bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Patient Characteristics Associated With a Successful Response to Nurse‐Led Care Programs Targeting the Oldest‐Old: A Comparison of Two RCTs
Authors: Bleijenberg Nienke , Imhof Lorenz , Mahrer‐Imhof Romy , Wallhagen Margaret I. , de Wit Niek J. , Schuurmans Marieke J. 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACTBackgroundTo improve the effectiveness of community‐based care programs, especially those targeting the oldest‐old population (80+), data are needed that elucidate those factors associated with a successful response to the intervention. Two comparable nurse‐led care programs have been evaluated in two large randomized controlled trials (RCTs), one in Switzerland and one in the Netherlands.AimsTo identify common patient characteristics that are related to a successful response to proactive nurse‐led care, we explored if and to what extent, identical factors were present in both study populations.MethodsA secondary data analysis using trial data from the intervention group of both RCTs was conducted. The study sample consisted 461 older adults, 230 from the U‐PROFIT trial (the Netherlands) and 231 from the HPC trial (Switzerland). The mean age of the total sample was 85.1 years (SD 3.7). The UPROFIT intervention, delivered by registered nurses, included a frailty assessment and a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) at home followed by an individualized evidence‐based care plan, care coordination, and follow‐up. The HCP intervention was delivered by advanced practice nurses consisting of four home visits and three phone calls, and was guided by the principles of health promotion, empowerment, partnership, and family‐centeredness. A successful response was defined as “stable” or “no decline” in daily functioning at follow‐up. Daily functioning was measured with 13 items of activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living. Multivariate logistic regression models were applied to calculate the association between individual characteristics and a successful response.ResultsAlmost half of the participants in the U‐PROFIT trial (50.9%), and two‐thirds (65.7%) of the participants in the HCP trial had a successful response at follow‐up. Fewer comorbidities and a better self‐rated health had the strongest predictive value for benefiting from the intervention (OR = 0.83 [95% CI 0.66–1.03], and OR = 1.5 [95% CI 0.92–2.45]), respectively.Linking Evidence to ActionTwo large RCTs demonstrated that a preventive nurse‐led care program can preserve daily functioning in the oldest‐old population. Older people with few comorbidities and higher self‐rated health had a higher likelihood of a positive outcome. Unraveling the characteristics associated with a successful response provides important information for further refining and targeting an intervention to obtain maximum effectiveness. More effort is needed to modify interventions for the oldest‐old with multiple morbidities and low levels of education.
Anterior abdominal wall extraosseous osteosarcoma, occurring 40 years after para-aortic irradiation
Authors: Furrukh Muhammad , Qureshi Asim , Mamoon Nadira , Fatima Menahil 
Published: June 2017

Extraskeletal osteosarcomas (OSs) are highly malignant soft tissue tumours associated with a poor prognosis. Only a few records of these rare aggressive neoplasms have been reported in the literature.We describe the case of a 49-year-old man, who presented to our tertiary care centre with a painful isolated lump around the umbilicus. After surgical biopsy, imaging and subsequent pathological analysis, the swelling was diagnosed to be a localised extraskeletal OS. He received previous radiation as treatment for testicular seminoma 40 years ago, which has been in remission ever since. He also happens to have testicular hydrocele since 10 years. He was subjected to resection and free flap reconstruction complicated by lower anterior abdominal wall haematoma and large pseudoaneurysm of the left femoral artery. Patient completed 60 Gy of adjuvant electron beam irradiation for close margins and is scheduled for adjuvant chemotherapy. We describe a brief account of his illness.
The Highland Health Advocates: a preliminary evaluation of a novel programme addressing the social needs of emergency department patients
Authors: Losonczy Lia Ilona , Hsieh Dennis , Wang Michael , Hahn Christopher , Trivedi Tarak , Rodriguez Marcela , Fahimi Jahan , Alter Harrison 
Published: June 2017

