OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the acute safety and efficacy of a custom designed 8F variable loop multielectrode mapping and PFA catheter with contact sensing.
METHODS: This acute feasibility study recruited 30 patients undergoing de novo ablation of paroxysmal or persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). The ElectroPulse Study is a first-in-human, nonrandomized, prospective study of a novel PFA system that utilizes an 8F, 10-electrode variable loop steerable mapping and ablation catheter with 2800-V biphasic bipolar waveform. All patients had pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and posterior wall isolation (PWI) using the PFA system. The main outcomes were the acute success of PV/PWI and periprocedural serious adverse events.
RESULTS: Complete PVI/PWI was successfully achieved in all 30 patients using 59.7 ± 7.2 applications. Total procedural time was 113.6 ± 26.3 minutes, fluoroscopy time 8.0 ± 5.5 minutes, and left atrial dwell time 78.7 ± 18.6 minutes. There was no esophageal injury, phrenic nerve palsy, clinical stroke, or death. Brain magnetic resonance imaging detected 2 new but transient silent cerebral lesions. Two patients (6.7%) had vascular access complications. Although there were changes in the biomarkers for hemolysis, none of the patients experienced clinical hemolysis or related acute kidney injury.
CONCLUSION: This first-in-human study demonstrated that PFA using a novel variable loop catheter with a contact sensing system safely achieved 100% acute PVI/PWI with safety profile comparable to existing PFA systems.
OBJECTIVE: This review aims to determine medication adherence, sensory attributes and adverse effects of INCS in AR patients.
METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane database was conducted for English articles published from 2004 to 2023. Eligibility includes clinical trials and observational studies with adult patients (18 years old or older) receiving INCS for AR (both intermittent and persistent).
RESULTS: Thirty-one studies with 10,582 patients, comprising 10 cross-sectional studies and 21 randomized controlled trials (RCT) were included. Adherence rates ranged from 28% to 87%, with an average of 55.8%. Forgetfulness was the primary reason for non-adherence (63.1-77.8%), followed by adverse events (26.4-61.5%) and fear of adverse events (3.8-31.5%). Scent (38%), taste (28.5%), or aftertaste (24.3%) were the main differentiators for sensory attribute, with varying levels of intensity and preferences for each INCS. Common adverse events encompass epistaxis, nasal dryness/irritation, headache and nasopharyngitis. A meta-analysis of eight RCT detected no significant difference in adverse events between the INCS and control groups (risk ratio 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.88-1.24; p = 0.61).
CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this review indicate that medication adherence to INCS is not optimal, with non-adherence mostly attributed to forgetfulness, preferences for sensory attributes, and unpleasant effects associated with INCS. The underlying factors should be addressed as part of a multimodal strategy to improve adherence.
METHODS: A deterministic, prevalence-based model was used to project the annual health burden and direct medical costs associated with recurrent ASCVD events over a 10-year horizon. The target population included adults (≥30 years) with established ASCVD and uncontrolled LDL-C levels (>1.8 mmol/L). The model comprised 3 modules: population size projection, recurrent ASCVD risk calculation (by means of the Secondary Manifestations of ARTerial disease [SMART] risk model), and direct medical and productivity cost estimation. The current status quo and a scenario with a 50% improvement in mean LDL-C were compared.
RESULTS: We projected over 800 000 adults with established ASCVD in 2023, increasing to approximately 1.4 million by 2032. Under the status quo, about 55 000 recurrent ASCVD events were expected within 10 years, with significant direct medical costs and productivity losses. Improved LDL-C control could potentially reduce recurrent events by 7000 cases (13% reduction), prevent 2100 premature deaths, and save approximately 32 400 years of life. Economically, this could lead to a reduction of approximately 72 million MYR in direct medical costs and a gain of approximately 132.4 million MYR in productivity over a decade.
CONCLUSIONS: Optimizing LDL-C control in high-risk patients with ASCVD presents a critical opportunity to reduce health and economic burdens in Malaysia.
METHODS: This study presents a comprehensive systematic review focusing on the applications of deep learning in detecting MCI and AD using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Through a rigorous literature screening process based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the research has investigated 74 different papers in detail to analyze the different approaches used to detect MCI and AD neurological disorders.
RESULTS: The findings of this study stand out as the first to deal with the classification of dual MCI and AD (MCI+AD) using EEG signals. This unique approach has enabled us to highlight the state-of-the-art high-performing models, specifically focusing on deep learning while examining their strengths and limitations in detecting the MCI, AD, and the MCI+AD comorbidity situations.
CONCLUSION: The present study has not only identified the current limitations in deep learning area for MCI and AD detection but also proposes specific future directions to address these neurological disorders by implement best practice deep learning approaches. Our main goal is to offer insights as references for future research encouraging the development of deep learning techniques in early detection and diagnosis of MCI and AD neurological disorders. By recommending the most effective deep learning tools, we have also provided a benchmark for future research, with clear implications for the practical use of these techniques in healthcare.
METHODS: Text ads from Google searches in eight countries (Bahamas, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, and United States) were collected in 2022, totaling 1,974 prepolicy and 3,262 post-policy ads, and analyzed in 2023. A gold standard database was established by two coders who labeled 707 ads, which trained five natural language processing models to label the ads, covering content and target demographics. The descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic models were applied to analyze content before versus after policy implementation, both globally and by country.
RESULTS: Vertex AI emerged as the best natural language processing model with the highest F1 score of 0.87. There were significant decreases from pre- to post-policy implementation in the prevalence of labels of "Racial or Ethnic Identification" and "Ingredients: Natural" by 47% and 66%, respectively. Notable differences were identified from pre- to post-policy implementation in India, Mexico, and Germany.
