Understanding global research trends in the control and prevention of infectious diseases for children: Insights from text mining and topic modeling.

INTRODUCTION: The emergence of novel infectious diseases has amplified the urgent need for effective prevention strategies, especially ones targeting vulnerable populations such as children. Factors such as the high incidence of both emerging and existing infectious diseases, delays in vaccinations, and routine exposure in communal settings heighten children's susceptibility to infections. Despite this pressing need, a comprehensive exploration of research trends in this domain remains lacking. This study aims to address this gap by employing text mining and modeling techniques to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature, thereby identifying emerging research trends in infectious disease prevention among children. METHODS: A cross-sectional text mining approach was adopted, focusing on journal articles published between January 1, 2003, and August 31, 2022. These articles, related to infectious disease prevention in children, were sourced from databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, and Korean RISS. The data underwent preprocessing using the Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) in Python, with a semantic network analysis and topic modeling conducted using R software. RESULTS: The final dataset comprised 509 journal articles extracted from multiple databases. The study began with a word frequency analysis to pinpoint relevant themes, subsequently visualized through a word cloud. Dominant terms encompassed "vaccination," "adolescent," "infant," "parent," "family," "school," "country," "household," "community," "HIV," "HPV," "COVID-19," "influenza," and "diarrhea." The semantic analysis identified "age" as a key term across infection, control, and intervention discussions. Notably, the relationship between "hand" and "handwashing" was prominent, especially in educational contexts linked with "school" and "absence." Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling further delineated seven topics related to infectious disease prevention for children, encompassing (1) educational programs, (2) vaccination efforts, (3) family-level responses, (4) care for immunocompromised individuals, (5) country-specific responses, (6) school-based strategies, and (7) persistent threats from established infectious diseases. CONCLUSION: The study emphasizes the indispensable role of personalized interventions tailored for various child demographics, highlighting the pivotal contributions of both parental guidance and school participation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The study provides insights into the complex public health challenges associated with preventing and managing infectious diseases in children. The insights derived could inform the formulation of evidence-based public health policies, steering practical interventions and fostering interdisciplinary synergy for holistic prevention strategies.

Analyzing symptom experiences and pathways to enhancing quality of life in adolescents with Moyamoya disease.

PURPOSE: The psycho-emotional symptom experiences and health-related factors that influence the quality of life of adolescents with Moyamoya disease are still not fully understood. The aim of this study is to identify the daily physical and accompanying psychological symptom experiences of such adolescents, and to examine how health-related factors contribute to their quality of life. DESIGN AND METHOD: This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional research design. Data on a total of 134 adolescents with Moyamoya disease was analyzed in order to develop a path analysis. Data were collected from October 2019 to January 2021 in South Korea. The theory of salutogenesis was employed in order to develop a hypothetical model for this path analysis. Participants were given a self-reporting questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and path analysis were conducted based on the results. RESULTS: Adolescents with Moyamoya disease experienced several negative emotions simultaneously, regardless of the severity of their physical symptoms. The path analysis revealed that stress, a sense of coherence, behavior, and the support of friends were significant contributors to adolescents' quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents with Moyamoya disease have multifaceted symptom experiences in their daily lives. To enhance their quality of life, it is crucial to provide support that can help strengthen their capacity for stress management and enhance their sense of coherence. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study provides evidence that nurses should offer anticipatory information to adolescents with Moyamoya disease regarding the symptoms they will frequently encounter, and develop interventions to enhance their quality of life.

Development of a mobile application based on the salutogenic model for self-management in adolescents with Moyamoya disease.

PURPOSE: Moyamoya disease (MMD) is a rare disease which has a high incidence of onset in adolescence. Disease self-management skills are imperative for adolescents with MMD. This study aimed to describe the systematic development, content, and usability of the Moyamoya Healthy Youth application (app), which was developed to enhance self-management skills for adolescents with MMD. DESIGN AND METHODS: The theoretical grounding for the app was salutogenic model and the development process of the app was guided by the intervention mapping (IM) protocol. Results of each IM step were applied to the next step leading to the design of the app. Additionally, a pilot test was conducted to determine the usability of the app. RESULTS: Following the salutogenic model, we identified the stressors, behaviors, and resources regarding managing symptoms of MMD by interviewing adolescents with MMD, their parents, and healthcare providers. Based on the findings of the interviews, we determined the program outcomes and performance objectives to improve the self-management of MMD in adolescents. The app was developed by translating the theoretical methods to achieve the performance objectives into practical strategies for delivering the program. A pilot test with eight participants showed satisfaction with the app in terms of its usefulness and ease of use. CONCLUSION: We delineated the development process of the Moyamoya Healthy Youth. Additionally, we presented the positive outcomes regarding the usability of the app. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The Moyamoya Healthy Youth app could benefit adolescents with MMD, by improving their self-management skills which are crucial for their health.

