Clinical Predictive Values in Botulism: A 10-year Survey.

BACKGROUND: Botulism occurs periodically or in outbreaks in Iran. Botulism is lethal and accordingly a considerable issue in environmental health, although it is uncommon. This study was performed to evaluate the potential predictive factors in foodborne botulism in a 10-year span. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All medical records from patients with foodborne botulism admitted to Imam Reza Hospital in 10 years (2005-2015) were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: 61 cases were included (38 men, mean age ± SD 28.93 ± 19.14 years). All cases were treated with antitoxin. 6.6% of cases died. Canned beans were correlated with the admission to intensive care unit (ICU), and also, it increased the length of ICU stay significantly (P = 0.007 and 0.023, respectively). The incidence of dizziness and diplopia significantly induced excess demands for higher doses of antitoxin (P = 0.038 and 0.023, respectively). Risk of dysphagia was remarkably higher in cases with ptosis (P = 0.039, odds ratio: 3). While in this study, time elapsed between the onset of clinical manifestations and antitoxin administration was correlated with the occurrence of dysphagia, constipation, and blurred vision, and early treatment did not improve the outcomes. Multiple analysis of potential variables by a logistic regression model disclosed that the independent significant factors affecting mortality were the need for mechanical ventilation (P = 0.000), dyspnea (P = 0.044), general weakness (P = 0.044), and lack of consciousness (P = 0.008) at the time of admission. CONCLUSIONS: Taking clinical signs and symptoms into account upon patient arrival is important and, of course, is a key to further management in the emergency setting. HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Saeidi S, Dadpour B, Jarahi L, Ghamsari AA, Nooghabi MN. Clinical Predictive Values in Botulism: A 10-year Survey. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(4):411-415.

Evaluation of the effectiveness of Berberis integerrima Bunge root extract combined with spearmint essential oil in the treatment of acne vulgaris: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatological disorders. Berberis integerrima Bunge belongs to the Berberidaceae family. Several studies on different Berberis species in addition to B. integerrima have shown antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. Spearmint essential oil also has antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of the topical combination of B. integerrima root extract and spearmint essential oil in the treatment of acne vulgaris. METHODS: Patients with mild to moderate facial acne who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to either drug (B. integerrima extract/spearmint essential oil topical solution) or control (clindamycin 1% topical solution) groups. Each group applied the solution twice a day for 4 weeks. Before and at the end of the intervention, the number of lesions and mGAGS (Modified Global Acne Grading Scale) score were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty patients in each group of drug and control completed the study. Topical B.integerrima root extract/spearmint essential oil significantly reduced the number of lesions (27.33 ± 26.17 vs. 21.58 ± 21.10; p < 0.001) and mGAGS (18.76 ± 8.61 vs. 13.87 ± 8.14; p < 0.001) at the end of the intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding the number of lesions (p = 0.906) and mGAGS (p = 0.882). CONCLUSIONS: B. integerrima root extract combined with spearmint essential oil has significant anti-acne effects, comparable to topical antibiotic clindamycin. It could be considered as a potential treatment for acne vulgaris. However, more studies with larger sample sizes and longer durations are required to confirm this effect.

Cloning and Optimization of Intracellular Expression of Human Interferon ß-1a in Pichia pastoris GS115.

Background: Interferon-beta (IFN-ß) is a cytokine with a wide range of biological and pharmaceutical applications, including multiple sclerosis (MS), cancer, some autoimmune disorders, and viral infectious diseases. Thus, many studies have been performed to develop novel strategies for the high-yield production of functional IFN-ß in a cost-effective approach. Here, we aimed to improve the intracellular expression of IFN-ß-1a in Pichia pastoris. Materials and Methods: The gene of IFN-ß-1a was successfully sub-cloned into the pPICZA vector. The recombinant vector was transfected to P. pastoris GS115 cells by electroporation. After screening positive P. pastoris transformants, the expression of IFN-ß-1a was evaluated and the cultivation conditions, including temperature, time of incubation, and methanol concentration, were optimized. The protein expression levels were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Results: The double digestion with EcoRI and XhoI restriction enzymes and sequence analysis confirmed the correct sub-cloning of the IFN-ß-1a gene into pPICZA. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the highest level of IFN-ß-1a (25 mg per 1 L of yeast culture) was produced with 2% methanol at 28°C after 72 h incubation. Conclusion: Optimization of cultivation conditions for intracellular expression of IFN-ß-1a was successfully performed. This approach can be generally applied to improve the production yield and quality of other recombinant proteins in P. pastoris.

