Symptoms In Patients Research Articles

Investigation of the nonmotor symptoms in patients with STN-DBS therapy in comparison with those without STN-DBS.

The impact of STN-DBS on NMS remains rather as an underestimated topic. Besides, the significance of NMSs in QOL indexes of PD subjects with STN-DBS is unknown. We primarily aimed to evaluate the NMSs and their significance in QOL indexes in PD subjects comparatively with and without STN-DBS therapy. We enrolled all consecutive PD subjects with and without STN-DBS who applied to our movement disorders outpatient clinics between January/2023 and September/2023. We performed comprehensive assessments of the motor and nonmotor features including the clinical scales of Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revisionof the MDS-UPDRS, NMSS, HAM-A, HAM-D, and the PDQ-39. Overall, 48 PD subjects with STN-DBS and 161 without STN-DBS treatment were included. The comparative analyses revealed that the sub-scores of the MDS-UPDRS-2, -3 and -4 were higher in the STN-DBS group. However, the MDS-UDPRS-1 and the total scores of the NMSS were similar between groups. Among eight subitems of the NMSS, only, the sub scores of the mood/cognition and the gastrointestinal tract differed. Remarkably, the significant correlations between the scores of the QOL and the NMSS scores in the STN-DBS (-) group, did not persist within the STN-DBS group. Remarkably, the correlations between the NMSS and PQQ-39 disappeared for most of the sub scores within the STN-DBS group. We found indirect evidence regarding the benefit of STN-DBS therapy on NMSs in our cross-sectional study. Besides, we found weaker impact of NMSs in QOL indexes in PD subjects with STN-DBS therapy.

Systematic Review of Music Therapy and Musical Interventions for Patients with Moderate and Severe Mental Disorders.

Objective: This systematic review aims to assess the impact of music therapy and musical interventions on neuropsychiatric outcomes among patients with moderate and severe mental disorders, in comparison with conventional treatment in isolation. Methods: The review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted on November 16, 2021, using the following databases and search interfaces: Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, SCOPUS, Web of Science; PubMed, PsycINFO, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde, and Scientific Electronic Library Online. Two authors independently assessed the studies for inclusion criteria, extracted the data, and evaluated the quality of the included studies using critical appraisal tools. Results: In total, 17 studies were included, 9 of which were randomized controlled trials. The experimental studies involved 5,082 adult and elderly patients. The most prevalent symptoms assessed in the studies were anxiety, depression, and positive and negative symptoms of psychotic disorders. Music interventions were predominantly conducted by music therapists and nurses, providing passive interventions with the selection of musical repertoire by therapists and patients. The frequency with which musical interventions occurred varied greatly in terms of session duration, number of times per week, and number of times during the day. The identified study designs included clinical and quasi-experimental studies. In terms of methodological quality, clinical studies showed weaknesses regarding deviations from intended interventions. Conclusion: The effectiveness of music therapy and musical interventions for neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with moderate and severe mental disorders was evident in quasi-experimental and clinical studies with satisfactory methodological quality. Musical interventions, in various forms of application, represent an interdisciplinary therapeutic tool that complements and enhances conventional treatment. Unlike conventional treatments, the immersive and integrative nature of music interventions allows access to both intrapersonal and interpersonal dimensions during periods of psychic suffering. These findings highlight the importance of researchers addressing methodological limitations, such as deviations from intended interventions, and advocate for the expansion the use of music in community treatment settings.

Remote Topography-Guided Transepithelial Photorefractive Combined Phototherapeutic Keratectomy Telesurgery.

The purpose of this study was to report the first remote telesurgery in a case of epithelial basement membrane disease with recurrent corneal erosions. Topography-guided transepithelial photorefractive combined phototherapeutic keratectomy (PRK-PTK) is a surgical option that treats corneal irregularities and prevents the recurrences of erosions while treating the refractive error. We performed for the first time a remote transepithelial topography-guided combined PRK-PTK using the iRes®2 excimer laser platform (iVIS Technologies, Taranto, Italy), with the surgeon sitting in his own room and controlling the excimer laser in remote with 5G connection through the Remote Control Station and the patient in the operating room. At one-month post-operative, visual acuity was 20/20 and the patient's symptoms subsided. Our surgery opens the era of telesurgery in the corneal panorama.

