Predictors of Acute Kidney Disease Severity in Hospitalized Patients with Acute Kidney Injury.

Acute kidney disease (AKD) forms part of the continuum of acute kidney injury (AKI) and worsens clinical outcomes. Currently, the predictors of AKD severity have yet to be established. We conducted a retrospective investigation involving 310 hospitalized patients with AKI and stratified them based on the AKD stages defined by the Acute Dialysis Quality Initiative criteria. Demographic, clinical, hematologic, and biochemical profiles, as well as 30-day outcomes, were compared between subgroups. In the analysis, the use of offending drugs (odds ratio, OR (95% confidence interval, CI), AKD stage 3 vs. non-AKD, 3.132 (1.304−7.526), p = 0.011, AKD stage 2 vs. non-AKD, 2.314 (1.049−5.107), p = 0.038), high AKI severity (OR (95% CI), AKD stage 3 vs. non-AKD, 6.214 (2.658−14.526), p < 0.001), and early dialysis requirement (OR (95% CI), AKD stage 3 vs. non-AKD, 3.366 (1.008−11.242), p = 0.049) were identified as independent predictors of AKD severity. Moreover, a higher AKD severity was associated with higher 30-day mortality and lower dialysis-independent survival rates. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that offending drug use, AKI severity, and early dialysis requirement were independent predictors of AKD severity, and high AKD severity had negative impact on post-AKI outcomes.

Risk of Fracture During Androgen Deprivation Therapy Among Patients With Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) suppresses the production of androgen, and ADT is broadly used for intermediate or higher risk disease including advanced and metastatic cancer. ADT is associated with numerous adverse effects derived from the pharmacological properties. Previous meta-analysis on fracture risk among ADT users possessed limited data without further subgroup analysis. Risk estimation of updated real-world evidence on ADT-related fracture remains unknown. Objectives: To assess the risk of fracture and fracture requiring hospitalization associated with ADT among prostate cancer population on different disease conditions, treatment regimen, dosage level, fracture sites. Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase databases were systematically screened for eligible cohort studies published from inception to March 2020. Two authors independently reviewed all the included studies. The risks of any fracture and of fracture requiring hospitalization were assessed using a random-effects model, following by leave-one-out, stratified, and sensitivity analyses. The Grading of Recommendations Assessments, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) system was used to grade the certainty of evidence. Results: Sixteen eligible studies were included, and total population was 519,168 men. ADT use is associated with increasing fracture risk (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.26-1.52) and fracture requiring hospitalization (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.29-1.88). Stratified analysis revealed that high-dose ADT results in an elevated risk of fracture with little statistical heterogeneity, whereas sensitivity analysis restricted to adjust for additional factors indicated increased fracture risks for patients with unknown stage prostate cancer or with no restriction on age with minimal heterogeneity. The GRADE level of evidence was moderate for any fracture and low for fracture requiring hospitalization. Conclusion: Cumulative evidence supports the association of elevated fracture risk with ADT among patients with prostate cancer, including those with different disease conditions, treatment regimens, dose levels, and fracture sites. Further prospective trials with intact information on potential risk factors on fracture under ADT use are warranted to identify the risky population.

Digitizing Scoring Systems With Extended Online Feedback: A Novel Approach to Interactive Teaching and Learning in Formative OSCE.

OBJECTIVES: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are common for formative assessment. We developed an Online Smart Communicative Education System and aimed to explore the factors that affect the perceptions of both teachers and students for teaching and learning. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A two-year cross-sectional cohort study was undertaken. The program includes three parts. Part I Pre-OSCE: an online flipped class in preparation for task-related knowledge and skills. Part II OSCE-day: 10 tasks in one track formative OSCE. Part III Post-OSCE: extended online feedback for participants with further questions after the exam and raters with more feedback after reviewing their performance online. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to analyze the perceptions of students and teachers to the Online System by means of questionnaires. RESULTS: Seventy-six pharmacy students (male 32.9%) took the exam and 24 raters (male, 25%) participated in the scoring during the OSCEs. The mean G coefficient was 0.88. Seventy-six questionnaires from the students were obtained for the analysis. Results explained the cumulative variance of 73.9% for component (1) "Effects of extended online feedback": 40% and (2) "Facilitation of learning": 33.9%. Thirty-nine questionnaires from the raters who experienced the Online System were obtained for the analysis (male 23.1%). Results explained a cumulative variance of 77.3% for component (1) "Effects of extended online feedback": 36.6%, (2) "Facilitation of scoring and feedback": 24.5%, and (3) "Feasibility of online platform": 16.2%, respectively. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated good reliability for digitizing the scoring system with educational support to facilitate teaching. "Effects of extended online feedback" was the major aspect in explaining the variance from the perceptions of students and raters by factor analysis. In comparison with traditional formative OSCEs, extended online feedback is a novel approach, which extends the process of learning and teaching among the learners and raters and overcomes the barriers of time limitation and distance.

