted block randomization. The total number of participants estimated is 154, with each group requiring 77 participants. The control group receives standard pharmaceutical care, while the intervention group receives pharmacist-led education according to the AR-PRISE model. Both groups are assessed for middle turbinate endoscopy findings, disease severity, knowledge level, symptom control, medication adherence, and QoL at baseline and the end-of-study follow-up (day 180 ± 7). Depending on feasibility, intermediate follow-ups are conducted on days 60 ± 7 and 120 ± 7, either virtually or face-to-face. During intermediate follow-ups, participants are assessed for symptom control, medication adherence, and QoL. The intention-to-treat analysis includes all participants assigned to each group. An independent T-test compares the mean difference in knowledge level between the two groups. A two-way repeated measures ANOVA analysis is employed to determine between-group differences for scores of symptom control, adherence rate, and QoL. A P-value
METHODS: We surveyed 16 512 adults from July 2020 to August 2021 in 30 territories. Participants self-reported their medical histories and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on 18 lifestyle factors and 13 health outcomes. For each disease subgroup, we generated lifestyle, health outcome, and bridge networks. Variables with the highest centrality indices in each were identified central or bridge. We validated these networks using nonparametric and case-dropping subset bootstrapping and confirmed central and bridge variables' significantly higher indices through a centrality difference test.
FINDINGS: Among the 48 networks, 44 were validated (all correlation-stability coefficients >0.25). Six central lifestyle factors were identified: less consumption of snacks (for the chronic disease: anxiety), less sugary drinks (cancer, gastric ulcer, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes), less smoking tobacco (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), frequency of exercise (depression and fatty liver disease), duration of exercise (irritable bowel syndrome), and overall amount of exercise (autoimmune disease, diabetes, eczema, heart attack, and high cholesterol). Two central health outcomes emerged: less emotional distress (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eczema, fatty liver disease, gastric ulcer, heart attack, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes) and quality of life (anxiety, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome). Four bridge lifestyles were identified: consumption of fruits and vegetables (diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and insomnia), less duration of sitting (eczema, fatty liver disease, and heart attack), frequency of exercise (autoimmune disease, depression, and heart attack), and overall amount of exercise (anxiety, gastric ulcer, and insomnia). The centrality difference test showed the central and bridge variables had significantly higher centrality indices than others in their networks (P
METHODS: A pragmatic, multi-centre, open-labelled, randomised trial. Eligible patients with MPE and an IPC will be randomised 1:1 to either regular topical mupirocin prophylaxis or no mupirocin (standard care). For the interventional arm, topical mupirocin will be applied around the IPC exit-site after each drainage, at least twice weekly. Weekly follow-up via phone calls or in person will be conducted for up to 6 months. The primary outcome is the percentage of patients who develop an IPC-related (pleural, skin, or tract) infection between the time of catheter insertion and end of follow-up period. Secondary outcomes include analyses of infection (types and episodes), hospitalisation days, health economics, adverse events, and survival. Subject to interim analyses, the trial will recruit up to 418 participants.
DISCUSSION: Results from this trial will determine the efficacy of mupirocin prophylaxis in patients who require IPC for MPE. It will provide data on infection rates, microbiology, and potentially infection pathways associated with IPC-related infections.
ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park Health Care Group Human Research Ethics Committee has approved the study (RGS0000005920). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: Australia New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12623000253606. Registered on 9 March 2023.
PURPOSE: The study aimed to elicit the clinical presentation of pain and determine the relationships between QoL and pain in LCS.
METHODS: This household cross-sectional study of 12,925 SARS-CoV-2 cases between July and December 2021 was carried out in eight administrative divisions of Bangladesh. Stratified random sampling from the cases retrieved from the Ministry of Health was employed. Symptom screening was performed through COVID-19 Yorkshire Rehabilitation Scale, and long COVID was diagnosed according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS (Version 20.00).
