Internet of things-based health monitoring system for early detection of cardiovascular events during COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has currently caused the mortality of millions of people around the world. Aside from the direct mortality from the COVID-19, the indirect effects of the pandemic have also led to an increase in the mortality rate of other non-COVID patients. Evidence indicates that novel COVID-19 pandemic has caused an inflation in acute cardiovascular mortality, which did not relate to COVID-19 infection. It has in fact increased the risk of death in cardiovascular disease (CVD) patients. For this purpose, it is dramatically inevitable to monitor CVD patients’ vital signs and to detect abnormal events before the occurrence of any critical conditions resulted in death. Internet of things (IoT) and health monitoring sensors have improved the medical care systems by enabling latency-sensitive surveillance and computing of large amounts of patients’ data. The major challenge being faced currently in this problem is its limited scalability and late detection of cardiovascular events in IoT-based computing environments. To this end, this paper proposes a novel framework to early detection of cardiovascular events based on a deep learning architecture in IoT environments. Experimental results showed that the proposed method was able to detect cardiovascular events with better performance (95.30% average sensitivity and 95.94% mean prediction values).     

Weight-bearing in ankle fractures: An audit of UK practice

IntroductionThe purpose of this national study was to audit the weight-bearing practice of orthopaedic services in the National Health Service (NHS) in the treatment of operatively and non-operatively treated ankle fractures.MethodsA multicentre prospective two-week audit of all adult ankle fractures was conducted between July 3rd 2017 and July 17th 2017. Fractures were classified using the AO/OTA classification. Fractures fixed with syndesmosis screws or unstable fractures (>1 malleolus fractured or talar shift present) treated conservatively were excluded. No outcome data were collected. In line with NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) criteria, “early” weight-bearing was defined as unrestricted weight-bearing on the affected leg within 3 weeks of injury or surgery and “delayed” weight-bearing as unrestricted weight-bearing permitted after 3 weeks.Results251 collaborators from 81 NHS hospitals collected data: 531 patients were managed non-operatively and 276 operatively. The mean age was 52.6 years and 50.5 respectively. 81% of non-operatively managed patients were instructed for early weight-bearing as recommended by NICE. In contrast, only 21% of operatively managed patients were instructed for early weight-bearing.DiscussionThe majority of patients with uni-malleolar ankle fractures which are managed non-operatively are treated in accordance with NICE guidance. There is notable variability amongst and within NHS hospitals in the weight-bearing instructions given to patients with operatively managed ankle fractures.ConclusionThis study demonstrates community equipoise and suggests that the randomized study to determine the most effective strategy for postoperative weight-bearing in ankle fractures described in the NICE research recommendation is feasible.     

EARLY COPD: determinantes de la aparición y progresión de la enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica en adultos jóvenes. Protocolo de un estudio caso-control con seguimiento

Introduction and objectivesDeterminants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the early stages of its natural history are not well known. Improving our knowledge of these factors will help to design interventions that can modify prognosis.Study objectives are: a) to characterize a COPD population of young adults aged 35-50 years from a multidimensional point of view; b) to compare these patients with smokers with normal lung function; and c) to create a cohort of young adults aged 35-50 years (smokers or former smokers), with and without COPD, who will be followed in the future to improve understanding of the natural history of the disease.Participants and methodThis is a case-control multicenter study aimed at establishing a well-characterized cohort of young adults, smokers or former-smokers, with and without COPD, for subsequent follow-up.A total of 311 participants (101 cases and 210 controls) were selected from approximately 30 primary care settings and 12 hospitals in 8 Spanish regions. Subjects were smokers or former smokers (> 10 pack-years) aged 35-50 years. Diagnosis of COPD was based on a post-bronchodilator result of FEV1/FVC < 70%.The main study variables were: questionnaires on health, symptoms, exacerbations and daily physical activity, lung function tests, blood and sputum samples, and low-dose computed tomography. In the statistical analysis, COPD patient characteristics will be described and compared with control subjects using a logistic regression analysis.     

