Innovative masters degree programs in teacher education

Several factors have caused many universities to review and revise their graduate teacher education programs

Klinik, Labordiagnostik und verwendete Impfstoffe bei Katzen mit einem Fibrosarkom

Das Fibrosarkom ist einer der häufigsten Weichteiltumoren der Katze. Ein besonderes Forschungsinteresse besteht an diesem Tumor, da die Ätiologie mit Vakzinationen und anderen Injektionen in Zusammenhang gebracht wird und die Rezidivrate mit bis zu 70 % weiterhin sehr hoch ist. Mit dieser Studie wurde ein Überblick über Katzen mit injektionsassoziiertem Fibrosarkom in Deutschland geschaffen. Die Daten von 362 Katzen, die seit dem Jahre 1999 an der Medizinischen Kleintierklinik der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München im Rahmen einer Therapiestudie behandelt wurden, galten als Grundlage für diese Studie. Es wurde untersucht, ob Katzen mit Fibrosarkom bestimmte labordiagnostische Abweichungen gehäuft zeigen. Dazu wurden die Daten mit einer gesunden Kontrollpopulation verglichen. Obwohl sehr viele signifikante Abweichungen im Vergleich zur Kontrollpopulation auftraten, kann nicht von eindeutigen Veränderungen im Zusammenhang mit einem Fibrosarkom gesprochen werden. So gut wie alle Abweichungen lagen innerhalb des Referenzbereiches. Dadurch können diese Abweichungen nicht alleine im Rahmen einer Routineuntersuchung erkannt werden – es ergibt sich somit keine Relevanz der Laborparameterdifferenzen für die Untersuchung und Behandlung von Katzen mit Fibrosarkom. Somit lassen sich keine charakteristischen Veränderungen des Blutbilds oder der Serumparameter von Katzen mit einem Fibrosarkom nachweisen. Mitarbeiter der Studie kamen zu der subjektiven Einschätzung, dass gehäuft adipöse Tiere vorgestellt wurden. Daher wurde das Körpergewicht der Fibrosarkomkatzen mit dem Körpergewicht gesunder Katzen verglichen. Es wurde ein signifikanter Unterschied errechnet: Das mediane Körpergewicht der Katzen mit Fibrosarkom lag höher als das der Kontrollpopulation. Da für verschiedene Tumoren sowohl in der Humanmedizin als auch in der Veterinärmedizin ein höheres Risiko für Patienten mit Übergewicht besteht, sollte dieser Vermutung weiter nachgegangen werden. Dazu empfiehlt sich die Verwendung des Body-Conditioning-Scores, da dieser ebenfalls im Rahmen einer klinischen Untersuchung bestimmt werden kann und im Gegensatz zum Körpergewicht auch die Statur des Patienten berücksichtigt. So könnte anschließend berechnet werden, ob Katzen mit Übergewicht ein höheres Risiko haben, an einem Fibrosarkom zu erkranken. Die Analyse der Impfungen ergab, dass ein großer Anteil der Katzen mit Fibrosarkom ausschließlich gegen Katzenseuche und Katzenschnupfen geimpft war. Das Risiko dieser Vakzination ist also nicht zu vernachlässigen. Wenn Impfstoffapplikationen an der Entwicklung eines Fibrosarkoms ätiologisch beteiligt sind, dann sind es wahrscheinlich nicht nur Tollwut- und Leukoseimpfungen, sondern auch Katzenschnupfen- und -seucheimpfungen. Die Beachtung und weitere Einschränkung der jährlichen Impfschemata kann ein entscheidender Beitrag zur Fibrosarkom-Prophylaxe sein

Austria. Report on the drug situation 2006.

