The impact of prior long-term versus short-term statin use on the mortality of bacteraemic patients.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this investigation was to assess the effect of prior statin use on the 30-day in-hospital mortality among bacteraemic patients and to determine the impact of long-term versus short-term statin use on the mortality of bacteraemic patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective study of 342 bacteraemic patients who presented to the emergency department (ED) within a period of 7 years was undertaken. Twenty-three patients did not meet the inclusion criteria. The remaining 319 patients were divided into three groups according to statin use and duration of therapy prior to the bacteraemic episode: group 1 (n = 123) had long-term statin use ≥ 12 weeks, group 2 (n = 35) had short-term statin use < 12 weeks, and group 3 (n = 161) had no statin use. RESULTS: The overall 30-day in-hospital all-cause mortality of patients with statins was lower than patients without statin therapy (13 vs. 24%, p = 0.001). The mortality rate in group 1 was lower than in group 2 (11 vs. 17%, p = 0.04). After adjusting for confounding variables, the results of a multiple Cox regression analysis revealed that the absence of statin use (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.98; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.59-5.56, p = 0.001) was associated with increased 30-day in-hospital all-cause mortality in bacteraemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: Statins reduce the 30-day in-hospital all-cause mortality of bacteraemic patients. Long-term statin use prior to the bacteraemia improves the survival of bacteraemic patients more than short-term statin use.

Development of rural girl children -- a bias.

PIP: In Dharwad taluk, Dharwad District, Karnataka, India, researchers followed the development and growth of 274 infants from birth to 5 years. The proportion of well-nourished girls decreased as the age increased for both sexes. The proportion of well-nourished girls was lower than boys up to age 15 months. Between 15 months and 42 months, it was higher. In all degrees of malnutrition, the proportion of females was higher than the males. In terms of motor and mental indices, at 27 months, no girl was well-nourished. Between birth to 8 months, the motor development indices of the well-nourished girls was slightly higher than that of boys. The motor indices were equal for both sexes between 9 and 11 months. At 12, 18, and 24 months, well-nourished girls had higher motor indices with significant difference at 24 months (p 0.001). The disparity in motor indices was greater for malnourished girls than malnourished boys, which was significant between 9 and 12 months (p 0.01-0.05). In other words, the motor capacity of malnourished infant girls was much better than their male counterparts. Between birth and 8 months, mental development indices (MDIs) of the well-nourished girls were higher than boys with the difference being significant at 2 months (p 0.05). Thereafter, they were higher for boys than girls with the differences being significant at 24 and 30 months (p 0.01). Among malnourished children, girls had higher MDIs than boys with significant differences at 9 and 21 months (p 0.01). MDIs decreased as age increased. They show that, in absence of parental encouragement, girls did better in mental development than boys despite being malnourished. These findings suggest that girls are neglected at birth in terms of nutritional status and performance in mental and motor tasks. Thus, parents need to be educated to avoid depriving girls of nutrition and mental and motor stimulation.^ieng