Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 Vaccine after Recovery from Covid-19.

BACKGROUND: The risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) decreases substantially among patients who have recovered from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). However, it is unknown how long protective immunity lasts. Current guidelines recommend vaccination of recovered patients even though data regarding vaccine effectiveness in such cases are still limited. METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we reviewed electronic medical records from a large health care organization in Israel to assess reinfection rates in patients who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection before any vaccination against Covid-19. We compared reinfection rates among patients who had subsequently received the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) and those who had not been vaccinated between March 1 and November 26, 2021. We used a Cox proportional-hazards regression model with time-dependent covariates to estimate the association between vaccination and reinfection after adjustment for demographic factors and coexisting illnesses. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated as 1 minus the hazard ratio. In a secondary analysis, we evaluated the vaccine effectiveness of one dose as compared with two doses. RESULTS: A total of 149,032 patients who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection met the eligibility criteria. Of these patients, 83,356 (56%) received subsequent vaccination during the 270-day study period. Reinfection occurred in 354 of the vaccinated patients (2.46 cases per 100,000 persons per day) and in 2168 of 65,676 unvaccinated patients (10.21 cases per 100,000 persons per day). Vaccine effectiveness was estimated at 82% (95% confidence interval [CI], 80 to 84) among patients who were 16 to 64 years of age and 60% (95% CI, 36 to 76) among those 65 years of age or older. No significant difference in vaccine effectiveness was found for one dose as compared with two doses. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients who had recovered from Covid-19, the receipt of at least one dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine was associated with a significantly lower risk of recurrent infection.

Nirmatrelvir Use and Severe Covid-19 Outcomes during the Omicron Surge.

BACKGROUND: The oral protease inhibitor nirmatrelvir has shown substantial efficacy in high-risk, unvaccinated patients infected with the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Data regarding the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir in preventing severe coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outcomes from the B.1.1.529 (omicron) variant are limited. METHODS: We obtained data for all members of Clalit Health Services who were 40 years of age or older at the start of the study period and were assessed as being eligible to receive nirmatrelvir therapy during the omicron surge. A Cox proportional-hazards regression model with time-dependent covariates was used to estimate the association of nirmatrelvir treatment with hospitalization and death due to Covid-19, with adjustment for sociodemographic factors, coexisting conditions, and previous SARS-CoV-2 immunity status. RESULTS: A total of 109,254 patients met the eligibility criteria, of whom 3902 (4%) received nirmatrelvir during the study period. Among patients 65 years of age or older, the rate of hospitalization due to Covid-19 was 14.7 cases per 100,000 person-days among treated patients as compared with 58.9 cases per 100,000 person-days among untreated patients (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15 to 0.49). The adjusted hazard ratio for death due to Covid-19 was 0.21 (95% CI, 0.05 to 0.82). Among patients 40 to 64 years of age, the rate of hospitalization due to Covid-19 was 15.2 cases per 100,000 person-days among treated patients and 15.8 cases per 100,000 person-days among untreated patients (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.35 to 1.58). The adjusted hazard ratio for death due to Covid-19 was 1.32 (95% CI, 0.16 to 10.75). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients 65 years of age or older, the rates of hospitalization and death due to Covid-19 were significantly lower among those who received nirmatrelvir than among those who did not. No evidence of benefit was found in younger adults.

BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster and Mortality Due to Covid-19.

BACKGROUND: The emergence of the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the reduced effectiveness over time of the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) led to a resurgence of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases in populations that had been vaccinated early. On July 30, 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Health approved the use of a third dose of BNT162b2 (booster) to cope with this resurgence. Evidence regarding the effectiveness of the booster in lowering mortality due to Covid-19 is still needed. METHODS: We obtained data for all members of Clalit Health Services who were 50 years of age or older at the start of the study and had received two doses of BNT162b2 at least 5 months earlier. The mortality due to Covid-19 among participants who received the booster during the study period (booster group) was compared with that among participants who did not receive the booster (nonbooster group). A Cox proportional-hazards regression model with time-dependent covariates was used to estimate the association of booster status with death due to Covid-19, with adjustment for sociodemographic factors and coexisting conditions. RESULTS: A total of 843,208 participants met the eligibility criteria, of whom 758,118 (90%) received the booster during the 54-day study period. Death due to Covid-19 occurred in 65 participants in the booster group (0.16 per 100,000 persons per day) and in 137 participants in the nonbooster group (2.98 per 100,000 persons per day). The adjusted hazard ratio for death due to Covid-19 in the booster group, as compared with the nonbooster group, was 0.10 (95% confidence interval, 0.07 to 0.14; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Participants who received a booster at least 5 months after a second dose of BNT162b2 had 90% lower mortality due to Covid-19 than participants who did not receive a booster.

