Follow-up study of hepatitis C virus infection in uremic patients on maintenance hemodialysis for 30 months

INTRODUCTIONA high prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis C virus(HCV)(range from 3.3%-80%)has beenreported in hemodialysis(HD)patients,andworrisome as it often becomes chronic and induceschronic liver disease,therefore thenephrologists face a major challenge of how toprevent it.The main route of HCV transmission

Natural history of chronic hepatitis C in patients on hemodialysis: Case control study with 4-23 years of follow-up

AIM:Hepatitis C virus(HCV)infection is very common among end-stage kidney disease patients on hemodialysis,but its natural history is not known. METHODS:In this study,189 dialysis patients(case) positive for HCV antibodies who were followed up for more than 4 years were compared with twice as many sex/age matched controls with chronic hepatitis C who were diagnosed in the same month as the case and followed up for comparable periods.The longest follow-up was 23 years in dialysis cases. The disease activities were graded into'asymptomatic'if ALT was less than 40(35 in cases)IU/L,'low activities'if ALT was 40(35)-79 IU/L,and'high activities'if ALT was above 80 IU/L during the last or latest 4 year period. RESULTS:All 25 dialysis cases who were followed up for more than 15 years were asymptomatic and 15 of them were negative for HCV RNA.Of the 50 controls followed up for more than 15 years,34 had high activities,and none deared HCV RNA.There were 60 controls who were asymptomatic, but they were all positive for HCV RNA,while 22.3% of asymptomatic dialysis cases were RNA negative.No dialysis patients with chronic hepatitis C progressed to cirrhosis, whereas the disease progressed to cirrhosis in more than one quarter of the controls.These differences were highly significant(P<0.0001). CONCLUSION:Chronic hepatitic C among hemodialysis patients is mild in disease activity,and is not progressive, perhaps due to immunological abnormalities in these patients. Hepatic C virus is frequently cleared in asymptomatic dialysis patients during a long course.A possible mechanism for viral clearance is viral particle destruction on the surface of the dialyzer membrane.

P300 change and cognitive behavioral therapy in subjects with Internet addiction disorder A 3-month follow-up study

Event-related potential studies of cognitive function in addiction behaviors have focused on the P300 event-related potential component. The current study investigated the association between P300 component and Internet addiction disorder. We found that individuals with Internet addiction disorder exhibited significantly longer P300 latencies than controls （N2： P = 0.035; P3a： P = 0.031 P3b： P = 0.043） and similar P300 amplitudes compared to control participants. After 3 months of cognitive behavioral therapy, P300 latencies decreased significantly in the P3a and P3b （P3a： P = 0.045; P3b： P = 0.062）. These results suggest that deficits in cognitive function may be involved in Internet addiction disorder, and that clinical psychological treatment may be effective.

Association of extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease in a province of western Hungary with disease phenotype:Results of a 25-year follow-up study

AIM:IBD is a systemic disease associated with a large number of extraintestinal manifestations (EIMs).Our aim was to determine the prevalence of EIMs in a large IBD cohort in Veszprem Province in a 25-year follow-up study. METHODS:Eight hundred and seventy-three IBD patients were enrolled (ulcerative colitis/UC/:619,m/f:317/302, mean age at presentation:38.3 years,average disease duration:11.2 years;Crohn's disease/CD/:254,m/f:125/129, mean age at presentation:32.5 years,average disease duration:9.2 years).Intestinal,extraintestinal signs and laboratory tests were monitored regularly.Any alteration suggesting an EIMs was investigated by a specialist. RESULTS:A total of 21.3% of patients with IBD had EIM (UC:15.0%,CD:36.6%).Age at presentation did not affect the likelihood of EIM.Prevalence of EIMs was higher in women and in CD,ocular complications and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) were more frequent in UC.In UC there was an increased tendency of EIM in patients with a more extensive disease.Joint complications were more frequent in CD (22.4% vsUC 10.2%,P<0.01).In UC positive family history increased the risk of joint complications (OR:3.63).In CD the frequency of type-1 peripheral arthritis was increased in patients with penetrating disease (P=0.028).PSC was present in 1.6% in UC and 0.8% in CD.Dermatological complications were present in 3.8% in UC and 10.2% in CD,the rate of ocular complications was around 3% in both diseases.Rare complications were glomerulonephritis,autoimmune hemolytic anaemia and celiac disease. CONCLUSION:Prevalence of EIM in Hungarian IBD patients is in concordance with data from Western countries.The high number of EIM supports a role for complex follow-up in these patients.