Associations between anthropometric indicators in early life and low-grade inflammation,insulin resistance and lipid profile in adolescence

Background and aimsThe long-term relations between excessive adiposity in early childhood and unfavourable cardiometabolic profiles in later ages are not yet completely understood. We aimed to assess the associations between birth weight (BW) and BMI from 6 months to 6 years of age, with biomarkers indicative of low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance and lipid profiles in adolescence.Methods and resultsRetrospective school-based study with 415 Portuguese adolescents (220 girls), mean age of 14.08 ± 1.6 years old. Anthropometric data from birth to 6 years old was extracted from individual child health book records. Actual weight and height were measured and BMI calculated. Participants were classified at each time point as normal weight or overweight according to WHO reference values. Biomarkers were obtained from venous blood samples. Linear regressions were used to explore the associations between the biomarkers and early life anthropometric indicators. From 2 years onwards, BMI associated positively with the inflammatory score and HOMA-IR in adolescence. Children who were overweight/obese from 2 to 6 years of age presented significantly higher inflammatory score and HOMA-IR later in adolescence. TC/HDL ratio was also positively associated with BMI from the age of 5 years onwards. The associations between BMI and cardiometabolic outcomes remained positive in adolescence, with overweight adolescents presenting a higher inflammatory score, HOMA-IR and TC/HDL than normal weight adolescents.ConclusionA high BMI from an early age was consistently associated with worse inflammatory and lipid profiles and insulin resistance in adolescence. No associations were found between BW and the same studied outcomes.     

原发性肝癌患者手术切除术后早期复发影响因素分析

目的:探究原发性肝癌患者手术切除术后早期复发影响因素分析。方法:对广州市番禺区中医院2017年2月-2019年2月收治的原发性肝癌患者98例进行回顾性分析,依据各项临床指标分析手术切除术后早期复发的影响因素。结果:原发性肝癌患者经由手术切除后出现复发的可能性较高,同时手术切缘有残留、包膜不完整、肿瘤结节、心理因素、甲胎蛋白、血管侵犯、肝硬化及肿瘤直径等均是影响原发性肝癌手术期后再复发的高危因素。结论:原发性肝癌通常具有术后复发的生物学特性,依据对手术切除术之后早期复发因素的分析,对手术风险与治疗方案进行充分评估,同时要求患者进行定期复查及随访等工作,可对患者手术成功以及并发症的防治等均具有积极意义。     

中国三城市25 254例不同出生胎龄儿童神经行为发育水平研究

目的 探讨出生胎龄对学龄前儿童神经行为发育水平的影响。方法 来自安徽马鞍山市、浙江台州市、江苏扬州市的25 254例学龄前儿童纳入研究。根据所纳入儿童的出生胎龄，分为早产儿组（2 760例，胎龄28~36⁺⁶周）、早期儿组（6 005例，胎龄37~38⁺⁶周）、完全足月儿组（16 489例，胎龄≥39周）。采用年龄与发育进程问卷对儿童进行神经行为发育水平的评估。结果 早产儿组的沟通、粗大运动、精细运动、解决问题和个人-社会等5个能区的神经行为得分较完全足月儿组低（均P < 0.05）；早产儿组沟通、粗大运动、精细运动、解决问题4个能区神经行为得分较早期儿组低（均P < 0.05）；早期儿组各能区的平均分值与完全足月儿组相比，差异无统计学意义（均P > 0.05）。多元线性回归分析显示，校正了性别、年龄、体重指数、父母亲教育程度等混杂因素后，胎龄与5个发育能区（沟通、粗大运动、精细运动、解决问题和个人-社会）的得分呈显著正相关（P < 0.01）。结论 出生为早产儿的儿童神经行为发育水平较出生为完全足月儿和早期儿的儿童低，而出生为早期儿的儿童神经行为发育水平与出生为完全足月儿的儿童无明显差异。胎龄是神经行为发育水平的独立影响因素。     

Prosthetic management of a growing patient with Russell-Silver syndrome: a clinical report

Russell-Silver syndrome (RSS) is a congenital disease characterized by short stature due to growth hormone deficiency, physical asymmetry, inverted triangular face, micrognathia, prominent forehead, and hypodontia. This case report presents a prosthetic management of a 6-year-old patient with Russell-Silver syndrome treated with overdentures on the maxilla and the mandible using the remaining primary teeth. Subsequent and comprehensive dental management considering the growth and development of a young patient will be necessary.     

Extubación ultra fast-track vs. convencional tras cirugía cardiaca en un centro de referencia cardiovascular en Colombia. Estudio longitudinal

Introduction

The fast track / ultra-fast-track protocols are techniques used to optimise the patient care process and a quick recovery after cardiac surgery. They are one of the mainstays of efficient practice. With their use, the length of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) stays are reduced, with a direct impact on costs and the quality of the health service.