A Framework Design for Centralised Monitoring of Patient Disease Diagnosis for Better Improvement

Healthcare recommendation systems have garnered significant attention in recent times due to their capacity to improve patient outcomes and treatment. This literature review intends to assess the current state of patient healthcare referral systems by examining relevant studies, techniques, and findings. The report focuses on key research areas, challenges, and viable strategies for the future in the field of patient-centered health recommendation systems. Currently, healthcare administration is in high demand due to its significant advantages in managing hospitals or medical practices. Health management systems are increasingly affecting the entire world on a daily basis. The rising demand for healthcare is attributed to various factors, including the availability of healthcare solutions. The health prediction system is an online initiative designed to provide user support and advice. This study proposes a technology that allows consumers to receive immediate online health guidance from an intelligent healthcare system. The system encompasses a multitude of disorders and symptoms associated with different bodily systems. Data mining technologies can be utilized to identify the most probable disease associated with a patient's symptoms. By logging into the system, a doctor can retrieve and review their patient's information and reports within the doctor's module. Physicians have the ability to analyze the patient's browsing history and the specific information they are seeking, taking into account their medical prognosis. The doctor has access to his data. The database administrator has the ability to incorporate additional disease information, such as the type of disease and its symptoms. The data mining system runs based on the condition's name and symptoms. The administrator has access to the database including information on diseases and symptoms. Recommender systems employ diverse machine learning techniques in many domains, such as the healthcare recommendation system (HRS), to advise and promote services or entities to users. Due to the vast array of algorithms documented in the literature, the science of artificial intelligence is now widely employing machine learning techniques in various application domains, including the HRS. Nevertheless, the process of selecting an appropriate machine learning algorithm for a health recommender system seems to be time-consuming.

Abdominal Injuries Detection

Abstract: Abdominal trauma refers to physical injuries or damage to the abdominal region, which includes the area between the casket and pelvis. This can involve colorful structures within the tummy, similar as the organs (e.g., liver, spleen, bowel, kidney, and extravasation). Traumatic injury affects individualities across all age groups and stands as one of the primary causes of mortality encyclopedically. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 5 million individualities succumb to traumatic injuries annually. The main ideal of an abdominal injuries’ discovery design is to ameliorate the early and accurate identification of abdominal injuries performing from trauma. This design generally involves the development and perpetration of colorful tools, ways, and protocols to achieve the objects like perfecting the delicacy of CT for detecting abdominal trauma and prognosticate the probability of specific traumatic injuries to abdominal organs. Diagnosing abdominal trauma clinically through physical examination, patient symptoms, or laboratory tests can frequently be grueling. thus, timely opinion using medical imaging plays a pivotal part in patient care. Our design will identify whether the case is suffering from abdominal trauma or not and help the cases by informing when immediate surgery is needed. Abdominal trauma discovery generally involves analysis of CT images to prognosticate the probability of specific traumatic injuries to abdominal organs, similar as the bowel, extravasation (generally refers to bleeding from blood vessel), liver.

Decreased resting-state functional connectivity and brain network abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex of elderly patients with Parkinson's disease accompanied by depressive symptoms.

This study aimed to explore the brain network characteristics in elderly patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with depressive symptoms. Thirty elderly PD patients with depressive symptoms (PD-D) and 26 matched PD patients without depressive symptoms (PD-NOD) were recruited based on HAMD-24 with a cut-off of 7. The resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) was conducted by 53-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). There were no statistically significant differences in MMSE scores, disease duration, Hoehn-Yahr stage, daily levodopa equivalent dose, and MDS-UPDRS III between the two groups. However, compared to the PD-NOD group, the PD-D group showed significantly higher MDS-UPDRS II, HAMA-14, and HAMD-24. The interhemispheric FC strength and the FC strength between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC-L) and the left frontal polar area (FPA-L) was significantly lower in the PD-D group (FDR p < 0.05). As for graph theoretic metrics, the PD-D group had significantly lower degree centrality (aDc) and node efficiency (aNe) in the DLPFC-L and the FPA-L (FDR, p < 0.05), as well as decreased global efficiency (aEg). Pearson correlation analysis indicated moderate negative correlations between HAMD-24 scores and the interhemispheric FC strength, FC between DLPFC-L and FPA-L, aEg, aDc in FPA-L, aNe in DLPFC-L and FPA-L. In conclusion, PD-D patients show decreased integration and efficiency in their brain networks. Furthermore, RSFC between DLPFC-L and FPA-L regions is negatively correlated with depressive symptoms. These findings propose that targeting DLPFC-L and FPA-L regions via non-invasive brain stimulation may be a potential intervention for alleviating depressive symptoms in elderly PD patients.

