scholarly journals IVUS Longitudinal and Axial Registration for Atherosclerosis Progression Evaluation

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1513
Author(s):  
Nikos Tsiknakis ◽  
Constantinos Spanakis ◽  
Panagiota Tsompou ◽  
Georgia Karanasiou ◽  
Gianna Karanasiou ◽  
...  

Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging offers accurate cross-sectional vessel information. To this end, registering temporal IVUS pullbacks acquired at two time points can assist the clinicians to accurately assess pathophysiological changes in the vessels, disease progression and the effect of the treatment intervention. In this paper, we present a novel two-stage registration framework for aligning pairs of longitudinal and axial IVUS pullbacks. Initially, we use a Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)-based algorithm to align the pullbacks in a temporal fashion. Subsequently, an intensity-based registration method, that utilizes a variant of the Harmony Search optimizer to register each matched pair of the pullbacks by maximizing their Mutual Information, is applied. The presented method is fully automated and only required two single global image-based measurements, unlike other methods that require extraction of morphology-based features. The data used includes 42 synthetically generated pullback pairs, achieving an alignment error of 0.1853 frames per pullback, a rotation error 0.93 and a translation error of 0.0161 mm. In addition, it was also tested on 11 baseline and follow-up, and 10 baseline and post-stent deployment real IVUS pullback pairs from two clinical centres, achieving an alignment error of 4.3±3.9 for the longitudinal registration, and a distance and a rotational error of 0.56±0.323 mm and 12.4±10.5, respectively, for the axial registration. Although the performance of the proposed method does not match that of the state-of-the-art, our method relies on computationally lighter steps for its computations, which is crucial in real-time applications. On the other hand, the proposed method performs even or better that the state-of-the-art when considering the axial registration. The results indicate that the proposed method can support clinical decision making and diagnosis based on sequential imaging examinations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Alfonso Romero-Gameros ◽  
Tania Colin-Martínez ◽  
Salomón Waizel-Haiat ◽  
Guadalupe Vargas-Ortega ◽  
Eduardo Ferat-Osorio ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to be a priority health problem; According to the World Health Organization data from October 13, 2020, 37,704,153 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been reported, including 1,079,029 deaths, since the outbreak. The identification of potential symptoms has been reported to be a useful tool for clinical decision-making in emergency departments to avoid overload and improve the quality of care. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performances of symptoms as a diagnostic tool for SARS -CoV-2 infection. Methods An observational, cross-sectional, prospective and analytical study was carried out, during the period of time from April 14 to July 21, 2020. Data (demographic variables, medical history, respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms) were collected by emergency physicians. The diagnosis of COVID-19 was made using SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR. The diagnostic accuracy of these characteristics for COVID-19 was evaluated by calculating the positive and negative likelihood ratios. A Mantel-Haenszel and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the association of symptoms with COVID-19. Results A prevalence of 53.72% of SARS-CoV-2 infection was observed. The symptom with the highest sensitivity was cough 71%, and a specificity of 52.68%. The symptomatological scale, constructed from 6 symptoms, obtained a sensitivity of 83.45% and a specificity of 32.86%, taking ≥2 symptoms as a cut-off point. The symptoms with the greatest association with SARS-CoV-2 were: anosmia odds ratio (OR) 3.2 (95% CI; 2.52–4.17), fever OR 2.98 (95% CI; 2.47–3.58), dyspnea OR 2.9 (95% CI; 2.39–3.51]) and cough OR 2.73 (95% CI: 2.27–3.28). Conclusion The combination of ≥2 symptoms / signs (fever, cough, anosmia, dyspnea and oxygen saturation < 93%, and headache) results in a highly sensitivity model for a quick and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19, and should be used in the absence of ancillary diagnostic studies. Symptomatology, alone and in combination, may be an appropriate strategy to use in the emergency department to guide the behaviors to respond to the disease. Trial registration Institutional registration R-2020-3601-145, Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks 17 CI-09-015-034, National Bioethics Commission: 09 CEI-023-2017082.



