Preoperative B-Type Natriuretic Peptides to Predict Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation in Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Post-operative atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common complication following cardiac surgery. There has been extensive exploration of clinical variables, imaging, and biomarkers to predict its occurrence after cardiac surgery. In this study, we examine the emerging biomarkers B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal proBNP (NT-proBNP) to assess their pre-operative values and correlations with the occurrence of post-operative AF in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE via Ovid, ClinicalTrials.Gov, Scopus, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) to identify studies published until March 2023. The studies were included if they reported pre-operative BNP or NT-proBNP values and the development of post-operative AF in cardiac surgery patients. Subsequently, data were extracted, and a meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4 4 (The Cochrane Collaboration, 2020) and SPSS version 28 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) to assess the difference between pre-operative BNP and NT-proBNP levels between patients with post-operative AF (AF group) and those without (No-AF group) using a random-effect model. Further analysis was performed in three subgroups: isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, isolated valve, and combined/mixed surgery group. RESULT: A total of 20 studies, including 9,079 participants were identified and included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Pre-operative BNP levels were reported in 11 studies, and NT-proBNP levels were reported in 10 studies, of which one study reported both BNP and NT-proBNP levels. There is an overall significant difference between pre-operative levels of BNP (p=0.03, I2=95%) and NT-proBNP (p<0.001, I2=65%) when compared between AF and No-AF groups. Nonetheless, subgroup analysis showed there is no significant difference in pre-operative BNP levels, except in isolated valve surgery (p<0.001), whereas all subgroups showed significantly different pre-operative levels of NT-proBNP. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated levels of both BNP and NT-proBNP were observed in patients who developed post-operative AF after undergoing cardiac surgery. In particular, pre-operative NT-proBNP levels were elevated in all patients irrespective of the type of surgical procedure, but elevated pre-operative BNP was only seen in valve surgery patients. These findings suggest the potential usefulness of NT-proBNP as a promising biomarker for predicting the occurrence of post-operative AF following cardiac surgery.

Results of a Model of Delivering Hepatitis C Care in a Homeless Metropolitan Population in England.

INTRODUCTION: Given the hepatitis C virus (HCV) burden and despite curative treatments, more efforts focused on scaling-up testing and treatment in homeless populations are needed. This project aimed to implement education and flexible on-site HCV testing, treatment, and follow-up for a homeless population in south London and to evaluate engagement, therapy initiation, and cure rates. METHODS: A mobile unit (van) for on-site HCV education, screening, treatment, and follow-up was placed on the street in a well-known homeless population areas from January 2018 to September 2021. Homeless was defined as living in temporary housing (hostel/hotel-based) or living on the street (street-based). Sociodemographic status, risk factors, comorbidities, concomitant medication, and data related with HCV treatment were recorded. Univariable and multivariable modeling were performed for treatment initiation and sustained virological response (SVR). RESULTS: Nine hundred forty homeless people were identified and 99.3% participated. 56.2% were street-based, 243 (26%) tested positive for HCV antibody, and 162 (17.4%) were viremic. Those with detectable HCV RNA had significantly more frequent psychiatric disorders, active substance use disorders, were on opioid agonist treatment, had advanced fibrosis, and had lower rates of previous treatment in comparison with undetectable HCV RNA. Overall treatment initiation was 70.4% and SVR was 72.8%. In the multivariable analysis, being screened in temporary housing (odds ratio [OR] 3.166; P = 0.002) and having opioid agonist treatment (OR 3.137; P = 0.004) were positively associated with treatment initiation. HCV treatment adherence (OR 26.552; P < 0.001) was the only factor associated with achieving SVR. DISCUSSION: Promoting education and having flexible and reflex mobile on-site testing and treatment for HCV in the homeless population improve engagement with the health care system, meaning higher rates of treatment initiation and SVR. However, street-based homeless population not linked with harm reduction services are less likely to initiate HCV treatment, highlighting an urgent need for a broad health inclusion system.

Efficacy of chest X-rays after drain removal in adult and pediatric patients undergoing cardiac and thoracic surgery: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Chest X-rays are routinely obtained after the removal of chest drains in patients undergoing cardiac and thoracic surgical procedures. However, a lack of guidelines and evidence could question the practice. Routine chest X-rays increase exposure to ionizing radiation, increase health-care costs, and lead to overutilisation of available resources. This review aims to explore the evidence in the literature regarding the routine use of chest X-rays following the removal of chest drains. MATERIALS & METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Medline via Ovid, Cochrane central register of control trials (CENTRAL), and ClinicalTrials. gov without any limit on the publication year. The references of the included studies are manually screened to identify potentially eligible studies. RESULTS: A total of 375 studies were retrieved through the search and 18 studies were included in the review. Incidence of pneumothorax remains less than 10% across adult cardiac, and pediatric cardiac and thoracic surgical populations. The incidence may be as high as 50% in adult thoracic surgical patients. However, the reintervention rate remains less than 2% across the populations. Development of respiratory and cardiovascular symptoms can adequately guide for a chest X-ray following the drain removal. As an alternative, bedside ultrasound can be used to detect pneumothorax in the thorax after the removal of a chest drain without the need for ionizing radiation. CONCLUSION: A routine chest X-ray following chest drain removal in adult and pediatric patients undergoing cardiac and thoracic surgery is not necessary. It can be omitted without compromising patient safety. Obtaining a chest X-ray should be clinically guided. Alternatively, bedside ultrasound can be used for the same purpose without the need for radiation exposure.

