Long-term impact of financial distress and mental well-being in early vs advanced oral cancer patients on the quality of life of informal caregivers: An exploratory study of a real-world cohort from LMIC.

Purpose: In low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) like India, oral cancer not only affects the patients but also imposes significant challenges on their informal caregivers. The objective of this study is to explore how the financial distress and mental well-being of early-stage compared to advanced-stage oral cancer patients impact the quality of life of their informal caregivers.

Methods: An exploratory prospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary teaching hospital in India, enrolling 79 pairs of oral cancer patients and their informal caregivers from September 2019 to March 2022.

A Comparative Study of the Ease of Radial Artery Cannulation Using the Palpation Method in Patients Undergoing Surgery Under General Anaesthesia: Pre-induction Versus Post-induction.

Introduction Radial artery cannulation is performed for continuous blood pressure monitoring and blood gas measurements in the operating room, critical care unit, and postoperative period. Various factors determine the artery used for cannulation, including accessibility, ease of placement, collateral flow, risk of infection, and embolic phenomena. Most anaesthesiologists consider anaesthesia induction the most likely timing of hemodynamic instability.

Submandibular Gland-Sparing Technique Versus En-Bloc Level IB Dissection in Oral Cavity Cancers with N0 Neck Status: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: Metastases to the submandibular gland (SMG) from oral cavity primaries are very rare. Hence, a gland-preserving level IB dissection technique is a feasible option without compromising the lymph node yield (LNY).

Objective: To assess the feasibility and noninferiority of the SMG-preserving dissection technique to the conventional en bloc removal of level IB in terms of LNY in patients with cN0 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) undergoing elective neck dissection.

Long-term swallow outcomes and factors affecting swallowing dysfunction and quality of life among oral cancer patients: a prospective observational study.

Background: Oral cancer is one of the most common cancers among the Indian population. India bears the most burden of oral cancer globally. Impairment of swallowing function is often seen after treatment for oral cancer.

Financial toxicity and mental well-being of the oral cancer survivors residing in a developing country in the era of COVID 19 pandemic - A cross-sectional study.

Objectives: The primary outcome measures evaluated the financial toxicity and mental well-being of the oral cancer survivors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of oral cancer survivors who were disease-free for more than 6 months after treatment and visited the hospital for a routine follow-up is included in the study. Mental well-being and financial toxicity were evaluated using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale - 21 (DASS 21) and Comprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST- Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy) questionnaires.

Perioperative Management for Functional Ganglioneuroma in a 2-Year-Old Child with Multiple Congenital Defects and COVID-19: A Case Report.

Unlike neuroblastoma, ganglioneuroma is a rare entity in children younger than 7 years of age. Further, these tumors are mostly inactive endocrinologically with the symptoms of abdominal pain or palpable mass. Unfortunately, when functional, they mimic or occasionally coexist with pheochromocytoma.

Evaluation of the Outcomes of Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation II in the Treatment of Trochanteric Fracture in Elderly Patients.

Background Intertrochanteric fractures are common injuries among the elderly population and those with osteoporosis. The study was conducted in order to evaluate the outcome of Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation II (PFN-A2) in the treatment of these fractures in elderly patients. Methods Twenty-five elderly patients (range 60 to 73 years) with trochanteric fractures who were treated with PFN-A2 at Government Medical College Amritsar were included in this prospective observational study.

Age induced interactions between heart rate variability and systolic blood pressure variability using approximate entropy and recurrence quantification analysis: a multiscale cross correlation analysis.

The purpose of this study is to study the effect of age on the correlation between heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV). To meet this end, multi-scale cross correlation (CC) analysis of HRV and systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV) was performed. The Approximate Entropy (ApEn) and Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) derived indices, calculated from RR interval series (RRi) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) series at multiple temporal scales, are the basis of this CC analysis.

Exploring digital therapeutics: The next paradigm of modern health-care industry.

In this era of 21 century, the most valuable resource is data. Digital technology can generate terabytes of data which has a tremendous potential in the modern-day world. Pharmaceuticals play an essential role in improving and maintaining the health of patients.

Dynamic contact networks of patients and MRSA spread in hospitals.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a difficult-to-treat infection. Increasing efforts have been taken to mitigate the epidemics and to avoid potential outbreaks in low endemic settings. Understanding the population dynamics of MRSA is essential to identify the causal mechanisms driving the epidemics and to generalise conclusions to different contexts.

Suspected reactivation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis focus after non-medical abuse of anabolic androgenic steroids: a case report.

Background Youth population has a common tendency to use androgenic steroids. The reasons for such abuse vary from performance enhancement to muscle building in order to enhance physical appearance. Such rampant abuse, aided by fitness centers and gym trainers, has a huge risk of side effects such as hepatic dysfunctions and increased risk of infections.

A unified non-linear approach based on recurrence quantification analysis and approximate entropy: application to the classification of heart rate variability of age-stratified subjects.