36-Month Follow-Up Study of Post-Intervention Chronic Heart Failure Patients

Aim: Although numerous studies of disease management and case management of chronic heart failure (CHF) have been carried out, length of effectiveness after program commencement has not been examined, so we examined a follow-up study at 36 months after program commencement. Methods: Participants went for follow-up visits to one Japanese clinic which specializes in internal cardiovascular medicine and they were given diagnoses of CHF. 104 outpatients participated in this study and randomized control trial was implemented. An educational program was implemented for 6 months. The data were collected at baseline, 3, 6, 9, 12 months from both intervention and control groups and at 24 and 36 months from the intervention group. Results: There was significant improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) in the intervention group between baseline and 36 months. Improvement in weight monitoring and activities or exercise in the intervention group continued up to 36 months. Meanwhile, sodium restricted diets and quitting smoking and/or drinking depended on individual preference and it was difficult to make improvements in these areas. Conclusions: The educational program showed promise in preventing CHF outpatients from deteriorating significantly on a long-term basis as self-monitoring of activity and weight continued significantly and there were no participants with CHF who deteriorated in the intervention group at 36 months after program commencement, although the program aimed only to provide illness and self-management knowledge. On the other hand, future work will need to compare participants in this program to a control group over an extended period of time with consideration for relieving the burden of the control group.

Survivors of COVID-19 exhibit altered amplitudes of low frequency fluctuation in the brain: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study at 1-year follow-up

Although some short-term follow-up studies have found that individuals recovering from coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)exhibit anxiety,depression,and altered brain microstructure,their long-term physical problems,neuropsychiatric sequelae,and changes in brain function remain unknown.This observational cohort study collected 1-year follow-up data from 22 patients who had been hospitalized with COVID-19(8 males and 11 females,aged 54.2±8.7 years).Fatigue and myalgia were persistent symptoms at the 1-year follow-up.The resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that compared with 29 healthy controls(7 males and 18 females,aged 50.5±11.6 years),COVID-19 survivors had greatly increased amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation(ALFF)values in the left precentral gyrus,middle frontal gyrus,inferior frontal gyrus of operculum,inferior frontal gyrus of triangle,insula,hippocampus,parahippocampal gyrus,fusiform gyrus,postcentral gyrus,inferior parietal angular gyrus,supramarginal gyrus,angular gyrus,thalamus,middle temporal gyrus,inferior temporal gyrus,caudate,and putamen.ALFF values in the left caudate of the COVID-19 survivors were positively correlated with their Athens Insomnia Scale scores,and those in the left precentral gyrus were positively correlated with neutrophil count during hospitalization.The long-term follow-up results suggest that the ALFF in brain regions related to mood and sleep regulation were altered in COVID-19 survivors.This can help us understand the neurobiological mechanisms of COVID-19-related neuropsychiatric sequelae.This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University(approval No.2020 S004)on March 19,2020.

Follow-up Study of Retreatment TB Patients with Sputum Smear and/or Culture Positive Two Years after They were Declared Cured with First-line Anti-TB Drugs in Shandong Province

This study aimed to learn the recurrence rate in the retreatment TB patients with sputum smear and/or culture positive （ss＋ and/or c＋） two years after they were declared cured, and to explore causes of recurrence in order to improve long-time treatment outcome. 5 cities were selected as research locations. Recurrence of TB was judged by chest X-ray examination together with sputum smear and culture examination.

Follow-up study on ThinPrep cytology test-positive patients in tropical regions

BACKGROUND As shown in the statistics from the World Health Organization,it is estimated that approximately 75000 new cases of cervical cancer occur every year in China.In 2008,33000 people died of cervical cancer in China.It is proven that most women are at risk of cervical cancer.The progression from human papillomavirus(HPV)infection to cervical cancer can be several years or decades,which offers a unique opportunity to prevent cancer.AIM To observe the changes in ThinPrep cytology tests(TCT)and HPV infection in patients who were detected to be positive via TCT screening of cervical cancer and further explore the biopsy results.METHODS This paper performed a follow-up study on 206 cervical cancer screening-positive patients of 12231 total cases from our previous research.We conducted an observational study on the TCT results based on the interpretation of The Bethesda System.RESULTS Over a 5-year period,10 cases received consistent follow-up.The proportions of cases in which glandular epithelial lesions were detected increased over the follow-up period.The differences between the years were statistically significant(P<0.01).Over the 5 years,the proportion of patients whose squamous epithelial lesions transformed into glandular epithelial lesions increased yearly.Annual positive rates of HPV infection were:year 1,73%(24/33);year 2,43%(6/14);year 3,36%(9/25);year 4,50%(9/18);and year 5,25%(6/24).The positive detection rate after biopsy over a 9-year period was 29%.CONCLUSION The follow-up study for 5 years to 9 years revealed a tendency to change from squamous epithelial lesions to glandular epithelial lesions and an improvement of the disease(which had not been reported previously).The HPV test indicated a high negative conversion ratio of the viral infection.However,the follow-up cases were not found to have persistent infection of high-risk HPV.Therefore,early intervention of cervical cancer screening is necessary.Low re-examination compliance,patient education,and preventive measures should be enhanced.