Determinants of Pathogen Contamination of the Environment in the Greater Yangon Area, Myanmar.

Recent results from water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions highlight the need to better understand environmental influences on enteropathogen transmission. We quantified a range of viral, bacterial, and protozoal pathogens and one indicator, Enterococcus faecalis in soil and water from urban and rural sites in and around Yangon, Myanmar. We found that environmental characteristics associated with contamination differed by pathogens and substrates. In soil, bacterial pathogen gene counts were associated with elevation and drainage ditches (compared to stagnant water) (RR = 0.96, 95% CI 0.93, 0.99 and RR = 1.70, 95% CI 1.18, 2.45, respectively), while viral gene counts were associated with the presence of sanitation facilities within 50 m of the collection point (RR = 3.99, 95% CI 1.12, 14.24). In water, E. faecalis, total pathogen, and bacterial pathogen gene counts were associated with drainage ditches (RR = 1.86, 95% CI 1.27, 2.72, RR = 1.38 95% CI 1.09, 1.74, and RR = 1.38 95% CI 1.07, 1.77, respectively). E. faecalis, total pathogen, bacterial pathogen, and viral gene counts were associated with the presence of uncollected garbage within 50 m of the collection point (RR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.00, 2.47, RR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.16, 2.00, RR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.13, 2.06, and RR = 1.75, 95% CI 1.17, 2.61 respectively). Measuring the environment provides added specificity toward identifying important environmental pathways that require mitigation.

Pericardiotomy and atrial fibrillation after isolated coronary artery bypass grafting: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 16 randomised controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation (AF) and pericardial effusion are notable complications following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), contributing to increased morbidity and healthcare costs. Posterior pericardiotomy has been proposed to mitigate these complications. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to evaluate the efficacy of posterior pericardiotomy in reducing postoperative AF and pericardial effusion in isolated CABG patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comprehensive literature search, adhering to PRISMA guidelines, was conducted across PubMed, MEDLINE via Ovid, Embase, Scopus, the Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and ClinicalTrials.gov up to December 2023. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing prophylactic posterior pericardiotomy to control treatments in adult CABG patients were included. The primary outcomes assessed were the incidences of postoperative AF and pericardial effusion. RESULTS: The meta-analysis incorporated 16 RCTs with a total of 2414 patients. The findings demonstrated a significant reduction in the incidence of postoperative AF (Odds Ratio = 0.34, 95 % CI: 0.25-0.48, P < 0.00001) and pericardial effusion (Odd Ratio = 0.24, 95 % CI: 0.15-0.38, P < 0.0001) in the group undergoing posterior pericardiotomy. However, the analysis revealed substantial heterogeneity and publication bias in the included studies. CONCLUSION: The posterior pericardiotomy is effective in reducing the incidences of AF and pericardial effusion in patients undergoing isolated CABG. Despite the positive outcomes, the presence of heterogeneity and publication bias warrants a cautious interpretation of the results and underscores the need for further multicentre RCTs in this area.

Fluoxetine Simultaneously Induces Both Apoptosis and Autophagy in Human Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cells.

Fluoxetine is used widely as an antidepressant for the treatment of cancer-related depression, but has been reported to also have anti-cancer activity. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxicity of fluoxetine to human gastric adenocarcinoma cells; as shown by the MTT assay, fluoxetine induced cell death. Subsequently, cells were treated with 10 or 20 µM fluoxetine for 24 h and analyzed. Apoptosis was confirmed by the increased number of early apoptotic cells, shown by Annexin V- propidium iodide staining. Nuclear condensation was visualized by DAPI staining. A significant increase in the expression of cleaved PARP was observed by western blotting. The pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK was used to detect the extent of caspase-dependent cell death. The induction of autophagy was determined by the formation of acidic vesicular organelles (AVOs), which was visualized by acridine orange staining, and the increased expression of autophagy markers, such as LC3B, Beclin 1, and p62/SQSTM 1, observed by western blotting. The expression of upstream proteins, such as p-Akt and p-mTOR, were decreased. Autophagic degradation was evaluated by using bafilomycin, an inhibitor of late-stage autophagy. Bafilomycin did not significantly enhance LC3B expression induced by fluoxetine, which suggested autophagic degradation was impaired. In addition, the co-administration of the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine and fluoxetine significantly increased fluoxetine-induced apoptosis, with decreased p-Akt and markedly increased death receptor 4 and 5 expression. Our results suggested that fluoxetine simultaneously induced both protective autophagy and apoptosis and that the inhibition of autophagy enhanced fluoxetine-induced apoptosis through increased death receptor expression.

