COVID-19 and attitudes towards early withdrawal of pension funds: The role of trust and political ideology.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chilean Congress approved three laws between July 2020 and April 2021 that allowed early withdrawals of pension funds without any eligibility constraints. In this paper, we use nationwide survey data to examine the factors associated with people's assessments about the suitability of these policies in the context of the pandemic, with a particular focus on trust and political ideology. We find that respondents that declare high levels of trust in Chile's pension system, financial system, and political institutions and actors tend to oppose early withdrawal policies. Similarly, respondents on the right of the political spectrum and those that voted for the incumbent president, who opposed this policy, also declare opposition to early withdrawals. Overall, our findings suggest that political attitudes and beliefs are associated with policy views on changes to Chile's pension-fund system and that support for early withdrawal policies may be driven by lack of confidence in institutions.

Allowing early access to retirement savings: Lessons from Australia.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments around the world introduced policies aiming to provide citizens with financial relief through early access to their retirement savings. In Australia, the Early Release of Super (ERS) scheme allowed eligible citizens to withdraw up to A$20,000 in funds between April and December 2020. Using data provided by a large Australian bank, we examine the characteristics of the individuals who withdrew, how they used the withdrawn funds, and what impact this had on their financial wellbeing. We find that the scheme achieved its intended goal of providing immediate financial support to citizens in need. The scheme was primarily accessed by individuals in poorer financial circumstances, and helped withdrawers to pay down high-interest debts and avoid arrears. Based on our findings, we consider the implications for governments looking to implement similar policies in the future, as well as the opportunities to support individuals who have now withdrawn from their retirement savings.

Impacto del abandono de la lactancia materna exclusiva sobre la salud de los lactantes / Impact of exclusive breastfeeding withdrawal on the health of babies

Introducción: El abandono de la lactancia materna es uno de los problemas que enfrenta el Sistema Nacional de Salud en Cuba por las consecuencias desfavorables que representa para la salud de los lactantes. Objetivo: Identificar la relación entre el abandono de la lactancia materna exclusiva y las afectaciones en la salud de los lactantes. Material y Métodos: Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo de corte transversal, en 105 lactantes del Policlínico Aleida Fernández Chardiet nacidos en 2019, cuyas madres dejaron de utilizar la lactancia materna exclusiva antes del sexto mes. Las variables utilizadas fueron edad materna, tiempo de duración de la lactancia materna exclusiva, las enfermedades más frecuentes diagnosticadas en el niño y la necesidad de ingresos hospitalarios. Se aplicó la prueba no paramétrica de independencia Chi Cuadrado para demostrar la relación entre variables. Resultados: Predominó el abandono de la lactancia materna exclusiva antes de los 3 meses y no se encontró relación estadísticamente significativa entre esta y las afecciones más frecuentes de los lactantes (las IRA en 40 por ciento y las EDA en 23,8 por ciento). El 55,2 por ciento necesitó ingreso hospitalario antes del sexto mes y la relación con el abandono precoz de la lactancia materna exclusiva fue estadísticamente significativa. Conclusiones: El abandono precoz de la lactancia materna exclusiva afecta la salud de los lactantes y aunque las afecciones no tuvieron una relación estadísticamente significativa con aquella sí tienen una elevada frecuencia en estos niños de tan corta edad(AU)

Introduction: Breastfeeding withdrawal is one of the challenges faced by the Cuban National Health System due to its adverse consequences on the health of babies. Objective: To identify the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding withdrawal and health disorders in babies. Material and Methods: A descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study was carried out on 105 breastfed babies from "Aleida Fernández Chardiet" Policlinic who were born in 2019 and were precociously weaned from exclusive breastfeeding before the sixth month. The variables used were: maternal age, duration of exclusive breastfeeding, most frequent diseases diagnosed in the child, and need for hospital admission. The chi-squared non-parametric independence test was used to show the relationship among variables. Results: Exclusive breastfeeding withdrawal before the third month was predominant (71, 4 percent); the most frequent diseases diagnosed were respiratory diseases and diarrheas (40 percent and 23,8 percent, respectively); about half the babies required hospital admission (55,2 percent) before the sixth month; the relationship with early withdrawal of breastfeeding was statistically significant. Conclusions: Early withdrawal of breastfeeding has negative effects on the health of babies. Although the illnesses did not have a statistically significant relationship with it, a high frequency of their incidence was found in such young babies(AU)

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy followed by liver transplantation is a promising treatment for patients with unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma: A case report.