2013 ◽  
Vol 137 (11) ◽  
pp. 1599-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Lankshear ◽  
John Srigley ◽  
Thomas McGowan ◽  
Marta Yurcan ◽  
Carol Sawka

Context.—Cancer Care Ontario implemented synoptic pathology reporting across Ontario, impacting the practice of pathologists, surgeons, and medical and radiation oncologists. The benefits of standardized synoptic pathology reporting include enhanced completeness and improved consistency in comparison with narrative reports, with reported challenges including increased workload and report turnaround time. Objective.—To determine the impact of synoptic pathology reporting on physician satisfaction specific to practice and process. Design.—A descriptive, cross-sectional design was utilized involving 970 clinicians across 27 hospitals. An 11-item survey was developed to obtain information regarding timeliness, completeness, clarity, and usability. Open-ended questions were also employed to obtain qualitative comments. Results.—A 51% response rate was obtained, with descriptive statistics reporting that physicians perceive synoptic reports as significantly better than narrative reports. Correlation analysis revealed a moderately strong, positive relationship between respondents' perceptions of overall satisfaction with the level of information provided and perceptions of completeness for clinical decision making (r = 0.750, P &lt; .001) and ease of finding information for clinical decision making (r = 0.663, P &lt; .001). Dependent t tests showed a statistically significant difference in the satisfaction scores of pathologists and oncologists (t169 = 3.044, P = .003). Qualitative comments revealed technology-related issues as the most frequently cited factor impacting timeliness of report completion. Conclusion.—This study provides evidence of strong physician satisfaction with synoptic cancer pathology reporting as a clinical decision support tool in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancer patients.



2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 125-133
Author(s):  
M. Aminul Islam ◽  
M. Abdul Awal

ABSTRACT Introduction Selecting the most appropriate treatment for each patient is the key activity in patient-physician encounters and providing healthcare services. Achieving desirable clinical goals mostly depends on making the right decision at the right time in any healthcare setting. But little is known about physicians' clinical decision-making in the primary care setting in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study explored the factors that influence decisions about prescribing medications, ordering pathologic tests, counseling patients, average length of patient visits in a consultation session, and referral of patients to other physicians or hospitals by physicians at Upazila Health Complexes (UHCs) in the country. It also explored the structure of physicians' social networks and their association with the decision-making process. Methods This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that used primary data collected from 85 physicians. The respondents, who work at UHCs in the Rajshahi Division, were selected purposively. The collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics including frequency, percentage, one-way analysis of variance, and linear regression to understand relationships among the variables. Results The results of the study reveal that multiple factors influence physicians' decisions about prescribing medications, ordering pathologic tests, length of visits, counseling patients, and referring patients to other physicians or hospitals at the UHCs. Most physicians prescribe drugs to their patients, keeping in mind their purchasing capacity. Risk of violence by patients' relatives and better management are the two key factors that influence physicians' referral decisions. The physicians' professional and personal social networks also play an influential role in the decision-making process. It was found that physicians dedicate on average 16.17 minutes to a patient in a consultation session. The length of visits is influenced by various factors including the distance between the physicians' residence and their workplace, their level of education, and the number of colleagues with whom they have regular contact and from whom they can seek help. Conclusion The results of the study have yielded some novel insights about the complexity of physicians' everyday tasks at the UHCs in Bangladesh. The results would be of interest to public health researchers and policy makers.



Author(s):  
Bruno Faustino ◽  
António Branco Vasco ◽  
Ana Nunes Silva ◽  
Telma Marques

Emotional schemas are pervasive mental structures associated with a wide array of psychological symptoms, while mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-acceptance are viewed as adaptive psychological constructs. Psychological needs may be described as the cornerstone of mental health and well-being. However, a study of the relationships between emotional schemas, mindfulness, self-compassion, and self-acceptance with psychological needs was not performed. For this purpose, 250 subjects (M=20.67, SD=4.88, Male=33, Female=217), were evaluated through self-report questionnaires, in a cross-sectional design. Negative correlations were found between emotional schemas, mindfulness, self-compassion, unconditional self-acceptance, and psychological needs. Symptomatology was positively correlated with emotional schemas. Mindfulness, self-compassion, and unconditional self-acceptance predicted the regulation of psychological needs and mediated the relationship between emotional schemas and psychological needs. Emotional schemas may be associated with a tendency for experiential avoidance of internal reality, self-rejection/shame and self-criticism which may impair the regulation of psychological needs. These variables may be targets of integrative case conceptualization and clinical decision making focused on patient’s timings, styles of communication and needs.



2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (9) ◽  
pp. 3812-3820 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dipti Rao ◽  
Anouk van Berkel ◽  
Ianthe Piscaer ◽  
William F Young ◽  
Lucinda Gruber ◽  
...  