Functional Gelato for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment

A large amount of organic waste is generated every year, mainly due to food waste, causing negative impacts on the environment. At the same time, cancer incidence and mortality are rapidly growing world-wide and have a great impact on patients' quality of life, especially during chemotherapy treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a sustainable gelato with orange peel for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The orange peel gelato developed presented protein content of high biological value, easily digested fat, low glycemic carbohydrate, phenolic and flavonoid content, and antioxidant potential. The orange peel may be used to develop sustainable gelato aiming to increase the intake of bioactive compounds in the general population, control chemotherapy symptoms of oncological patients and to contribute to the environment by reducing the generation of organic waste.

Effectiveness and Safety of Meridian Activation Remedy System for Alleviating Motor Symptoms in Parkinson's Disease: an Observational Study.

Parkinson's disease (PD) lacks disease-modifying drugs or sustainable interventions, creating an unmet treatment need. Investigating complementary and alternative medicines aims to improve PD patients' quality of life by alleviating symptoms and delaying the course of the disease. In this single-center, prospective, observational, single-arm study, we aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture combined with exercise therapy and the Meridian Activation Remedy System (MARS). From March to October 2021, 13 PD patients with Hoehn and Yahr stages 1 to 3 were recruited. For 8 weeks, MARS intervention was carried out twice a week. T-statistics were used to evaluate functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and GAITRite outcomes. All of the remaining outcome variables were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The MARS intervention significantly reduced PD patients' Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDSUPDRS) Part III score (from 20.0 ± 11.8 to 8.8 ± 5.5, p = 0.003), 10-meter walk test speed (from 9.5 ± 1.8 to 8.7 ± 1.3 seconds, p = 0.040), and timed up and go time (from 9.8 ± 1.8 to 8.9 ± 1.4 seconds, p = 0.040). Moreover, the MDS-UPDRS Part II, fNIRS hemodynamics, 360-degree turn test, fall efficacy scale, and Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire 39 scores improved but not significantly. All participants completed the 8-week intervention without any adverse reactions. An 8-week MARS intervention improved motor symptoms in PD patients. In particular, improvements in UPDRS Part III scores exhibited large clinically important differences. The findings are encouraging, and a randomized controlled trial will be conducted to determine the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of MARS intervention.

Factors Affecting the Recovery of Inpatients with Chronic Mental Disorder -Focusing on the Future Direction of Application for WHO QualityRights in Korea-

Objectives: Hospitalization is an important procedure for alleviating the symptoms of patients with mental illness. However, in many countries, the trend of deinstitutionalization began a long time ago, and under the influence of CRPD and WHO QualityRights, perceptions of hospitalization are changing. In this context, it is important to identify the psychosocial characteristics related to the recovery of patients in psychiatric hospitalization in Korea. Therefore, this study sought to identify factors that influence recovery attitudes among inpatient. Through this, we attempted to summarize what is needed for the successful application of QualityRights in the future.Methods: For 82 inpatients at A Mental Hospital in Korea, we analyzed demographic characteristics, number of hospitalizations, types of hospitalization, social support, stigma, and attitude toward recovery, human rights sensitivity by assessing self report questionnaires. We analyzed the data through regression and ANOVA.Results: As a result of regression analysis, social support and human rights sensitivity was found to have a significant impact on attitudes toward recovery. Additionally, as a result of ANOVA, there was a significant difference in stigma depending on the number of hospitalizations, and no significant differences were found in other psychosocial variables . And There were no significant differences in psychosocial variables according to hospitalization type.Conclusion: Social support and human rights sensitivity were found to influence attitudes toward recovery. Additionally, individuals with longer hospitalizations were found to experience more internalized stigma compared to individuals with relatively shorter hospitalizations. Through this, implications for domestic application of WHO QualityRights were summarized and limitations were discussed.

Efficacy of rehabilitative therapies on otologic symptoms in patients with temporomandibular disorders: A systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

The term temporomandibular disorder (TMD) indicates a set of musculoskeletal conditions involving temporomandibular joint (TMJ), masticatory musculature, and related anatomical structures. Pain is the most common clinical manifestation of TMD, and the auditory system might be involved and affected, through tinnitus, dizziness, otalgia and ear fullness sensation. The aim of this systematic review of randomised controlled trails (RCTs) was to evaluate the efficacy of rehabilitative approaches on otologic symptoms in patients with TMD. PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were systematically searched from the inception until 8th October 2023 to identify RCTs presenting participants with a diagnosis of TMD associated with otologic signs and symptoms, rehabilitative approaches as interventions, and modification of the otological symptoms as outcome. Out of 931 papers suitable for title/abstract screening, 627 articles were assessed for eligibility. Five studies were included reporting the efficacy of occlusal splint therapy, low-level laser therapies, and physical therapy in patients diagnosed whit secondary otalgia or tinnitus associated with TMD. No RCTs evaluating other otologic symptoms, ear fullness, dizziness or vertigo were found. Results of this systematic review suggested that rehabilitative approaches might be effective in improving secondary otalgia and tinnitus in TMD patients. Thus, further RCTs with a higher level of evidence and more representative samples should be conducted to better understand the effects of TMD therapy on otologic complains.

