HIV and Substance Use Stigma,Intersectional Stigma and Healthcare Among HIV-Positive PWID in Russia

AIDS and Behavior - Little is known about the intersection of HIV stigma and substance use stigma. Using data from 188 HIV-positive people who inject drugs (PWID) in Russia, we examined the...     

Trends and Risk Factors of In-Hospital Mortality of Patients with COVID-19 in Germany: Results of a Large Nationwide Inpatient Sample

Unselected data of nationwide studies of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are still sparse, but these data are of outstanding interest to avoid exceeding hospital capacities and overloading national healthcare systems. Thus, we sought to analyze seasonal/regional trends, predictors of in-hospital case-fatality, and mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with COVID-19 in Germany. We used the German nationwide inpatient samples to analyze all hospitalized patients with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis in Germany between 1 January and 31 December in 2020. We analyzed data of 176,137 hospitalizations of patients with confirmed COVID-19-infection. Among those, 31,607 (17.9%) died, whereby in-hospital case-fatality grew exponentially with age. Overall, age ≥ 70 years (OR 5.91, 95%CI 5.70–6.13, p < 0.001), pneumonia (OR 4.58, 95%CI 4.42–4.74, p < 0.001) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (OR 8.51, 95%CI 8.12–8.92, p < 0.001) were strong predictors of in-hospital death. Most COVID-19 patients were treated in hospitals in urban areas (n = 92,971) associated with the lowest case-fatality (17.5%), as compared to hospitals in suburban (18.3%) or rural areas (18.8%). MV demand was highest in November/December 2020 (32.3%, 20.3%) in patients between the 6th and 8th age decade. In the first age decade, 78 of 1861 children (4.2%) with COVID-19-infection were treated with MV, and five of them died (0.3%). The results of our study indicate seasonal and regional variations concerning the number of COVID-19 patients, necessity of MV, and case fatality in Germany. These findings may help to ensure the flexible allocation of intensive care (human) resources, which is essential for managing enormous societal challenges worldwide to avoid overloaded regional healthcare systems.     

Explaining survival differences between two consecutive studies with allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Purpose

In the two consecutive German studies III and IIIA on chronic myeloid leukemia, between 1995 and 2004, 781 patients were randomized to receive either allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a related donor or continued drug treatment. Despite comparable transplantation protocols and most centers participating in both studies, the post-transplant survival probabilities for patients transplanted in first chronic phase were significantly higher in study IIIA (144 patients) than in study III (113 patients). Prior to the decision on a combined analysis of both studies, reasons for this discrepancy had to be investigated.

Methods

The Cox proportional hazard cure model was used to identify prognostic factors for post-transplant survival.

Results

Donor–recipient matching for human leukocyte antigen, patient age, time between diagnosis and transplantation, and calendar time showed a significant influence on survival and/or the incidence of cure. Added as a further factor, affiliation to study IIIA had no significant impact any longer.

Conclusions

Discrepancies in influential prognostic factors explained the different post-transplant survival probabilities between the studies. The significance of calendar time suggests a lack of consistency of transplantation practice over time. Accordingly, the prerequisite for a common assessment of overall survival in the two randomized transplantation arms was not met. Moreover, our analyses provide an independent validation of established prognostic factors and their cutoffs. The statistical approach in investigating and modeling potential prognostic factors for survival sets an example for the examination of studies with unexpected outcome differences in concurrent treatment arms.     

Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea and Seizure Caused by Temporo-Sphenoidal Encephalocele

This case report describes the symptoms and clinical course of a 35-year-old female patient who was diagnosed with a temporo-sphenoidal encephalocele. It is characterized by herniation of cerebral tissue of the temporal lobe through a defect of the skull base localized in the middle fossa. At the time of first presentation the patient complained about recurrent nasal discharge of clear fluid which had begun some weeks earlier. She also reported that three months earlier she had for the first time suffered from a generalized seizure. In a first therapeutic attempt an endoscopic endonasal approach to the sphenoid sinus was performed. An attempt to randomly seal the suspicious area failed. After frontotemporal craniotomy, it was possible to localize the encephalocele and the underlying bone defect. The herniated brain tissue was resected and the dural defect was closed with fascia of the temporalis muscle. In summary, the combination of recurrent rhinorrhea and a first-time seizure should alert specialists of otolaryngology, neurology and neurosurgery of a temporo-sphenoidal encephalocele as a possible cause. Treatment is likely to require a neurosurgical approach.     

Self-labelling and stigma as predictors of attitudes towards help-seeking among people at risk of psychosis: 1-year follow-up

Mental health service use is helpful but rare among young people at risk of psychosis. The label and stigma associated with mental illness may affect attitudes towards help-seeking. We examined 67 individuals at risk of psychosis over the course of 1 year. An increase of self-labelling as “mentally ill” predicted more positive attitudes towards psychiatric medication, while increased perceived stigma and the cognitive appraisal of stigma as a stressor predicted poorer attitudes towards psychotherapy after 1 year. Early intervention could improve non-stigmatizing awareness of at-risk mental state and reduce the public stigma associated with at-risk status to facilitate help-seeking.     

Double burst monitoring during surgical degrees of neuromuscular blockade: A comparison with train-of-four

With double burst stimulation (DBS) it is possible to monitor more profound degrees of neuromuscular blockade than with train-of-four stimulation (TOF). It may therefore be indicated to change between DBS and TOF stimulation during moderate to profound degrees of neuromuscular blockade. Consequently, the aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the twitch height of the first twitch (D1) in DBS and the twitch height of the first twitch (T1) in TOF stimulation during moderate to profound degrees of neuromuscular blockade. Thirty-three patients scheduled for gynaecological laparotomy under general anaesthesia were studied. Mechanomyography was used for neuromuscular monitoring. The T1 twitch height before atracurium was administered served as the control twitch height (T1 control). T1 control was considered as 100%. A constant degree of neuromuscular blockade was maintained at a T1 twitch height at a point between 4 and 11% of T1 control, using a continuous infusion of atracurium. Sequences of 16 DBS and 16 TOF stimulations were given. Two different DBS patterns were examined: DBS_3,350/50, (3 stimuli at 50 Hz followed 0.75 sec later by 3 stimuli at 50 Hz), and DBS_3,380/40, (3 stimuli at 80 Hz followed 0.75 sec later by 3 stimuli at 40 Hz). The data were analysed by the method described by Bland and Altman (1). The D1 repeatability coefficients of 1.72% for DBS_3,350/50 and 1.20% for DBS_3,380/40 were significantly greater than the repeatability coefficient of 1.02% for T1 (p<0.05). The D1 bias of 16.7% for DBS_3,350/50 was significantly less than the D1 bias of 25.7% for DBS_3,380/40 (p<0.05). The limits of agreement between D1 and T1 were 0.1 to 33.3% for DBS_3,350/50 and 2.9 to 48.5% for DBS_3,380/40. In conclusion: The repeatability of responses to DBS and TOF stimulations during moderate to profound degrees of neuromuscular blockade where only one twitch is consistently present is satisfactory. The responses to DBS were greater than responses to TOF as indicated by a positive bias of DBS. The limits of agreement between DBS and TOF responses were so wide that they cannot be used interchangeably.