Stage I Breast Cancer in the Modern Era: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 328 Patients Diagnosed from 2002 to 2006 with a 14- year Median Follow-Up.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term outcomes of stage I breast cancer (BC) patients diagnosed during the current era of screening mammography, immunohistochemistry receptor testing, and systemic adjuvant therapy. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 328 stage I BC patients treated consecutively in a single referral center with a follow-up period of at least 12 years. The primary endpoints were invasive disease-free survival (IDFS) and overall survival (OS). The influence of tumor size, grade, and subtype on the outcomes was analyzed. RESULTS: Most patients were treated by lumpectomy, sentinel node biopsy and adjuvant endocrine therapy and most (82%) were of subtype luminal-A. Adjuvant chemotherapy was administered to 25.6 % of our cohort. Only 24 patients underwent gene expression testing, which was introduced toward the end of the study period. Mean IDFS was 14.64 years, with a 15-year IDFS of 75.6%. Mean OS was 15.28 years with a 15-year OS of 74.9%. In a Cox multivariate analysis, no clinical or pathologic variable impacted on OS and only tumor size (< 1 centimeter (cm) vs 1-2 cm), impacted significantly on IDFS. During follow-up, 20.1% of the cohort developed second primary cancers, including BC. The median time to diagnosis of a second BC was 6.49 years. CONCLUSION: The study results emphasize the importance of long-term follow-up and screening for subsequent malignancies of patients with stage I BC and support the need for using prognostic and predictive indicators beyond the routine clinicopathological characteristics in luminal-A patients.

Comparison of glucagon stimulation test and low dose ACTH test in assessing hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in children.

INTRODUCTION: Children with a pituitary hormone deficiency are at risk for secondary adrenal insufficiency (AI). A stimulation test is usually performed for diagnosing AI, evaluating both the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal and growth hormone (GH)-IGF-1 axes. This single test is preferred by clinicians and is considerably more tolerable by patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the glucagon stimulation test (GST), which is commonly used to assess both axes. Its diagnostic capability for GH deficiency is high and well accepted, however its utility for determining secondary AI has not been well established. METHODS: This retrospective study involved 120 patients under 18 years of age with short stature who had undergone both a GST and low dose ACTH stimulation test (LDACTH test). Twenty-six children who had more than 6 months elapsed between the two tests were excluded from the study. The study was conducted on patients of the Pediatric Endocrinology Department at Soroka University Hospital, a tertiary medical centre in Beer Sheva, Israel. Statistical analyses were carried out via IBM SPSS (v. 22), with a significance level determined at p < .05. RESULTS: Different cortisol cut-off values were assessed for GST and it was determined that the highest combined sensitivity and specificity yielded a cut-off point of 320 nmol/L (56% sensitivity and 83% specificity) while the currently accepted cut-off value (500 nmol/L) yielded 100% sensitivity and 6% specificity. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that GST is not an optimal tool for diagnosing secondary AI. Therefore, clinicians using this test should interpret its results with caution.

Patterns in Body Mass Index Changes in Children after Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are commonly treated with daily multiple insulin injections or an insulin pump. They tend to have higher body mass index-standard deviation scores (BMI-SDS) than non-diabetic children. OBJECTIVES: To identify patterns in the changes in BMI in the 3 years after T1DM diagnosis, and to discover factors that relate to excessive weight gain. METHODS: This retrospective study included clinical and laboratory data for 194 boys and girls aged 2-18 years at the time of diagnosis and at 1, 2, and 3 years after. Their BMI values were compared to non-diabetic children using BMI percentile and z-score (standard deviation) based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. RESULTS: Both males and females had low mean BMI-SDS at diagnosis (-0.4499 ± 1.38743 male, 0.3050 ± 1.29887 female) that increased after 1 year (-0.0449 ± 1.14772 male, 0.1451 ± 0.98893 female). Lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) at 1 year correlated with higher BMI-SDS (r = -0.215, P = 0.011). No such correlation was found in the following 2 years. The daily dose of basal insulin correlated with higher BMI-SDS at 1 year (r = 0.183, P = 0.026) and 3 years (r = 0.297, P < 0.01). No association was found between the use of an insulin pump or continuous glucose monitoring and higher BMI-SDS. CONCLUSIONS: BMI-SDS of children with T1DM was lower than average at the time of diagnosis and rose higher than average in the 3 years following. Higher BMI-SDS was not significantly associated with sex or ethnicity. The most prominent increase happened in the first year.

