Dysgeusia: A review in the context of COVID-19

BackgroundTaste disorders in general, and dysgeusia in particular, are relatively common disorders that may be a sign of a more complex acute or chronic medical condition. During the COVID-19 pandemic, taste disorders have found their way into the realm of general as well as specialty dentistry, with significance in screening for patients who potentially may have the virus.Types of Studies ReviewedThe authors searched electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Google Scholar) for studies focused on dysgeusia, ageusia, and other taste disorders and their relationship to local and systemic causes.ResultsThe authors found pertinent literature explaining the normal physiology of taste sensation, proposals for suggested new tastes, presence of gustatory receptors in remote tissues of the body, and etiology and pathophysiology of taste disorders, in addition to the valuable knowledge gained about gustatory disorders in the context of COVID-19. Along with olfactory disorders, taste disorders are one of the earliest suggestive symptoms of COVID-19 infection.ConclusionsGustatory disorders are the result of local or systemic etiology or both. Newer taste sensations, such as calcium and fat tastes, have been discovered, as well as taste receptors that are remote from the oropharyngeal area. Literature published during the COVID-19 pandemic to date reinforces the significance of early detection of potential patients with COVID-19 by means of screening for recent-onset taste disorders.Practical ImplicationsTimely screening and identification of potential gustatory disorders are paramount for the dental care practitioner to aid in the early diagnosis of COVID-19 and other serious systemic disorders.     

The association between vitamin D levels and caries experience in children and youth participating in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2016: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundGiven equivocal findings from existing nationally representative studies, the authors sought to determine associations between vitamin D levels and caries experience in US children using updated National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.MethodsThe authors used data from 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Vitamin D status was assessed on the basis of the sufficiency thresholds of 50 and 75 nmol/L for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) recommended by the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine) and Endocrine Society, respectively. Caries experience was defined as the total number of decayed or filled tooth surfaces (dfs) and decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces (DMFS) and a binary measure of any dfs and DMFS. Associations between 25(OH)D and any or total dfs and DMFS were examined in children aged 2 through 5, 6 through 8, 9 through 11, and 12 through 18 years, using multivariable logistic and linear regression models after adjustment for covariates.ResultsChildren aged 2 through 5 years with 25(OH)D above 75 nmol/L experienced fewer total dfs (β = –1.94; 95% CI, –3.60 to –0.28) than those with 25(OH)D below 75 nmol/L. Children 6 through 8 years with 25(OH)D above 75 nmol/L had lower presence of any dfs (odds ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.95) than those with 25(OH)D below 75 nmol/L, and those with 25(OH)D above 50 nmol/L had lower presence of any DMFS (odds ratio, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.19 to 0.79) than those with 25(OH)D below 50 nmol/L. There were no associations of 25(OH)D status with either any or total DMFS in children 12 through 18 yearsConclusionsThere were no consistent associations of 25(OH)D status with caries experience across age groups.Practical ImplicationsVitamin D status was not associated consistently with reduced caries experience.     

基于机器学习算法的重症缺血性脑卒中早期死亡预测效果评价

目的 评价支持向量机(SVM)、随机森林(RF)、极限梯度提升(XGBoost)3种机器学习算法与Logistic回归在重症缺血性脑卒中30天死亡结局的预测效果。方法 使用2008年至2019年MIMIC-IV数据库中符合纳排标准的2358例重症缺血性脑卒中患者资料,分别用SVM、随机森林、XGBoost3种机器学习算法与Logistic回归结合合成少数类过采样(SMOTE)技术建立早期死亡预测模型,并使用通过受试者工作特征曲线下面积(AUC)、准确度、F1-score、布里尔分数等指标评价预测效果。结果 SVM、随机森林、XGBoost与Logistic回归模型在原始类不平衡数据死亡预测中AUC值分别为0.78、0.81、0.84、0.83。应用SMOTE合成数据集后,SVM、随机森林、XGBoost与Logistic回归模型的AUC值分别为0.72、0.84、0.83、0.83。除SVM 外,机器学习算法与Logistic回归之间有相似的预测能力,但准确率、布里尔分数等优于Logistic回归,综合分类性能更优。结论 机器学习算法在重症缺血性脑卒中早期死亡预测中性能较传统方法更优,在解决重症患者预后预测研究问题中具有优势。     

