Efficacy and safety of early YAG laser vitreolysis for symptomatic vitreous floaters: the study protocol for a randomized clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Vitreous floaters are a common ocular condition that affects individuals of all ages. Although vitreous floaters are typically benign, they can significantly impair visual acuity and quality of life. Laser vitreolysis, which uses an Nd: YAG laser to vaporize collagenous vitreous opacities, is increasingly being used as a treatment option. However, there is currently a lack of evidence regarding its efficacy and the appropriate timing of its application. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of early intervention with YAG laser vitreolysis in treating symptomatic vitreous floaters. METHODS: The present study is a randomized, controlled, double-blind clinical trial. A total of 70 participants with symptomatic floaters for 1 month were prospectively recruited. These participants will be randomly assigned to two groups, with 35 individuals in each group: the early treatment group and the delayed treatment group. Participants assigned to the early treatment group will undergo YAG laser vitreolysis immediately, followed by a sham laser treatment 3 months later. On the other hand, participants assigned to the delayed treatment group will receive a sham laser treatment and then undergo YAG laser vitreolysis 3 months later. The follow-up time points will be 1, 3, 6, and 12 months from randomization. Primary outcomes will be participants' self-reported improvement in visual disturbance on a scale of 1 to 10 and their scores on the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire 25 (NEI VFQ-25). Secondary outcomes will be an objective evaluation of the effectiveness of the treatment in reducing vitreous floaters through OCT and fundus photography and tracking any adverse events related to the eyes or overall health. DISCUSSION: This clinical trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of YAG laser vitreolysis in treating symptomatic vitreous floaters and assess the safety of performing early intervention with YAG laser vitreolysis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05800353 . Registered on 10 March 2023.

Motivation, self-efficacy, perception, curiosity, and barriers toward medical research among undergraduates in China.

Medical research is important to scientific progress and medical education. Institutions worldwide have sought to increase student involvement in research such as clinician-scientists training programs, while little is known about how medical undergraduates perceive research. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China, with first-fourth year undergraduates. An online, anonymous, and self-rating 5-point Likert questionnaire was conducted to investigate medical undergraduates' demographic characteristics and assess motivation, self-efficacy, perception, curiosity, and barriers regarding medical research. Content validity was checked with experts and face validity was checked for clarity and understanding of the questionnaire. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questions ranged from 0.813 to 0.879. A total of 3273 medical undergraduates were surveyed, and 86.62% (2835) participants (male 962, female 1873) were identified as effective. Males scored higher than females on self-efficacy (p < 0.001), perception (p = 0.017), and curiosity (p < 0.001), and lower on barriers (p < 0.001). The second year students are at the peak of their perception (p = 0.006) and lowest barrier scores (p = 0.003). Students with scientific research experience scored higher in motivation (p = 0.002), self-efficacy (p < 0.001), perception (p < 0.001), and curiosity (p < 0.001). Lack of proper mentoring opportunity (86.2%) and knowledge (84.5%) were the main barriers in conducting research. Even though they have a positive perspective, only a few undergraduates enrolled in research. Medical universities should encourage faculties to supervise and guide undergraduates' projects, and provide feasible solutions for students to learn scientific knowledge and skills. It is vital to build a research-oriented environment and academic atmosphere.

Prognostic Value of Serum Osteopontin in Acute Exacerbation of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Acute exacerbation (AE) is a common cause of rapid deterioration and high mortality in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients. Osteopontin (OPN) plays an important role in IPF, but the studies about serum OPN in AE-IPF are unclear. We aimed to investigate whether OPN had a potential prognostic value in acute exacerbation and mortality in IPF. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with AE-IPF, 39 with S-IPF, and 20 healthy controls were included. Serum OPN and KL-6 levels were compared between AE-IPF and S-IPF. Logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the predicted value of OPN for AE. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to display survival, and Cox proportional hazards regression was used to identify risk for mortality. RESULTS: In AE-IPF patients, serum OPN levels were significantly higher than in S-IPF subjects (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (p < 0.001) or healthy controls (. CONCLUSION: Elevated OPN could be a potential serum predictor for AE status and survival in IPF patients.

[Analysis of quality of life of 115 parents with cleft lip and/or palate children].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the quality of life of cleft lip and/or palate children's parents and discuss the factors to provide the oretical basis for improving the quality of life of these parents and promoting the healthy growth of children with cleft lip and/or palate. METHODS: A total of 115 parents whose children had cleft lip and/or palate surgery treatment were selected as the experiment group, and another 198 parents (with healthy children having a similar age with those in the experiment group) as the control group. The experiment group was divided into three subgroups according to different types of cleft lip and/or palate: cleft Lip (CL), cleft palate (CP), cleft lip and palate (CLP). The experiment group and the control group were both divided into four subgroups according to age: 0-1, 1-3, 3-6 years old, and more than 6 years old. The experiment group and the control group were both divided into three subgroups according to education: junior middle school and the following, high school and technical secondary school, junior college degree or above. The GQOLI-74 scale was selected to assess the experiment group and the control group. SPSS 16.0 software was used to analyze data. RESULTS: 1) The experiment group had no significant difference with the control group in terms of the overall score and the scores of various children ages. 2) The scores of every item had no significant difference in CL, CP, CLP subgroup (P > 0.05). 3) The quality of life scores and scores of psychological function dimension and social function dimension of parents with 3-6 years old patients were obviously lower than those of parents with more than 6 years old patients (P<0.05). The scores of social function dimension of parents with 0-1, 1-3, 3-6 years old patients were obviously lower than those of parents with more than 6 years old patients (P < 0.05). The other items had no significant difference. 4) The scores of material life dimension and social function dimension of parents with junior college degree or above were higher than those of parents with junior middle school degree and the following (P < 0.05). The scores of social function dimension of parents with high school and technical secondary school degree were higher than those of parents with junior middle school degree and the following (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: No difference was observed in the quality of life between cleft lip and/or palate children's parents and normal group. The parents with the low age children with cleft lip and/or palate and low-levels of education need more help and support to improve quality of life.