Evaluation of a Novel Objective Method for The Assessment of Nasal Symmetry Among Patients with Unilateral Cleft Lip.

OBJECTIVE: This is a cross sectional study aimed to asses novel semi objectve compter assisted method to asses the symmetry amog unilateral cleft lip patients. DESIGN: using Standard inferior view nose photos that were uploaded to Digimizer© Version 4.6.1 (2005-2016 MedCalc Software) Image Analysis, symmetry percentage was calculated and compared between cleft and non-cleft neonates. This method was compared to two subjective methods of rating symmetry. SETTING: This a cross sectional pilot study performed in the Univresity Medical Center using standard inferior views of unilateral cleft patients which were compared to non-cleft neonates. PATIENTS: Photographs of 71 neonates with unilateral complete and incomplete cleft lip and 30 neonates without facial cleft, which were born at the university medical center, Beer Sheba, Israel, were analyzed in a standard manner to determine nasal symmetry. MAIN MEASURES: the novel method proposed produced a nominal value for percentage of symmetry. RESULTS: Using Pearson's correlation test we found intra-rater reliability of 91.2% (p < 0.001) and Inter-rater reliability of 82.9% (p < 0.001). The analysis correlated with the surgeons subjective scores in both the numerical ranking method at 73% (p < 0.001) and 72.6% (p < 0.001) and the Ordinal ranking method at 87.6% (p < 0.001) and 77.7% (p < 0.001). The ability of the method to discriminate healthy from Cleft Lip patients overall was 92.3% With high sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSIONS: This method accurately distinguishes healthy patients from cleft lip patients. We have achieved High levels of inter and intra-rater reliability. Significant correlations were found between our semiobjective method and the subjective scores.

Neoadjuvant therapy with doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide followed by weekly paclitaxel in early breast cancer: a retrospective analysis of 200 consecutive patients treated in a single center with a median follow-up of 9.5 years.

PURPOSE: We analyzed outcomes of doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (AC) followed by weekly paclitaxel as neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for breast cancer (BC), in an everyday practice with long-term follow-up of patients. METHODS: All patients (n = 200) who received the AC-paclitaxel combination as NAC for BC at the Soroka University Medical Center from 2003 to 2012 were included in this retrospective cohort study. AC was administered on an every 3-week schedule (standard dose) until May, 2007 (n = 99); and subsequently every 2-week dose dense (dd) (n = 101). Clinical pathologic features, treatment course, and outcome information were recorded. Complete pathologic response (pCR) was analyzed according to BC subtype, dose regimen, and stage. RESULTS: Median age was 49 years; 55.5% and 44.5% of patients were clinically stage 2 and 3, respectively. Standard dose patients had more T3 tumors. Subtypes were human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-positive 32.5% (of whom 82% received trastuzumab), hormone receptor-positive/HER2-negative 53%, and triple negative 14.5%. Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) was performed in 48.5% of patients; only 9.5% were deemed suitable for BCS prior to NAC. Toxicity was acceptable. The overall pCR rate was 26.0% and was significantly higher in the dd group and HER2-positive patients. With a median follow-up of 9.51 years median event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) are 10.85 years and 12.61 years, respectively. Patients achieving pCR had significantly longer EFS and OS. CONCLUSION: NAC for BC with AC-paclitaxel can be safely administered in the "real-world' setting with high efficacy. Current efforts are aimed at increasing rates of pCR and identifying patients who may benefit from additional therapy or conversely, de-escalated treatment.

Nationwide seroprevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Israel.

