Current status of breast cancer in Nepal

Breast carcinoma is one of the most common and dreaded diseases of women, and in Nepal, it is second most common cancer. The situation is more alarming in the rural areas where the majority of women are illiterate and ignorant about the hazards of breast cancer. Different screening strategies such as rural cancer registries and camp approach for cancer detection have been found useful in minimizing the problem of breast cancer in the villages. Advanced presentation of breast cancer and the problem of late diagnosis is well documented in Nepal. Moreover, diagnostic workup, treatment and palliative services are inadequate in most parts of Nepal. A better understanding current situation of breast cancer can help government to formulate breast cancer prevention strategy in Nepal. In this review, authors present an overview of the burden of breast cancer, risk factors, screening, and cancer care among Nepalese women

Risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality in critically ill elderly patients with venous thromboembolism

Background: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality for patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The present study aims to investigate the risk factors for in-hospital mortality among critically ill elderly patients with VTE. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study utilizing data from the large medical information mart for intensive care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. All elderly patients diagnosed with VTE were included in the analysis. The analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26.0 software and MedCalc version 19.6. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to explore potential risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Results: The study population had a median age of 75 years, with a range from 69.0 to 82.0 years, and males represented 50.4% of the cohort. Among critically ill VTE patients, the in-hospital mortality rate was 18.5% (237 out of 1282). Multivariable regression analysis revealed that longer ICU stays [OR: 1.034; 95% CI: 1.010-1.059, p=0.005], higher Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) scores [OR: 1.090; 95% CI: 1.001-1.187, p=0.046], elevated simplified acute physiology score II (SAPS II scores) [OR: 1.039; 95% CI: 1.023-1.056, p<0.001], increased red blood cell distribution width (RDW) levels [OR: 1.088; 95% CI: 1.006-1.178, p=0.035], lower mean arterial pressure (MAP) [OR: 0.975; 95% CI: 0.957-0.994, p=0.011], presence of severe liver disease [OR: 2.036; 95% CI: 1.051-3.941, p=0.035], and the necessity for renal replacement therapy (RRT) [OR: 2.478; 95% CI: 1.315-4.671, p=0.005] were significantly associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality among elderly ICU patients with VTE. Conclusions: The study identifies numerous independent risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality among critically ill elderly patients with VT. These factors include prolonged length of ICU stay, elevated scores on the CCI and SAPS II, increased RDW, reduced MAP, the presence of severe liver disease, and the necessity for RRT

Assessment of Implementation of Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness in India

At the current rate of decline in infant mortality, India is unlikely to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on child survival. Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness (IMNCI), adapted from the global Integrated Management of Childhood Illness to enhance the focus on newborns and on community health workers, is the central strategy within the National Reproductive and Child Health Programme to address high infant mortality. This paper assessed the progress of IMNCI in India, identified the programme bottlenecks, and also assessed the effect on coverage of key newborn and childcare practices. Programme data were analyzed to ascertain the implementation status; rapid programme assessment was conducted for identifying the programme bottlenecks; and results of analysis of two rounds of district-level household surveys were used for comparing the change in the coverage of child-health interventions in IMNCI and control districts. More than 200,000 community health workers and first-level healthcare providers were trained during 2005-2009 at a variable pace across 223 districts. Of the reported births (n=1,102,573), 65.5% were visited by a trained worker within 24 hours, and 63.1% were visited three times within 10 days. Poor supervision and inadequate essential supplies affected the performance of trained workers. During 2004-2008, 12 early-implementing districts had covered most key newborn and child practice indicators compared to the control districts; however, the difference was significant only for care-seeking for acute respiratory infection (net difference: 17.8%; 95% confidence interval 2.3-33.2, p<0.026). Based on the early experience of IMNCI implementation in different states of India, measures need to be taken to improve supportive supervision, availability of essential supplies, and monitoring of the programme if the strategy has to translate into improved child survival in India

Protection of mice against Plasmodium berghei infection by a tuftsin derivative

In Plasmodium berghei infections, the mortality rate and parasitaemias were significantly reduced and the mean survival time was considerably enhanced by pretreating the animals with a tuftsin derivative, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-NH-(CH2)2-NHCOC15H31. This effect of the modified tuftsin was further increased upon its incorporation in the liposome bilayer. These results indicate that tuftsin and its derivatives may prove useful in enhancing nonspecific host resistance against protozoan infections

Blood urea nitrogen to creatinine ratio is associated with in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with venous thromboembolism: a retrospective cohort study

BackgroundThe relationship between the blood urea nitrogen to creatinine ratio (BCR) and the risk of in-hospital mortality among intensive care unit (ICU) patients diagnosed with venous thromboembolism (VTE) remains unclear. This study aimed to assess the relationship between BCR upon admission to the ICU and in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with VTE.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included patients diagnosed with VTE from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care IV (MIMIC-IV) database. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the prognostic significance of the BCR. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was utilized to determine the optimal cut-off value of BCR. Additionally, survival analysis using a Kaplan–Meier curve was performed.ResultsA total of 2,560 patients were included, with a median age of 64.5 years, and 55.5% were male. Overall, the in-hospital mortality rate was 14.6%. The optimal cut-off value of the BCR for predicting in-hospital mortality in critically ill VTE patients was 26.84. The rate of in-hospital mortality among patients categorized in the high BCR group was significantly higher compared to those in the low BCR group (22.6% vs. 12.2%, P &lt; 0.001). The multivariable logistic regression analysis results indicated that, even after accounting for potential confounding factors, patients with elevated BCR demonstrated a notably increased in-hospital mortality rate compared to those with lower BCR levels (all P &lt; 0.05), regardless of the model used. Patients in the high BCR group exhibited a 77.77% higher risk of in-hospital mortality than those in the low BCR group [hazard ratio (HR): 1.7777; 95% CI: 1.4016–2.2547].ConclusionAn elevated BCR level was independently linked with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality among critically ill patients diagnosed with VTE. Given its widespread availability and ease of measurement, BCR could be a valuable tool for risk stratification and prognostic prediction in VTE patients

