Functional outcomes and complications after treatment of distal radius fracture in patients sixty years and over: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

AimThis network meta-analysis aims to compare functional outcomes and complications between conservative treatment and surgery for distal radius fractures in patients aged 60 years and over.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of conservative treatment and surgery for distal radius fractures in patients aged 60 years and over. Primary outcomes included grip strength and overall complications. Secondary outcomes included Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) scores, Patient-Rated Wrist Evaluation (PRWE) scores, wrist range of motion and forearm rotation, and radiographic assessment. All continuous outcomes were assessed using standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), and binary outcomes were assessed using odds ratio (OR) with 95% CIs. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to determine a hierarchy of treatments. Cluster analysis was performed for grouping treatments based on the SUCRA values of primary outcomes.ResultsFourteen RCTs were included to compare conservative treatment, volar lockedplate (VLP), K-wires fixation, and external-fixation. VLP outperformed conservative treatment for 1-year and minimum 2-year grip strength (SMD; 0.28 [0.07 to 0.48] and 0.27 [0.02 to 0.53], respectively). VLP yielded the optimal grip strength at 1-year and minimum 2-year follow-up (SUCRA; 89.8% and 86.7%, respectively). In a subgroup analysis of patients aged 60 to 80 years old, VLP outperformed conservative treatment in DASH and PRWE scores (SMD, 0.33 [0.10, 0.56] and 0.23 [0.01, 0.45], respectively). In addition, VLP had the fewest complications (SUCRA = 84.3%). Cluster analysis suggested that VLP and K-wire fixation were more effective treatment groups.ConclusionEvidence to date demonstrates that VLP provides measurable benefits in grip strength and fewer complications to those 60 years of age and over, and that benefit is not reflected in current practice guidelines. There is a subgroup of patients where K-wire fixation outcomes are similar to those of VLP; defining this subgroup may yield substantial societal benefits.     

Validation of an on-screen application-based measurement of shoulder range of motion over telehealth medium

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Biomarkers of in vivo limbal stem cell function

PurposeTo evaluate in vivo parameters as biomarkers of limbal stem cell function and to establish an objective system that detects and stage limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).MethodsA total of 126 patients (172 eyes) with LSCD and 67 normal subjects (99 eyes) were included in this observational cross-sectional comparative study. Slit-lamp biomicroscopy, in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy (IVCM), and anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) were performed to obtain the following: clinical score, cell morphology score, basal cell density (BCD), central corneal epithelial thickness (CET), limbal epithelial thickness (LET), total corneal nerve fiber length (CNFL), corneal nerve fiber density (CNFD), corneal nerve branch density (CNBD), and tortuosity coefficient. Their potential correlations with the severity of LSCD were investigated, and cutoff values were determined.ResultsAn increase clinical score correlated with a decrease in central cornea BCD, limbal BCD, CET, mean LET, maximum LET, CNFL, CNFD, CNBD, and tortuosity coefficient. Regression analyses showed that central cornea BCD, CET and CNFL were the best parameters to differentiate LSCD from normal eyes (Coef = 3.123, 3.379, and 2.223; all p < 0.05). The rank correlation analysis showed a similar outcome between the clinical scores and the central cornea BCD (ρ = 0.79), CET (ρ = 0.82), and CNFL (ρ = 0.71). A comprehensive LSCD grading formula based on a combination of these parameters was established.ConclusionsA comprehensive staging system combining clinical presentation, central cornea BCD, CET, and CNFL is established to accurately and objectively diagnose LSCD and stage its severity.     

Institutional one health and animal-human health connections in Nthongoni,Eastern Kenya

In recent years, there has been increased global advocacy for the use of a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach: a One Health approach, with the goal to achieve optimal health outcomes for people, animals and their shared environment. This study explored One Health implementation and practice in Kenya. Further, I used a case study of Nthongoni, a remote rural area in Eastern Kenya, to help us to understand and think about implementation of One Health in an area where mainstream biomedical system runs parallel to or is in conflict with, a deeply entrenched indigenous health system. I used a qualitative research approach including participant observation, and key informant and general respondents' in-depth interviews. Data was transcribed verbatim, translated, checked for consistency and coded for content and thematic analysis. The findings indicate that although Kenya's One Health approach was hailed as a key strategy and a model for other countries in the region, the approach faced significant challenges including insufficient funding, competing priorities and concerns over its sustainability. But while the formal One Health is embroiled in structural and politico-economic influences that curtail its operationalization and success, this study illuminates a lay one health that is part of lived realities in Nthongoni, inviting us to reflect on the place for and status of traditional healers, and meaning of health for people and animals. The study further provokes our thoughts over whether One Health should integrate or do away with traditional health systems, or be abandoned altogether. I argue that incorporating traditional health knowledge and practitioners in One Health might help to make health care more robust and culturally responsive. The work contributes to debates on anthropology of health in general and to anthropological understanding of both the lay one health and the institutional One Health agenda.     

