The latest medical research on Hospital

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Comparing the effectiveness of full-vacuum and half-vacuum drainage in reducing seroma after modified radical mastectomy: a meta-analysis.

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

Owing to limited outpatient support for drain management, delayed discharge after mastectomy is more prevalent in developing countries. Utilising half-vacuum (HV) suction drains for routine drainage after mastectomy could lead to a reduced incidence of seroma and a shorter hospital stay. This systematic review and meta-analysis compared the outcomes of HV against full-vacuum (FV) suction drains in patients who underwent modified radical mastectomy for breast cancer.

Differences between the two groups in length of hospital stay, total volume of drain effluent and incidence of seroma were assessed. RevMan 5.4 was used to calculate the odds ratio (OR) and relative risk (RR) for dichotomous data, and the mean difference (MD) for continuous data.

Nine randomised controlled trials were included in this review. Using HV drains reduced both the mean length of hospital stay (MD: -2.30 days, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -4.10 to -0.49 days, I2=97%) and the mean total volume of effluent (MD: -132.61ml, 95% CI: -207.32ml to -57.91ml, I2=88%) compared with FV drains. However, there was no statistically significant difference in incidence of seroma between the two groups (RR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.30 to 1.46, I2=65%). Likewise, there was no difference in rate of seroma occurrence on sensitivity analysis (OR: 1.29, 95% CI: 0.72 to 2.33, I2=74%).

There was no difference in the incidence of seroma between HV and FV suction drainage. Conversely, a reduction in the length of hospital stay and the total volume of drain effluent was observed for mastectomy patients with a HV drain.

Impact of androgenic anabolic steroid use on cardiovascular and mental health in Danish recreational athletes: protocol for a nationwide cross-sectional cohort study as a part of the Fitness Doping in Denmark (FIDO-DK) study.

BMJ Open

NCT05178537.

A nationwide cross-sectional cohort study including a diverse population of men and women aged ≥18 years, with current or previous illicit AAS use for at least 3 months. Conducted at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, the study comprises two parts. In part A (the pilot study), 120 recreational athletes with an AAS history will be compared with a sex-matched and age-matched control population of 60 recreational athletes with no previous AAS use. Cardiovascular outcomes include examination of non-calcified coronary plaque volume and calcium score using coronary CT angiography, myocardial structure and function via echocardiography, and assessing carotid and femoral artery plaques using ultrasonography. Retinal microvascular status is evaluated through fundus photography. Cardiovascular risk markers are measured in blood. Mental health outcomes include health-related QoL, interpersonal difficulties, body image concerns, aggression dimensions, anxiety symptoms, depressive severity and cognitive function assessed through validated questionnaires. The findings of our comprehensive study will be used to compose a less intensive investigatory cohort study of cardiovascular and mental health (part B) involving a larger group of recreational athletes with a history of illicit AAS use.

Comparative efficacy and acceptability of different exercise patterns for reducing cardiovascular events in pre-diabetes: protocol for a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

BMJ Open

This study does not involve a population-based intervention, and therefore, does not require ethical approval. We will publish the findings of this systematic review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, and the dataset will be made available free of charge. The completed review will be disseminated electronically in print and on social media, where appropriate.

We will include all randomised controlled trials and compare one exercise intervention to another. We will compare the following exercise patterns: standard endurance training, strength training, high-intensity interval training, mind-body exercise, and mixed strength and aerobic training. The primary outcomes are the occurrence of major cardiovascular events and the rate of patient attrition during the intervention. We will search major English and Chinese databases as well as trial registry websites for published and unpublished studies. All reference selection and data extraction will be conducted by at least two independent reviewers. We will conduct a random effects model to combine effect sizes and use the surface under the cumulative ranking curve and the mean ranks to rank the effectiveness of interventions. All data will be fitted at WinBUGS in a Bayesian framework and correlation graphs will be plotted using StataSE 14. We will also use the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework to evaluate the quality of evidence for the study results.

CRD42023422737.

Australian trial of behavioural activation for people with schizophrenia experiencing negative symptoms: a feasibility randomised controlled trial protocol.

BMJ Open

ACTRN12623000348651p.

