1,978 research outputs found

    Competition and Post-Transplant Outcomes in Cadaveric Liver Transplantation under the MELD Scoring System

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    Previous researchers have modelled the decision to accept a donor organ for transplantation as a Markov decision problem, the solution to which is often a control-limit optimal policy: accept any organ whose match quality exceeds some health-dependent threshold; otherwise, wait for another. When competing transplant centers vie for the same organs, the decision rule changes relative to no competition; the relative size of competing centers affects the decision rules as well. Using center-specific graft and patient survival-rate data for cadaveric adult livers in the United States, we have found empirical evidence supporting these predictions.liver transplantation, competition, optimal stopping

    Competition and Post-Transplant Outcomes in Cadaveric Liver Transplantation under the MELD Scoring System

    Get PDF
    Previous researchers have modelled the decision to accept a donor organ for transplantation as a Markov decision problem, the solution to which is often a control-limit optimal policy: accept any organ whose match quality exceeds some health-dependent threshold; otherwise, wait for another. When competing transplant centers vie for the same organs, the decision rule changes relative to no competition; the relative size of competing centers affects the decision rules as well. Using center-specific graft and patient survival-rate data for cadaveric adult livers in the United States, we have found empirical evidence supporting these predictions.liver transplantation; competition; optimal stopping

    Recent Developments

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    Should patients set the agenda for informed consent? A prospective survey of desire for information and discussion prior to routine cataract surgery

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    Lee Teak Tan1,2, Huw Jenkins1,2, John Roberts-Harry2, Michael Austin11Singleton Hospital, Swansea, UK; 2West Wales General Hospital, Carmarthen, UKPurpose: To ascertain the level of information relating to specific risks desired by patients prior to cataract surgery.Setting: Dedicated cataract surgery pre-assessment clinics of 2 hospitals in South West Wales, UK.Methods: Consecutive patients (106) were recruited prospectively. Of these, 6 were formally excluded due to deafness or disorientation. Eligible patients (100) were asked a set of preliminary questions to determine their understanding of the nature of cataract, risk perception, and level of information felt necessary prior to giving consent. Those who desired further information were guided through a standardized questionnaire, which included an audio-visual presentation giving information relating to each potential surgical complication, allowing patients to rate them for relevance to their giving of informed consent.Results: Of the entire group of 100, 32 did not wish to know “anything at all” about risks and would prefer to leave decision making to their ophthalmologist; 22 were interested only in knowing their overall chance of visual improvement; and 46 welcomed a general discussion of possible complications, of whom 25 went on to enquire about specific complications. Of these 25, 18 wished to be informed of posterior capsular (PC) tearing, 17 of endophthalmitis, 16 each of dropped lens, retinal detachment and corneal clouding, and 15 of bleeding, sympathetic ophthalmia, and PC opacification.Conclusion: Patients differ in their desire for information prior to cataract surgery, with one significant minority favoring little or no discussion of risk and another wishing detailed consideration of specific risks. A system of consent where patients have a choice as to the level of discussion undertaken may better suit patients’ wishes than a doctor-specified agenda.Keywords: cataract extraction, informed consent, patient-centered car

    The Strayed Reveller, No. 6

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    The sixth issue of The Strayed Reveller.https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/reveller/1005/thumbnail.jp

    Surfactant Protein-D is essential for immunity to Helminth Infection

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    Author Summary Infections by parasitic worms are very common, and controlling them is a major medical and veterinary challenge. Very few drugs exist to treat them, and the parasites can develop resistance to these. In order to find new ways to control worm infections, understanding how our immune system responds to them is essential. Many important parasitic worm infections move through the host lung. In this study we show that a major secreted protein in the lung, Surfactant Protein D (SP-D), is essential for immunity to a parasitic worm infection. We found that this protein binds to worm larvae in the lung to help the immune system kill them. Infecting mice that do not express SP-D with worms demonstrates SP-D is important in this immune response. These mice are unable to launch an effective anti-worm immune response and have many more worms in their intestine compared to mice that do express SP-D. We also show that if we increase SP-D levels in the lung the mouse has better immunity to worms. Together this shows for the first time that SP-D is very important for immunity to worm infections

    Dynamics of Trypanosoma cruzi infection in hamsters and novel association with progressive motor dysfunction

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    Chagas disease is a zoonosis caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Clinical outcomes range from long-term asymptomatic carriage to cardiac, digestive, neurological and composite presentations that can be fatal in both acute and chronic stages of the disease. Studies of T. cruzi in animal models, principally mice, have informed our understanding of the biological basis of this variability and its relationship to infection and host response dynamics. Hamsters have higher translational value for many human infectious diseases, but they have not been well developed as models of Chagas disease. We transposed a real-time bioluminescence imaging system for T. cruzi infection from mice into female Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus). This enabled us to study chronic tissue pathology in the context of spatiotemporal infection dynamics. Acute infections were widely disseminated, whereas chronic infections were almost entirely restricted to the skin and subcutaneous adipose tissue. Neither cardiac nor digestive tract disease were reproducible features of the model. Skeletal muscle had only sporadic parasitism in the chronic phase, but nevertheless displayed significant inflammation and fibrosis, features also seen in mouse models. Whereas mice had normal locomotion, all chronically infected hamsters developed hindlimb muscle hypertonia and a gait dysfunction resembling spastic diplegia. With further development, this model may therefore prove valuable in studies of peripheral nervous system involvement in Chagas disease
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