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.     

A comparison of cisplatin cumulative dose and cisplatin schedule in patients treated with concurrent chemo-radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

IntroductionThree-weekly cisplatin dose is accepted for standard treatment for concurrent chemo-radiotherapy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma. However, different chemotherapy schedules are presented in the literature.ObjectiveWe intend to compare toxicity and outcomes of high dose 3-weekly cisplatin versus low dose weekly-cisplatin and cumulative dose of cisplatin in the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.Methods98 patients were included in the study, between 2010 and 2018. Cumulative doses of cisplatin (≥200 mg/m² and <200 mg/m²) and different chemotherapy schedules (weekly and 3-weekly) were compared in terms of toxicity and survival. Besides prognostic factors including age, gender, T category, N category and radiotherapy technique were evaluated in uni-multivariate analysis.ResultsMedian follow-up time 41.5 months (range: 2–93 months). Five year overall survival, local relapse-free survival, regional recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival rates were; 68.9% vs. 90.3% (p = 0.11); 66.2% vs. 81.6% (p = 0.15); 87.3% vs. 95.7% (p = 0.18); 80.1% vs. 76.1% (p = 0.74) for the group treated weekly and 3 weekly, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between groups. Five year overall survival, local relapse-free survival, regional recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival rates were; 78.2% vs. 49.2% (p = 0.003); 75.8% vs. 47.9% (p = 0.055); 91% vs. 87.1% (p = 0.46); 80% vs. 72.2% (p = 0.46) for the group treated ≥200 mg/m² and <200 mg/m² cumulative dose cisplatin. There was statistically significant difference between groups for overall survival and there was close to being statistically significant difference between groups for local relapse-free survival. Age, gender, T category, N category, chemotherapy schedules were not associated with prognosis in the uni-variety analysis. Radiotherapy technique and cumulative dose of cisplatin was associated with prognosis in uni-variate analysis (HR = 0.21; 95% CI: 0.071–0.628; p = 0.005 and HR = 0.29; 95% CI: 0.125–0.686; p = 0.003, respectively). Only cumulative dose of cisplatin was found as an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis (HR = 0.36; 95% CI: 0.146–0.912; p = 0.03). When toxicities were evaluated, such as hematological toxicity, dermatitis, mucositis, nausea and vomiting, there were no statistically significant differences between cumulative dose of cisplatin groups (<200 mg/m² and ≥200 mg/m²) and chemotherapy schedules (3-weekly and weekly). But malnutrition was statistically significant higher in patients treated with 3-weekly cisplatin compared with patients treated with weekly cisplatin (p = 0.001).ConclusionA cisplatin dose with ≥200 mg/m² is an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. Chemotherapy schedules weekly and 3-weekly have similar outcomes and adverse effects. If patients achieve ≥200 mg/m² dose of cumulative cisplatin, weekly chemotherapy schedules may be used safely and effectively in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.     

Cumulative risk assessment of the exposure to pyrethroids through fruits consumption in China – Based on a 3-year investigation

In the present study, the long-term and short-term cumulative risks of pyrethroids exposured for the Chinese general population and children through fruits consumption were evaluated. A total of 1450 fruit samples and seven pyrethroids were included based on the pesticide residues monitoring programme of China from 2013 to 2015. The exposure was estimated using both deterministic approach and semi-probabilistic model for comparison. The hazard index approach was used to assess cumulative risk. 26% of samples contained pyrethroid residues with concentrations ranged from 0.0050 mg/kg to 1.2 mg/kg, of which 30% simultaneously with 2–4 mixture residues. Results demonstrated that the cumulative health risks were extremely low for both general population and children (1–6 years old) of China in the long term. Acute risk estimations calculated by deterministic method were several or many times overestimated than the results based on semi-probabilistic method. Acute cumulative exposure of children to pyrethroid compounds in 0.76% samples were exceeded 1 in worst case scenario. More detailed assessments with adequate data in the future use probabilistic method is expected to reduce the uncertainties of cumulative dietary exposure.     