The incidence and risk of venous thromboembolism associated with peripherally inserted central venous catheters in hospitalized patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundVenous thromboembolism (VTE) can be fatal if not treated promptly, and individual studies have reported wide variability in rates of VTE associated with peripherally inserted central catheters (PICC). We thus conducted this meta-analysis to investigate the overall incidence and risk of developing PICC-related VTE in hospitalized patients.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases from inception until January 26, 2022. In studies with a non-comparison arm, the pooled incidence of PICC-related VTE was calculated. The pooled odds ratio (OR) was calculated to assess the risk of VTE in the studies that compared PICC to the central venous catheter (CVC). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess methodological quality.ResultsA total of 75 articles (58 without a comparison arm and 17 with), including 109292 patients, were included in the meta-analysis. The overall pooled incidence of symptomatic VTE was 3.7% (95% CI: 3.1–4.4) in non-comparative studies. In the subgroup meta-analysis, the incidence of VTE was highest in patients who were in a critical care setting (10.6%; 95% CI: 5.0–17.7). Meta-analysis of comparative studies revealed that PICC was associated with a statistically significant increase in the odds of VTE events compared with CVC (OR, 2.48; 95% CI, 1.83–3.37; P &lt; 0.01). However, in subgroup analysis stratified by the study design, there was no significant difference in VTE events between the PICC and CVC in randomized controlled trials (OR, 2.28; 95% CI, 0.77–6.74; P = 0.13).ConclusionBest practice standards such as PICC tip verification and VTE prophylaxis can help reduce the incidence and risk of PICC-related VTE. The risk-benefit of inserting PICC should be carefully weighed, especially in critically ill patients. Cautious interpretation of our results is important owing to substantial heterogeneity among the studies included in this study

Management of adrenal incidentalomas - a European Society of Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guideline in collaboration with the European Network for the Study of Adrenal Tumors

Diabetes mellitus: pathophysiological changes and therap

A Token-Ring Medium-Access-Control Protocol with Quality of Service Guarantees for Wireless Ad-hoc Networks

This report describes the design and implementation of a wireless token bus protocol for local area networks. This is the second wireless token passing protocol that has been jointly designed by the PATH program and the faculty and students of the EECS department at UC Berkeley.The first wireless token bus protocol, designed by Duke Lee and Professor Pravin Varaiya, was successfully implemented to provide the wireless network required by an automated vehicle platoon. The token passing mode of wireless medium access control was chosen to provide the delivery time guarantees required by the safety critical control data transport required by the platoon. This protocol is currently also being used for safe automated vehicle merging maneuvers.The token bus protocol described in this report represents a significant advance over the first version. The earlier protocol did not permit the wireless radios to dynamically join and leave the network while still maintaining the quality of service for those remaining in the network. This version does. The earlier version also worked only when each wireless radio in the network was within range of every other radio in the network at all times. This version relaxes this requirement. Since mobile wireless LAN’s frequently encounter hidden or exposed terminal configurations, these advances greatly enhance the usefulness of the protocol

Blood Urea Nitrogen Is Associated with In-Hospital Mortality in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Background: Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level is associated with a higher risk of mortality in various diseases; however, the association between BUN level and in-hospital mortality in patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is not known. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between BUN level and in-hospital mortality in patients with AECOPD admitted to the ICU. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, AECOPD patients were identified from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care (MIMIC-IV) database. Multivariate regression was used to elucidate the relationship between BUN level and in-hospital mortality, and propensity score matching (PSM) was used to adjust confounders. Receiver operating characteristics and Kaplan&ndash;Meier curves were used to evaluate the relationship between BUN level and in-hospital mortality. Results: Data from 1201 patients were analyzed. The all-cause in-hospital mortality was 13.7%. BUN levels were significantly higher in non-survivors compared to the survival group before (p &lt; 0.001) and after (p = 0.005) PSM. Multivariate analysis indicated that elevated BUN levels were independently associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality both before (p = 0.002) and after (p = 0.015) PSM. The optimal BUN cut-off value for in-hospital mortality in critical patients with AECOPD before (&gt;23 mg/dL) and after (&gt;22 mg/dL) PSM was comparable. Compared with the low BUN group, the hazard ratio (HR) of the high BUN group was 1.8987 (before PSM) and 1.7358 (after PSM). Conclusions: Higher BUN levels were significantly associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality in critically ill patients with AECOPD. As a widely available and rapidly measured biomarker, BUN may be useful in the risk stratification of critically ill AECOPD patients. The results need to be verified in prospective studies