Prevalence, course and factors associated with delirium in elderly patients with advanced cancer: a longitudinal observational study

Background. Depression is a major reason for counselling in primary care. Our study aims at evaluating pharmacological treatment strategies among physicians specialised in anthroposophic medicine (AM).Methods. From 2004 to 2008, twenty-two German primary care AM-physicians participated in this prospective, multicentre observational study. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with a prescription of any antidepressant medication.Results. A total of 2444 patients with depression were included (mean age: 49.1 years (SD: 15.4); 77.3% female). 2645 prescriptions of antidepressants for 833 patients were reported. Phytotherapeutic preparations fromHypericum perforatumwere the most frequently prescribed antidepressants over all (44.6% of all antidepressants), followed by amitriptyline (16.1%). The likelihood of receiving an antidepressant medication did not depend on comorbidity after controlling for age, gender, physician specialisation, and type of depression (adjusted OR(AOR)=1.01; CI: 0.81–1.26). Patients who had cancer were significantly less likely to be prescribed an antidepressant medication than those who had no cancer (AOR=0.75; CI: 0.57–0.97).Conclusion. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of everyday practice for the treatment of depression in AM -physicians. Further analysis regarding the occurrence of critical combinations is of high interest to health services research.

Download Full-text

Factors associated with prolonged duration of viral clearance in non-severe SARS-CoV-2 patients in Osaka, Japan

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine ◽

10.1186/s12199-021-01035-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Emma Nakagawa Hoffman ◽

Haruna Kawachi ◽

Atsushi Hirayama ◽

Jingwen Zhang ◽

Ayumi Murayama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Regression Analysis ◽

Linear Regression ◽

Observational Study ◽

Symptom Onset ◽

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Viral Clearance ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Longitudinal Observational Study ◽

Prolonged Duration

Abstract Background We investigated factors associated with prolonged viral clearance of SARS-CoV-2 among non-severe adult patients in Osaka, Japan. A total of 706 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients were enrolled in this longitudinal observational study between 29 January 2020 and 31 May 2020, across 62 hospitals and three non-hospital recuperation facilities. Methods Logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate the factors associated with prolonged (29 days: upper 25% in duration) viral clearance of SARS-CoV-2. Linear regression analysis was conducted to assess these factors 14 days after symptom onset. Results The median duration of viral clearance was 22 days from symptom onset. After adjustment for sex, age, symptoms, comorbidity, and location of recuperation, comorbidities were associated with prolonged duration: (OR, 1.77 [95% CI, 1.11–2.82]) for one, (OR, 2.47 [95% CI, 1.32–4.61]) for two or more comorbidities. Viral clearance 14 days after symptom onset was 3 days longer for one comorbidity and 4 days longer for two or more comorbidities compared to clearance when there was no comorbidity. Conclusion The presence of comorbidity was a robust factor associated with a longer duration of viral clearance, extending by 3 to 4 days compared to patients with no comorbidity.

Download Full-text