Abstract Context Cross-sectional imaging with CT or MRI is regarded as a first-choice modality for tumor localization in patients with pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL). 123I-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) is widely used for functional imaging but the added diagnostic value is controversial. Objective To establish the virtual impact of adding 123I-MIBG scintigraphy to CT or MRI on diagnosis and treatment of PPGL. Design International multicenter retrospective study. Intervention None. Patients Two hundred thirty-six unilateral adrenal, 18 bilateral adrenal, 48 unifocal extra-adrenal, 12 multifocal, and 26 metastatic PPGL. Main Outcome Measures Patients underwent both anatomical imaging (CT and/or MRI) and 123I-MIBG scintigraphy. Local imaging reports were analyzed centrally by two independent observers who were blinded to the diagnosis. Imaging-based diagnoses determined by CT/MRI only, 123I-MIBG only, and CT/MRI combined with 123I-MIBG scintigraphy were compared with the correct diagnoses. Results The rates of correct imaging-based diagnoses determined by CT/MRI only versus CT/MRI plus 123I-MIBG scintigraphy were similar: 89.4 versus 88.8%, respectively (P = 0.50). Adding 123I-MIBG scintigraphy to CT/MRI resulted in a correct change in the imaging-based diagnosis and ensuing virtual treatment in four cases (1.2%: two metastatic instead of nonmetastatic, one multifocal instead of single, one unilateral instead of bilateral adrenal) at the cost of an incorrect change in seven cases (2.1%: four metastatic instead of nonmetastatic, two multifocal instead of unifocal and one bilateral instead of unilateral adrenal). Conclusions For the initial localization of PPGL, the addition of 123I-MIBG scintigraphy to CT/MRI rarely improves the diagnostic accuracy at the cost of incorrect interpretation in others, even when 123I-MIBG scintigraphy is restricted to patients who are at risk for metastatic disease. In this setting, the impact of 123I-MIBG scintigraphy on clinical decision-making appears very limited.



2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina D Fernandes ◽  
María B Arriaga ◽  
Maria Carolina M Costa ◽  
Maria Clara M Costa ◽  
Maria Heloina M Costa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading cause of death in children. Identification of reliable biomarkers offers the potential to develop a severity quantitative score to assist in clinical decision-making and improve outcomes. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed in PubMed and EMBASE on November 13, 2018, to examine the association between host inflammatory biomarkers and CAP severity in children. The inclusion criteria were case–control, cross-sectional, and cohort studies that examined candidate serum biomarkers. We extracted outcomes of interest, means, and standardized mean differences (SMDs) of plasma and serum levels of biomarkers together with information on disease severity. Meta-analysis was performed. This review was registered in the PROSPERO international registry (CRD42019123351). Results Two hundred seventy-two abstracts were identified, and 17 studies were included. Among the biomarkers evaluated, levels of C-reactive protein (CRP; SMD, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.35 to 0.91), interleukin (IL)-6 (SMD, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.66), IL-8 (SMD, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.15 to 1.29), neutrophil count (SMD, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.07 to 0.47), and procalcitonin (SMD, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.20 to 1.15) were substantially increased in severe CAP. In contrast, IL-2 concentrations (SMD, –0.24; 95% CI, –0.45 to –0.03) were higher in nonsevere CAP. Study heterogeneity was reported to be high (I2 &gt; 75%), except for IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, and IL-12p70, which were classified as moderate (I2 = 50%–74%). Only neutrophil and white blood cell counts were described by studies exhibiting a low level of heterogeneity. Conclusions Our results suggest that host biomarkers, and especially CRP, IL-6, IL-8, and procalcitonin levels, have the potential to predict severe CAP in pediatric populations.



2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 432-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmoud Maharmeh

Purpose The aim of this study was to describe Jordanian critical care nurses’ experiences of autonomy in their clinical practice. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive correlational design was applied using a self-reported cross-sectional survey. A total of 110 registered nurses who met the eligibility criteria participated in this study. The data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Findings A majority of critical care nurses were autonomous in their decision-making and participation in decisions to take action in their clinical settings. Also, they were independent to develop their own knowledge. The study identified that their autonomy in action and acquired knowledge were influenced by a number of factors such as gender and area of practice. Practical implications Nurse’s autonomy could be increased if nurses are made aware of the current level of autonomy and explore new ways to increase empowerment. This could be offered through classroom lectures that concentrate on the concept of autonomy and its implication in practice. Nurses should demonstrate autonomous nursing care at the same time in the clinical practice. This could be done through collaboration between educators and clinical practice to help merge theory to practice. Originality/value Critical care nurses were more autonomous in action and knowledge base. This may negatively affect the quality of patient care and nurses’ job satisfaction. Therefore, improving nurses’ clinical decision-making autonomy could be done by the support of both hospital administrators and nurses themselves.