CONCLUSIONS: The study observed changes in skin-lightening product advertisement labels from pre- to post-policy implementation, both globally and within countries. Considering the influence of digital advertising on colorist norms, assessing digital ad policy changes is crucial for public health surveillance. This study presents a computational method to help monitor digital platform policies for consumer product advertisements that affect public health.
METHODS: We conducted a population-based study using data from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) 2022 and predicted global radiotherapy demands and workforce requirements in 2050. We obtained incidence figures for 29 types of cancer across 183 countries and derived the cancer-specific radiotherapy use rate using the 2013 Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation model. We delineated the proportion of people with cancer who require radiotherapy and can be accommodated within the existing installed capacity, assuming an optimal use rate of 50% or 64%, in both 2022 and 2050. A use rate of 50% corresponds to the global average and a use rate of 64% considers potential re-treatment scenarios, as indicated by the 2013 Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CCORE) radiotherapy use rate model. We established specified requirements for teletherapy units at a ratio of 1:450 patients, for radiation oncologists at a ratio of 1:250 patients, for medical physicists at a ratio of 1:450 patients, and for radiation therapists at a ratio of 1:150 patients in all countries and consistently using these ratios. We collected current country-level data on the radiotherapy-professional workforce from national health reports, oncology societies, or other authorities from 32 countries.
FINDINGS: In 2022, there were an estimated 20·0 million new cancer diagnoses, with approximately 10·0 million new patients needing radiotherapy at an estimated use rate of 50% and 12·8 million at an estimated use rate of 64%. In 2050, GLOBOCAN 2022 data indicated 33·1 million new cancer diagnoses, with 16·5 million new patients needing radiotherapy at an estimated use rate of 50% and 21·2 million at an estimated use rate of 64%. These findings indicate an absolute increase of 8·4 million individuals requiring radiotherapy from 2022 to 2050 at an estimated use rate of 64%; at an estimated use rate of 50%, the absolute increase would be 6·5 million individuals. Asia was estimated to have the highest radiotherapy demand in 2050 (11 119 478 [52·6%] of 21 161 603 people with cancer), followed by Europe (3 564 316 [16·8%]), North America (2 546 826 [12·0%]), Latin America and the Caribbean (1 837 608 [8·7%]), Africa (1 799 348 [8·5%]), and Oceania (294 026 [1·4%]). We estimated that the global radiotherapy workforce in 2022 needed 51 111 radiation oncologists, 28 395 medical physicists, and 85 184 radiation therapists and 84 646 radiation oncologists, 47 026 medical physicists, and 141 077 radiation therapists in 2050. We estimated that the largest proportion of the radiotherapy workforce in 2050 would be in upper-middle-income countries (101 912 [38·8%] of 262 624 global radiotherapy professionals).
INTERPRETATION: Urgent strategies are required to empower the global health-care workforce and facilitate the fundamental human right of access to suitable health care. A collective effort with innovative and cost-contained health-care strategies from all stakeholders is warranted to enhance global accessibility to radiotherapy and address challenges in cancer care.
FUNDING: China Medical Board Global Health Leadership Development Program, Shanghai Science and Technology Committee Fund, China Ministry of Science and Technology Department of International Cooperation High Level Cooperation and Exchange Projects, and Fudan University Office of Global Partnerships Key Projects Development Fund.
TRANSLATIONS: For the Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish translations of the summary see Supplementary Materials section.
METHODS: Data were collected across four sites: the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Malaysia. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised (SBQ-R), and International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) were used to assess childhood maltreatment, suicidality, and PTSD or CPTSD, respectively. Linear regressions were conducted to examine the associations, controlling for demographic variables (age, sex, ethnicity, educational level, and subjective socioeconomic status) as well as the severity of maltreatment (CTQ total scores).
RESULTS: Among the 1324 participants who experienced childhood maltreatment, meeting the criteria for CPTSD was significantly associated with higher suicidality compared to not meeting the criteria for either PTSD or CPTSD (B(SE) = 1.68 (0.30), p
METHODS: The design was a parallel double blind, randomized clinical trial. Mature teeth with caries radiographically extending ≥ 2/3 of dentine and without spontaneous pulpitis were included. Teeth were allocated to either selective (SCR) or total caries removal (TCR) using block randomization technique. In the SCR group, caries removal to firm dentine was followed by placement of Biodentine and composite restoration. In TCR group caries removal was to hard dentine; with immediate management by vital pulp therapy (VPT) using Biodentine in case of pulp exposure. Preoperative pain levels were recorded. Teeth were followed up after 6 and 12 months. Data were analyzed using Chi square test and regression analysis.
RESULTS: 124 teeth with a diagnosis of reversible pulpitis were treated (63 in SCR, 61 in TCR). 17/ 61 teeth (28%) in the TCR had pulp exposure, managed by VPT and were successful at recall. Pulp survival was significantly higher in TCR compared to SCR at 6 months (100 % vs 93.65%, p =0.04 respectively) and at 12 months (98.4% vs 82.5, P= 0.003 respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed the type of procedure (SCR vs TCR) and the preoperative pain levels (above or below 5/10) as significant prognostic factors. The odds of failure increased significantly for teeth treated with SCR (OR 27.6, 3.6-212.4, p=0.001) and if preoperative pain levels were ≥5/10 (OR 0.2, 0.04-0.8, P=0.024).
CONCLUSION: Selective caries removal for deep carious lesions in mature teeth failed to reveal overt pulp exposures in more than one quarter of cases and led to significantly lower pulp survival over one year, when compared with complete caries removal and immediate VPT.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: In deep carious lesions of mature permeant teeth with revrsible pulpitis, total caries removal to hard dentine is recommended for a predictable pulp survival.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial was registered at CliniclTrials.gov (NCT05144711).