Associations of residential greenspace exposure and fetal growth across four areas in Spain

An accumulating body of evidence has associated exposure to greenspace with improved birth outcomes, including higher birth weight and lower risk of low birth weight; however, evidence on such association with in-utero fetal growth is scarce. We explored the influence of maternal exposure to residential greenspace and fetal growth in four INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) Spanish birth cohorts (2003–2008), with 2,465 participants. Residential greenspace was characterised by the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) average across 100 m, 300 m, and 500 m buffers around the residence. Repeated ultrasound measurements of the abdominal circumference (AC), biparietal diameter (BPD), femur length (FL), and estimated fetal weight (EFW) were used. We created customised-generalised least squares models to evaluate associations of residential greenspace exposure on each fetal growth parameter, controlled for the relevant confounders. There were associations between the 500 m buffer and BPD, FL, and AC. We also found associations in the 300 m buffer and FL and AC. The associations in the 100 m buffer were null. Estimates were higher among participants with lower socioeconomic status. Mediation analyses found that air pollution might explain 15–37% of our associations. Mediation by physical activity was not observed. Greenspace exposure may be beneficial for fetal growth.     

Improvement of patient localization repeatability using a light-section based optical surface guidance system in a pre-positioning procedure

PurposeSurface-guided radiotherapy is useful for the pre-positioning and monitoring of radiotherapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of surface guidance on the repeatability of patient localization and to estimate the specific point at which high positional errors occur.Materials and methodsTen patients without the VOXELAN system (non-VXLN group) and 10 patients with the VOXELAN as the pre-positioning procedure (VXLN group) were included in this analysis. Twelve regions of interest (ROI) were defined in all the patients to verify any misalignment during radiotherapy. Thirteen ROIs were defined on the isocenter.ResultsCompared with the non-VXLN group, the translational positional errors of the VXLN group were the same for all the ROIs. The mean translational positional errors of the VXLN group in the longitudinal direction were approximately 0.1 mm, and the standard deviation was the largest among the three directions in all the ROIs. The magnitude of the standard deviation in the non-VXLN group varied independently of the ROI and direction. The standard deviations of the VXLN group in the longitudinal direction were large in all the ROIs, while the standard deviations in the vertical and lateral directions were small.ConclusionPre-positioning with a surface guidance system reduced the body twist and rotation, which could not be corrected by image-guided radiotherapy alone. Since the VOXELAN can detect positioning errors quickly and without additional radiation exposure to the patient, it can be used as a tool for pre-positioning in radiotherapy.     

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.     

超声引导下辅助诊断和治疗冻结肩的研究进展

冻结肩是常见的肩部疾病,传统非可视化治疗冻结肩效果欠佳。近年来,超声引导具有动态实时定位、无辐射、便携性、低成本等优点在辅助诊断和治疗冻结肩患者中得到成功应用,不仅能提供精确的诊断,也提高了患者中长期的疗效。本文就超声引导辅助诊断和治疗冻结肩的研究进展进行综述。     

Good clinical research practice (GCRP) in pharmacodynamic studies of neuromuscular blocking agents III: The 2023 Geneva revision

The set of guidelines for good clinical research practice in pharmacodynamic studies of neuromuscular blocking agents was developed following an international consensus conference in Copenhagen in 1996 (Viby-Mogensen et al., Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 1996, 40 , 59–74); the guidelines were later revised and updated following the second consensus conference in Stockholm in 2005 (Fuchs-Buder et al., Acta Anaesthesiol Scand 2007, 51 , 789–808). In view of new devices and further development of monitoring technologies that emerged since then, (e.g., electromyography, three-dimensional acceleromyography, kinemyography) as well as novel compounds (e.g., sugammadex) a review and update of these recommendations became necessary. The intent of these revised guidelines is to continue to help clinical researchers to conduct high-quality work and advance the field by enhancing the standards, consistency, and comparability of clinical studies. There is growing awareness of the importance of consensus-based reporting standards in clinical trials and observational studies. Such global initiatives are necessary in order to minimize heterogeneous and inadequate data reporting and to improve clarity and comparability between different studies and study cohorts. Variations in definitions of endpoints or outcome variables can introduce confusion and difficulties in interpretation of data, but more importantly, it may preclude building of an adequate body of evidence to achieve reliable conclusions and recommendations. Clinical research in neuromuscular pharmacology and physiology is no exception.     