Risk and protective factors for a salutogenic sense of health in adolescents with Moyamoya disease.

PURPOSE: To identify the risk and protective factors affecting a salutogenic sense of health in adolescents with Moyamoya disease based on Antonovsky's salutogenesis theory. METHODS: This study used a qualitative descriptive design. We interviewed adolescents diagnosed with Moyamoya disease and their parents and experts with experience in treating them from 4 July 2019 to 10 October 2019. Data analysis was performed according to the process of deductive content analysis based on Antonovsky's salutogenesis theory. RESULTS: This study identified risk and protective factors affecting a salutogenic sense of health in adolescents with Moyamoya disease. Risk factors were closely related to problems with friends, parent relationships and academic work. Protective factors were identified as emotional support through interpersonal relationships, positive attitudes to the disease situation, ability to understand and predict patterns of symptoms, increasing strength to resolve the state of tension and developing available resources. CONCLUSION: The factors affecting a salutogenic sense of health in adolescents were identified reflecting on the characteristics of the developmental stage of adolescents and the symptoms and situations that are unique to adolescents. It is important for adolescents with Moyamoya disease to recognize available resources and use them appropriately to successfully manage the state of tension caused by stress.

Two Cases of Severe Complications Due to an Esophageal Fish Bone Foreign Body.

Cases of foreign body ingestion are encountered relatively often in clinical settings; however, serious complications are rare. In such cases, mediastinal abscess due to esophageal perforation can become a life-threatening complication. We encountered two cases of severe complications due to an esophageal fish bone foreign body. The first case was a 40-year-old male with an intramural esophageal abscess due to a fish bone after eating fish five days before visiting the hospital. The patient underwent surgical treatment, but the esophageal abscess did not improve; so, the abscess was drained through endoscopic mucosal dissection, and the abscess improved. In the second case, a 64-year-old male, who had eaten fish three days before visiting the hospital, had esophageal perforation by a fish bone, and abscess formation in the mediastinum and the lesser sac in the abdominal cavity were observed. Although surgical treatment was performed, the intra-abdominal abscess formation was not controlled; so, percutaneous drainage (PCD) was inserted, and the abscess improved. Both patients were discharged without any complications. Here, we report two cases that were improved through surgical treatments and additional treatments such as endoscopic dissection and PCD.