ObjectivesPatients commonly come to the emergency department (ED) with social needs. To address this, we created the Highland Health Advocates (HHA), an ED-based help desk and medical-legal partnership using undergraduate volunteers to help patients navigate public resources and provide onsite legal and social work referrals. We were able to provide these services in English and Spanish. We aimed to determine the social needs of the patients who presented to our ED and the potential impact of the programme in resolving those needs and connecting them to a ‘medical home’ (defined as a consistent, primary source of medical care such as a primary care doctor or clinic).MethodsED patients at a US safety net hospital were enrolled in a 1:2 ratio in a quasi-experiment comparing those who received intervention from the HHA during a limited access rollout with controls who received usual care on days with no help desk. We collected a baseline social needs evaluation, with follow-up assessments at 1 and 6 months. Primary outcomes were linkages for the primary identified need and to a medical home within 1 month. Other outcomes at 6 months included whether a patient (1) felt helped; 2) had a decreased number of ED visits; (3) had the primary identified need met; (4) had a primary doctor; and (5) had a change in self-reported health status.ResultsWe enrolled 459 subjects (intervention=154, control=305). Housing (41%), employment (23%) and inability to pay bills (22%) were participants’ top identified needs. At baseline, 32% reported the ED as their medical home, with the intervention cohort having higher ED utilisation (>1 ED visit in the prior month: 49% vs 24%). At 1 month, 185 (40%) subjects were reached for follow-up, with more HHA subjects linked to a resource (59% vs 37%) and a medical home (92% vs 76%). At 6 months, 75% of subjects felt HHA was helpful and more subjects in the HHA group had a doctor (93% v 69%). No difference was found in ED utilisation, primary need resolution or self-reported health status.ConclusionsHealth-related social needs are common in this US safety net ED. Our help desk is one possible model for addressing social needs.
Evaluation of a community-based safe firearm and ammunition storage intervention
Authors: Simonetti Joseph A , Rowhani-Rahbar Ali , King Cassie , Bennett Elizabeth , Rivara Frederick P 
Published: June 2017

BackgroundSafe firearm storage practices are associated with a lower risk of unintentional and self-inflicted firearm injuries among household members, though many firearms remain unlocked and/or loaded.ObjectivesConduct a preliminary evaluation of a community-based firearm safety intervention and assess participants’ preferences for firearm locking devices and their comfort with potential firearm safety counsellors.Design/MethodsBaseline event and follow-up surveys among adult participants to assess changes in firearm storage practices, including whether all household firearms were stored locked, all were unloaded, all ammunition was locked, and a composite measure assessing whether all firearms were locked and unloaded and all ammunition was stored locked.ResultsA total of 206 out of 415 participants completed both surveys and were included. Nearly 9 in 10 respondents preferred the firearm lock box rather than a trigger lock. At follow-up, a significantly greater proportion reported that all household firearms were locked (+13.7%) and unloaded (+8.5%) and a non-significantly greater proportion reported that all ammunition was locked (+6.3%). A significantly greater proportion reported practising all three safe firearm and ammunition storage practices at follow-up (+12.6%). A majority reported they would becomfortableorvery comfortablediscussing firearm safety with various safety counsellors, though women were less likely to do so than men.ConclusionThis intervention that included distribution of a free, participant-selected locking device improved safe firearm storage practices among participants. Differences in participant preferences for devices and safety counsellors suggest that a ‘one size fits all’ approach may be inadequate in affecting population-level storage practices.
Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among Community-Dwelling Adult Cancer Survivors in the United States: 1999–2012
Authors: Akinboro Oladimeji , Olorunfemi Odunayo , Basak Prasanta , Phillips Elizabeth , Pomerantz Daniel , Bernhardt Bernard , Gucalp Rasim , Jesmajian Stephen , Ostroff Jamie S. 
Published: June 2017

Abstract
Background: Little is known about the prevalence of secondhand smoke exposure (SHSe) among cancer survivors. We sought to determine the prevalence, trends, and correlates of SHSe among nonsmoking adult cancer survivors in the United States.
Methods: Interview and serum cotinine data for nonsmoking adults, age 20 years and older, with a history of cancer (N = 686) were obtained from consecutive two-year cross-sectional cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2012. SHSe was defined as serum cotinine 0.05–10 ng/mL among nonsmokers. We calculated and trended the prevalence of SHSe among nonsmoking cancer survivors. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine the associations of SHSe with sociodemographic, smoking, and clinical characteristics. Survey weights were applied in estimating prevalence rates, adjusted ORs, and confidence intervals (CI).
Results: The weighted aggregate SHSe and self-reported indoor SHSe prevalence rates over the study period were 28.26% (95% CI: 24.97%–31.55%) and 4.53% (95% CI: 3.48%–5.57%), respectively. SHS exposure declined from 39.61% (95% CI: 27.88%–51.34%) in 1999/2000 to 15.68% (95% CI: 9.38%–21.98%) in 2011/2012 (Ptrend &lt; 0.001). Age ≥ 60 years was protective against SHSe, while being black, having less than high school education, poverty, and a smoking-related cancer history were associated with higher odds of SHSe.
Conclusions: Fortunately, SHSe among nonsmoking cancer survivors in the United States is on the decline, although certain subgroups remain disproportionately burdened.
Impact: These findings highlight clinical and public health imperatives to target socioeconomically disadvantaged nonsmoking cancer survivors to reduce their SHSe. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(8); 1296–305. ©2017 AACR.
Low Pulse Pressure After Acute Ischemic Stroke is Associated With Unfavorable Outcomes: The Taiwan Stroke Registry
Authors: Tang Sung‐Chun , Yin Jiu‐Haw , Liu Chung‐Hsiang , Sun Ming‐Hui , Lee Jiunn‐Tay , Sun Yu , Hsu Chih‐Shan , Sun Mu‐Chien , Lin Ching‐Huang , Chen Chih‐Hung , Lien Li‐Ming , Muo Chih‐Hsin , Jeng Jiann‐Shing , Hsu Chung Y. ,   Taiwan Stroke Registry Investigators
Published: June 2017

Background
Pulse pressure (PP) is related to cardiac function, arterial stiffness, fluid status, and vascular events. This study aimed to explore the prognostic role of PP upon admission in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) based on a nation‐wide stroke registry.