The first local spread of COVID-19 in Israel was detected in March 2020. Due to the diversity in clinical presentations of COVID-19, diagnosis by RT-PCR alone might miss patients with mild or no symptoms. Serology testing may better evaluate the actual magnitude of the spread of infection in the population. This is the first nationwide seroprevalence study conducted in Israel. It is one of the most widespread to be conducted thus far, and the largest per-country population size. The survey was conducted between June 28 and September 14, 2020 and included 54,357 patients who arrived at the Health Maintenance Organizations to undergo a blood test for any reason. A patient was considered seropositive after two consecutive positive results with two different kits (Abbott and DiaSorin).The overall seroprevalence was 3.8% (95%CI 3.7-4.0), males higher than females [4.9% (95%CI 4.6-5.2) vs. 3.1% (95%CI 2.9-3.3) respectively]. Adolescents had the highest prevalence [7.8% (95%CI 7.0-8.6)] compared to other age groups. Participants who had undergone RT-PCR testing had a tenfold higher risk to be seropositive. The prevalence-to-incidence ratio was 4.5-15.7. Serology testing is an important complimentary tool for assessing the actual magnitude of infection and thus essential for implementing policy measures to control the pandemic. A positive serology test result was recently accepted in Israel as being sufficient to define recovery, with possible far-reaching consequences, such as the deploying of employees to ensure the maintenance of a functional economy.

Visits at the primary clinic do not reduce ketoacidosis rates at presentation in type 1 diabetes mellitus.

AIM: The rate of diabetic ketoacidosis at time of diagnosis of type 1 diabetes remains high. We examined whether visits to a primary care clinic up to a month prior to diagnosis of new onset diabetes affected ketoacidosis rates. METHODS: Retrospective chart review of children who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014. Data collection included demographics, age at diagnosis, number of visits to the primary care clinic during the month prior the diagnosis, relevance to diabetes and outcome of those visits and the presence of ketoacidosis at diagnosis. We examined the relationship between the rate of ketoacidosis at diagnosis and the number of visits in the clinic, and to the demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Of 159 patients, 115 visited their clinic in the month prior to diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. The rate of ketoacidosis at diagnosis was similar between those who visited the clinic and those who did not (37.4% compared to 38.6%). There was no difference in ketoacidosis rates between the different ethnic and socio-economic groups. CONCLUSION: Medical encounters in the month prior to diagnosis of type 1 diabetes did not reduce ketoacidosis rates in children.

Maternal Education Is Inversely Related to Vaccination Delay among Infants and Toddlers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between parents' level of education and delay in vaccination among infants and toddlers. STUDY DESIGN: A case-control study done in 2015-2016. Charts of 2- to 4-year-old children vaccinated in 5 neighborhood Maternal-Child Health Centers (MCHCs) in southern Israel were examined for demographic variables. Five vaccination opportunities between age 7 months and 18 months were selected to test for delays. In each MCHC, children vaccinated at the longest time-period after planned vaccination dose (fifth quintile) were compared with those vaccinated during the middle quintile. Using this relative delay approach rather than absolute delay approach permitted us to adjust the findings to the prevailing environmental and to cultural and programmatic variations between the various neighborhoods. Each of the planned vaccination visits and overall, demographic and health behavior-related variables that were significantly associated to delays by univariate analysis were tested by multivariate analysis and further adjusted by using stepwise logistic regression, using goodness of fit measures. RESULTS: Data for 2072 subjects were collected (398-426 per MCHC). Fathers' education was not associated with delays. In contrast, mothers' education was inversely associated with the probability of vaccination delay by 4%-9% (depending on the vaccination visit) for each year of schooling beyond 10 years. CONCLUSION: Using the relative delay approach, we demonstrated that maternal education, measured by schooling years, was independently inversely associated with risk of vaccination delay. This suggests that education can be regarded as an important positive component of the overall disease prevention planning at national and global levels.