Risk factors and prognostic implications of diagnosis of cancer within 30 days after an emergency hospital admission (emergency presentation): an International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP) population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Greater understanding of international cancer survival differences is needed. We aimed to identify predictors and consequences of cancer diagnosis through emergency presentation in different international jurisdictions in six high-income countries. METHODS: Using a federated analysis model, in this cross-sectional population-based study, we analysed cancer registration and linked hospital admissions data from 14 jurisdictions in six countries (Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK), including patients with primary diagnosis of invasive oesophageal, stomach, colon, rectal, liver, pancreatic, lung, or ovarian cancer during study periods from Jan 1, 2012, to Dec 31, 2017. Data were collected on cancer site, age group, sex, year of diagnosis, and stage at diagnosis. Emergency presentation was defined as diagnosis of cancer within 30 days after an emergency hospital admission. Using logistic regression, we examined variables associated with emergency presentation and associations between emergency presentation and short-term mortality. We meta-analysed estimates across jurisdictions and explored jurisdiction-level associations between cancer survival and the percentage of patients diagnosed as emergencies. FINDINGS: In 857 068 patients across 14 jurisdictions, considering all of the eight cancer sites together, the percentage of diagnoses through emergency presentation ranged from 24·0% (9165 of 38 212 patients) to 42·5% (12 238 of 28 794 patients). There was consistently large variation in the percentage of emergency presentations by cancer site across jurisdictions. Pancreatic cancer diagnoses had the highest percentage of emergency presentations on average overall (46·1% [30 972 of 67 173 patients]), with the jurisdictional range being 34·1% (1083 of 3172 patients) to 60·4% (1317 of 2182 patients). Rectal cancer had the lowest percentage of emergency presentations on average overall (12·1% [10 051 of 83 325 patients]), with a jurisdictional range of 9·1% (403 of 4438 patients) to 19·8% (643 of 3247 patients). Across the jurisdictions, older age (ie, 75-84 years and 85 years or older, compared with younger patients) and advanced stage at diagnosis compared with non-advanced stage were consistently associated with increased emergency presentation risk, with the percentage of emergency presentations being highest in the oldest age group (85 years or older) for 110 (98%) of 112 jurisdiction-cancer site strata, and in the most advanced (distant spread) stage category for 98 (97%) of 101 jurisdiction-cancer site strata with available information. Across the jurisdictions, and despite heterogeneity in association size (I2=93%), emergency presenters consistently had substantially greater risk of 12-month mortality than non-emergency presenters (odds ratio >1·9 for 112 [100%] of 112 jurisdiction-cancer site strata, with the minimum lower bound of the related 95% CIs being 1·26). There were negative associations between jurisdiction-level percentage of emergency presentations and jurisdiction-level 1-year survival for colon, stomach, lung, liver, pancreatic, and ovarian cancer, with a 10% increase in percentage of emergency presentations in a jurisdiction being associated with a decrease in 1-year net survival of between 2·5% (95% CI 0·28-4·7) and 7·0% (1·2-13·0). INTERPRETATION: Internationally, notable proportions of patients with cancer are diagnosed through emergency presentation. Specific types of cancer, older age, and advanced stage at diagnosis are consistently associated with an increased risk of emergency presentation, which strongly predicts worse prognosis and probably contributes to international differences in cancer survival. Monitoring emergency presentations, and identifying and acting on contributing behavioural and health-care factors, is a global priority for cancer control. FUNDING: Canadian Partnership Against Cancer; Cancer Council Victoria; Cancer Institute New South Wales; Cancer Research UK; Danish Cancer Society; National Cancer Registry Ireland; The Cancer Society of New Zealand; National Health Service England; Norwegian Cancer Society; Public Health Agency Northern Ireland, on behalf of the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry; the Scottish Government; Western Australia Department of Health; and Wales Cancer Network.

Effectiveness of mHealth-Safe Kids Hospital for the prevention of hospitalized children safety incidents: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Preschool-age children in hospitals are at a high risk of unexpected incidents. Safety incidents in hospitals can cause serious damage to the children. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of the mobile-type mHealth Safe Kids Hospital (SKH) application (app) for the prevention of hospitalized child safety incidents. DESIGN: This study used a three-group, randomized controlled trial pre-post design. SETTING(S): This study was conducted in the pediatric ward of three general hospitals in Korea. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 124 eligible hospitalized children and their caregivers were enrolled in the study from June to December 2018. Of these, 116 finally participated in the study, and 8 were excluded because they were discharged before the intervention. METHODS: Hospitalized preschool-age children and their caregivers were randomly allocated into three groups: experimental group I (n = 39), experimental group II (n = 39), and the control group (n = 38). Experimental group I received the SKH app intervention, the experimental group II received a paper-based intervention, whereas the control group received the usual intervention. Participants' outcomes of awareness, knowledge, and behavior related to hospital safety, were assessed at two time points: baseline and 24 h after the intervention. RESULTS: Hospital safety awareness had a higher increase after intervention in experimental groups I and II than in the control group. Among the four subdomains of hospital safety awareness, there was a significant increase in the scores of experimental group I on three subdomains after the intervention: falls (F = 8.19, p < 0.001), burns (F = 6.73, p = 0.002), and medical devices (F = 6.81, p = 0.002). In hospital safety knowledge and safety behavior, experimental group I had the highest average score after the intervention compared with experimental group II and the control group; however, there was no statistically significant difference in the average score of the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: Using the SKH app is easy to attract the interest of preschool-age children and is also easy for nurses to use in clinical trials; thus, it is considered to be a useful educational intervention to prevent safety incidents in clinical fields in future. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: It is thought to contribute to the prevention of preschool-age children's safety incidents in pediatric wards.

