Predictors of maternal outcome in women on mechanical ventilation in an obstetric intensive care unit: an observational study

Background: Present study was designed to note the indications for and the complications and outcome of women on mechanical ventilation in our obstetric intensive care unit, and in addition to look for the applicability and correlation of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores for the prediction of outcome in these women.Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in the obstetric intensive care unit of our teaching hospital which included all women requiring mechanical ventilation in the study period. The diagnosis of the woman on admission, the clinical course and outcome along with total maximum sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score and SOFA score for each system were noted. Women were divided into two groups, survivors and non-survivors. Student t test and chi square test were used for analysis.Results: The foremost indication for mechanical ventilation was hypertension in pregnancy namely eclampsia and pre-eclampsia, followed by obstetric hemorrhage and then by hepatic failure. Maternal mortality rose significantly as the number of days of mechanical ventilation increased (p value <0.05). The total SOFA score correlated highly significantly with the outcome (p<0.0001).Conclusions: In women with eclampsia and pre-eclampsia suffering from respiratory failure, survival is inversely correlated with the number of days of mechanical ventilation. The total SOFA score is highly predictive of the woman’s outcome and all individual organ system scores also significantly correlate with outcome except for the score of coagulation system

Mapping regional funding for COVID-19 research in the Asia-Pacific region

Introduction: The Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R) is a network of funders supporting research on infectious diseases of epidemic/pandemic potential. GloPID-R is establishing regional hubs to strengthen stakeholder engagement particularly among low-income and middle-income countries. The first pilot hub, led from Republic of Korea (South Korea), has been launched in the Asia-Pacific region, a region highly prone to outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. We present findings of mapping research undertaken in support of the hub’s development. Methods: We analysed five COVID-19 research databases in September 2022 to identify research funders and intermediary funding sources supporting research in infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. This was complemented with an in-depth analysis of the UK Collaborative on Development Research (UKCDR) and GloPID-R COVID-19 Research Project Tracker to assess the alignment of funded projects in the region to the WHO COVID-19 research priorities. Results: We identified 453 funders and funding sources supporting COVID-19 research in the Asia-Pacific Region including public, private and philanthropic organisations and universities. However, these organisations were clustered in few countries in the region. The in-depth analysis of the UKCDR and GloPID-R COVID-19 Research project Tracker found limited research involving Asia-Pacific countries with the 117 funders supporting these projects investing at least US$604m in COVID-19 research in the region. Social Sciences was the dominant theme on which funded projects focused whereas the priority areas with the least number of projects were research on ‘animal and environmental health’ and ‘ethics considerations for research’. Conclusion: Our analyses show the diversity of funding sources for research on infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. Engagement between multiple actors in the health research system is likely to promote enhanced coordination for greater research impact. GloPID-R’s Asia-Pacific regional hub aims to support activities for the enhancement of preparedness for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases in the region

Associations of the plasma lipidome with mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract Background It is unknown if the plasma lipidome is a useful tool for improving our understanding of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Therefore, we measured the plasma lipidome of individuals with ARDS at two time-points to determine if changes in the plasma lipidome distinguished survivors from non-survivors. We hypothesized that both the absolute concentration and change in concentration over time of plasma lipids are associated with 28-day mortality in this population. Methods Samples for this longitudinal observational cohort study were collected at multiple tertiary-care academic medical centers as part of a previous multicenter clinical trial. A mass spectrometry shot-gun lipidomic assay was used to quantify the lipidome in plasma samples from 30 individuals. Samples from two different days were analyzed for each subject. After removing lipids with a coefficient of variation > 30%, differences between cohorts were identified using repeated measures analysis of variance. The false discovery rate was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Relationships between significant compounds were explored using hierarchical clustering of the Pearson correlation coefficients and the magnitude of these relationships was described using receiver operating characteristic curves. Results The mass spectrometry assay reliably measured 359 lipids. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, 90 compounds differed between survivors and non-survivors. Survivors had higher levels for each of these lipids except for five membrane lipids. Glycerolipids, particularly those containing polyunsaturated fatty acid side-chains, represented many of the lipids with higher concentrations in survivors. The change in lipid concentration over time did not differ between survivors and non-survivors. Conclusions The concentration of multiple plasma lipids is associated with mortality in this group of critically ill patients with ARDS. Absolute lipid levels provided more information than the change in concentration over time. These findings support future research aimed at integrating lipidomics into critical care medicine.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143134/1/12931_2018_Article_758.pd

Associations of the plasma lipidome with mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a longitudinal cohort study