This randomised controlled study will recruit a total of 60 consumers aged 18 years or above with mild-moderate negative symptoms of schizophrenia. The consumers will be randomly allocated to receive behavioural activation plus usual mental healthcare or usual mental healthcare alone. The intervention group will receive twelve 30 min sessions of behavioural activation, which will be delivered twice weekly over 6 weeks. In addition, we aim to recruit nine mental health workers from the three rural mental health services who will complete a 10-week online training programme in behavioural activation. Changes in negative symptoms of schizophrenia and depressive symptoms will be assessed at three time points: (a) at baseline, at 6 weeks and 3 month follow-ups. Changes in health-related quality of life (Short Form F36; secondary outcome) will be assessed at two time points: (a) at baseline and (b) immediately at postintervention after 6 weeks. At the end of the trial, interviews will be conducted with purposively selected mental health workers and consumers. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis will be used to assess feasibility and acceptability.

Wildfire, deforestation and health in tropical rainforest areas: a scoping review protocol.

BMJ Open

Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/pnqc7/).

We will carry out a scoping review according to the Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) manual for scoping reviews and the framework proposed by Arksey and O'Malley, and Levac et al. The search for articles was performed on 18 August 2023, in 16 electronic databases using Medical Subject Headings terms and adaptations for each database from database inception. The search for local studies will be complemented by the manual search in the list of references of the studies selected to compose this review. We screened studies written in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. We included quantitative studies assessing any human disease outcome, hospitalisation and vital statistics in regions of tropical rainforest. We exclude qualitative studies and quantitative studies whose outcomes do not cover those of interest. The text screening was done by two independent reviewers. Subsequently, we will tabulate the data by the origin of the data source used, the methods and the main findings on health impacts of the extracted data. The results will provide descriptive statistics, along with visual representations in diagrams and tables, complemented by narrative summaries as detailed in the JBI guidelines.

Facilitators, barriers and impacts to implementing dementia care training for staff in long-term care settings by using fully immersive virtual reality: a scoping review protocol.

BMJ Open

This work does not require ethics approval, given the public data availability for this scoping review. Through a comprehensive overview of the current evidence regarding impacts, barriers and facilitators on this topic, potential insights and practical recommendations will be generated to support the implementation of VR training to enhance staff competence in LTC settings. The findings will be presented in a journal article and shared with practitioners on the frontline.

We will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute's scoping review methodology to ensure scientific rigour. We will collect literature of all languages with abstracts in English from CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science and ProQuest database until 31 December 2023. Grey literature from Google Scholar and AgeWell websites will be included. Inclusion criteria encompass papers involving paid staff (Population), fully immersive VR training on dementia care (Concept) and LTC settings (Context). Literature referring only to non-paid caregivers, non-fully immersive VR or other chronic diseases will be excluded. Literature screening, data extraction and analysis will be conducted by two reviewers separately. We will present a narrative summary with a charting table on the main findings.

Effect of passive leg raising on the cross-sectional area of the right internal jugular vein in patients with obesity: a randomised controlled trial protocol.

BMJ Open

ChiCTR: ChiCTR2400080513.

This protocol outlines a planned randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effect of PLR on the CSA of the IJV in patients with obesity slated for central venous catheterisation. The protocol involves dividing 40 participants into two groups: one undergoing PLR and another serving as a control group without positional change. The protocol specifies measuring the CSA of the IJV via ultrasound as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes will include the success rates of right IJV cannulation. The proposed statistical approach includes the use of t-tests to compare the changes in CSA between the two groups, with a significance threshold set at p<0.05.

This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Board of Shanghai Tongren Hospital. All the participants will provide informed consent prior to enrolment in the study. Regarding the dissemination of research findings, we plan to share the results through academic conferences and peer-reviewed publications. Additionally, we will communicate our findings to the public and professional communities, including patient advocacy groups.

Association between preconception care and family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes in Ethiopia: systematic review and meta-analysis.

BMJ Open

Inconsistent findings on the associations of preconception care with the utilisation of family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes have not been systematically reviewed in Ethiopia. Thus, this review aims to estimate the pooled association of preconception care with the utilisation of family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes in Ethiopia.

Two reviewers independently conducted study screening, data extraction and quality assessment. A fixed-effects model was used to determine the pooled association of preconception care with the utilisation of family planning and previous adverse birth outcomes.

Eight studies involving a total of 3829 participants were included in the review. The pooled meta-analysis found that women with a history of family planning use had a higher likelihood of using preconception care (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.74 to 2.52) than those women who did not use family planning before their current pregnancy. Likewise, the pooled meta-analysis found that women with prior adverse birth outcomes had a higher chance of using preconception care (OR 3.38, 95% CI 1.06 to 10.74) than women with no history of prior adverse birth outcomes.

This review indicated that utilisation of preconception care had a positive association with previous use of family planning and prior adverse birth outcomes. Thus, policymakers and other relevant stakeholders should strengthen the integration of preconception care with family planning and other maternal healthcare services.