Minimally invasive surgery for severe hallux valgus in 106 feet

BackgroundThere is widespread variation in the optimal procedure for correction of severe hallux valgus deformity defined as hallux valgus angle (HVA) (≥40°) and/or 1–2 intermetatarsal angle (IMA) (≥20°). There is limited evidence investigating the clinical or radiological outcomes following treatment of severe hallux valgus deformity with third-generation minimally invasive chevron and Akin osteotomies (MICA).MethodsThis was a prospective observational single surgeon series of consecutive patients who underwent primary third-generation MICA with screw fixation for severe hallux valgus. The primary outcome was a validated patient reported outcome measure (PROM), the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire (MOXFQ), assessed minimum 2 years following MICA. Secondary outcomes were radiographic deformity correction (assessed 6 weeks post-operatively), complication rates and other quality of life PROMs (EQ-5D and Visual Analogue Pain Scale).ResultsBetween September 2014 and November 2018, 106 consecutive feet (n = 78 patients; 73 female, 5 male) met the inclusion criteria. Prospectively collected pre-operative and 2 year PROM MOXFQ data was available for 86 feet (81.1%). At two years following surgery, the MOXFQ score significantly improved for the Pain, Walking and Standing and Social Interaction domains from 39.2 to 7.5, 38.2 to 5.9 and 48.6 to 5.5, respectively (p < 0.001). Pre- and 6 week post-operative radiographic data was available for all 106 feet. Mean IMA improved from 18.2° to 6.3° (p < 0.001) whilst mean HVA improved from 45.3° to 10.9° (p < 0.001). The complication rate was 18.8% and the screw removal rate was 5.6%.ConclusionThis study has demonstrated third-generation MICA for the treatment of severe hallux valgus deformity enables substantial deformity correction and is associated with significant improvements in clinical PROMs 2 years following surgery.     

外周血可溶性Fas蛋白及其配体、髓过氧化物酶水平对重症肺炎患儿预后不良的预测价值

目的观察重症肺炎患儿外周血可溶性Fas蛋白（sFas）、可溶性Fas蛋白配体（sFasL）和髓过氧化物酶（MPO）水平变化,并探讨三者对重症肺炎预后不良的预测价值。 方法选取四川中医药高等专科学校绵阳富临医院2016年2月至2020年5月收治的182例重症肺炎、196例轻症肺炎患儿和178例健康儿童,分别为重症组、轻症组和对照组;重症组患儿再根据预后分为预后不良组（29例）和预后良好组（153例）。采用单因素方差分析比较重症组、轻症组治疗前和对照组外周血sFas、sFasL和MPO水平;采用单因素和多因素Logistic回归分析重症组患儿预后不良的影响因素,采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线评价外周血sFas、sFasL和MPO水平以及联合指标预测重症组患儿预后不良的价值。 结果三组研究对象的性别、年龄和体重,重症组与轻症组患儿病原微生物分布、肺炎分期差异均无统计学意义（P均> 0.05）。重症组患儿治疗前外周血sFas、sFasL和MPO水平分别为（104.63 ± 19.75）ng/L、（1 062.36 ± 179.85）ng/L和（1 020.26 ± 59.71）U/L,轻症组患儿分别为（80.52 ± 13.66）ng/L、（703.57 ± 127.66）ng/L和（796.75 ± 43.02）U/L,对照组儿童分别为（58.78 ± 10.16）ng/L、（577.83 ± 121.22）ng/L和（632.59 ± 38.71）U/L;重症组和轻症组患儿以上3个指标水平均高于对照组（sFas：重症组 vs.对照组：t = 27.605、P < 0.001;轻症组vs.对照组：t = 17.322、P < 0.001;sFasL：重症组 vs.对照组：t = 29.908、P < 0.001,轻症组vs.对照组：t = 9.744、P < 0.001;MPO：重症组 vs.对照组：t = 71.920、P < 0.001;轻症组vs.对照组：t = 38.647、P < 0.001）,重症组患儿以上3个指标水平均显著高于轻症组（t = 13.885、22.488、41.973,P均< 0.001）。重症组患儿预后不良发生率为15.93%（29/182）。预后不良组患儿双重/多重感染占比（χ² = 12.081、P = 0.001）、多肺叶感染占比（χ² = 32.378、P < 0.001）和外周血白细胞计数（WBC）（t = 6.432、P < 0.001）、中性粒细胞百分比（N%）（t = 3.658、P = 0.001）、C-反应蛋白（CRP）（t = 19.415、P < 0.001）、降钙素原（PCT）（t = 26.101、P < 0.001）、sFas（t = 13.717、P < 0.001）、sFasL（t = 5.357、P < 0.001）和MPO（t = 5.435,P < 0.001）水平均显著高于预后良好组患儿;多因素Logistic回归分析显示以上指标均为重症组患儿预后不良的危险因素,差异均有统计学意义（OR = 5.969、95%CI：4.857~6.304、P = 0.029,OR = 7.485、95%CI：6.785~8.126、P = 0.014,OR = 5.332、95%CI：4.593~5.567、P = 0.010,OR = 4.959、95%CI：4.246~5.337、P = 0.015,OR = 5.143、95%CI：4.879~5.695、P = 0.003,OR = 6.126、95%CI：5.630~6.558、P = 0.008,OR = 8.325、95%CI：6.452~9.902、P = 0.005,OR = 8.469、95%CI：7.879~8.653、P = 0.001,OR = 9.132、95%CI：8.882~9.594,P = 0.003）。外周血sFas、sFasL和MPO水平预测重症组预后不良的Cut-off值分别为125.07 ng/L、1 171.21 ng/L和1 053.04 U/L;sFas、sFasL和MPO以及3个指标联合预测的曲线下面积（AUC）分别为0.875、0.890、0.897和0.955,3个指标联合预测AUC均显著高于sFas、sFasL、MPO水平单独预测,差异均有统计学意义（Z = 5.693、P = 0.005,Z = 5.192、P = 0.007,Z = 4.982、P = 0.009）。 结论重症肺炎患儿外周血sFas、sFasL和MPO水平均偏高,且在预后不良重症患儿中水平均更高,其联合应用可预测患儿不良预后。     