Spouses Who Donate Seem to Be the Winners – A Questionnaire Study of Kidney Donors Long-Term

Background:Living donor kidney transplantations have been performed at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, Sweden since 1965. In this study we wanted to explore the living kidney donor’s long-term experiences of the donation. Methods: Of 1110 consecutive living donors throughout 1965-2005, 823 were available for our questionnaire study. Results:Totally 692 replied to the questionnaire, 65% were females. The most common relation to the recipients was siblings (284), parents (262) and spouses (96). Time since donation was median 15 years (2 - 43). The initiative to donate came from the donors themselves in 69%. The dominating motives for donation were a wish to help, worries about the recipient not receiving a transplant and the knowledge that one could live a normal life with one kidney. The majority of the donors, felt well informed about potential risks both short-term and long-term. Depression post donation was reported by few donors, 2.3% and persisting pain by 4.3%. Comparisons between sibling donors and spouse donors show a significant difference (p Conclusions:Our study shows that the donor population is in good psychosocial health. It is a positive progress that spouses can be living kidney donors - they seem to be the winners.

Follow-Up Study of a Multiple Myeloma Patient Successfully Treated with Clarithromycin (CAM), Low-Dose Lenalidomide and Low-Dose Dexamethasone: Significance and Possible Mechanism of Action of CAM as an Add-On Therapy

Background: Recently, high efficacy of the chemotherapeutic regimen combining clarithromycin (CAM) with lenalidomide (Len) and dexamethasone (Dex) (BiRD) in treating multiple myeloma (MM) patients has been reported. However, the exact mechanism of added CAM has not been fully elucidated. This case report will provide helpful information for understanding the significance and the mechanism of action of CAM as an add-on therapy. Patient: A 78-year-old female patient with IgA-λ type MM was treated with low-dose Len coupled with low-dose Dex (low Rd), and excellent response was achieved for long term, but she later became refractory to this treatment. Then, CAM was added to low Rd (low Rd-CAM, i.e., modified BiRD therapy). This add-on-therapy was found to be effective, but later suspended because of pneumonitis. Then, low-dose Len coupled with CAM (low R-CAM) treatment was applied;but effect of this Dex-free treatment was insufficient. Thus, low Rd-CAM was reapplied and satisfactory reduction of IgA was achieved. This fact suggests that low Rd-CAM is the favorable combination, Dex is requisite and CAM might have enhanced the effect of Dex. In this case, various serum cytokines were examined during the course of illness. Only interleukin-6 showed apparent increase, and tumor necrosis factor-α, transforming growth factor-β, soluble IL-2 receptors and C-reactive protein showed the slight increase during low Rd-CAM treatment. The results seem somewhat conflicting, but it seems that intricate cytokine response due to immune activation might have occurred during low Rd-CAM treatment.

A Prospective, Within-Patient Controlled Study to Compare the Ability of the Non Adherent Drawtex®Hydroconductive Dressing to a Transparent Polyurethane Film Dressing (Standard of Care) on the Healing of Split-Thickness Skin Graft Donor Sites

Background: Dressing of split-thickness skin graft donor sites can be traumatic for the patient. The most advanced and expensive dressings have been compared to the most basic of dressings, with little or no consensus and an unpersuasive level of evidence. We aimed to determine the efficacy of the locally manufactured non-adherent, hydroconductive Drawtex? dressing and compare it to our current standard-of-care dressing, a thin transparent polyurethane film, in the healing of split-thickness donor sites. Methods: This prospective, within-patient controlled study included 27 adult participants, each with two split-thickness skin donor sites. The 54 donor site wounds were compared with regard to time to re-epithelialisation, perceived pain and healed wound quality. Results: By day 5, complete healing of donor site wounds, defined as >90% of epithelialized surface, was significantly higher in the hydroconductive dressing group compared to the polyurethane film group (22.2% and 3.7%, respectively;p < 0.0001). The hydroconductive dressing-treated donor site wounds were significantly less painful at 24-hours, 48-hours and 7-days post-operatively, and had fewer complications and superior wound healing quality. Conclusion: We have demonstrated that the relatively cheap and readily available dressing made locally in South Africa, Drawtex? is at least as safe, and potentially superior in wound healing, when compared to our current standard-of-care dressing.