Development and Effects of a Mobile Application for Safety Incident Prevention among Hospitalized Korean Children: A pilot Study of Feasibility and Acceptability.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to describe the development, feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a safety incident prevention program using the Safe Kids Hospital (SKH) application (app) among hospitalized Korean children aged 3-6 years. DESIGN AND METHODS: Through a literature review of studies on the development of mobile apps for child safety education, reference to educational apps on YouTube, and discussions among the research team, the SKH, a 2D game-based learning app, was developed. The SKH makes use of hospital pictures from the Hospital Safe Scale-Kids (HSS-Kids) test, a structured pictorial questionnaire that measures hospitalized children's safety awareness. This study was a pilot test of the SKH app in an urban Korean medical center. A one-group pre-posttest design was used to evaluate the effect of the SKH app among 30 child-caregiver (parent or grandparent) pairs using the HSS-Kids. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore participants' experiences related to using the app. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed with t-test and content analysis, respectively. RESULTS: The mean age of the children was 4.5 years. Their level of safety awareness increased after the safety incident prevention program using the SKH app (M = 17.80, 24.53; t = 6.275, p < 0.001). Participants considered the app easy to use and a fun way of learning, expressing overall satisfaction with the education program. CONCLUSIONS: The effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of the SKH app were established. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The SKH app is a promising educational method in pediatric settings.

Developing a conceptual model of pediatric inpatient safety accidents: A mixed methods approach.

Given that injuries to children during periods of hospitalization can lead to more serious health conditions in vulnerable children, preventing pediatric inpatient injuries should be a priority for the pediatric health care profession. This study was conducted to develop a conceptual model of factors affecting pediatric inpatient safety, including all injuries, not just fall injuries, in pediatric units. An explorative sequential mixed methods design was used. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 nurses working in pediatrics units and 17 parents of hospitalized children, and then 200 nurses in pediatrics units and parents of hospitalized children completed a self-report questionnaire. Based on the integration of both qualitative and quantitative data using building and weaving narrative integration, the Pediatric Inpatient Safety Accidents (PISA) model was proposed. The PISA model contains two main domains, the immediate and mediating domain and encompasses the six factors explain of the elements affecting the occurrence and prevention of pediatric inpatient safety accidents. The PISA model can serve as a model to understand child accidents in hospitals as well as to plan customized nursing interventions to prevent child accidents.

Periodontal and root changes after orthodontic treatment in middle-aged adults are similar to those in young adults.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to compare the outcomes and amount of change in periodontal health of anterior teeth in young versus middle-aged adults, who were treated to improve anterior alignment and occlusion. METHODS: Pre- and posttreatment records including orthodontic casts, cephalograms, and standardized periapical radiographs were retrospectively collected from young adults (aged 19-30 years; n = 12) and middle-aged adults (aged ≥40 years; n = 27). Following the American Board of Orthodontics criteria, discrepancy index (DI), cast-radiograph evaluation (CRE), treatment duration (TD), marginal bone loss (MBL), and tooth length (TL) were measured, and with the use of periapical radiographs, changes in the level of marginal bone (MBC) and the amount of root resorption (RR) after orthodontic treatment were calculated. RESULTS: DI, MBL, and TD were significantly higher in the middle-aged adults than in the young adults (P < 0.05). However, CRE and MBC after treatment were similar between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). The mean amount of RR following treatment was -0.6 ± 0.44 mm and -1.0 ± 0.61 mm in young and middle-aged adults, respectively. The degree of RR after compensating for treatment complexity and TD was similar between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although the initial malocclusion and periodontal conditions were unfavorable for the middle-aged adults, the overall treatment and periodontal outcomes after orthodontic treatment of the anterior teeth were similar to those for young adults. It appears that older adults tolerate orthodontics to improve the appearance of the anterior teeth as well as younger adults, with no additional burden because of their increased age.

Spirosoma radiotolerans sp. nov., a gamma-radiation-resistant bacterium isolated from gamma ray-irradiated soil.

