METHODOLOGY: Patients suitable for BCS who were treated with IORT between January 2016 and June 2019 from three centres were analysed. They were divided into low-risk and high-risk groups based on the risk of recurrence according to the TARGeted Intraoperative radioTherapy (TARGIT) A and B study criteria. Outcomes of interest included local recurrence, wound complications, and radiation toxicity, with a subset analysed for cosmetic and patient-reported outcomes.
RESULTS: Within a median follow-up of 31 months, there were 104 and 211 patients in the low- and high-risk groups, respectively. No significant difference was observed in local recurrence rates (low-risk, 1.0% vs. high-risk, 1.4%; p = 1.000). Both cohorts exhibited low frequencies of severe wound complications ranging between 1.4 and 1.9%. No major radiation toxicities were reported in either group. In the subgroup analysis, low-risk patients had significantly better mean scores in the subscales of inframammary fold and scar. Based on the BREAST-Q patient-reported outcomes questionnaire, seven out of nine parameters were scored similarly between both groups with no significant difference.
CONCLUSION: This study showed that the use of IORT in both low- and high-risk early breast cancers is efficacious and safe with low recurrence rates and an acceptable toxicity profile.
METHODS: We used a multicenter, prospective cohort to study 482 healthcare workers vaccinated with two and three doses of BNT162b2 for SARS-CoV-2 infection during the Omicron-dominant period in Malaysia.
RESULTS: Between January 31 and July 31, 2022, the cumulative incidence was 44.6% (95% CI 40.2-49.1%), and the incidence rate was 3.33 (95% CI 2.91-3.80) per 1000 person-days. Our study found that protection against Omicron infection was significantly higher for persons with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection (hazard ratio [HR] 0.41, 95% CI 0.27-0.62) and persons with a more recent immunity event (<30 days [reference] vs >90 days, HR 3.82, 95%CI 1.34-10.90) from the beginning of the Omicron period.
CONCLUSION: Pre-Omicron natural infection and a recent immunity event protect against future Omicron infections.
METHODS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in a paediatric clinic of a tertiary hospital. Parents of the participants in the INS group and control group (comprising children without chronic illness) completed questionnaires using the Child Behavioural Checklist (CBCL). The CBCL measures a range of age-specific emotional and psychological problems, including internalising and externalising domains. Analyses of the CBCL scores between groups were done using Mann-Whitney U test.
RESULTS: A total of 140 children were recruited with an equal number in the INS and control groups. There was a significant difference in the mean total CBCL scores between the INS group and the control group, specifically in the withdrawal, somatic, anxious and aggressiveness subdomains. Similar findings were demonstrated in correlation between total psychological problems and corticosteroid dosage. In the INS group, steroid dose and cushingoid features were found to have a significant positive association with internalising psychological problems.
CONCLUSION: Children with INS on corticosteroid treatment showed an increase in internalising and externalising scores, as compared to healthy children.
METHOD: This is a prospective, observational study. The preintervention Sodergren scores of subjects with internal haemorrhoidal disease were recorded and blinded to the surgeon in charge. Sodergren scores of subjects in the two arms were unblinded and compared at the end of the study.
RESULTS: The results for 290 patients were available for final analysis. The median scores of those offered surgery and those who underwent successful rubber band ligation differed significantly [4 (interquartile range 3-10) vs 0 (interquartile range 0-4), P = 0.001]. In predicting treatment, the Sodergren score had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.735 (95% CI 0.675-0.795).
CONCLUSION: There is a significant difference in scores between patients who were offered surgery and patients with successful rubber band ligation. Our study suggests that the Sodergren score has an acceptable discrimination in predicting the need for surgery in internal haemorrhoidal disease. We propose that patients with a Sodergren score of 6 or more be considered for upfront surgery. This score could potentially be used to standardize outcomes of future haemorrhoid trials.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A two-arm prospective cohort study was conducted among adult patients with COVID-19 categories 2 and 3 treated with Paxlovid® and a matched control group. A standard risk-stratified scoring system was used to establish Paxlovid® eligibility. All patients who were prescribed Paxlovid® and took at least one dose of Paxlovid® were included in the study. The control patients were selected from a centralised COVID-19 patient registry and matched based on age, gender and COVID-19 stage severity.
RESULTS: A total of 552 subjects were included in the study and evenly allocated to the treatment and control groups. There was no statistically significant difference in 28-day hospitalisation after diagnosis [Paxlovid®: 26 (9.4%), Control: 34 (12.3%), OR: 0.74; 95%CI, 0.43-1.27; p=0.274] or all-cause death [Paxlovid®: 2 (0.7%), Control: 3 (1.1%), OR 1.51; 95%CI, 0.25-9.09; p=0.999]. There was no significant reduction in hospitalisation duration, intensive care unit admission events or supplementary oxygen requirement in the treatment arm. Ethnicity, COVID-19 severity at diagnosis, comorbidities and vaccination status were predictors of hospitalisation events.
CONCLUSION: In this two-arm study, Paxlovid® did not significantly lower the incidence of hospitalisation, all-cause death and the need for supplemental oxygen. Adverse effects were frequent but not severe. Paxlovid® efficacy varied across settings and populations, warranting further real-world investigations.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant studies published up to April 15th, 2023. Studies that evaluated the association between PD and COVID-19 were included. Risk of bias was evaluated by two reviewers, and meta-analyses were performed using RevMan 5.3 software.
RESULTS: A total of 22 studies involving 92,535 patients from USA, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America were included; of these, 12 were pooled into the meta-analysis. Most of the studies (19 studies) reported a significant association between PD and COVID-19. The pooled data found a significant association between PD and COVID-19 outcomes: more severe symptoms (OR = 6.95, P = 0.0008), ICU admissions (OR = 3.15, P = 0.0001), and mortality (OR = 1.92, P = 0.21). Additionally, compared to mild PD, severe PD was significantly associated with higher risks of severe COVID-19 outcomes: severe symptoms (P = 0.02); ICU admission (P = 0.0001); and higher mortality rates (P = 0.0001). The results also revealed 58% higher risk for COVID-19 infection in patients with PD (P = 0.00001).
CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest a possible association between poor periodontal health and the risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes. However, owing to the observed methodological heterogeneity across the included studies, further prospective cohort studies with standardized methodologies are warranted to further unravel the potential association between periodontal disease and COVID-19 and its adverse outcomes.
METHODS: Electronic searches were performed in Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL (Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature), and Cochrane Library databases. Two authors independently screened the titles and abstracts for eligibility. The analyses were performed on the clinical outcomes (ie, survival, healing, and root development) of the procedure.
RESULTS: Eleven articles were included in the qualitative and quantitative syntheses. Three studies were randomized controlled trials, 6 were prospective cohort studies, and 2 were retrospective cohort studies. The pooled survival and healing rates were 97.3% and 93.0%, respectively. The pooled rates of root lengthening, root thickening, and apical closure were 77.3%, 90.6%, and 79.1%, respectively. However, if 20% radiographic changes were used as a cutoff point, there were only 16.1% root lengthening and 39.8% root thickening.
CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of the present study, it can be concluded that RET yielded high survival and healing rates with a good root development rate. However, clinical meaningful root development after RET was unpredictable.