Effects of implementation of an online comprehensive antimicrobial-stewardship program in ICUs: A longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The long-term effects of antimicrobial-stewardship programs in the intensive care units (ICUs) have not been adequately examined. We evaluated the impact of an online comprehensive antimicrobial stewardship program (OCASP) on the outcomes of patients in 200-bed medical/surgical ICUs over the course of 11 years. METHODS: We analyzed the records of adult patients admitted to ICUs during the 5 years before (n = 27,499) and the 6 years after (n = 33,834) implementation of an OCASP. Antimicrobial consumption, expenditures, duration of treatment, incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), prevalence of HAIs caused by antimicrobial-resistant strains, and crude or sepsis-related mortality of patients were analyzed. Segmented regression analyses of interrupted time series were used to assess the significance of changes in antimicrobial use. RESULTS: Compared to the patients in the pre-OCASP period, the patients in the post-OCASP period were older, had greater disease severity, longer ICU stays, and were more likely to receive antimicrobials, but had lower antimicrobial expenditures and crude and sepsis-related mortality. The trend of overall antimicrobial use [slope of defined daily dose/1000 patient-days vs. time) increased significantly before OCASP implementation (p < 0.001), but decreased significantly after implementation (p < 0.01). The administration duration of all classes of antibiotics were significantly shorter (p < 0.001) and the incidences of HAIs were significantly lower (p < 0.001) after implementation. However, there was an increase in the proportion of HAIs caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii relative to all A. baumannii infections. CONCLUSION: Implementation of an OCASP in the ICUs reduced antimicrobial consumption and expenditures, but did not compromise healthcare quality.

Lead chelation to immobilised Symphytum officinale L. (comfrey) root tannins.

Reported correlations between tannin level and metal accumulation within plant tissues suggest that metal-chelating tannins may help plants to tolerate toxic levels of heavy metal contaminants. This paper supports such correlations using a new method that demonstrated the ability of plant tannins to chelate heavy metals, and showed that the relative levels of tannins in tissues were quantitatively related to lead chelation in vitro. Using this in vitro metal chelation method, we showed that immobilised tannins prepared from lateral roots of Symphytum officinale L., that contained high tannin levels, chelated 3.5 times more lead than those from main roots with lower tannin levels. This trend was confirmed using increasing concentrations of tannins from a single root type, and using purified tannins (tannic acid) from Chinese gallnuts. This study presents a new, simple, and reliable method that demonstrates direct lead-tannin chelation. In relation to phytoremediation, it also suggests that plant roots with more 'built-in' tannins may advantageously accumulate more lead.

Management of ventricular dysrhythmia secondary to trazodone overdose.

Torsades de pointes (TdP), a life-threatening ventricular dysrhythmia, was recorded in a 30-year-old woman who had taken a deliberate overdose of trazodone. The patient was successfully defibrillated to normal sinus rhythm and given intravenous magnesium sulfate according to Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support guidelines. The patient was discharged and experienced no further complications.

Management of star fruit-induced neurotoxicity and seizures in a patient with chronic renal failure.

An 84-year-old Asian woman with hypertension and chronic renal failure was evaluated for incoherent speech, followed by intermittent interruptions of consciousness, and then status epilepticus after ingesting one star fruit (Averrhoa carambola) each day for 3 days. Conventional first-line anticonvulsants and hemodialysis were administered without significant control of the patient's seizures. Treatment was started with propofol, an intravenous agent that induces anesthesia with rapid onset and elimination from the central nervous system; this resulted in complete control of the seizures. Propofol may be an effective alternative when dialysis and conventional first-line anticonvulsants are unsuccessful in treating the symptoms of neurotoxicity.