Accuracy of Multi-Detector Computed Tomography in Detection of Esophageal Varices in Chronic Liver Disease

Background: Patients with chronic liver disease should undergo screening endoscopy, but this approach places a heavy burden upon endoscopy units along with other limitations. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of multi-detector computed tomography scan in detecting esophageal varices taking endoscopy as gold standard.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done from 1st Jan 2018 to 31st Dec 2018 at Department of Radiology, PIMS Hospital Islamabad. A total of 180 patients of both gender with chronic liver disease for at least 12 months were included in this study with an age range of 25-65 years. Patients with active gastrointestinal hemorrhage, hypersensitivity to iodinated contrast agent, chronic renal failure, claustrophobic and pregnant females were excluded. All the patients underwent endoscopy and computed tomography of lower chest and the upper abdomen before and after intravenous contrast administration. Multi detector computed tomography (MDCT) scan findings for esophageal varices were compared with endoscopy findings.Results: In MDCT positive patients (n=102), 98 were true positive and 04 were false positive. Among 78 MDCT negative patients, 07 were false negative, whereas 71 were true negative. Overall sensitivity and specificity were 93.33%, and 94.67% respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 96.08% and 91.03% respectively, while diagnostic accuracy of MDCT in detecting esophageal varices in chronic liver disease patients was 93.89%, taking endoscopy as gold standard.Conclusions: Multi-detector computed tomography scan is a highly sensitive and accurate non-invasive modality for detecting esophageal varices in chronic liver disease patients.Key words: Accuracy, Chronic liver disease, Esophageal varices, Multi-detector computed tomograph

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for children age 6-24 months: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of effects on developmental outcomes and effect modifiers

BACKGROUND: Small-quantity (SQ) lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide many nutrients needed for brain development. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to generate pooled estimates of the effect of SQ-LNSs on developmental outcomes (language, social-emotional, motor, and executive function), and to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of these effects. METHODS: We conducted a 2-stage meta-analysis of individual participant data from 14 intervention against control group comparisons in 13 randomized trials of SQ-LNSs provided to children age 6-24 mo (total n = 30,024). RESULTS: In 11-13 intervention against control group comparisons (n = 23,588-24,561), SQ-LNSs increased mean language (mean difference: 0.07 SD; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.10 SD), social-emotional (0.08; 0.05, 0.11 SD), and motor scores (0.08; 95% CI: 0.05, 0.11 SD) and reduced the prevalence of children in the lowest decile of these scores by 16% (prevalence ratio: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), 19% (0.81; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.89), and 16% (0.84; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.92), respectively. SQ-LNSs also increased the prevalence of children walking without support at 12 mo by 9% (1.09; 95% CI: 1.05, 1.14). Effects of SQ-LNSs on language, social-emotional, and motor outcomes were larger among study populations with a higher stunting burden (≥35%) (mean difference: 0.11-0.13 SD; 8-9 comparisons). At the individual level, greater effects of SQ-LNSs were found on language among children who were acutely malnourished (mean difference: 0.31) at baseline; on language (0.12), motor (0.11), and executive function (0.06) among children in households with lower socioeconomic status; and on motor development among later-born children (0.11), children of older mothers (0.10), and children of mothers with lower education (0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Child SQ-LNSs can be expected to result in modest developmental gains, which would be analogous to 1-1.5 IQ points on an IQ test, particularly in populations with a high child stunting burden. Certain groups of children who experience higher-risk environments have greater potential to benefit from SQ-LNSs in developmental outcomes.This trial was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO as CRD42020159971

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Newborn physical condition and breastfeeding behaviours: Secondary outcomes of a cluster‐randomized trial of prenatal lipid‐based nutrient supplements in Bangladesh

Prenatal nutritional supplements may improve birth outcomes. This study aims to examine the effect of prenatal lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS), compared with iron and folic acid (IFA), on general newborn physical condition and feeding behaviours. We conducted a cluster-randomized effectiveness trial that enrolled 4,011 pregnant women at ≤20 gestational weeks. LNS and IFA were provided to women in 48 and 16 clusters, respectively, for daily consumption until delivery. We collected data on household socio-economic, food insecurity, and maternal characteristics during early pregnancy and on newborn condition and feeding within 72 hr of delivery. We analysed intervention effects on these secondary outcomes using mixed models with analysis of covariance for continuous outcomes and logistic regression for dichotomous outcomes. Among 3,664 live births, intervention groups did not differ in newborn response, mother's rating of the general condition of her newborn, early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF), suckling ability, or frequency and exclusivity of breastfeeding in the first 24 hr. If the mother perceived her infant to be healthy, EIBF was more likely (OR [95% CI]: 2.08 [1.46, 2.97]) and frequency of breastfeeding in the first 24 hr was greater (mean difference [95% CI]: 3.0 [1.91, 4.01]), but there was no difference in exclusive breastfeeding in the first 24 hr. Newborn condition and early breastfeeding practices were not affected by giving mothers prenatal LNS versus IFA. However, early breastfeeding practices were related to maternal perception of her newborn's condition. Thus, interventions to improve breastfeeding practices for newborns with poorer perceived health status may be useful

Factors associated with diarrhea and acute respiratory infection in children under two years of age in rural Bangladesh.