Methods and Results

We evaluated the association between PP upon admission and outcomes 3 months after a stroke in patients who had an AIS registered in the Taiwan Stroke Registry, including 56 academic and community hospitals between 2006 and 2013. Three months after the stroke, unfavorable outcomes were defined using a modified Rankin scale of 3 to 6. Of 33 530 patients (female, 40.6%; mean age, 68.8±13.3 years) who had an AIS, PP upon admission had a reverse J‐curve association with an unfavorable outcome. After adjusting for clinical variables, including AIS subtypes, initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure upon admission, a PP of <50 mm Hg was associated with unfavorable outcomes (
P
<0.0001). Compared with patients with a PP of 50 to 69 mm Hg, the odds ratios for unfavorable outcomes were 1.24 (95% CI, 1.14–1.36) with a PP of 30 to 49 mm Hg and 1.85 (95% CI, 1.50–2.28) with a PP of <30 mm Hg. Moreover, the prognostic impact of PP upon admission was similar across all AIS subtypes.

Conclusions
Low PP upon admission was associated with unfavorable patient outcomes in AIS.
The reliability of published Mehri texts
Authors: Rubin Aaron D. 
Published: June 2017

The Mehri texts collected by T.M. Johnstone and published by Harry Stroomer (1999) are an extremely valuable source for the study of the Mehri language, and it was on these texts that I based the first edition of my own Mehri grammar (2010). However, the original Arabic-letter manuscripts made by the native speaker, along with the accompanying audio recordings, reveal that the draft manuscripts on which Stroomer’s edition was based are replete with errors. A study of the original texts and audio provide a large number of corrected readings and additions, many of which have an effect on an analysis of Mehri phonology and morphology.
Dripping behavior of vertical burning thermally thin PMMA with different spacings to wall
Authors: Hui Zhu , Guoqing Zhu , Yunji Gao , Zhongri Hu 
Published: June 2017

Experiments were carried out to study the dripping behavior of vertical burning thermally thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with different spacings between the wall and PMMA. The dripping behavior was studied by infrared video image analysis with spacings of 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25 mm. As the spacing increased, the dripping time and mass and burnout growth distance first increased and then decreased. The critical value was observed at the 13 mm case. The dripping behavior is assumed to correspond to the net heat flux to the surface, extensional viscosity, and gravitational force of melting PMMA. After the dripping, the pyrolysis and burnout spread rates become asymptotically equal. In this study, the effects of spacing between the wall and fuels on the dripping behavior were investigated for the first time using uniform PMMA samples with 200 mm height, 50 mm width, and 2 mm thickness.
The burden of multiple sclerosis 2015: Methods of data collection, assessment and analysis of costs, quality of life and symptoms
Authors: Kobelt Gisela , Eriksson Jennifer , Phillips Glenn , Berg Jenny 
Published: June 2017

Introduction: This article describes the methods used to perform this large European-wide burden-of-illness study on multiple sclerosis (MS) using individual patient data. Methods: The study collected all MS-related resource consumption, workforce participation, prevalent disease symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Patients were recruited by national patient associations and, after informed consent, completed a specific questionnaire either on-line or on paper. Analyses were performed by country as well as for the study overall. Costs were estimated from the societal perspective, using publicly available unit costs and reported in national currencies and in EUR 2015 adjusted for purchasing power parity. The results are reported by disease severity groups according to self-assessed Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) (mild, moderate, severe) and by EDSS point to highlight the development of costs as disability progresses. Results: A total of 16,808 patients in 16 countries participated in the study: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Conclusion: This study, endorsed by the European Platform of MS Societies, provides up-to-date information on costs and expands the previously available information on HRQoL and symptoms.
New insights into the burden and costs of multiple sclerosis in Europe: Results for Belgium
Authors: Dubois Benedicte , Kobelt Gisela , Berg Jenny , Capsa Daniela , Gannedahl Mia ,   The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform
Published: June 2017

