Diabetic foot ulcers: A devastating complication of diabetes mellitus continues non-stop in spite of new medical treatment modalities

Diabetic foot ulcer is a devastating complication of diabetes mellitus and significant cause of mortality and morbidity all over the world and can be complex and costly. The development of foot ulcer in a diabetic patient has been estimated to be 19%-34% through their lifetime. The pathophysiology of diabetic foot ulcer consist of neuropathy, trauma and, in many patients, additional peripheral arterial disease. In particular, diabetic neuropathy leads to foot deformity, callus formation, and insensitivity to trauma or pressure. The standard algorithms in diabetic foot ulcer management include assessing the ulcer grade classification, surgical debridement, dressing to facilitate wound healing, off-loading, vascular assessment (status and presence of a chance for interventional vascular correction), and infection and glycemic control. Although especially surgical procedures are sometimes inevitable, they are poor predictive factors for the prognosis of diabetic foot ulcer. Different novel treatment modalities such as nonsurgical debridement agents, oxygen therapies, and negative pressure wound therapy, topical drugs, cellular bioproducts, human growth factors, energy-based therapies, and systematic therapies have been available for patients with diabetic foot ulcer. However, it is uncertain whether they are effective in terms of promoting wound healing related with a limited number of randomized controlled trials. This review aims at evaluating diabetic foot ulcer with regard to all aspects. We will also focus on conventional and novel adjunctive therapy in diabetic foot management.     

Access to Care: End-to-End Digital Response for COVID-19 Care Delivery

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disrupted health care, requiring organizational leaders to act quickly to manage the health-related concerns of individuals and communities. The ability to offer a variety of digitally enabled telehealth services with 24/7 access to nurse practitioners and physician assistants allowed us to care for patients in their homes. It reduced the spread of the virus, protected our employees from further disease spread, and provided early interventions to those in need. The roles of nurse practitioner leaders, the enacted strategies, and patient outcomes demonstrate the impact of an innovative digital care delivery model on care across the continuum.     

Teach-Back健康教育模式对学龄期手足口病患儿家属疾病认知水平及防护行为的影响

目的:探讨Teach-Back健康教育模式对学龄期手足口病(HFMD)患儿家属疾病认知水平及防护行为的影响。方法:2018年7月—2020年11月选取我院学龄期113名HFMD患儿家属为研究对象,按照随机数字表法分为对照组56例与观察组57例,对照组给予常规健康教育干预,观察组给予Teach-Back健康教育模式干预,观察两组患儿家属疾病认知水平、行为干预遵从率、患儿症状改善状况。结果:干预后,观察组患儿家属发病原因、传播途径、隔离治疗、并发症预防认知评分高于对照组(P<0.05);观察组患儿家属消毒隔离措施、饭前便后洗手、勤晒衣被、居家开窗通风遵从率高于对照组(P<0.05);观察组患儿发热、口腔溃疡、皮疹、食欲减退改善时间短于对照组(P<0.05)。结论:对学龄期HFMD患儿家属开展Teach-Back健康教育模式,可明显提高家属对疾病认知水平,提高行为干预遵从率,促进患儿恢复。     

Perivascular fat attenuation for predicting adverse cardiac events in stable patients undergoing invasive coronary angiography

BackgroundInflammation surrounding the coronary arteries can be non-invasively assessed using pericoronary adipose tissue attenuation (PCAT). While PCAT holds promise for further risk stratification of patients with low coronary artery disease (CAD) prevalence, its value in higher risk populations remains unknown.MethodsCORE320 enrolled patients referred for invasive coronary angiography with known or suspected CAD. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) images were collected for 381 patients for whom clinical outcomes were assessed 5 years after enrollment. Using semi-automated image analysis software, PCAT was obtained and normalized for the right coronary (RCA), left anterior descending (LAD), and left circumflex arteries (LCx). The association between PCAT and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) during follow up was assessed using Cox regression models.ResultsThirty-seven patients were excluded due to technical failure. For the remaining 344 patients, median age was 62 (interquartile range, 55–68) with 59% having ≥1 coronary artery stenosis of ≥50% by quantitative coronary angiography. Mean attenuation values for PCAT in RCA, LAD, and LCx were ?74.9, ?74.2, and ?71.2, respectively. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for normalized PCAT in the RCA, LAD, and LCx for MACE were 0.96 (CI: 0.75–1.22, p ?= ?0.71), 1.31 (95% CI: 0.96–1.78, p ?= ?0.09), and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.78–1.22, p ?= ?0.84), respectively. For death, stroke, or myocardial infarction only, hazard ratios were 0.68 (0.44–1.07), 0.85 (0.56–1.29), and 0.57 (0.41–0.80), respectively.ConclusionsIn patients referred for invasive coronary angiography with suspected CAD, PCAT did not predict MACE during long term follow up. Further studies are needed to understand the relationship of PCAT with CAD risk.     