Blood ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 4860-4860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pushpendra Goswami ◽  
Esther Natalie Oliva ◽  
Tatyana Ionova ◽  
Sam Salek

Abstract Introduction: Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures not only have been widely used in clinical research but also increasingly employed in daily clinical practice to understand the health outcomes of medical interventions. A novel hematological malignancy (HM) specific PRO tool, HM-PRO, has been recently developed for use in daily clinical practice. The HM-PRO is a composite measure consisting of two scales: Part A - measuring the 'impact on patients' quality of life (QoL); and Part B-measuring the effect of 'signs and symptoms' experienced by the patients. Both scales have linear scoring system ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing greater impact on QoL and symptom burden. The assessment of the "meaningfulness" of HM-PRO scores is essential if clinicians are to be able to use the instrument to understand patient health outcomes to aid their clinical decision-making and encourage better patient engagement. One way of enhancing the clinical utility of scores on multi-item questionnaires is by investigating the importance (to patients and clinicians) of cross-sectional differences by anchoring those differences and changes to clinically familiar events that are related to patient well-being. The aims of the present study were to determine the relationship between the HM-PRO scores and a Global Question (GQ) measuring the impact on a patient's life from patients' perspective and to identify bands of HM-PRO scores equivalent to each GQ descriptor, reflecting patients' global rating of PROs. Methods: In this multicenter cross-sectional study, 905 patients: male 486; mean age 64.3 (±12.4, years; mean time since diagnosis 4.6 (±5.2) years; with different HM's ( acute lymphoblastic leukemia n=29, acute myeloid leukemia n=67, aggressive non Hodgkin lymphoma n=54, chronic lymphocytic leukemia n=64, chronic myeloid leukemia n=45, Hodgkin lymphoma n=37, indolent non Hodgkin lymphoma n=41, myelodysplastic syndrome n=158, multiple myeloma n=296, and myeloproliferative neoplasm n=114); in different disease states (stable-399, remission-277, and progressing - 229) were recruited from seven secondary hospitals and five patient organizations in the UK. All patients were asked to complete the HM-PRO and answer the global question as an anchor. Anchor-based differences were determined cross-sectionally (differences between clinically-defined groups at one time point) to determine clinically important differences in scores. The data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS 23, a statistical software. Results: The mean HM-PRO score for Part A was 31.7 (±21.6) with median of 28.3 (IQR 13.6-46.6), for Part B was 20.9 (±14.2) with median of 17.6 (IQR 8.8 - 29.4), and the mean GQ score was 3.2 (±1.19) with range 1-5. The mean, mode, and median of the GQ scores for each HM-PRO score for both scales of HM-PRO were used to devise the bands (Figure 1) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated for level of agreement. The set of scores proposed for adoption included: for Part A HM-PRO scores 0-7 = 'no impact' on patients' QoL (GQ=1, n=64), scores 8-25 = 'a small impact' on patients' QoL (GQ=2, n=133), scores 26-41 = 'moderate impact' on patients' QoL (GQ=3, n=97), scores 42-74 = 'very large impact' on patients' QoL (GQ=4, n=111), and scores 75-100 = 'extremely large impact' on patients' QoL (GQ=5, n=18), with ICC =0.80 (95% CI-0.77 - 0.83); for Part B HM-PRO scores 0-3 = 'no effect' of signs and symptoms on patient's life (GQ=1, n=56), scores 4-16 = 'a small effect' of signs and symptoms on patient's life (GQ=2, n=133), scores 17-29 = 'a moderate effect' of signs and symptoms on patient's life (GQ=3, n=122), scores 30-65 = 'very large effect' of signs and symptoms on patient's life (GQ=4, n=104), and scores 66-100 = 'extremely large effect' of signs and symptoms on patient's life (GQ=5, n=3), with ICC =0.75 (95% CI- 0.71-0.78), respectively (Table 1). Conclusion: This study employed the anchor-based approach for devising a set of score banding for both Part A and Part B of HM-PRO. The proposed bands (Part A=0-7, 8-25, 26-41, 42-74, 75-100; Part B=0-3, 4-16, 17-29, 30-65, 66-100) had the highest agreement and number of patients in the individual bands. The proposed bands could be applied independent of gender and different age groups. The findings of this study will help the clinician and the care team to interpret the HM-PRO scores to aid their clinical decision-making process in daily routine practice. Disclosures Oliva: Sanofi: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Other: Royalties, Speakers Bureau; La Jolla: Consultancy; Amgen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Ionova:Takeda: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding.