A Gram-negative, short-rod-shaped bacterial strain with gliding motility, designated as DG5A(T), was isolated from a rice field soil in South Korea. Phylogenic analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequence of the new isolate showed that strain DG5A(T) belong to the genus Spirosoma in the family Spirosomaceae, and the highest sequence similarities were 95.5 % with Spirosoma linguale DSM 74(T), 93.4 % with Spirosoma rigui WPCB118(T), 92.8 % with Spirosoma luteum SPM-10(T), 92.7 % with Spirosoma spitsbergense SPM-9(T), and 91.9 % with Spirosoma panaciterrae Gsoil 1519(T). Strain DG5A(T) revealed resistance to gamma and UV radiation. Chemotaxonomic data showed that the most abundant fatty acids were summed feature C(16:1) ω7c/C(16:1) ω6c (36.90 %), C(16:1) ω5c (29.55 %), and iso-C(15:0) (14.78 %), and the major polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). The DNA G+C content of strain DG5A(T) was 49.1 mol%. Together, the phenotypic, phylogenetic, and chemotaxonomic data supported that strain DG5A(T) presents a novel species of the genus Spirosoma, for which the name Spirosoma radiotolerans sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is DG5A(T) (=KCTC 32455(T) = JCM19447(T)).

Association between venous thromboembolism-associated genetic variants, coagulation factor levels, and thrombin generation potential.

Recently three large meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for venous thromboembolism (VTE) identified over 130 genetic variants. However, mechanisms by which newly identified and therefore underexplored VTE-associated genetic variants influence VTE remain unclear. To elucidate the mechanism, we investigated the association between 61 newly identified VTE-associated genetic variants and the levels of coagulation factor (F) VIII, FIX, FXI, and fibrinogen as well as thrombin generation parameters (lag time, peak, endogenous thrombin potential, time-to-peak, and velocity), which are well-known biological traits associated with VTE. This study was conducted on 5341 participants of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study. The associations between VTE-associated genetic variants and coagulation factor levels and thrombin generation parameters were examined using linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, oral contraceptive use, hormone replacement therapy, and menopausal status. Of 61 genetic variants, 33 were associated with one or more of the coagulation factor levels and thrombin generation parameters. Following multiple testing corrections, five genetic variants remained significant, of which MAP1A rs55707100 exhibited the most robust association with thrombin generation parameters and FXI levels (ß = -5.33%, 95% confidence interval: -8.44, -2.22). Our findings shed light on the underlying mechanisms by which these genetic variants influence the risk of VTE.

Genomic science of risk prediction for venous thromboembolic disease: convenient clarification or compounding complexity.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) refers to abnormal blood clots in veins occurring in 1 to 2 per 1000 individuals every year. While anticoagulant treatment can prevent VTE, it increases the risk of bleeding. This emphasizes the importance of identifying individuals with a high risk of VTE and providing prophylactic interventions to these individuals to reduce both VTE and bleeding risks. Current risk assessment of VTE is based on the combination of mainly clinical risk factors. With the identification of an increasing number of genetic variants associated with the risk of VTE, the addition of genetic findings to clinical prediction models can improve risk prediction for VTE. Especially for individuals in high-risk situations, the added value of genetic findings to clinical prediction models may have benefits such as better prophylaxis of VTE and the reduced side effects of bleeding from unnecessary treatment. Nevertheless, the question of whether these models will eventually have clinical utility remains to be proven. Here, we review the current state of knowledge on genetic risk factors for VTE, explore genetic prediction models for VTE, and discuss their clinical implications and challenges.

Psychometric Validation of the Korean Version of the Family-Centered Care Questionnaire-Revised.

Background and Purpose: Family-centered care (FCC) is a philosophy of care that applies to all areas of pediatric nursing and is a key component of the care model for patient safety and management activities in the medical environment of hospitalized children. The aim of this study was to translate and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Family-Centered Care Questionnaire-Revised (FCCQ-R). Methods: A total of 239 questionnaires were completed by pediatric nurses at four consenting general hospitals. Results: Fourteen items were removed from the original questionnaire through exploratory factor analysis and nine subscales were reduced to five. The factor loadings of the 30 items on the five subscales ranged from 0.50-0.80. The model of the Korean version of the questionnaire was validated by an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability analysis for internal consistency showed an acceptable to high Cronbach's α of 0.96 in total and the subscales ranged from 0.59-0.92. Conclusions: This study verified the validity and reliability of the tool to measure the perception of FCC. Future research will need to correlate FCC with more relevant measures, such as the nurse-parent partnership measure tool, to confirm predictive and concurrent validity. The Korean version of the FCCQ-R of 30 questions on five subscales is a valid and reliable measurement of Korean nurses' perceptions of FCC.