2型糖尿病患者扫描式葡萄糖监测系统指标与尿白蛋白/肌酐比值的相关性研究

背景 随着血糖监测技术的发展，近些年来人们开始使用扫描式葡萄糖监测系统（FGMS）"全景式"地观察2型糖尿病（T2DM）患者的血糖水平，明确FGMS指标与T2DM并发症之间的关系有助于提高其临床应用价值，但目前相关研究较少。 目的 探究佩戴FGMS的T2DM患者葡萄糖在目标范围内时间（TIR）等指标与尿白蛋白/肌酐比值（UACR）的相关性。 方法 选取2019年1月至2021年10月于北京大学人民医院老年科就诊并佩戴FGMS的T2DM患者79例，以尿液检查中UACR是否<30 mg/g将患者分为无白蛋白尿组（n=50）和白蛋白尿组（n=29）。比较两组患者的临床特征、实验室检查指标及FGMS指标等。采用Pearson相关、Spearman秩相关分析探讨TIR、高血糖时间（TAR）与糖化血红蛋白（HbA1c）的相关性。分别采用Pearson相关、Spearman秩相关、偏相关分析探讨FGMS指标与lnUACR的相关性。使用多因素Logistic回归分析探究T2DM患者发生白蛋白尿的影响因素，采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线评估TIR对白蛋白尿的预测价值。 结果 白蛋白尿组T2DM病程长于无白蛋白尿组，三酰甘油（TG）、HbA1c、平均血糖（MBG）、TAR、平均血糖标准差（SDBG）、最大葡萄糖波动幅度（LAGE）、平均葡萄糖波动幅度（MAGE）、连续每隔2 h血糖净作用（CONGA2）高于无白蛋白尿组，TIR低于无白蛋白尿组（P<0.05）。Pearson相关、Spearman秩相关分析结果显示，TIR与HbA1c呈负相关（P<0.001），TAR与HbA1c呈正相关（P<0.001）。Pearson相关、Spearman秩相关、偏相关分析结果均表明，TIR与lnUACR呈负相关（P<0.001），MBG、TAR、SDBG、LAGE、MAGE、CONGA2与lnUACR呈正相关（P<0.001）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示，TIR>70%〔OR=0.038，95%CI（0.003，0.467）〕是T2DM患者出现白蛋白尿的保护因素（P<0.05），TAR升高〔OR=1.046，95%CI（1.000，1.094）〕是T2DM患者出现白蛋白尿的危险因素（P<0.05）。TIR预测T2DM患者出现白蛋白尿的ROC曲线下面积（AUC）为0.784〔95%CI（0.674，0.894）〕（P=0.003），灵敏度为78%，特异度为83%，最佳切点为69.71%。 结论 在FGMS指标中，TIR>70%是T2DM患者出现白蛋白尿的保护因素，TAR升高是T2DM患者出现白蛋白尿的危险因素。同时，SDBG、LAGE、MAGE、CONGA2等多种反映血糖波动的指标也与UACR密切相关。对TIR水平较低及TAR、SDBG、LAGE、MAGE、CONGA2水平较高的T2DM患者进行FGMS筛查有助于早期识别及预防白蛋白尿的发生、发展。     

Registro español de marcapasos. XIX informe oficial de la Asociación del Ritmo Cardiaco de la Sociedad Española de Cardiología (2021)

Introduction and objectivesThis document includes cardiac pacing activity performed in Spain in 2021: figures for implanted devices, demographic and clinical factors, characteristics of the implanted material, and remote monitoring data.MethodsThe European Pacemaker Patient Card, the CardioDispositivos.es online platform, the centers’ own databases and the data provided by the supplier companies are used as sources of information.Results17.360 procedures were registered from 95 hospitals, which represents 43% of the activity. The implantation rates of conventional and resynchronization pacemakers were 822 and 31 units per million population, respectively. 652 leadless pacemakers were implanted. The mean age of implantation is high (78.8 years), and atrioventricular block is the most frequent electrocardiographic abnormality. Dual-chamber pacing mode predominated, nonetheless single-chamber pacing was performed in 19% of patients in sinus rhythm, mainly in the elderly. 28.5% of implanted conventional pacemakers and 56,2% of low-energy resynchronization pacemakers were included in the remote monitoring program.ConclusionsIn 2021 the number of conventional pacemakers increased by 8.3% and resynchronizers by 18.9%, despite the decrease in low-energy resynchronization, probably attributable to the development of physiological pacing. Leadless pacemakers increased by 25%. The expansion of remote monitoring continued, consolidating as a fundamental follow-up method.