10.2196/19779 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. e19779
Author(s):  
Samantha Jane Lynch ◽  
Matthew Sunderland ◽  
Nicola Claire Newton ◽  
Cath Chapman

Background Mental and substance use disorders are among the leading causes of burden of disease worldwide, with risk of onset peaking between the ages of 13 and 24 years. Comorbidity is also common among young people and complicates research, diagnosis and assessment, and clinical decision making. There is increasing support for empirically derived models of psychopathology that overcome issues of comorbidity and provide a transdiagnostic framework for investigating the specificity and generality of risk and protective factors for psychopathology. Objective This systematic review aims to identify transdiagnostic risk and protective factors for psychopathology in young people by synthesizing and evaluating findings from research investigating empirically based models of psychopathology. Methods Searches will be conducted in Medline, EMBASE, and PsycINFO databases. Reference lists of selected articles will also be hand searched for other relevant publications. All studies will be screened against eligibility criteria designed to identify studies that examined empirical models of psychopathology in relation to risk and/or protective factors in young people with a mean age between 10 and 24 years. Study quality will be assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklists for Cohort Studies and Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies. Findings will be summarized in a narrative synthesis, and a meta-analysis will be conducted if sufficient data are available. Results This review is ongoing. At the time of submission, full-text screening was completed, and hand searching of selected articles was underway. Results are expected to be completed by the end of 2020. Conclusions This protocol is for a systematic review of evidence for transdiagnostic risk and protective factors associated with empirically based models of psychopathology in young people. To our knowledge, the critical synthesis of this evidence will be the first to date and will provide a better understanding of the factors that contribute to the onset and maintenance of psychopathology in young people. Insights drawn from the review will provide critical new knowledge to improve the targeting of interventions to prevent or reduce mental health problems. Trial Registration This systematic review is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020161368) and is available via Open Science Framework. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/19779



2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 899
Author(s):  
Niels Westergaard ◽  
Lise Tarnow ◽  
Charlotte Vermehren

Background: This study measures the use of drugs within the therapeutic areas of antithrombotic agents (B01), the cardiovascular system (C), analgesics (N02), psycholeptics (N05), and psychoanaleptics (N06) among the general population (GP) in comparison to persons with diabetes in Denmark. The study focuses on drugs having pharmacogenomics (PGx) based dosing guidelines for CYP2D6, CYP2C19, and SLCO1B1 to explore the potential of applying PGx-based decision-making into clinical practice taking drug–drug interactions (DDI) and drug–gene interactions (DGI) into account. Methods: This study is cross-sectional, using The Danish Register of Medicinal Product Statistics as the source to retrieve drug consumption data. Results: The prevalence of use in particular for antithrombotic agents (B01) and cardiovascular drugs (C) increases significantly by 4 to 6 times for diabetic users compared to the GP, whereas the increase for analgesics (N02), psycoleptics, and psychoanaleptics (N06) was somewhat less (2–3 times). The five most used PGx drugs, both in the GP and among persons with diabetes, were pantoprazole, simvastatin, atorvastatin, metoprolol, and tramadol. The prevalence of use for persons with diabetes compared to the GP (prevalence ratio) increased by an average factor of 2.9 for all PGx drugs measured. In addition, the prevalence of use of combinations of PGx drugs was 4.6 times higher for persons with diabetes compared to GP. In conclusion, the findings of this study clearly show that a large fraction of persons with diabetes are exposed to drugs or drug combinations for which there exist PGx-based dosing guidelines related to CYP2D6, CYP2C19, and SLCO1B1. This further supports the notion of accessing and accounting for not only DDI but also DGI and phenoconversion in clinical decision-making, with a particular focus on persons with diabetes.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document