Percutaneous cholecystostomy in elderly patients with acute cholecystitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) is often preferred over early cholecystectomy (EC) for elderly patients presenting with acute cholecystitis (AC). However, there is a lack of solid data on this issue. Following the PRISMA guidelines, we searched the Medline and Web of Science databases for reports published before December 2022. Studies that assessed elderly patients (aged 65 years and older) with AC treated using PC, in comparison with those treated with EC, were included. Outcomes analyzed were perioperative outcomes and readmissions. The literature search yielded 3279 records, from which 7 papers (1208 patients) met the inclusion criteria. No clinical trials were identified. Patients undergoing PC comprised a higher percentage of cases with ASA III or IV status (OR 3.49, 95%CI 1.59-7.69, p = 0.009) and individuals with moderate to severe AC (OR 1.78, 95%CI 1.00-3.16, p = 0.05). No significant differences were observed in terms of mortality and morbidity. However, patients in the PC groups exhibited a higher rate of readmissions (OR 3.77, 95%CI 2.35-6.05, p < 0.001) and a greater incidence of persistent or recurrent gallstone disease (OR 12.60, 95%CI 3.09-51.38, p < 0.001). Elderly patients selected for PC, displayed greater frailty and more severe AC, but did not exhibit increased post-interventional morbidity and mortality compared to those undergoing EC. Despite their inferior life expectancy, they still presented a greater likelihood of persistent or recurrent disease compared to the control group.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices of using Indocyanine Green (ICG) fluorescence in emergency surgery: an international web-based survey in the ARtificial Intelligence in Emergency and trauma Surgery (ARIES)-WSES project.

Fluorescence imaging is a real-time intraoperative navigation modality to enhance surgical vision and it can guide emergency surgeons while performing difficult, high-risk surgical procedures. The aim of this study is to assess current knowledge, attitudes, and practices of emergency surgeons in the use of indocyanine green (ICG) in emergency settings. Between March 08, 2023 and April 10, 2023, a questionnaire composed of 27 multiple choice and open-ended questions was sent to 200 emergency surgeons who had previously joined the ARtificial Intelligence in Emergency and trauma Surgery (ARIES) project promoted by the WSES. The questionnaire was developed by an emergency surgeon with an interest in advanced technologies and artificial intelligence. The response rate was 96% (192/200). Responders affirmed that ICG fluorescence can support the performance of difficult surgical procedures in the emergency setting, particularly in the presence of severe inflammation and in evaluating bowel viability. Nevertheless, there were concerns regarding accessibility and availability of fluorescence imaging in emergency settings. Eighty-seven out of 192 (45.3%) respondents have a fluorescence imaging system of vision for both elective and emergency surgical procedures; 32.3% of respondents have this system solely for elective procedures; 21.4% of respondents do not have this system, 15% do not have experience with it, and 38% do not use this imaging in emergency surgery. Less than 1% (2/192) affirmed that ICG fluorescence changed always their intraoperative decision-making. Precision surgery effectively tailors surgical interventions to individual patient characteristics using advanced technology, data analysis and artificial intelligence. ICG fluorescence can serve as a valid and safe tool to guide emergency surgery in different scenarios, such as intestinal ischemia and severe acute cholecystitis. Due to the lack of high-level evidence within this field, a consensus of expert emergency surgeons is needed to encourage stakeholders to increase the availability of fluorescence imaging systems and to support emergency surgeons in implementing ICG fluorescence in their daily practice.

Efficacy of Raloxifene as Add-on Therapy on Disease Activity of Postmenopausal Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Double-blind, Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial.