The Prognostic Value of the Pretreatment Neutrophil/Lymphocyte Ratio in Patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme Brain Tumors: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Patients Treated with Combined Modality Surgery, Radiation Therapy, and Temozolomide Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have shown that the peripheral blood pretreatment neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a prognostic measure in various cancers. The few studies evaluating NLR in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients yielded inconsistent results. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of our study was to test the ability of pretreatment NLR to predict the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients with GBM treated by combined modality therapy (surgery, radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy). A secondary objective was to evaluate the toxicity of the combined modality protocol in a consecutive series of patients treated in our center, in the context of a real-world universal health-care setting. METHODS: We analyzed 89 patients with GBM in a retrospective cohort analysis who were treated in Soroka University Medical Center's Oncology Department between the years 2005-2016. We analyzed NLR as a dichotomous variable at 3 cut-off points, 2.5, 3 and 4, as a predictor of OS and PFS. Methylation status of the O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter was not determined. RESULTS: No significant correlation was found between NLR and either OS or PFS. Factors that predicted a shorter OS were age and extent of surgery. Patients over 70 years of age had a statistically significant shorter OS, 12.5 months (95% CI: 10.4-14.5 months) versus 17.6 months (95% CI: 14.2-21.1 months) in those 70 years of age and younger (p = 0.004). The OS of patients undergoing partial resection (12.7 months 95% CI: 8.3-17.1 months) or biopsy only (9.3 months 95% CI: 7.8-24.6 months), was significantly shorter than that of patients undergoing total resection (18.9 months, 95% CI: 11.8-26.0 months; p = 0.035). There were no treatment-related deaths. The most common grade III-IV toxicities were thrombocytopenia, 12.4%, and fatigue, 13.5%. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort of GBM patients treated with combined modality therapy, pretreatment NLR was not prognostic. Toxicity of treatment was acceptable. Investigation of the NLR with larger groups of patients selected by MGMT status is warranted.

Offspring of women following bariatric surgery and those of patients with obesity are at an increased risk for long-term pediatric endocrine morbidity.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether offspring of women following bariatric surgery as well as offspring of obese women are at an increased risk for long-term pediatric endocrine morbidity. SETTING: This study was conducted at the university hospital. METHODS: A population-based cohort study compared the incidence of long-term (up to the age of 18 years) occurrence of endocrine morbidity between offspring of mothers following bariatric surgery and obese mothers, as compared with parturients without obesity and without prior bariatric surgery. RESULTS: During the study period 220,563 newborns met the inclusion criteria; 1001 were delivered by patients following bariatric surgery, 2275 were delivered by obese women and 217,287 were delivered by normal weight women without prior bariatric surgery. Long-term endocrine morbidity was more common in the bariatric group (2.3%) and the obesity group (1.5%) as compared with the comparison group (0.5%; P < 0.001). Specifically, pediatric obesity was significantly more common in children of mothers following bariatric surgery (1.8%) and of mothers with obesity (1.2%) as compared with the comparison group (0.2%; P < 0.001). Children born to women following bariatric surgery as well as obese women had higher cumulative incidence of pediatric endocrine morbidity (Log rank, P < 0.001). The results remained significant when controlling for maternal factors, adjusted HR 6.25, 95% CI 4.10-9.50; P < 0.001 for women following bariatric surgery and aHR 2.40 95% CI 1.69-3.40; P < 0.001 for obese women. CONCLUSION: Offspring of women following bariatric surgery as well as those of obese women are at an increased risk for long-term pediatric endocrine morbidity.

Healthcare workers' willingness to respond following a disaster: a novel statistical approach toward data analysis.

BACKGROUND: The willingness of healthcare workers (HCW) to respond is an important factor in the health system's response capacity during emergencies. Although much research has been devoted to exploring this issue, the statistical methods employed have been predominantly traditional and have not enabled in-depth analysis focused on absenteeism-prone employees during emergencies. The present study employs an innovative statistical approach for modeling HCWs' willingness to respond (WTR) following an earthquake. METHODS: A validated questionnaire measuring knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward an earthquake scenario was distributed among Israeli HCWs in a hospital setting. Two regression models were employed for data analysis - a traditional linear model, and a quantile regression model that makes it possible to examine associations between explanatory variables across different levels of a dependent variable. A supplementary analysis was performed for selected variables using broken line spline regression. RESULTS: Females under the age of forty, and nurses were the most absenteeism-prone sub-groups of employees (showed low WTR) in earthquake events. Professional commitment to care and perception of efficacy were the most powerful predictors associated with WTR across all quantiles. Both marital status (married) and concern for family wellbeing, designated as statistically significant in the linear model, were found to be statistically significant in only one of the WTR quantiles (the former in Q10 and the latter in Q50). Gender and number of children, which were not significantly associated with WTR in the linear model, were found to be statistically significant in the 25th quantile of WTR. CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to both methodological and practical aspects. Quantile regression provides a more comprehensive view of associations between variables than is afforded by linear regression alone. Adopting an advanced statistical approach in WTR modeling can facilitate effective implementation of research findings in the field.

Clinical Outcome of Urgent Thoracotomy in Patients with Penetrating and Blunt Chest Trauma: A Retrospective Survey.