Benzyl Isothiocyanate Induces Apoptosis via Reactive Oxygen Species-Initiated Mitochondrial Dysfunction and DR4 and DR5 Death Receptor Activation in Gastric Adenocarcinoma Cells.

Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) is known to inhibit the metastasis of gastric cancer cells but further studies are needed to confirm its chemotherapeutic potential against gastric cancer. In this study, we observed cell shrinkage and morphological changes in one of the gastric adenocarcinoma cell lines, the AGS cells, after BITC treatment. We performed 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5- diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, a cell viability assay, and found that BITC decreased AGS cell viability. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) analyses using 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin diacetate (DCFDA) revealed that BITC-induced cell death involved intracellular ROS production, which resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, cell viability was partially restored when BITC-treated AGS cells were preincubated with glutathione (GSH). Western blotting indicated that BITC regulated the expressions of the mitochondria-mediated apoptosis signaling molecules, B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), and cytochrome c (Cyt c). In addition, BITC increased death receptor DR5 expression, and activated the cysteine-aspartic proteases (caspases) cascade. Overall, our results showed that BITC triggers apoptosis in AGS cells via the apoptotic pathways involved in ROS-promoted mitochondrial dysfunction and death receptor activation.

Antimicrobial stewardship approach: Prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria at a regional hospital in South Africa.

INTRODUCTION: Antimicrobial stewardship practices are crucial for the regular surveillance to change the antimicrobial policy. This study was conducted to decide the prevalence of common bacteria and their antibiogram regarding antimicrobial stewardship program within one year, at the regional and district, Stanger hospital in South Africa. METHODOLOGY: It was based the study on clinical data and laboratory records of the patients. It reviewed the clinical and laboratory data. The prevalence/proportion rate was calculated and correlated with the majority of microorganism vs empirical therapy. RESULTS: The prevalence of MRSA, MRSE, VRSA, ESBL+ K. pneumoniae; E. coli cultured from the blood was 25%, 49%, 2%, 62% and 27% respectively. Similarly, we analysed for other targeted MDROs organisms (Acinetobacter species and P. aeruginosa, CRE, CPE) isolated from blood culture and endotracheal aspirate. The prevalence of MDR Acinetobacter species exceeded 61%, 33% from the blood and ETA respectively. The prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa was 10% from ETA. The MRSA, MRSE, VRSA, VRE were observed in blood specimen. The majority of the microorganisms cultured from the CSF was Cryptococcus neoformans and followed by bacteria: Streptococcus pneumonia, Streptococcus group B and Haemorphilus influenza. CONCLUSION: The selection of empirical antimicrobial therapy relates not only the institutions or unit-specific antibiogram but also the site of infection. We can further suggest continuing to do surveillance of antibiogram and prevalence of MDR organisms for infection control as well as for empirical therapy, part of the antimicrobial  stewardship program based on yearly records to change the local hospital antibiotic policy.

Strategy and Efficacy of Generic and Pan-genotypic Sofosbuvir/Velpatasvir in Chronic Hepatitis C Virus: A Myanmar Experience.

BACKGROUND: In resource-constrained areas, generic direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have considerably reduced the cost of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy while there remain significant costs related to the baseline and follow-up virologic assays. AIM: The aim was to assess the efficacy and safety of HCV therapy in Myanmar with pan-genotypic generic DAA sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) and with and without the baseline genotype testing, while the duration of treatment and use of ribavirin (RBV) was dictated by cirrhosis and prior treatment failure. METHODS: Between September 2016 and June 2017, data from the 359 participants who completed treatment with SOF/VEL (± RBV) for 12-24 weeks were analyzed. Two hundred one patients did not have the baseline HCV genotype tested. RESULTS: Regimens included SOF/VEL for 12 weeks (n = 43), SOF/VEL/RBV for 12 weeks (n = 275), or SOF/VEL/RBV for 24 weeks (n = 41). The mean age was 52 years, 44% were men (n = 159), 41 (11.4%) had a history of previous DAA therapy, 7 (1.9%) had a history of hepatocellular carcinoma, and 55 (15.3%) had cirrhosis. Overall, the sustained viral response (SVR)12 rate was 98.6% (354/359) and with a good adverse event profile. SVR rates were similar to those with and without baseline genotype testing and also across all genotypes in those who had genotype tested. CONCLUSIONS: In Myanmar, generic and pan-genotypic SOF/VEL ± RBV is a highly effective and safe treatment for HCV, regardless of the HCV genotype, and therefore, the requirement for the baseline genotype can be eliminated. Future strategies should include elimination of treatment and end of treatment HCV RNA testing to enhance treatment uptake and further reduce cost.