Defining hard-to-reach populations for vaccination

Extending the benefits of vaccination to everyone who is eligible requires an understanding of which populations current vaccination efforts have struggled to reach. A clear definition of “hard-to-reach” populations – also known as high-risk or marginalized populations, or reaching the last mile – is essential for estimating the size of target groups, sharing lessons learned based on consistent definitions, and allocating resources appropriately. A literature review was conducted to determine what formal definitions of hard-to-reach populations exist and how they are being used, and to propose definitions to consider for future use. Overall, we found that (1) there is a need to distinguish populations that are hard to reach versus hard to vaccinate, and (2) the existing literature poorly defined these populations and clear criteria or thresholds for classifying them were missing. Based on this review, we propose that hard-to-reach populations be defined as those facing supply-side barriers to vaccination due to geography by distance or terrain, transient or nomadic movement, healthcare provider discrimination, lack of healthcare provider recommendations, inadequate vaccination systems, war and conflict, home births or other home-bound mobility limitations, or legal restrictions. Although multiple mechanisms may apply to the same population, supply-side barriers should be distinguished from demand-side barriers. Hard-to-vaccinate populations are defined as those who are reachable but difficult to vaccinate due to distrust, religious beliefs, lack of awareness of vaccine benefits and recommendations, poverty or low socioeconomic status, lack of time to access available vaccination services, or gender-based discrimination. Further work is needed to better define hard-to-reach populations and delineate them from populations that may be hard to vaccinate due to complex refusal reasons, improve measurement of the size and importance of their impact, and examine interventions related to overcoming barriers for each mechanism. This will enable policy makers, governments, donors, and the vaccine community to better plan interventions and allocate necessary resources to remove existing barriers to vaccination.     

Optimized set of criteria for defining interictal epileptiform EEG discharges

ObjectiveTo find and validate the optimal combination of criteria that define interictal epileptiform EEG discharges (IEDs). Our target was a specificity over 95%, to avoid over-reading in clinical EEG.MethodsWe constructed 63 combinations of the six criteria from the operational definition of IEDs, recently issued in the EEG-glossary of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology (IFCN). The diagnostic gold standard was derived from video-EEG recordings. In a testing EEG dataset from 100 patients, we selected the best performing combinations of criteria and then we validated them in an independent dataset from 70 patients. We compared their performance with subjective, expert-scorings and we determined inter-rater agreement (IRA).ResultsWithout using criteria, the specificity of expert-scorings was lower than the pre-defined threshold (86%). The best performing combination of criteria was the following: waves with spiky morphology, followed by a slow-afterwave and voltage map suggesting a source in the brain. In the validation dataset this achieved a specificity of 97% and a sensitivity of 89%. IRA was substantial.ConclusionsThe optimized set of criteria for defining IEDs has high accuracy and IRA.SignificanceUsing these criteria will contribute to decreasing over-reading of EEG and avoid misdiagnosis of epilepsy.     

脑性瘫痪的定义、诊断标准及临床分型

在2005年中华医学会儿科学分会神经学组和2007年中国康复医学会儿童康复专业委员会制定发表的《小儿脑性瘫痪的定义、分型和诊断条件》的基础上,《中国脑性瘫痪康复治疗指南》编写委员会参考国外有关小儿脑性瘫痪诊疗指南和最新文献报道,多次组织讨论编写.以便更好地指导临床医师对小儿脑性瘫痪定义的理解,提高脑性瘫痪的诊断和分型水平,与国际接轨.     

美学区种植修复的评价和临床程序

评价种植修复的临床效果包括种植修复体的长期骨结合和美学效果。近年来,伴随着美学种植原则的确立和美学种植修复技术的成熟,口腔种植进入一个新的历史阶段。本文将根据笔者的临床经验和文献资料,简要介绍目前已经明确的美学种植的定义、评价和风险因素,并以病例报告的形式向读者推荐美学区种植的临床程序,为读者的美学种植修复的临床实践提供帮助。     

“肢体困重”释义

本研究通过分析"肢体困重"的字义,试图明确"肢体困重"的定义,探索其主要病机和量化方法。研究表明:肢体困重是"一种患者的主观感受,意指四肢和(或)躯体额外的负重感,重则如包裹束缚、活动量减少"。肢体困重的病机实责痰湿,虚责于阳虚、气虚。以等级法为主辅以数字模拟法、量表法的测量方法,有利于对肢体困重严重程度进行客观评价。     

“文献”定义几个问题的探讨

给文献定义的重要性,界定文献的依据,已有文献的多种定义的评析与所回答的问题及文献的四要素：知识信息;载体;文字、符号、图像等;记录。     

Validation of deep-learning image reconstruction for coronary computed tomography angiography: Impact on noise,image quality and diagnostic accuracy

BackgroundAdvances in image reconstruction are necessary to decrease radiation exposure from coronary CT angiography (CCTA) further, but iterative reconstruction has been shown to degrade image quality at high levels. Deep-learning image reconstruction (DLIR) offers unique opportunities to overcome these limitations. The present study compared the impact of DLIR and adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction-Veo (ASiR-V) on quantitative and qualitative image parameters and the diagnostic accuracy of CCTA using invasive coronary angiography (ICA) as the standard of reference.MethodsThis retrospective study includes 43 patients who underwent clinically indicated CCTA and ICA. Datasets were reconstructed with ASiR-V 70% (using standard [SD] and high-definition [HD] kernels) and with DLIR at different levels (i.e., medium [M] and high [H]). Image noise, image quality, and coronary luminal narrowing were evaluated by three blinded readers. Diagnostic accuracy was compared against ICA.ResultsNoise did not significantly differ between ASiR-V SD and DLIR-M (37 vs. 37 HU, p = 1.000), but was significantly lower in DLIR-H (30 HU, p < 0.001) and higher in ASiR-V HD (53 HU, p < 0.001). Image quality was higher for DLIR-M and DLIR-H (3.4–3.8 and 4.2–4.6) compared to ASiR-V SD and HD (2.1–2.7 and 1.8–2.2; p < 0.001), with DLIR-H yielding the highest image quality. Consistently across readers, no significant differences in sensitivity (88% vs. 92%; p = 0.453), specificity (73% vs. 73%; p = 0.583) and diagnostic accuracy (80% vs. 82%; p = 0.366) were found between ASiR-V HD and DLIR-H.ConclusionDLIR significantly reduces noise in CCTA compared to ASiR-V, while yielding superior image quality at equal diagnostic accuracy.     

Épidémiologie de l’insuffisance rénale aiguë

The acute renal failure is common in the hospitalized patients with the incidence is increasing. This results from the aging of the population and the widespread use of nephrotoxic therapies or diagnostic techniques. The acute renal failure is associated with an increased length of stay in hospital and the short and long-term mortality. The most common histological injury is the acute tubular necrosis. Although the most of acute renal failure is recovering, recent works have shown that there is a strong association between an acute renal failure and the increased risk of developing a chronic kidney disease.