Trans-lesional fractional flow reserve gradient as derived from coronary CT improves patient management: ADVANCE registry

BackgroundThe role of change in fractional flow reserve derived from CT (FFR_CT) across coronary stenoses (ΔFFR_CT) in guiding downstream testing in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown.ObjectivesTo investigate the incremental value of ΔFFR_CT in predicting early revascularization and improving efficiency of catheter laboratory utilization.MaterialsPatients with CAD on coronary CT angiography (CCTA) were enrolled in an international multicenter registry. Stenosis severity was assessed as per CAD-Reporting and Data System (CAD-RADS), and lesion-specific FFR_CT was measured 2 ?cm distal to stenosis. ΔFFR_CT was manually measured as the difference of FFR_CT across visible stenosis.ResultsOf 4730 patients (66 ?± ?10 years; 34% female), 42.7% underwent ICA and 24.7% underwent early revascularization. ΔFFR_CT remained an independent predictor for early revascularization (odds ratio per 0.05 increase [95% confidence interval], 1.31 [1.26–1.35]; p ?< ?0.001) after adjusting for risk factors, stenosis features, and lesion-specific FFR_CT. Among the 3 models (model 1: risk factors ?+ ?stenosis type and location ?+ ?CAD-RADS; model 2: model 1 ?+ ?FFR_CT; model 3: model 2 ?+ ?ΔFFR_CT), model 3 improved discrimination compared to model 2 (area under the curve, 0.87 [0.86–0.88] vs 0.85 [0.84–0.86]; p ?< ?0.001), with the greatest incremental value for FFR_CT 0.71–0.80. ΔFFR_CT of 0.13 was the optimal cut-off as determined by the Youden index. In patients with CAD-RADS ≥3 and lesion-specific FFR_CT ≤0.8, a diagnostic strategy incorporating ΔFFR_CT >0.13, would potentially reduce ICA by 32.2% (1638–1110, p ?< ?0.001) and improve the revascularization to ICA ratio from 65.2% to 73.1%.ConclusionsΔFFR_CT improves the discrimination of patients who underwent early revascularization compared to a standard diagnostic strategy of CCTA with FFR_CT, particularly for those with FFR_CT 0.71–0.80. ΔFFR_CT has the potential to aid decision-making for ICA referral and improve efficiency of catheter laboratory utilization.     

Age estimation of Iraqi children and young adults based on third molar development and its relation to chronological age

ObjectivesThe study aimed to estimate the age of Iraqi children and young adults based on the third molar development to establish Iraqi reference material for orthodontic and forensic purposes, and to investigate the correlation between the estimated and chronological age.MethodsA retrospective analysis of digital orthopantographs of 1515 patients of Iraqi origin, aged from 6 to 25 years was conducted, and the developmental status of the mandibular right third molar for each patient was evaluated using Demirjian et al.’s method. Statistical analysis was carried out using “Mann-Whitney U-test” between genders. The linear regression analysis was performed to obtain “regression formulas” for dental age calculation with chronologic age.ResultsNo statistically significant differences were observed between Iraqi males and females at any age. The median of male and female age of initial calcification of the cuspal tips for mandibular third molars was 9 years, whereas 14 years was the median of age for both genders when the crown was completed. All mandibular right third molars have a complete root formation with apex closure at a median of male and female age 22 years.ConclusionsThe use of Demirjian et al.’s method was appropriate as a reliable age indicator for Iraqi population. A strong correlation was observed between these stages and chronological age. Consequently, reference data have been established for mandibular third molar development in Iraqi population.