Identifying developmental disability in national surveys: Addressing the knowledge gap with special education histories

BackgroundIn the United States nearly 20% of children ages 12–17 have developmental disorders. Some attain population-based developmental milestones after a delay, or increase functioning through special education, medication, technology, or therapy. Others have severe lasting impairments. An indicator identifying those groups in surveys of adults could help shape policies to improve lives.HypothesesWe hypothesized that survey histories of special education could indicate functional status levels.MethodsData were from the nationally representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1997–2017, n = 2745). With measures of diagnoses, behaviors, functional status, service use, and adult outcomes, we tested three special education groups as indicators of: (1) no impairment (no special education), (2) disorders, developmental diagnoses that adversely affect educational performance, but with development after a period of delay or only moderate disability, indicated by transfer from special education; and (3) severe lasting disability, the diagnoses combined with life-long needs for supports or services, with limitations in areas including self-care, mobility, and capacity for independent living, indicated by special education in the individual's final year of school.ResultsAcross the special education groups, from no impairment to severe lasting disability, there were trends of: increasing severe and lasting disability (respectively 4.8%, 35.6%, 76.4%); increasing special services use (13.5%, 43.1%, 83.7%); increasing severe emotional disorders (2.3%, 11.3%, 17.9%); lower percentages attaining at least an associate's degree by age 25 (42.1%, 20.7%, and 8.9%); and more chronic diseases.ConclusionsSpecial education histories provide a useful indicator of developmental disability impairment levels in adults.     

Comparison of Foaming Properties Between the Shirasu Porous Glass Membrane Device and Tessari’s Three-way Stopcock Technique for Polidocanol and Ethanolamine Oleate Foam Production: A Benchtop Study

PurposeTo compare the characteristics of polidocanol (POL) and ethanolamine oleate (EO) sclerosing foams produced by a Shirasu porous glass membrane (SPGM) device with those made using a 3-way stopcock (3WSC).Materials and MethodsFoam half-life times were measured in an ex-vivo benchtop study. Computed tomography (CT) images of each foam were obtained over the time course, and a CT texture analysis was conducted. The bubble size in each foam was measured by an optical microscope.ResultsMedian foam half-life times were longer in the SPGM group than in the 3WSC group (POL: 198 vs 166 s, P = .02; EO: 640 vs 391 s, P < .01). In the CT texture analysis, median standard deviation (SD) and entropy (randomness) were lower, and median energy (uniformity) and gray-level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM) homogeneity were higher in the SPGM group than in the 3WSC group (POL SD: at 30 s and 50–300 s; POL entropy: at 0–60 s; EO SD: at 0–600 s; EO entropy: at 0–460 s; POL energy: at 0–40 s; POL GLCM homogeneity: at 0–250 s; EO energy: at 0–360 s; EO GLCM homogeneity: at 0–480 s; all P < .05). Median bubble diameters in the SPGM group and in the 3WSC group were 69 and 83 μm (P < .01), respectively, in the POL foam; and 36 and 36 μm (P = .45), respectively, in the EO foam.ConclusionsPOL and EO foams had greater uniformity and longer foam half-life time when prepared with an SPGM device than with a 3WSC.     

Contributions of the NICHD neonatal research network's generic database to documenting and advancing the outcomes of extremely preterm infants

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network (NRN) maintains a database of extremely preterm infants known as the Generic Database (GDB). Begun in 1987, this database now includes more than 91,000 infants, most of whom are extremely preterm (<29 weeks gestation). The GDB has been the backbone of the NRN, providing high quality, prospectively collected data to study the changing epidemiology of extreme prematurity and its outcomes over time. In addition, GDB data have been used to generate hypotheses for prospective studies and to develop new clinical trials by providing information about the numbers and characteristics of available subjects and the expected event rates for conditions and complications to be studied. Since its inception, the GDB has been the basis of more than 200 publications in peer-reviewed journals, many of which have had a significant impact on the field of neonatology.     

The use of ultrasound,fibronectin and other parameters to predict the success of labour induction

Induction of labour is a common obstetrical procedure and is undertaken when the benefits of delivery are considered to outweigh the risks of continuation of pregnancy. However, more than one-fifth of induction cases fail to result in vaginal births and lead to unplanned caesarean deliveries, which compromise the birth experience and have negative clinical and resource implications. The need for accurate prediction of successful labour induction is increasingly recognised and many researchers have attempted to evaluate the potential predictability of different factors including maternal characteristics, Bishop score, various biochemical markers and ultrasound markers and derive predictive models to address this issue.