Hilar cholangiocarcinoma is a highly malignant tumor and is currently treated by surgical resection or liver transplantation; however, these treatments result in poor patient prognosis accompanied with high recurrence and low patient mortality rates. Neoadjuvant therapy with liver transplantation is a novel treatment that exhibits promising clinical application, with a reported 5-year survival rate of 82%. However, transplantation centers conducting research into this treatment are limited due to its length and complexity. In the current study, the effects of brachytherapy and chemoradiotherapy followed by orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) were investigated in a patient with unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma. Following treatment, the liver function of the patient normalized and physical status significantly improved. Furthermore, tomographic evaluation demonstrated no sign of recurrence 8 months later following continued adjunct chemotherapy. Therefore, neoadjuvant therapy followed by OLT may be an effective novel therapeutic strategy to treat patients with unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

Very early withdrawal from treatment in patients starting peritoneal dialysis.

INTRODUCTION: Very early withdrawal from treatment in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD) is an increasingly important, but poorly understood, issue. Here, we identified the reasons and risk factors for very early withdrawal from PD. METHODS: Incident PD patients from The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University above 18 years who started treatment between January 1 2006 and December 31 2011 were included. Cessation of PD therapy within the first 90 days after beginning dialysis was classified as very early withdrawal. RESULTS: Totally 1444 patients were enrolled. Of these, 71 (4.9%) withdrew from PD therapy during the first 90 days. Primary reasons for very early withdrawal included death (34 patients, 47.9%), transplantation (21 patients, 29.6%) and transfer to hemodialysis (14 patients, 19.7%). The leading reasons for death were cardiovascular and infectious disease, accounting for 41.2% (14 patients) and 23.5% (8 patients) of total deaths, respectively. Dialysate leakage (six patients, 42.9%) and catheter dysfunction (five patients, 35.7%) were the main reasons for transfer to hemodialysis. In multivariate analysis, predictors for very early PD withdrawal were older age (per decade increasing; hazard ratio [HR], 1.22; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03-1.45; p = .019), higher systolic blood pressure (per 10 mmHg increasing; HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.20-1.50; p < .001), lower hemoglobin (per 10 g/l increasing; HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.57-0.78; p < .001), lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.10-0.54; p = .001) and lower residual urine volume (per 100 ml/d increasing; HR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.84-0.95; p = .001). CONCLUSIONS: Death was the primary reason for very early withdrawal from PD. Risk factors for very early withdrawal from PD were older in age, had higher systolic blood pressure, lower hemoglobin, lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and lower residual urine volume.

Incidence and differential characteristics of culture-negative fever following pancreas transplantation with anti-thymocyte globulin induction.

BACKGROUND: Limited data are available on the incidence and characteristics of culture-negative fever following pancreas transplantation (PTx) with anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) induction. Our study aims to better define the features of culture-negative fever, so it can be delineated from infectious fever, hopefully helping clinicians to guide antibiotic therapy in this high-risk patient population. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study of postoperative fever among 198 consecutive patients undergoing PTx at our center between August 1, 2004 and December 31, 2014. Fever was classified as culture-negative if there was neither a positive culture nor a documented clinical diagnosis of infection. RESULTS: Fever was identified in 113 patients; 66 were deemed to be infectious, 39 were culture-negative, and 8 were indeterminate. High body mass index of recipient (odds ratio 1.87, 95% confidence interval: 1.15-3.03, P = 0.011) was a significant factor associated with culture-negative fever in multivariate analysis. No patients with culture-negative fever were diagnosed with infiltrates or effusion on chest radiography. In addition, an increase in white blood cell count, C-reactive protein, and serum amylase was less prominent in culture-negative fever. Culture-negative fever developed most frequently at postoperative 7 or 14 days, showing a biphasic curve. CONCLUSION: Culture-negative fever develops in a substantial proportion of patients early after PTx. The awareness of the possibility and clinical features of post-transplant culture-negative fever might help clinicians to guide antibiotic therapy in this high-risk patient population, especially following ATG induction and early steroid withdrawal.