INTRODUCTION: In contrast to an emergency department of thoracotomy (EDT), an urgent thoracotomy (UT) is defined as a surgical thoracic intervention performed in the operating room within the first 48 hours of the patient's intensive care unit (ICU) stay. The factors affecting survival after UT are not fully understood. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical data and outcome of patients with blunt and penetrating chest injuries who underwent UT. METHODS: All adult patients who had blunt or penetrating chest trauma and who underwent UT, were included in the study. All data were collected from the patients' hospital and ICU records. Forty-five patients with thoracic injuries who underwent UT during the first 48 hours of ICU stay were analyzed. Of these, 25 had penetrating chest injuries, and 20 had blunt thoracic injuries. Of the penetrating injuries, 16 were stab wounds, and 9 were gunshot wounds. RESULTS: Overall ICU mortality was 29% (n = 13) and was significantly higher in the blunt chest trauma group than in the penetrating trauma group (45% vs 16%; p = 0.04). Lung parenchyma injuries (lacerations and contusions) were the most common intraoperative findings in both groups. The following independent predictors of in-hospital mortality were found: an Injury Severity Score (ISS) of >40; an Acute Physiology and Chronic Evaluation II (APACHE II) score of >30; prolonged duration of UT; low body temperature on admission to the ED; abnormal arterial blood lactate, bicarbonate, and pH at the end of UT; and use of vasopressors during the first 24 hours of ICU stay. CONCLUSION: Mortality after UT was higher in patients with blunt chest trauma. The UT should be performed in both penetrating and blunt chest trauma as quickly as possible and should be limited to damage control. It also emerges that acidosis and hypothermia in chest trauma patients need to be treated extremely aggressively before, during, and after UT.

Differing Relationship of Psycho-Social Variables with Active Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's Disease.

PURPOSE: How psycho-social variables affect the degree of disease activity in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) is incompletely understood. Therefore, we measured and compared the impact of psycho-social variables on the active disease state in UC and CD. METHOD: One hundred and twenty-two UC and 305 CD patients with active disease completed questionnaires detailing their psychological symptoms, threatening experiences, disease-coping strategies, satisfaction with life, quality of life, and demographics. RESULTS: UC and CD patients were aged (mean, SD) 38.6 ± 14.0 and 45.2 ± 15.1 years, respectively. The psychological symptom index (median, IQR) was greater in UC 1.24 (0.8) than CD 0.9 (0.8), p < 0.001. UC used more emotion-focused strategies, 24.5 (5.7) than CD, 23.0 (5.7), p < 0.03; problem-focused strategies, 16.4 (4.5) vs. 15.4 (4.2), p < 0.04; and dysfunctional strategies, 23.7 (5.7) vs. 22.0 (5.0), p < 0.01. UC activity correlated with gender, age, economic status, psychological symptoms, threatening experiences, all coping strategies, satisfaction with life, and quality of life (p < 0.02-0.001). CD activity correlated with economic status, psychological symptoms, threatening experiences, dysfunctional strategies, satisfaction with life, and quality of life (p < 0.05-0.001). UC activity was predicted by psychological symptoms (9.1% variance), economic status (6.9%), problem-focused strategies (4.2%), and threatening experiences (1.3%); CD activity by threatening experiences (5% variance) and psychological symptoms (4%). In path analysis, psychological symptoms and problem-focused strategies mediated the effects of economic status, age, and threatening experiences on UC activity. In CD, the dominant pathway was threatening experiences impacting on psychological symptoms. CONCLUSION: The impact of psycho-social variables on the active disease state differs between UC and CD, thus indicating a need for specifically tailored psychotherapies.