Commissioned each year by the EMCCDA and produced by the national focal points of the Reitox network, the National reports draw an overall picture of the drug phenomenon at national level in each EU Member State. These data are key information to the EMCCDA and are an important resource, among others, for the compilation of its Annual repor

Key Articles and Guidelines Relative to Intensive Care Unit Pharmacology—2004

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90189/1/phco.25.4.585.61024.pd

Influence of platelet count at diagnosis and during the course of disease on prognosis in MDS patients

Thrombocytopenia at diagnosis and platelet drop within the first 6~months have an adverse effect on prognosis of MDS patients. We therefore were interested in the association and impact on prognosis of morphologic findings of megakaryocytes and platelets with platelet count at diagnosis, bleeding complications, and the drop of platelets during the course of disease. This retrospective analysis was based on 334 MDS patients from the Duesseldorf MDS registry that were followed up for blood counts, bleeding, transfusion dependency, and AML evolution and correlated with morphology of the megakaryocytes and platelets. Thrombocytopenia was found more frequently in higher risk MDS and was associated with hypocellularity of the megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. Signs of bleeding were present at diagnosis in 14% and occurred during the disease in 48% of all MDS patients. Death due to bleeding was ranked third behind infections and AML. A decrement of platelets during the first 6~months was associated with an inferior overall survival of 21 vs. 49~months and with a higher cumulative 2-year AML rate of 22.2% vs. 8.3% (p = 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, besides bone marrow blasts and karyotype, decreasing platelets were also associated with an inferior outcome. Signs of bleeding are present in a relevant number of MDS patients and account for significant morbidity and mortality in MDS. We could demonstrate the prognostic importance of decreasing platelets during the course of disease in all MDS patients, identifying patients at higher risk for death or AML progression

Prescription and Other Medication Use in Pregnancy

OBJECTIVE: To characterize prescription and other medication use in a geographically and ethnically diverse cohort of women in their first pregnancy. METHODS: In a prospective, longitudinal cohort study of nulliparous women followed through pregnancy from the first trimester, medication use was chronicled longitudinally throughout pregnancy. Structured questions and aids were used to capture all medications taken as well as reasons they were taken. Total counts of all medications taken including number in each category and class were captured. Additionally, reasons the medications were taken were recorded. Trends in medications taken across pregnancy and in the first trimester were determined. RESULTS: Of the 9,546 study participants, 9,272 (97.1%) women took at least one medication during pregnancy with 9,139 (95.7%) taking a medication in the first trimester. Polypharmacy, defined as taking at least five medications, occurred in 2,915 (30.5%) women. Excluding vitamins, supplements, and vaccines, 73.4% of women took a medication during pregnancy with 55.1% taking one in the first trimester. The categories of drugs taken in pregnancy and in the first trimester include the following: gastrointestinal or antiemetic agents (34.3%, 19.5%), antibiotics (25.5%, 12.6%), and analgesics (23.7%, 15.6%, which includes 3.6%; 1.4% taking an opioid pain medication). CONCLUSION: In this geographically and ethnically diverse cohort of nulliparous pregnant women, medication use was nearly universal and polypharmacy was common

Sleep During Pregnancy: The nuMoM2b Pregnancy and Sleep Duration and Continuity Study

Study Objectives: To characterize sleep duration, timing and continuity measures in pregnancy and their association with key demographic variables. Methods: Multisite prospective cohort study. Women enrolled in the nuMoM2b study (nulliparous women with a singleton gestation) were recruited at the second study visit (16-21 weeks of gestation) to participate in the Sleep Duration and Continuity substudy. Women <18 years of age or with pregestational diabetes or chronic hypertension were excluded from participation. Women wore a wrist activity monitor and completed a sleep log for 7 consecutive days. Time in bed, sleep duration, fragmentation index, sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, and sleep midpoint were averaged across valid primary sleep periods for each participant. Results: Valid data were available from 782 women with mean age of 27.3 (5.5) years. Median sleep duration was 7.4 hours. Approximately 27.9% of women had a sleep duration of 9 hours. In multivariable models including age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, insurance status, and recent smoking history, sleep duration was significantly associated with race/ethnicity and insurance status, while time in bed was only associated with insurance status. Sleep continuity measures and sleep midpoint were significantly associated with all covariates in the model, with the exception of age for fragmentation index and smoking for wake after sleep onset. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the relationship between sleep and important demographic characteristics during pregnancy