Antiviral T Cells for Adenovirus in the Pretransplant Period: A Bridge Therapy for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

Viral infections can be life threatening in patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and other forms of profound primary immunodeficiency disorders both before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Adoptive immunotherapy with virus-specific T cells (VSTs) has been utilized in many patients in the setting of HSCT, but has very rarely been attempted for treatment of viral infections before HSCT. Here we describe the use of VSTs in an infant with RAG1 SCID who had developed disseminated adenovirus which failed to improve on cidofovir. Adenovirus cleared following 2 doses of VSTs and marrow infusion from a matched unrelated donor, without incidence of graft versus host disease. T cell receptor-b sequencing demonstrated expansion of adenovirus-specific T cell fraction of the VSTs, suggesting that infusion facilitated viral clearance. This report suggests that VSTs are likely safe in the pre-HSCT period, and may be a useful bridge therapy for infants with SCID and persistent viral infections.     

Effect of Antithymocyte Globulin Source on Outcomes of HLA-Matched Sibling Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Severe Aplastic Anemia

We wanted to evaluate efficacy of porcine antithymocyte globulin (ATG) in HLA-matched sibling donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (MSD-HSCT) for patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). The clinical data of 113 SAA patients who received MSD-HSCT from January 2005 to November 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. Of these, 58 patients received rabbit ATG as a part of conditioning regimen (R-ATG group), whereas the other 55 patients received porcine ATG (P-ATG group). Patient baseline characteristics and donor conditions of the 2 groups were similar, except patients were older and more received peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in the P-ATG group. All patients engrafted in 2 groups. There were significant differences in the incidence of acute (20.7%?±?5.3% versus 43.4%?±?7.0%, P?=?.015) and chronic graft-versus- host disease (GVHD; 20.1%?±?5.8% versus 46.0%?±?7.9%, P?=?.003) between the R-ATG and P-ATG groups. However, there were no significant differences in terms of 3-year overall survival (93.1%?±?3.3% versus 84.4%?±?5.7%, P?=?.235), grades III to IV acute GVHD (3.4%?±?2.4% versus 12.3%?±?4.7%, P?=?.098), moderate to severe chronic GVHD (12.6%?±?4.9% versus 11.5%?±?4.9%, P?=?.905), or graft rejection (7.4%?±?3.6% versus 5.5%?±?3.1%, P?=?.852). There was also no significant difference with regard to the incidence of severe bacterial infection (P?=?.075), invasive fungal disease (P?=?.701), or cytomeglovirus viremia (P?=?.770). P-ATG showed satisfactory efficacy and safety compared with R-ATG in the setting of MSD-HSCT for SAA patients. P-ATG could be a potential alternative preparation for R-ATG, further offering the advantage of lower costs.