RESULTS: The prevalence of pain in long COVID was between 01 and 3.1% in the studied population. The study also found five categories of pain symptoms as LCS in Bangladesh: muscle pain 3.1% (95% CI; 2.4-3.8), chest pain 2.4% (95% CI; 1.8-3.1), joint pain 2.8% (95% CI; 2.2-2.3), headache 3.1% (95% CI; 2.4-3.8), and abdominal pain 0.3% (95% CI; 0.01-0.5). People with LCS as pain, multiple LCS, and longer duration of LCS had significantly lower quality of life across all domains of the WHOQOL-BREF (P life. Comprehensive rehabilitation can improve the symptoms and reduce the burden of the disease.
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A systematic search was conducted in 4 electronic databases (Ovid Medline, PsycInfo, CINAHL, and Web of Science). Studies conducted in English and including measures on the perception of aging and quality of life were included in this review. A total of 32 observational studies (21 cross-sectional, 8 longitudinal, 2 mixed-method, and 1 qualitative) met the inclusion criteria. Outcomes reported in the included studies were quality of life, physical health and functioning, psychological health, mental health, and general well-being.
RESULTS: Overall, 20 quantitative studies indicated a strong association between positive perception of aging and increased quality of life. Similarly, 9 quantitative studies demonstrated that negative perception of aging is associated with lower quality of life. Results of the mixed-method and qualitative studies indicated that older adults with higher morale and good physical capability had more positive perceptions of health.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: These results suggest that promoting a positive perception of aging and a self-care attitude would help to enhance older adults' quality of life and should be incorporated into future health promotions and interventions.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search was done using two strings covering "disability" and "mobile and wearable technologies" in the titles of publications in the Web of Science database. Two researchers independently screened the results for relevant publications. During this process, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were deliberated and refined. An independent researcher checked the screening results against the finalized inclusion and exclusion criteria to ensure that the screening was done consistently.
RESULTS: A total of 2012 out of the 5990 retrieved publications from 2000 to 2022 were included for further analysis. We observed that publications in this area grew exponentially since 2011, almost doubling every 2 years between 2011 and 2015. Universities in the USA were the most active and prominent in relevant publications. Autism is the most researched disability in relation to mobile and wearable technologies. The publications cover both hardware (engineering, electrical and electronic) and software (computer science, theory and methods) technologies used for improving quality of life for persons with disabilities (rehabilitation).
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of publications were from high income countries, indicating the need to study the digital divide among high-, low- and middle-income countries in adopting mobile and wearable technologies for persons with disabilities, especially ways of making these technologies more affordable and accessible to the under-privileged members of the community.
METHODS: Electronic medical records (EMR) were reviewed and phone surveys performed with parents of CDH survivors who underwent repair at our institution from 2010 to 2019. They completed the following Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL™) questionnaires: Generic Core Scales 4.0 (parent-proxy report) and Family Impact (FI) Module 2.0. Age-matched and gender-matched healthy controls from an existing database were used for comparison. Subgroup analysis of CDH patients alone was also performed. Appropriate statistical analysis was used with p
OBJECTIVES: The authors describe the frailty and cognitive profile of middle-aged and older adults with CHD to identify predictor variables and to explore the relationship with hospital admissions and outpatient visits.
METHODS: Using a cross-sectional, multicentric design, we included 814 patients aged ≥40 years from 11 countries. Frailty phenotype was determined using the Fried method. Cognitive function was assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.
RESULTS: In this sample, 52.3% of patients were assessed as robust, 41.9% as prefrail, and 5.8% as frail; 38.8% had cognitive dysfunction. Multinomial regression showed that frailty was associated with older age, female sex, higher physiologic class, and comorbidities. Counterintuitively, patients with mild heart defects were more likely than those with complex lesions to be prefrail. Patients from middle-income countries displayed more prefrailty than those from higher-income countries. Logistic regression demonstrated that cognitive dysfunction was related to older age, comorbidities, and lower country-level income.
CONCLUSIONS: Approximately one-half of included patients were (pre-)frail, and more than one-third experienced cognitive impairment. Frailty and cognitive dysfunction were identified in patients with mild CHD, indicating that these concerns extend beyond severe CHD. Assessing frailty and cognition routinely could offer valuable insights into this aging population.