Treatment of poor-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia with a combination of 5-azacytidine and valproic acid

5-azacytidine (AZA) has become standard treatment for patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Response rate is about 50% and response duration is limited. Histone deactylase (HDAC) inhibitors are attractive partners for epigenetic combination therapy. We treated 24 patients with AZA (100 mg/m2, 5 days) plus valproate (VPA; continuous dosing, trough serum level 80–110 μg/ml). According to WHO classification, 5 patients had MDS, 2 had MDS/MPD, and 17 had acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Seven patients (29%) had previously received intensive chemotherapy, and five had previous HDAC inhibitor treatment. The overall response rate was 37% in the entire cohort but significantly higher (57%) in previously untreated patients, especially those with MDS (64%). Seven (29%) patients achieved CR (29%) and two PR (8%), respectively. Hematological CR was accompanied by complete cytogenetic remission according to conventional cytogenetics in all evaluable cases. Some patients also showed complete remission according to FISH on bone marrow mononuclear cells and CD34+ peripheral blood cells, as well as by follow-up of somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations. Four additional patients achieved at least marrow remissions. Factors influencing response were AML (vs. MDS), marrow blast count, pretreatment, transfusion dependency, concomitant medication with hydroxyurea, and valproic acid (VPA) serum level. This trial is the first to assess the combination of AZA plus VPA without additional ATRA. A comparatively good CR rate, relatively short time to response, and the influence of VPA serum levels on response suggest that VPA provided substantial additional benefit. However, the importance of HDAC inhibitors in epigenetic combination therapy can only be proven by randomized trials

Pre-existing health conditions and severe COVID-19 outcomes: an umbrella review approach and meta-analysis of global evidence

Background This study applies an umbrella review approach to summarise the global evidence on the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes in patients with pre-existing health conditions. Methods Systematic reviews (SRs) were identified in PubMed, Embase/Medline and seven pre-print servers until December 11, 2020. Due to the absence of age-adjusted risk effects stratified by geographical regions, a re-analysis of the evidence was conducted. Primary studies were extracted from SRs and evaluated for inclusion in the re-analysis. Studies were included if they reported risk estimates (odds ratio (OR), hazard ratio (HR), relative risk (RR)) for hospitalisation, intensive care unit admission, intubation or death. Estimated associations were extracted from the primary studies for reported pre-existing conditions. Meta-analyses were performed stratified for each outcome by regions of the World Health Organization. The evidence certainty was assessed using GRADE. Registration number CRD42020215846. Results In total, 160 primary studies from 120 SRs contributed 464 estimates for 42 pre-existing conditions. Most studies were conducted in North America, European, and Western Pacific regions. Evidence from Africa, South/Latin America, and the Eastern Mediterranean region was scarce. No evidence was available from the South-East Asia region. Diabetes (HR range 1.2–2.0 (CI range 1.1–2.8)), obesity (OR range 1.5–1.75 (CI range 1.1–2.3)), heart failure (HR range 1.3–3.3 (CI range 0.9–8.2)), COPD (HR range 1.12–2.2 (CI range 1.1–3.2)) and dementia (HR range 1.4–7.7 (CI range 1.2–39.6)) were associated with fatal COVID-19 in different regions, although the estimates varied. Evidence from Europe and North America showed that liver cirrhosis (OR range 3.2–5.9 (CI range 0.9–27.7)) and active cancer (OR range 1.6–4.7 (CI range 0.5–14.9)) were also associated with increased risk of death. Association between HIV and undesirable COVID-19 outcomes showed regional heterogeneity, with an increased risk of death in Africa (HR 1.7 (CI 1.3–2.2)). GRADE certainty was moderate to high for most associations. Conclusion Risk of undesirable COVID-19 health outcomes is consistently increased in certain patient subgroups across geographical regions, showing high variability in others. The results can be used to inform COVID-19 vaccine prioritisation or other intervention strategies.Peer Reviewe