BackgroundDiarrhea and acute respiratory infection (ARI) are major causes of child mortality. We aimed to identify risk factors associated with diarrhea and ARI among children under 2 years of age in rural northern Bangladesh.MethodWe collected information on diarrhea and ARI in the previous 14 days and the previous 6 months at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age as part of a longitudinal, cluster randomized effectiveness trial, the Rang-Din Nutrition Study which enrolled 4011 pregnant women at ≤20 gestational weeks. Women and their children were followed up until 2 years postpartum. Information on household socioeconomic status, type of toilet, garbage disposal system, food insecurity, number of under-five children in the household, type of family, maternal characteristics and child characteristics was collected at baseline and/or at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months postpartum. Data on newborn health and feeding behaviors were collected within 72 h of delivery. Associations between potential risk factors and morbidity prevalence outcomes were assessed using logistic regression controlling for potential confounders.ResultsOut of 3664 live born children, we collected information from ~ 3350 children at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age. Diarrhea in the previous 14 days, and in the previous 6 months, was associated with maternal depression score and food insecurity; diarrhea in the previous 6 months was also associated with family type (nuclear vs. joint). ARI in the previous 14 days was associated with maternal depression score, type of toilet and garbage disposal, household food insecurity and sex. Cough or nasal discharge in the past 6 months was associated with maternal depression score, type of toilet and garbage disposal, household food insecurity, sex and perceived overall physical condition of the infant after birth.ConclusionMaternal depression and food insecurity appear to be important risk factors for diarrhea and respiratory infection among children under 2 years of age in this setting. These findings suggest that policies and programs that include strategies to address maternal mental health and household food insecurity may contribute to improved child health.Trial registrationThe trial was registered with the US National Institutes of Health at ClinicalTrials.gov, # NCT01715038 , with registration completed October 26, 2012

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements for children age 6-24 months: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of effects on developmental outcomes and effect modifiers

Background Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) reduce child stunting and provide many of the fatty acids and micronutrients that are necessary for rapid brain development that occurs during infancy and early childhood. Positive effects of SQ-LNS on developmental outcomes have been found in some trials, but not others. Objectives Our objectives were to generate pooled estimates of the effect of SQ-LNS, compared to control groups that received no intervention or an intervention without any nutritional supplement, on developmental outcomes (language, social-emotional, motor, and executive function), and to identify study-level and individual-level modifiers of these effects. Methods We conducted a two-stage meta-analysis of individual participant data from 14 intervention versus control group comparisons in 13 randomized trials of SQ-LNS provided to infants and young children age 6 to 24 months in 9 low- or middle-income countries (total n=30,024). We generated study-specific estimates of SQ-LNS vs. control groups (including main effects and subgroup estimates for individual-level effect modifiers) and pooled the estimates using fixed-effects models. We used random effects meta-regression to examine potential study-level effect modifiers. Results In 11-13 intervention versus control group comparisons (n=23,588-24,561), SQ-LNS increased mean language (mean difference: 0.07 standard deviations; 95% CI: 0.04, 0.10), social-emotional (0.08; 0.05, 0.11), and motor scores (0.08; 0.05, 0.11) and reduced the prevalence of children in the lowest decile of these scores by 17% (prevalence ratio: 0.83, 95% CI 0.76, 0.91), 19% (0.81; 0.74, 0.90), and 16% (0.84; 0.77, 0.92), respectively. SQ-LNS also increased the prevalence of children walking without support at 12 months by 9% (1.09; 1.05, 1.14). Effects of SQ-LNS on language, social-emotional, and motor outcomes were larger among study populations with a higher burden (≥ 35%) of child stunting at 18 months (mean difference 0.11-0.13 SD; 8-9 comparisons) than in populations with lower stunting burden (estimates near zero). At the individual level, greater effects of SQ-LNS were found on language among children who were acutely malnourished (mean difference: 0.31) at baseline; on language (0.12), motor (0.11), and executive function (0.06) among children in households with lower socio-economic status; and on motor development among later-born children (0.11), children of older mothers (0.10), and children of mothers with lower education (0.11). Conclusions SQ-LNS provided daily to children in the range of 6-24 months of age can be expected to result in modest, but potentially important, developmental gains, particularly in populations with high child stunting burden. Certain groups of children who experience higher risk environments, such as those from poor households or with poor baseline nutritional status, have greater potential to benefit from SQ-LNS in developmental outcomes. This study was registered at www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO as CRD42020159971