OBJECTIVE: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of raloxifene on the disease activity of postmenopausal patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the prevention of glucocorticoid- induced osteoporosis. METHODS: This double-blind, randomized clinical trial was conducted at the Rheumatic Diseases Research Center affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Sciences from 2015 to 2016. Postmenopausal women with RA were randomly treated with raloxifene or placebo after discontinuation of alendronate. Disease activity was evaluated using DAS28ESR, HAQ, and VAS before and every two months after the intervention. In addition, bone mineral densitometry was performed for patients before and 14 months after the intervention. The disease activity and densitometric criteria were compared between the two groups at a significant level of p <0.05. RESULTS: A total of 17 patients were allocated to each group. The two groups were similar at baseline in underlying disease, age, duration of RA, duration of alendronate use, laboratory findings, and rheumatoid arthritis drugs. Moreover, the mean scores of DAS28ESR, HAQ, and VAS during visits were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups (p >0.05). CONCLUSION: The current study results could not prove any clinical benefits of adding raloxifene to standard therapies for patients with rheumatoid arthritis in improving their disease activity compared to placebo. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Trial registration number is NCT02982083.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Ottawa Knee Rule for Diagnosis of Fracture in Patients with Knee Trauma; a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Introduction: In order to improve the efficacy of requesting knee radiography and reduce unnecessary radiation exposure, some clinical decision rules have been proposed for the assessment of knee injuries. Among them, the Ottawa Knee Rule (OKR) was considered as one of the best guidelines with several validation studies. Therefore, in this meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the accuracy of OKR for diagnosis of fracture in patients presenting with knee trauma. Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and EBSCO from inception to September 2022. Quality assessment of the included studies was performed using QUADAS-2 tool. Diagnostic accuracy parameters were analyzed using random-effects model. Statistical analysis was performed using Meta-Disc and Stata softwares. Results: The meta-analysis of the 18 included studies (6702 patients) showed that the pooled sensitivity and specificity of OKR for diagnosis of fractures were 0.98 (95% CI: 0.96-0.99) and 0.43 (95% CI: 0.42-0.45), respectively. The pooled positive likelihood ratio (PLR) and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were 1.56 (95% CI: 1.39-1.75) and 0.12 (95% CI: 0.05-0.26), respectively. The area under curve (AUC) of the hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) curve was 0.54. Conclusion: This meta-analysis indicates that OKR has a high diagnostic performance for diagnosis of fracture, with a pooled sensitivity of 98% and a pooled specificity of 43%. These results propose potential effects of OKR on reduction of unnecessary radiography, time spent in emergency departments, and direct and indirect costs, which should be confirmed using high-quality studies in the future.

Point-Of-Care Ultrasonography for Identification of Skin and Soft Tissue Abscess in Adult and Pediatric Patients; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Introduction: Differentiating the soft tissue abscess from other types of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) poses a particular challenge because they have similar physical evaluation findings, but each disease has a different course, outcome, and treatment. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasonography for diagnosis of soft tissue abscess in the emergency departments. Methods: A comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar, from inception to January 2023, was conducted to identify relevant studies investigating the diagnostic performance of point-of-care ultrasonography for identification of abscess. Methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using a revised tool for the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2). Results: The pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters of ultrasonography for diagnosis of abscess were as follows: sensitivity, 0.93 (95% CI: 0.92-0.94); specificity, 0.87 (95% CI: 0.85-0.89), and the area under the summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC), 0.95. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the SROC of studies in adult patients were 0.98 (95% CI: 0.92-1), 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86-0.95), and 0.99, respectively. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the SROC of studies in pediatric patients were 0.9 (95% CI: 0.87-0.92), 0.78 (95% CI: 0.73-0.82), and 0.91, respectively. Conclusion: Our meta-analysis demonstrated that the point-of-care ultrasonography has excellent diagnostic value for the abscess in the emergency department. Furthermore, we found that the diagnostic performance of point-of-care ultrasonography for diagnosis of abscess was higher for adult cases than for pediatric patients.