This paper presents a unified approach based on the recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) and approximate entropy (ApEn) for the classification of heart rate variability (HRV). In this paper, the optimum tolerance threshold (r) corresponding to ApEn has been used for RQA calculation. The experimental data length (N) of RR interval series (RR) is optimized by taking r as key parameter.

Unique size and shape-dependent uptake behaviors of non-spherical nanoparticles by endothelial cells due to a shearing flow.

The size and shape of nanoparticle (NP) drug carriers can potentially be manipulated to increase the drug delivery efficacy because of their effects on particle margination and interactions with various cells in vivo. It is found in this work that the presence of a physiologically relevant shearing flow rate results in very different size and shape-dependent uptake behavior of negatively charged, non-spherical polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel NPs by endothelial cells (ECs) cultured in a microchannel compared to uptake of either identical NPs in static culture or spherical particles in a shear flow. In particular, larger rod- and disk-shaped PEG NPs show more uptake than smaller ones, opposite to the size effect observed for spherical particles in a flow.

Effect of shape, size, and aspect ratio on nanoparticle penetration and distribution inside solid tissues using 3D spheroid models.

Efficient penetration and uniform distribution of nanoparticles (NPs) inside solid tissues and tumors is paramount to their therapeutic and diagnostic success. While many studies have reported the effect of NP size and charge on intratissue distribution, role of shape, and aspect ratio on NP transport inside solid tissues remain unclear. Here experimental and theoretical studies are reported on how nanoscale geometry of Jet and Flash Imprint Lithography-fabricated, polyethylene-glycol-based anionic nanohydrogels affect their penetration and distribution inside 3D spheroids, a model representing the intervascular region of solid, tumor-like tissues.

Mammalian cells preferentially internalize hydrogel nanodiscs over nanorods and use shape-specific uptake mechanisms.

Size, surface charge, and material compositions are known to influence cell uptake of nanoparticles. However, the effect of particle geometry, i.e.

Long-term treatment with intravenous bisphosphonates in metastatic breast cancer: a retrospective study.

Bisphosphonates are important therapies used to reduce the risk of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from breast cancer (BC). This retrospective cohort study evaluated the incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ) and renal impairment in women (n = 221) with bone metastases from BC treated with intravenous bisphosphonates from January 1999 to June 2008. In the long-term cohort, 159 patients received pamidronate (n = 9), zoledronic acid (n = 110), or both (n = 40) for ≥24 months.

Scalable imprinting of shape-specific polymeric nanocarriers using a release layer of switchable water solubility.

There is increasing interest in fabricating shape-specific polymeric nano- and microparticles for efficient delivery of drugs and imaging agents. The size and shape of these particles could significantly influence their transport properties and play an important role in in vivo biodistribution, targeting, and cellular uptake. Nanoimprint lithography methods, such as jet-and-flash imprint lithography (J-FIL), provide versatile top-down processes to fabricate shape-specific, biocompatible nanoscale hydrogels that can deliver therapeutic and diagnostic molecules in response to disease-specific cues.

Biological considerations and clinical applications of new HER2-targeted agents.

Over the past two decades, since the discovery of the human EGF receptor 2 (HER2) oncogene, the oncoprotein has become one of the best known and intensively studied tumor targets in oncology. In fact, laboratory findings were the basis for clinical proof-of-principle studies, whose results not only confirmed the relationship between gene amplification and an aggressive tumor phenotype but also demonstrated that the poor prognosis associated with receptor overexpression could be improved. Indeed, the success in treating patients with HER2-positive breast cancer extends to those with early as well as advanced disease.

Transesophageal echocardiographic diagnosis of aortic arch-left innominate vein fistula.

We present a patient with aortic arch-left innominate vein (LIV) fistula diagnosed by transesophageal echocardiography. Also, an interrupted linear echo was noted within the dilated LIV with flow signals moving across the area of interruption, suggestive of left innominate vein pseudo-aneurysm or dissection. The patient subsequently underwent successful surgical repair of the fistula.

Live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of transcatheter closure of atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale.

We report the usefulness of live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in the accurate assessment of the morphology and efficacy of Amplatzer transcatheter devices used for closure of atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale.

Images in geriatric cardiology. Usefulness of live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in aortic valve stenosis evaluation.

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) severity can be estimated by various modalities. Due to some of the limitations of the currently available methods, the usefulness of live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3D TTE) in the assessment of AS was explored. Live 3D TTE was able to visualize the aortic valve orifice in all 11 patients studied.

Transpharyngeal ultrasound detection of carotid body paraganglioma.

We report a patient in whom a right carotid body paraganglioma was delineated using a transpharyngeal approach during a transesophageal echocardiographic (TEE) study. Color Doppler-guided pulsed-Doppler interrogation of the right internal carotid artery in the tumor region, revealed high maximum systolic and maximum diastolic velocities of 1.5 m/s and 1.

Live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of coronary arteries.

In the present study, we are illustrating some of the adult patients in whom live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography was found useful in assessing proximal and mid-coronary arteries.

Live three-dimensional echocardiographic assessment of mitral stenosis.

In the present study, we describe our experience in using live three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in the assessment of mitral stenosis.