Introduction: In order to estimate the value of interventions in multiple sclerosis (MS) – where lifetime costs and outcomes cannot be observed – outcome data have to be combined with costs. This requires that cost data be regularly updated. Objectives and methods: This study is part of a cross-sectional retrospective study in 16 countries collecting data on resource consumption and work capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and prevalent symptoms for patients with MS. Descriptive analyses are presented by level of severity, from the societal perspective, in EUR 2015. Results: A total of 1856 patients (mean age: 54 years) participated in Belgium; 66% were below retirement age, and of these, 44% were employed. Employment was related to disease severity, and MS affected productivity at work in 85% of the patients. Overall, 95% and 72% of the patients experienced fatigue and cognitive difficulties, respectively, as a problem. Mean utility and annual costs were 0.703 and €26,400 at Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 0–3, 0.478 and €45,300 at EDSS 4–6.5, and 0.193 and €62,000 at EDSS 7–9. The mean cost of a relapse was estimated to be €3000. Conclusion: This study provides current data on MS in Belgium that are important for development of health policies and for estimating the value of current and future treatments.
New insights into the burden and costs of multiple sclerosis in Europe: Results for France
Authors: Lebrun-Frenay Christine , Kobelt Gisela , Berg Jenny , Capsa Daniela , Gannedahl Mia ,   The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform
Published: June 2017

Introduction: To estimate the value of interventions in multiple sclerosis (MS) – where lifetime costs and outcomes cannot be observed – outcome data have to be combined with costs. This requires that cost data be regularly updated. Objectives and methods: This study is part of a cross-sectional retrospective study in 16 countries collecting data on resource consumption and work capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and prevalent symptoms for patients with MS. Descriptive analyses are presented by level of severity, in the societal perspective, in EUR 2015. Results: A total of 491 patients (mean age 47 years) participated; 82% were below retirement age, and of these 56% were employed. Employment was related to disease severity, and MS affected productivity at work for 90% of patients. Overall, 95% and 67% of patients experienced fatigue and cognition as a problem, respectively. The mean utility and annual costs were 0.735 and €22,600 at Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 0–3, 0.500 and €38,100 at EDSS 4–6.5, and 0.337 and €48,100 at EDSS 7–9, respectively. The average cost of a relapse was estimated at €2300. Conclusion: This study provides current data on MS in France that are important for developments of health policies and to estimate the value of current and future treatments.
New insights into the burden and costs of multiple sclerosis in Europe: Results for Switzerland
Authors: Calabrese Pasquale , Kobelt Gisela , Berg Jenny , Capsa Daniela , Eriksson Jennifer ,   The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform
Published: June 2017

Introduction: To estimate the value of interventions in multiple sclerosis (MS) – where lifetime costs and outcomes cannot be observed – outcome data have to be combined with costs. This requires that cost data be regularly updated. Objectives and methods: This study is part of a cross-sectional retrospective study in 16 countries collecting data on resource consumption and work capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and prevalent symptoms for patients with MS. Descriptive analyses are presented by level of severity, from the societal perspective, in CHF 2015. Results: A total of 721 patients (mean age 48 years) participated in Switzerland; 90% were below retirement age, and of these, 65% were employed. Employment was related to disease severity, and MS affected productivity at work for 69% of patients. Overall, 93% and 64% of patients experienced fatigue and cognition as a problem, respectively. The mean utility and annual costs were 0.799 and 29,600CHF at Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) 0–3, 0.614 and 66,800CHF at EDSS 4–6.5 and 0.348 and 110,800CHF at EDSS 7–9, respectively. The mean cost of a relapse was estimated at 7600CHF. Conclusion: This study provides current data on MS in Switzerland that are important for development of health policies and to estimate the value of current and future treatments.
New insights into the burden and costs of multiple sclerosis in Europe: Results for the United Kingdom
Authors: Thompson Alan , Kobelt Gisela , Berg Jenny , Capsa Daniela , Eriksson Jennifer , Miller David ,   The European Multiple Sclerosis Platform
Published: June 2017

Introduction: In order to estimate the value of interventions in multiple sclerosis (MS) – where lifetime costs and outcomes cannot be observed – outcome data have to be combined with costs. This requires that cost data be regularly updated. Objectives and methods: This study is part of a cross-sectional retrospective study in 16 countries collecting data on resource consumption and work capacity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and prevalent symptoms for patients with MS. Descriptive analyses are presented by level of disability, from the societal perspective, in EUR (2015). Results: A total of 779 patients (mean age = 57 years) participated; 72% were below retirement age and of these, 36% were employed. Employment was related to disease severity, and MS affected productivity at work for 84% of patients. Overall, 96% and 72% of the patients experienced fatigue and cognition as a problem. Mean utility and annual costs were 0.735 and 11,400GBP at Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) = 0–3, 0.534 and 22,700GBP at EDSS = 4–6.5, and 0.135 and 36,500GBP at EDSS = 7–9. The mean cost of a relapse was estimated at 790GBP. Conclusion: This study illustrates the burden of MS on UK patients and provides current data on MS that are important for development of health policies.