Recent analysis of status and outcomes of peritoneal dialysis in the Tokai area of Japan: the second report of the Tokai peritoneal dialysis registry.

BACKGROUND: Early withdrawal within 3 years after starting peritoneal dialysis (PD) and PD-related peritonitis have been major obstacles preventing increases in the population of PD patients. To address these problems, we implemented education programs for medical staff. This study analyzed the recent status and outcomes of PD therapy, focusing on findings such as the incidence and prognosis of peritonitis as of 5 years after our last study. METHODS: We investigated background, laboratory data and status of PD therapy, reasons for withdrawal from PD and incidental statements on peritonitis from 2010 to 2012 (R2), and compared findings with those from our last study of 2005-2007 (R1). RESULTS: Early PD therapy withdrawal in R2 clearly improved to 44.7 %, compared with 50.9 % in R1. Peritonitis incidence improved slightly from once per 42.8 months/patient in R1 to once per 47.3 months/patient in R2. Notably, PD-related peritonitis as a cause of mortality improved markedly in R2, but outcomes of PD-related peritonitis did not change significantly between R1 and R2. In contrast, social problems increased as a reason for withdrawal from PD therapy. CONCLUSION: Our efforts at education might have been useful for improving early withdrawal from PD and deaths attributable to PD-related peritonitis. However, since improvements to incidence of PD-related peritonitis were limited by education, further improvement in PD-related peritonitis incidence requires development of new sterilized connecting systems during PD-bag exchanges to decrease PD-related peritonitis opportunities. Construction of medical support systems to address social problems is required to maintain long-term PD therapy.

Men and women from the STRIDE clinical trial: An assessment of stimulant abstinence symptom severity at residential treatment entry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Gender-specific factors associated with stimulant abstinence severity were examined in a stimulant abusing or dependent residential treatment sample (N = 302). METHOD: Bivariate statistics tested gender differences in stimulant abstinence symptoms, measured by participant-reported experiences of early withdrawal. Multivariate linear regression examined gender and other predictors of stimulant abstinence symptom severity. RESULTS: Women compared to men reported greater stimulant abstinence symptom severity. Anxiety disorders and individual anxiety-related abstinence symptoms accounted for this difference. African American race/ethnicity was predictive of lower stimulant abstinence severity. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Women were more sensitive to anxiety-related stimulant withdrawal symptoms. SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE: Clinics that address anxiety-related abstinence symptoms, which more commonly occur in women, may improve treatment outcome.

Safety and Efficacy of Early Steroid Withdrawal with Thymoglobuline Induction in Kidney Transplantation / 대한이식학회지

BACKGROUND: We report our experiences of early steroid withdrawal using thymoglobuline induction in kidney transplant patients to verify the efficacy and safety of steroid minimization protocol that can prevent long term complications of steroid. METHODS: From December 2002 to July 2007, 36 kidney transplants were performed at our institution using the steroid early withdrawal protocol with 5 doses induction of thymoglobuline (50 mg IV), and maintaining with tacrolimus/ cyclosporine and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF)/azathioprine. Control group was 80 kidney transplant recipients on conventional triple immunosuppression protocol without antibody induction. RESULTS: Donor and recipient's profiles in both groups were not different except more proportion of diabetic patients and immunosuppression using tacrolimus and MMF in PD free group. The rejection rate was 13.8% and 16.3% in PD free and PD groups respectively. Two years graft and patients survival rate were 96.4%/100% in PD free group and 97.5%/97.5% in PD group. Serum creatinine level was similar between the two groups and WBC count was lower in PD free group up to postoperative 6 months. 72.2% of PD free group remained steroid free by the last follow up. CONCLUSIONS: Early steroid withdrawal with thymoglobulin induction can be applied safely with acceptable success rate with minimizing adverse effects of steroid in kidney transplantation patients. But early steroid withdrawal protocol should be adopted cautiously in immunologically high risk patients.