Metastatic intestinal adenocarcinoma with osseous metaplasia in two Domestic Korean Shorthair cats.

Two Domestic Korean Shorthair cats presented with dyschezia and vomiting. Computed tomography revealed a colonic mass with calcification and lymph node metastasis in case 1, and a small intestinal mass with disseminated mesenteric metastasis and calcification in case 2. Histopathology revealed intestinal adenocarcinoma with osseous metaplasia. Case 1 died two months after surgery from distant metastasis; and case 2 showed no metastasis for five months but presented with anorexia, euthanized seven months after diagnosis. Metastatic intestinal adenocarcinoma with bone formation should be considered as differential diagnosis for calcification on imaging, and lymph node metastasis at diagnosis may indicate poor prognosis.

Sex-specific association between microvascular health and coagulation parameters: the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study.

BACKGROUND: Microvascular dysfunction is a growing determinant of sex differences in coronary heart disease (CHD). Dysregulation of the coagulation system is involved in CHD pathogenesis and can be induced by endothelial glycocalyx (EG) perturbation. However, little is known about the link between EG function and coagulation parameters in population-based studies on sex specificity. OBJECTIVES: We sought to examine the sex differences in the relationship between EG function and coagulation parameters in a middle-aged Dutch population. METHODS: Using baseline measurements of 771 participants from the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study (age, 56 years [IQR, 51-61 years]; 53% women; body mass index, 27.9 kg/m2 [IQR, 25.1-30.9 kg/m2]), associations between glycocalyx-related perfused boundary region (PBR) derived using sidestream dark-field imaging and coagulation parameters (factor [F]VIII/IX/XI; thrombin generation parameters; and fibrinogen) were investigated using linear regression analyses, adjusting for possible confounders (including C-reactive protein, leptin, and glycoprotein acetyls), followed by sex-stratified analyses. RESULTS: There was a sex difference in the associations between PBR and coagulation parameters. Particularly in women, 1-SD PBR (both total and feed vessel, indicating poorer glycocalyx status) was associated with higher FIX activity ([1.8%; 95% CI, 0.3%-3.3%] and [2.0%; 95% CI, 0.5%-3.4%], respectively) and plasma fibrinogen levels ([5.1 mg/dL; 95% CI, 0.4-9.9 mg/dL] and [5.8 mg/dL; 95% CI, 1.1-10.6 mg/dL], respectively). Furthermore, 1-SD PBRcapillary was associated with higher FVIII activity (3.5%; 95% CI, 0.4%-6.5%) and plasma fibrinogen levels (5.3 mg/dL; 95% CI, 0.6-10.0 mg/dL). CONCLUSION: We revealed a sex-specific association between microcirculatory health and procoagulant status, which suggests that microvascular health be considered during early development of CHD in women.

Case report of laryngeal infection by Clinostomum complanatum 24 days after ingestion of raw fish.

RATIONALE: Clinostomum complanatum is a laryngeal fluke whose hosts include birds and mammals.[1] In humans, infection occurs accidentally during the consumption of raw freshwater fish.[1,2]. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 59-year-old female presented to our hospital with throat pain and globus sensation. The patient had been prescribed Proton Pump Inibitor for 3 weeks at another hospital. The patient continued the medication, but the discomfort persisted, and she was admitted to our hospital for further examination. The patient had eaten raw fish 24 days before, and the symptoms occurred after eating the raw fish. Endoscopy under sedation showed a fluke, with an approximate length of 8.0 mm and width of 3.2 mm, on the interaryepiglottic fold, with active motility on the mucosa. DIAGNOSIS INTERVENTIONS: It was extracted from the larynx using biopsy forceps and identified as C complanatum. OUTCOMES: After the fluke was removed, symptoms improved, and the patient was discharged. The globus symptoms completely resolved at the last follow-up visit. LESSONS: To the best of our knowledge, this is an endoscopically diagnosed and treated case of human infection by C complanatum in Korea after the longest period of infection. This suggests that C complanatum can survive for up to 3 weeks or more in the gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopy is a useful tool for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with atypical extraesophageal symptoms who do not respond to Proton Pump Inibitors.