Abstract Background It is unknown if the plasma lipidome is a useful tool for improving our understanding of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Therefore, we measured the plasma lipidome of individuals with ARDS at two time-points to determine if changes in the plasma lipidome distinguished survivors from non-survivors. We hypothesized that both the absolute concentration and change in concentration over time of plasma lipids are associated with 28-day mortality in this population. Methods Samples for this longitudinal observational cohort study were collected at multiple tertiary-care academic medical centers as part of a previous multicenter clinical trial. A mass spectrometry shot-gun lipidomic assay was used to quantify the lipidome in plasma samples from 30 individuals. Samples from two different days were analyzed for each subject. After removing lipids with a coefficient of variation > 30%, differences between cohorts were identified using repeated measures analysis of variance. The false discovery rate was used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Relationships between significant compounds were explored using hierarchical clustering of the Pearson correlation coefficients and the magnitude of these relationships was described using receiver operating characteristic curves. Results The mass spectrometry assay reliably measured 359 lipids. After adjusting for multiple comparisons, 90 compounds differed between survivors and non-survivors. Survivors had higher levels for each of these lipids except for five membrane lipids. Glycerolipids, particularly those containing polyunsaturated fatty acid side-chains, represented many of the lipids with higher concentrations in survivors. The change in lipid concentration over time did not differ between survivors and non-survivors. Conclusions The concentration of multiple plasma lipids is associated with mortality in this group of critically ill patients with ARDS. Absolute lipid levels provided more information than the change in concentration over time. These findings support future research aimed at integrating lipidomics into critical care medicine.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/143134/1/12931_2018_Article_758.pd

A cross sectional study on internet usage for health information among 18- 49 years in urban Chandigarh

Background: Internet use for health information has increased over the years. However, how people use internet for health needs to be explored. Aims & Objectives: Our study aim was to determine the proportion of people who use internet for health information in the age group of 18-49 years in urban Chandigarh, to document the type of health information sought from Internet, and its association with socio-demographic variables. Material & Methods: Community based cross sectional study was carried out with multistage sampling using simple random and systematic random sampling. Data was collected using pretested semi-structured interview schedule. Results: Out of 262, 60.6 % of participants used the internet for health information. Availability of broadband connection at home and gender were significantly associated (p<0.05) with use of the internet for health information. Conclusion: Internet use for health information could have significant potential, particularly in terms of the general public decision-making and autonomy as has been reflected in the results of the present study. The Internet has become an important tool with the potential to improve information dissemination and health care delivery to consumers

Additional file 2: of Associations of the plasma lipidome with mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a longitudinal cohort study

Heatmaps of the differences in the Pearson’s r correlation coefficient between survivors and nonsurvivors. Lipids are arranged based on hierarchical clustering using a complete linkage algorithm. The dendrogram shows how lipids were arranged relative each other. The group of lipids that has a greater correlation in survivors (red font) contains most of the lipids that had a greater concentration in those who died and contains many lipids that originate from the cell membrane. The cluster with the greatest amount of correlation among non-survivors (yellow highlighting) contains primarily glycerolipids consisting mostly of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These observations suggest that these groups of lipids play an important role for the outcome of patients with ARDS. (PDF 119 kb

A partnership model for capacity-building of primary care physicians in evidence-based management of diabetic retinopathy in India.

In India, more than 72 million people have diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a vision-threatening complication of people with diabetes, is an important cause of avoidable blindness. The delay in the detection of DR is due to lack of awareness and shortage of ophthalmologists trained in the management of DR. With this background, in 2015, we initiated a capacity-building program "Certificate Course in Evidence Based Management of Diabetic Retinopathy (CCDR)" with an objective to build the skills and core competencies of the physicians across India in the management of diabetes and DR. The program has completed four cycles and 578 physicians have been trained. The course elicited an excellent response, which reflects the much-felt need for skill improvement in DR diagnosis and management for physicians in India. This model demonstrates an innovative modality to address DR-related avoidable blindness in a resource-restraint country like India

Fatty acid and lipidomic data in normal and tumor colon tissues of rats fed diets with and without fish oil

Data is provided to show the detailed fatty acid and lipidomic composition of normal and tumor rat colon tissues. Rats were fed either a Western fat diet or a fish oil diet, and half the rats from each diet group were treated with chemical carcinogens that induce colon cancer (azoxymethane and dextran sodium sulfate). The data show total fatty acid profiles of sera and of all the colon tissues, namely normal tissue from control rats and both normal and tumor tissues from carcinogen-treated rats, as obtained by gas chromatography with mass spectral detection. Data from lipidomic analyses of a representative subset of the colon tissue samples is also shown in heat maps generated from hierarchical cluster analysis. These data display the utility lipidomic analyses to enhance the interpretation of dietary feeding studies aimed at cancer prevention and support the findings published in the companion paper (Effects of fish oil supplementation on prostaglandins in normal and tumor colon tissue: modulation by the lipogenic phenotype of colon tumors, Djuric et al., 2017 [1]). Keywords: Fatty acids, Colon tumorigenesis, Diet, Fish oils, Lipidomic

Additional file 1: of Associations of the plasma lipidome with mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a longitudinal cohort study

Table S1. Relative lipid concentrations ranked according to the difference between cohorts. (DOCX 52 kb

Additional file 3: of Associations of the plasma lipidome with mortality in the acute respiratory distress syndrome: a longitudinal cohort study

Table S2. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for lipids that differ between survivors and non-survivors. (DOCX 35 kb