CRD42023443855.

Appropriateness and acceptability of continuous glucose monitoring in people with type 1 diabetes at rural first-level hospitals in Malawi: a qualitative study.

BMJ Open

The purpose of this qualitative study is to describe the acceptability and appropriateness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in people living with type 1 diabetes (PLWT1D) at first-level (district) hospitals in Malawi.

Participants were part of a randomised controlled trial focused on CGM at first-level hospitals in Neno district, Malawi. Pretrial and post-trial interviews were conducted for participants in the CGM and usual care arms, and one set of interviews was conducted with providers.

Eleven PLWT1D recruited for the CGM randomised controlled trial and five healthcare providers who provided care to participants with T1D were included. Nine PLWT1D were interviewed twice, two were interviewed once. Of the 11 participants with T1D, six were from the CGM arm and five were in usual care arm. Key themes emerged regarding the appropriateness and effectiveness of CGM use in lower resource setting. The four main themes were (a) patient provider relationship, (b) stigma and psychosocial support, (c) device usage and (d) clinical management.

Participants and healthcare providers reported that CGM use was appropriate and acceptable in the study setting, although the need to support it with health education sessions was highlighted. This research supports the use of CGM as a component of personalised diabetes treatment for PLWT1D in resource constraint settings.

PACTR202102832069874; Post-results.

Implementation of the WHO Safe Childbirth Checklist: a scoping review protocol.

BMJ Open

https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RWY27.

This scoping review protocol follows the guidelines of the Joanna Briggs Institute. Data will be collected and reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews report. The search strategy will include publications from the databases Scopus, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science, in addition to a search in grey literature in The National Library of Australia's Trobe, DART-Europe E-Theses Portal, Electronic Theses Online Service, Theses Canada, Google Scholar and Theses and dissertations from Latin America. Data extraction will include data on general information, study characteristics, organisations involved, sociodemographic context, implementation strategies, indicators of implementation process, frameworks used to design or evaluate the strategy, implementation outcomes and final considerations. Critical analysis of implementation strategies and outcomes will be performed with researchers with experience implementing the WHO SCC.

Risk equations for prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) in UK: a retrospective study using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) AURUM and GOLD databases.

BMJ Open

Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are a serious negative outcome of arthroplasty with incidence of about 1%. Risk of PJI could depend on local treatment policies and guidelines; no UK-specific risk scoring is currently available.

To determine a risk quantification model for the development of PJI using electronic health records.

Records in Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD and AURUM of patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty between January 2007 and December 2014, with linkage to Hospital Episode Statistics and Office of National Statistics, were obtained. Cohorts' characteristics and risk equations through parametric models were developed and compared between the two databases. Pooled cohort risk equations were determined for the UK population and simplified through stepwise selection.

After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 174 905 joints (1021 developed PJI) were identified in CPRD AURUM and 48 419 joints (228 developed PJI) in CPRD GOLD. Patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty in both databases exhibited different sociodemographic characteristics and medical/drug history. However, the quantification of the impact of such covariates (coefficients of parametric models fitted to the survival curves) on the risk of PJI between the two cohorts was not statistically significant. The log-normal model fitted to the pooled cohorts after stepwise selection had a C-statistic >0.7.

The risk prediction tool developed here could help prevent PJI through identifying modifiable risk factors pre-surgery and identifying the patients most likely to benefit from close monitoring/preventive actions. As derived from the UK population, such tool will help the National Health Service reduce the impact of PJI on its resources and patient lives.

DORIS study: domestic violence in orthopaedics, a prospective cohort study at a Swedish hospital on the annual prevalence of domestic violence in orthopaedic emergency care.

BMJ Open

Domestic violence (DV) is a major problem which despite many efforts persists globally. Victims of DV can present with various injuries, whereof musculoskeletal presentation is common.

The DORIS study (Domestic violence in ORthopaedIcS) aimed to establish the annual prevalence of DV at an orthopaedic emergency department (ED) in Sweden.

The primary outcome measure was to establish the annual prevalence of injuries due to DV and second, to establish the rate of current experience of any type of DV.

One in 14 had experience of current DV (n=100, 7.5%) and 1 in 65 (n=21, 1.5%) had an injury due to DV.

The prevalence of DV found in the current study is comparable to international findings and adds to the growing body of evidence that it needs to be considered in clinical practice. It is important to raise awareness of DV, and frame strategies, as healthcare staff have a unique position to identify and offer intervention to DV victims.