Markedly Elevated Aspartate Aminotransferase from Non-Hepatic Causes.

There have been no reports on mortality in patients with markedly elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels from non-hepatic causes to date. This study aimed to determine the etiologies of markedly elevated AST levels > 400 U/L due to non-hepatic causes and to investigate the factors associated with mortality in these cases. This retrospective study included 430 patients with AST levels > 400 U/L unrelated to liver disease at two centers between January 2010 and December 2021. Patients were classified into three groups according to etiology: skeletal muscle damage, cardiac muscle damage, and hematologic disorder. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the factors associated with 30-day mortality. The most common etiology for markedly elevated AST levels was skeletal muscle damage (54.2%), followed by cardiac muscle damage (39.1%) and hematologic disorder (6.7%). The 30-day mortality rates for the skeletal muscle damage, cardiac muscle damage, and hematologic disorder groups were 14.2%, 19.5%, and 65.5%, respectively. The magnitude of the peak AST level significantly correlated with 30-day mortality, with rates of 12.8%, 26.7%, and 50.0% for peak AST levels < 1000 U/L, <3000 U/L, and ≥3000 U/L, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, cardiac muscle damage (odds ratio [OR] = 2.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.31−5.80), hematologic disorder (OR = 9.47, 95% CI = 2.95−30.39), peak AST < 3000 U/L (OR = 2.94, 95% CI = 1.36−6.35), and peak AST ≥ 3000 U/L (OR = 9.61, 95% CI = 3.54−26.08) were associated with increased 30-day mortality. Our study revealed three etiologies of markedly elevated AST unrelated to liver disease and showed that etiology and peak AST level significantly affected the survival rate.

Opportunistic salpingectomy between 2011 and 2016: a descriptive analysis.

BACKGROUND: Opportunistic salpingectomy (OS) is the removal of fallopian tubes during hysterectomy for benign indications or instead of tubal ligation, for the purpose of preventing ovarian cancer. We determined rates of OS at the time of hysterectomy and tubal sterilization and examined how they changed over the study period. METHODS: Using data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information's Discharge Abstract Database and National Ambulatory Care Reporting System for all Canadian provinces and territories (except Quebec) between the fiscal years 2011 and 2016, we conducted a descriptive analysis of all patients aged 15 years or older who underwent hysterectomy or tubal sterilization. We excluded those with diagnostic codes for any gynecologic cancer and those who underwent unilateral salpingectomy. We examined the proportion who had OS during their hysterectomy and compared the proportion of tubal sterilizations that were OS with the proportion that were tubal ligations. RESULTS: A total of 318 528 participants were included in the study (mean age 42.5 yr). The proportion of hysterectomies that included OS increased from 15.4% in 2011 to 35.5% by 2016. With respect to tubal sterilization, the rate of OS increased from 6.5% of all tubal sterilizations in 2011 to 22.0% in 2016. There was considerable variation across jurisdictions in 2016, with British Columbia having the highest rates (53.2% of all hysterectomies and 74.0% of tubal sterilizations involved OS). INTERPRETATION: The rates of OS increased between 2011 and 2016, but there was considerable variation across the included jurisdictions. Our study indicates room for rates of OS to increase across many of the included jurisdictions.

The Hospital Safety Scale for Kids: Development of a new measurement tool for hospitalized children.

This study aimed to develop an instrument to assess the perception of hospital safety among hospitalized children for preschool age children. An initial 30 items of the preliminary Hospital Safety Scale for Kids (HSS-Kids) were generated based on literature reviews and focus-group interviews. The 30 items were developed as different types of hospital-based incidents, situation scenarios, and pictorial animation cards for describing them. The evaluation process was conducted with a sample of 150 hospitalized children and their caregivers. Construct, convergent, and discriminant validities were tested by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. For criterion validity, concurrent validity was confirmed, and reliability was established through Cronbach's α coefficients. The final 15 HSS-Kids hospital scenario picture cards were categorized into four subdomains, falls, general injuries, burns, and medical devices, which explained 62.92% of the total variance. The HSS-Kids demonstrated construct, convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity, with Cronbach's αs ranging from .649 to .792. The HSS-Kids is a promising instrument to screen children at high risk of incidents by capturing their perception on hospital safety.