Daily hassles score associates with the somatic and psychological health of patients with Crohn's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of daily hassles with the somatic and psychological health of Crohn's disease (CD) patients. METHOD: A cross-sectional study of 400 self-selected adult CD patients was performed with completion of demographic, medical, and psychosocial questionnaires: economic status; Patient Harvey-Bradshaw Index of disease activity; Daily Hassles Scale (DHS); Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ) and Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36 Physical and Mental Health) quality of life measures; Brief Symptom Inventory of psychological stress with summary Global Severity Index (GSI); Family Assessment Device; and List of Threatening Life Experiences. Analyses included correlations, regressions, and Sobel test statistic. RESULTS: The patients were aged 38.7 ± 14.1 years, 61% female and 67% working. The Patient Harvey-Bradshaw Index was 5.52 ± 4.87. The DHS was 88.0 ± 23.2, similar in men and women, higher in smokers, and increased with greater disease activity (p < .001). The most commonly reported hassles were time, social, and work. DHS had significant negative correlations with age, disease duration, and economic status and positive correlations with GSI, SF-36, and SIBDQ. An increased Daily Hassles score was associated with reduced SIBDQ (p < .001) and SF-36 Mental Health (p < .001) and increased GSI (p < .001) and Patient Harvey-Bradshaw Index (p < .001). This effect of DHS on Patient Harvey-Bradshaw Index was mediated by GSI (Sobel t = 6.09, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Daily hassles in CD patients are shown for the first time to be associated with increased psychological stress and disease activity and reduced quality of life and lower economic status. This has psychotherapeutic implications.

The global prevalence of IBS in adults remains elusive due to the heterogeneity of studies: a Rome Foundation working team literature review.

OBJECTIVES: The global prevalence of IBS is difficult to ascertain, particularly in light of the heterogeneity of published epidemiological studies. The aim was to conduct a literature review, by experts from around the world, of community-based studies on IBS prevalence. DESIGN: Searches were conducted using predetermined search terms and eligibility criteria, including papers in all languages. Pooled prevalence rates were calculated by combining separate population survey prevalence estimates to generate an overall combined meta-prevalence estimate. The heterogeneity of studies was assessed. RESULTS: 1451 papers were returned and 83, including 288 103 participants in 41 countries, met inclusion criteria. The mean prevalence among individual countries ranged from 1.1% in France and Iran to 35.5% in Mexico. There was significant variance in pooled regional prevalence rates ranging from 17.5% (95% CI 16.9% to 18.2%) in Latin America, 9.6% (9.5% to 9.8%) in Asia, 7.1% (8.0% to 8.3%) in North America/Europe/Australia/New Zealand, to 5.8% (5.6% to 6.0%) in the Middle East and Africa. There was a significant degree of heterogeneity with the percentage of residual variation due to heterogeneity at 99.9%. CONCLUSIONS: The main finding is the extent of methodological variance in the studies reviewed and the degree of heterogeneity among them. Based on this, we concluded that publication of a single pooled global prevalence rate, which is easily calculated, would not be appropriate or contributory. Furthermore, we believe that future studies should focus on regional and cross-cultural differences that are more likely to shed light on pathophysiology.

Effects of initiating moderate wine intake on abdominal adipose tissue in adults with type 2 diabetes: a 2-year randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To generate evidence-based conclusions about the effect of wine consumption on weight gain and abdominal fat accumulation and distribution in patients with type 2 diabetes. DESIGN: In the 2-year randomized controlled CASCADE (CArdiovaSCulAr Diabetes & Ethanol) trial, patients following a Mediterranean diet were randomly assigned to drink 150 ml of mineral water, white wine or red wine with dinner for 2 years. Visceral adiposity and abdominal fat distribution were measured in a subgroup of sixty-five participants, using abdominal MRI. SETTING: Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Soroka-Medical Center and the Nuclear Research Center Negev, Israel. SUBJECTS: Alcohol-abstaining adults with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. RESULTS: Forty-eight participants (red wine, n 27; mineral water, n 21) who completed a second MRI measurement were included in the 2-year analysis. Similar weight losses (sd) were observed: red wine 1·3 (3·9) kg; water 1·0 (4·2) kg (P=0·8 between groups). Changes (95 % CI) in abdominal adipose-tissue distribution were similar: red wine, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) -3·0 (-8·0, 2·0) %, deep subcutaneous adipose tissue (DSAT) +5·2 (-1·1, 11·6) %, superficial subcutaneous adipose tissue (SSAT) -1·9 (-5·0, 1·2) %; water, VAT -3·2 (-8·9, 2·5) %, DSAT +2·9 (-2·8, 8·6) %, SSAT -0·15 (-3·3, 2·9) %. No changes in antidiabetic medication and no substantial changes in energy intake (+126 (sd 2889) kJ/d (+30·2 (sd 690) kcal/d), P=0·8) were recorded. A 2-year decrease in glycated Hb (ß=0·28, P=0·05) was associated with a decrease in VAT. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate wine consumption, as part of a Mediterranean diet, in persons with controlled diabetes did not promote weight gain or abdominal adiposity.