Effects of Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty in the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial.

PURPOSE: To analyze reduction of intraocular pressure (IOP) by argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT) in the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial and factors influencing the effect of such treatment. DESIGN: Cohort study based on 127 patients from the treatment group of the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial, a randomized clinical trial. METHODS: Patients randomized to the treatment arm of the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial received a standard treatment protocol (topical betaxolol hydrochloride followed by 360-degree ALT) and then were followed up prospectively at 3-month intervals for up to 8 years. One eye per patient was included in the analyses. We investigated the relationship between IOP before ALT and subsequent IOP reduction and other factors that might have influenced the effect of ALT, including stage of the disease, trabecular pigmentation, presence of exfoliation syndrome, and treating surgeon. RESULTS: The mean ± standard deviation IOP before ALT and after betaxolol treatment was 18.1 ± 3.9 mm Hg, and the mean ± standard deviation short-term IOP reduction 3 months after ALT was 2.8 ± 3.9 mm Hg (12.6 ± 20.5%). The IOP before ALT strongly affected IOP reduction (P < .001); each 3-mm Hg higher IOP before ALT value was associated with an additional mean IOP reduction of approximately 2 mm Hg. The treating surgeons also had a significant impact on IOP reduction (P = 0.001), with mean values ranging from 5.8 to -1.3 mm Hg. CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort, which included many patients with low IOP levels, IOP before ALT markedly influenced the IOP reduction induced by ALT, seen as a much larger decrease in eyes with higher IOP before ALT. The treating surgeon also had a significant impact on ALT outcome

Vertical Mandibular and Trunk Symmetry in Indonesian Orthodontic Patients

Objective: To analyze differences in vertical mandibular and trunk symmetry in orthodontic patients. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 129 growing orthodontic patients who sought orthodontic treatment at the Dental Hospital Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Mandibular symmetry index was observed with pre-treatment panoramic radiography based on Kjellberg's technique and trunk symmetry was evaluated based on questionnaires and visual observation. Vertical mandibular asymmetry was decided if the index of asymmetry was lower than 93.7%. The bivariate analysis used the chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests, with a significance level of 5%. Results: There was a significant association between vertical mandibular and trunk symmetry (p&lt;0.05). The prevalence odds ratio for the association with vertical mandibular asymmetry was 3.007 (95% CI = 1.016-8.905) for trunk asymmetry. Conclusion: The necessity to consider trunk symmetry could be included in orthodontics treatment of any malocclusion with vertical mandibular asymmetry that might require a multidisciplinary approach in the future

Vertical Mandibular and Trunk Symmetry in Indonesian Orthodontic Patients

Objective: To analyze differences in vertical mandibular and trunk symmetry in orthodontic patients. Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 129 growing orthodontic patients who sought orthodontic treatment at the Dental Hospital Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia. Mandibular symmetry index was observed with pre-treatment panoramic radiography based on Kjellberg's technique and trunk symmetry was evaluated based on questionnaires and visual observation. Vertical mandibular asymmetry was decided if the index of asymmetry was lower than 93.7%. The bivariate analysis used the chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests, with a significance level of 5%. Results: There was a significant association between vertical mandibular and trunk symmetry (p&lt;0.05). The prevalence odds ratio for the association with vertical mandibular asymmetry was 3.007 (95% CI = 1.016-8.905) for trunk asymmetry. Conclusion: The necessity to consider trunk symmetry could be included in orthodontics treatment of any malocclusion with vertical mandibular asymmetry that might require a multidisciplinary approach in the future

Improving oral and dental health through counseling, video and phantom demonstration during the Covid-19 pandemic to the Medan Belawan community

Based on Basic Health Research, dental and oral diseases still occur in the province of North Sumatra, both urban and rural. Through the USU Community Service Institute, community service activities are carried out with the title of improving oral and dental health through counseling and maintenance of oral health in the Medan Belawan community. This activity is based on the need to maintain oral and dental health from an early age, so that good behavior in maintaining health can be accustomed from a young age. Implementation of counseling on Improving Dental and Oral Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic to the Medan Belawan community, totaling 67 people, activities are carried out within 1 (one) day. Extension methods and techniques include video screenings, lectures, demonstrations of phantoms in oral and dental care and question and answer sessions. The results achieved are that it is necessary to carry out further dedication to the school environment in Medan Belawan for Health Education and Maintenance during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The filtering equations revisited

The problem of nonlinear filtering has engendered a surprising number of mathematical techniques for its treatment. A notable example is the change-of--probability-measure method originally introduced by Kallianpur and Striebel to derive the filtering equations and the Bayes-like formula that bears their names. More recent work, however, has generally preferred other methods. In this paper, we reconsider the change-of-measure approach to the derivation of the filtering equations and show that many of the technical conditions present in previous work can be relaxed. The filtering equations are established for general Markov signal processes that can be described by a martingale-problem formulation. Two specific applications are treated

Comprehension of pictograms for pain quality and pain affect in adults with Down syndrome

Background Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are at risk for age-related painful physical conditions, but also for under-reporting pain. Pictograms may facilitate self-report of pain, because they seem suitable for the global visual processing in DS and for iconic representation of abstract concepts. Method Participants (N = 39, M age = 41.2) assigned pain qualities to pictograms, rated pain affect levels in facial scales (pictograms vs. drawn faces), and performed cognitive tests. Results Recognition of all intended pain qualities was above chance level. Pain affect levels of both facial scales were ordered equally well. Both facial scales were preferred equally we

Target-Controlled Infusion of Cefepime in Critically Ill Patients:single center experience

Attainment of appropriate pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) targets for antimicrobial treatment is challenging in critically ill patients, particularly for cefepime, which exhibits a relative narrow therapeutic-toxic window compared to other beta-lactam antibiotics. Target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems, which deliver drugs to achieve specific target drug concentrations, have successfully been implemented for improved dosing of sedatives and analgesics in anesthesia. We conducted a clinical trial in an intensive care unit (ICU) to investigate the performance of TCI for adequate target attainment of cefepime. Twenty-one patients treated with cefepime according to the standard of care were included. Cefepime was administered through continuous infusion using TCI for a median duration of 4.5 days. TCI was based on a previously developed population PK model incorporating the estimated creatinine clearance based on the Cockcroft-Gault formula as the input variable to calculate cefepime clearance. A cefepime blood concentration of 16 mg/liter was targeted. To evaluate the measured versus predicted plasma concentrations, blood samples were taken (median of 10 samples per patient), and total cefepime concentrations were measured using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The performance of the TCI system was evaluated using Varvel criteria. Half (50.3%) of the measured cefepime concentrations were within +/- 30% around the target value of 16 mg liter(-1). The wobble was 11.4%, the median performance error (MdPE) was 21.1%, the median absolute performance error (MdAPE) was 32.0%, and the divergence was -3.72% h(-1). Based on these results, we conclude that TCI is useful for dose optimization of cefepime in ICU patients