Afterword: Tough Questions; Hard Problems; Incremental Progress

The papers in this issue have specific and focused targets that are essential for making incremental progress on the very difficult problem of identifying the coevolutionary interactions of cognition and culture. The purpose of this paper is to discern the shape of a few of the large problems that loom over these more narrowly focussed papers, and to explain and assess the ways these papers contribute to their solution. The background problems described are (a) the character of the selective interactions between the evolution of culture and of cognition; (b) the special features of cumulative cultural evolution; and (c) the place of language in an account of cognition–culture coevolution. The paper ends with some reflections on the extraordinarily difficult challenge of testing scenarios in this field.     

Mobile daily diaries to characterize stressors and acute health symptoms in an environmental justice neighborhood

Low-income communities and communities of color face multiple, cumulative environmental and social burdens. Methods development in environmental justice research has largely focused on spatial and quantitative approaches. Less attention has been paid to developing methodologies that help collect information on everyday stressors and quality of life experiences for residents in overburdened communities. Mixed methods approaches can be one way to structure study designs that help consider how residents experience environmental and socioeconomic impacts in a localized community context. In neighborhoods burdened by cumulative stressors, traditional cross-sectional epidemiological research designs can also be challenging, as well as limited or narrow in their application. However, repeat sampling of measures within a vulnerable population can approach a quasi-experimental design and help consider variations within residents in a single neighborhood as well as better parse relationships between exposures and outcomes. Through a community-academic partnership with university partners, local community partners, and a local promotores de salud (community health workers) network, we pilot tested a novel mobile daily diary approach in both English and Spanish in an urban, predominantly immigrant community in South Los Angeles as a potential method to collect information on daily stress, environmental quality, and health status/symptoms. We collected resident responses via a once per day 7-day SMS/text messaging survey. We sought to gather granular data on daily resident experiences of air pollution and environmental hazards. Residents reported acute health symptoms and stressors, with repeat measures demonstrating how residents might rank, categorize, or cope with stressors. We find that residents in environmental justice communities record variation in their daily diary responses and document changes in environmental quality, stressors, and odors. Refining this type of method could enable a more rigorous examination of co-occurrences of environmental quality and acute health symptoms. This approach supports the inclusion of residents in the research process and helps more systematically integrate open-ended environmental health relevant data in environmental justice efforts. Used with measured data such as air monitoring or health measures, mixed methods generated data can help support efforts that aim to alleviate sources of daily stress, alongside efforts to reduce overall pollution burdens. Mobile daily diaries can be one way to capture variable responses to environmental quality, acute health symptoms, and stressors.     

甘肃省2016年7种常见急性传染病预警阈值研究

目的 优选甘肃省常见急性传染病的预警阈值,提高预警功效。方法 甘肃省流行性感冒（流感）、猩红热、其他感染性腹泻、细菌性和阿米巴性痢疾（痢疾）、伤寒/副伤寒、戊型肝炎（戊肝）采用移动百分位数法,手足口病采用累积和控制图法,分别建立预警模型,通过计算灵敏度、特异度、阳性和阴性预测值、约登指数及绘制受试者工作特征曲线（receiver operating characteristic curve,ROC）,选择出适合甘肃省传染病的最优预警阈值。结果 流感、猩红热、其他感染性腹泻、痢疾、伤寒/副伤寒、戊肝的最优预警界值分别为P₉₀、P₈₀、P₉₅、P₉₀、P₈₀、P₉₀,手足口病的最优预警参数为k=1.2,H=5σ。在最优预警界值/参数下,流感、猩红热、其他感染性腹泻、痢疾、伤寒/副伤寒、戊肝、手足口病的灵敏度分别为86.67%、100.00%、91.67%、100.00%、100.00%、100.00%、100.00%,特异度分别为86.49%、62.22%、75.00%、100.00%、97.92%、89.13%、74.47%,阳性预测值分别为72.22%、29.17%、52.38%、100.00%、80.00%、54.55%、29.41%,阴性预测值分别为94.12%、100.00%、96.77%、100.00%、100.00%、100.00%、100.00%,约登指数分别为0.73、0.62、0.67、1.00、0.98、0.89、0.74,ROC显示此预警界值/参数均为最靠近坐标图左上方的点。结论 甘肃省流感、其他感染性腹泻、痢疾、戊肝的预警阈值可适当调高,手足口病预警参数需调整,从而提高预警功效。