Modelling Benign Ovarian Cyst Risk Factors and Symptoms via Log-Linear Model

Ovarian cancer among women is known as “The Silent Killer”. It is caused by the malignant ovarian cyst, which can spread to other organs if it is not treated at an early stage. Some are benign ovarian cyst which can be treated through medical procedures such as laparoscopic and laparotomy. The type of medical procedure that the patients have to undergo depends on the size of cyst. A few risk factors that can cause benign ovarian cyst are age, pregnancy, menopause and menstrual cycle. Apart from that, there are a few symptoms of benign ovarian cyst which are fever, nausea and abdominal pain, abdominal distension, dysmenorrhea and intermenstrual bleeding. The association between these 12 discrete categorical data variables (factors, symptoms, treatment and size) are measured using the log-linear analysis in this study. According to the analysis, the patients who have large benign ovarian cyst need laparoscopic procedure, while those with smaller cyst need either laparotomy procedure or they do not have to undergo any surgery at all. Among all of the factors, menopause gives the highest risk factor of benign ovarian cyst, followed by age, pregnancy and menstrual cycle. Meanwhile, the interaction between nausea, abdominal pain and intermenstrual bleeding give the highest symptom rate to the benign ovarian cyst.

Gestures in patients’ presentation of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS)

The aim of this paper is to explore speech-accompanying gesture use in presentation of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). The data are 19 video-filmed semi-structured interviews with patients presenting MUS. Four patterns of gestural behaviors are established in symptom presentation: (1) No gesturing; (2) Overall low gesture rate; (3) Overall high gesture rate with low rate for symptoms; (4) Overall high gesture rate with high rate for symptoms. The patients with overall low gesture rate tend to perform deictic gestures, pointing to exact locations of the symptoms; those with overall high gesture rate and low symptom rate produce metaphorics, and those who gesticulate at high rates – mainly iconics and metaphorics. Although exact factors that lead to the four types of gesturing patterns are unclear, the findings encourage medical professionals to attend to the information in gesture use in order to obtain a better understanding of the patient’s experience of MUS.

Symptoms associated with personal protective equipment among frontline healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: Personal protective equipment (PPE) use is frequently construed as inconvenient and disturbing by healthcare professionals (HCPs). We hypothesized that new-onset symptoms among HCPs may be associated with extended use of PPE and aimed to investigate risk factors related with new-onset symptoms. In addition, the effects of new-onset symptoms on working performance were evaluated. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 315 participants filled out a questionnaire that contains four main parts: 1) Demographics, 2) New-onset symptoms with PPE use, 3) PPE usage hours, 4) Personal opinion about the effect of sensed symptoms on working performance. Results: The mean age was 31.58 ± 4.6 years, and 50.5% (n=159) were female. New-onset symptom rate was 66% (n=208). The most common new-onset symptom was headache (n=115, 36.5%) followed by breathing difficulty-palpitation (n=79, 25.1%) and dermatitis (n=64, 20.3%). Extended use of PPE, smoking, and overweight were independently associated with developing new-onset symptoms. A clear majority of symptomatic participants pointed out impact on working performance (193/208, 92.7%). Conclusion: Hospitals should take the necessary precautions (e.g. shorter shifts and more often breaks) to prevent symptoms associated with PPE and ensure that HCPs comply with these precautions.

A meta-analysis of clinical characteristics and mortality COVID-19 pneumonia

Abstract: Objective To investigate the Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19) clinical characteristics and mortality risk by pooling the open published data. Methods Studies relevant to COVID-19 published in Pubmed, China Wanfang database, ChinaXiv and medRxiv were systematic screened by using the text word of “COVID-19”, 2019-nCoV, “SARS-CoV-2”, “NCP”. The mortality and clinical characteristic of the COVID-19 cases such as male/female ratio, mechanical ventilation ratio and top c linical symptom rate of the COVID-19 cases were pooled. Results Ten clinical studies relevant to COVID-19 were identified by electronic searching the related databases. The combined mortality was 0.03(95%CI: 0.01-0.04) for COVID-19 cases by random effect model. The pooled female ratio of the COVID-19 cases from 10 published data was 0.41(95%CI:0.37-0.46). The pooled invasive and non-invasive ventilation ratio were 0.03(95%CI:0.01-0.05) and 0.06(95%CI:0.02-0.09) respectively for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The pooled clinical symptom rate of fever, cough, headache and fatigue were 0.80(95%CI:0.60-1.01), 0.12(95%CI:0.08-0.17), 0.68(95%CI:0.57-0.73) and 0.51(95%CI:0.36-0.67) respectively under random effect model. Conclusion According to the present published data, male was more cline to susceptible to COVID-19 compared to female. The fever, cough and fatigue were the most common symptom of COVID-19 cases. About 10% of patients received invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation with the overall crude mortality of 3%.

A Meta-analysis of Clinical Characteristics and Mortality COVID-19 Pneumonia

Objective To investigate the Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19) clinical characteristics and mortality risk by pooling the open published data.Methods Studies relevant to COVID-19 published in Pubmed, China Wanfang database, ChinaXiv and medRxiv were systematic screened by using the text word of “COVID-19”, 2019-nCoV, “SARS-CoV-2”, “NCP”. The mortality and clinical characteristic of the COVID-19 cases such as male/female ratio, mechanical ventilation ratio and top clinical symptom rate of the COVID-19 cases were pooled.ResultsTen clinical studies relevant to COVID-19 were identified by electronic searching the related databases. The combined mortality was 0.03(95%CI: 0.01-0.04) for COVID-19 cases by random effect model. The pooled female ratio of the COVID-19 cases from 10 published data was 0.41(95%CI:0.37-0.46). The pooled invasive and non-invasive ventilation ratio were 0.03(95%CI:0.01-0.05) and 0.06(95%CI:0.02-0.09) respectively for patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The pooled clinical symptom rate of fever, cough, headache and fatigue were 0.80(95%CI:0.60-1.01), 0.12(95%CI:0.08-0.17), 0.68(95%CI:0.57-0.73) and 0.51(95%CI:0.36-0.67) respectively under random effect model.Conclusion According to the present published data, male was more cline to susceptible to COVID-19 compared to female. The fever, cough and fatigue were the most common symptom of COVID-19 cases. About 10% of patients received invasive or noninvasive mechanical ventilation with the overall crude mortality of 3%.

Loratadine for Paclitaxel-Induced Myalgias and Arthralgias

Background: Seventy percentage of patients who receive paclitaxel have diffuse, refractory myalgias, and arthralgias. Based on anecdotal reports, this study explored whether loratadine, an antihistamine, palliates these symptoms. Methods: The medical records of postoperative ovarian and patients with endometrial cancer were studied, as these patients are routinely prescribed paclitaxel. Records were screened for patients who received paclitaxel and loratadine concurrently. Results: Forty patients are the focus of this report. Eight had paclitaxel-induced myalgias and arthralgias and then took loratadine; of these, 6 (75%; 95% confidence interval: 35%, 97%) manifested evidence of symptom improvement: “She did experience some migrating generalized body aches and pains…but this has resolved.” Of those already receiving loratadine but with no myalgias and arthralgias, only 11 of 32, or 34% (95% confidence interval: 19%, 53%), developed myalgias and arthralgias (in contrast to the previously reported symptom rate of 70%). No adverse events were clearly attributed to loratadine. Conclusion: These preliminary data support further study of loratadine for paclitaxel-induced myalgias and arthralgias.