Comparative efficacy of prophylactic protocols in reducing perioperative nausea and vomiting during video-assisted thoracoscopic radical resection of lung cancer

Lung cancer, a global mortality leader, often necessitates Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic (VATS) surgery. However, post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) is common, highlighting a need for effective management and prevention strategies in this context. A retrospective case–control study at Fujian Medical University Union Hospital evaluated patients undergoing VATS radical resection of lung cancer between May and September 2022. Patients were categorized based on PONV prevention methods, and data encompassing demographics, surgical history, and postoperative adverse events s were analyzed to assess the association between prophylactic protocols and PONV incidence. The Netupitant and Palonosetron Hydrochloride (NEPA) group showed a significant reduction in PONV occurrences post-surgery compared to Ondansetron (ONDA) and Control groups, emphasizing NEPA’s efficacy in alleviating PONV symptoms (P < 0.05). Furthermore, following VATS radical resection of lung cancer, NEPA markedly reduced the intensity of PONV symptoms in patients. Both univariate and multivariate logistic analyses corroborated that NEPA independently reduces PONV risk, with its protective effect also apparent in susceptible populations like females and non-smokers. NEPA utilization markedly reduced both the incidence and severity of PONV in patients undergoing VATS radical resection of lung cancer, serving as an independent protective factor in mitigating PONV risk post-surgery.

The role of nurse-patient mutuality on self-care behaviours in patients with chronic illness.

To examine the role of nurse-patient mutuality on three self-care behaviours in chronic illness patients. A cross-sectional multi-centre study was conducted. Mutuality was measured with the Nurse-Patient Mutuality in Chronic Illness scale which has the dimensions of developing and going beyond, being a point of reference and deciding and sharing care, and self-care was measured with the Self-care of Chronic Illness Inventory (SC-CII). Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to assess the contribution of three dimensions of mutuality on self-care maintenance, monitoring and management behaviours controlling for patient gender, age, education, number of medications, and presence of a family caregiver. The sample included 465 inpatients and outpatients with at least one chronic illness. The three dimensions of mutuality had different roles in their influence on the three dimensions of self-care. Developing and going beyond was significantly associated with self-care maintenance and self-care monitoring behaviours. Point of reference was significantly associated with self-care maintenance behaviour. Deciding and sharing care was significantly associated with self-care monitoring and self-care management behaviours. The mutuality between nurse and patient may be a novel area of research to support and improve patient self-care behaviours with implications for clinical practice and education. Mutuality between nurse and patient increases patient engagement, symptom recognition, decision-making process and patient-centred approach favouring the development of self-care behaviours. Mutuality between nurse and patient is a new concept and its association with the patient outcomes could bring relevance to the nursing profession. Self-care behaviours are important in the management of chronic diseases, but are difficult to perform. Mutuality between nurse and patient influences the three different behaviours of self-care in chronic illness, for this reason it is important to increase the level of mutuality in this dyad. STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies was followed in this study. Patients were involved in the sample of the study.

Palliative care tumor board: a narrative review and presentation of a novel conference to enhance collaboration and coordination of pain and symptom management for patients with advanced cancer.

The World Health Organization endorses that palliative care has a significant impact on the outcomes of patients with cancer. Integration of palliative care into standard oncology practice has been shown to improve a variety of patient outcomes. In this article, we present our experience with the development of a palliative care tumor board. Starting in June 2021, we implemented a multidisciplinary palliative care and oncology tumor board focused on pain and symptom management. Complex cases were presented bimonthly. We retrospectively reviewed our experience. Data were collected on the attendees, the case presented, and the resultant therapeutic decisions made. Between June 2021 and September 2022, tumor board meetings were conducted in person and virtually. An average of twelve people attended, including physicians and nurse practitioners from the palliative care, oncology, interventional radiology, radiation oncology, psychiatry, pediatric palliative care, and physical medicine and rehab disciplines. There were 68 patients presented with the most frequently discussed cancer being breast cancer, followed by lung cancer. A total of 18 patients (26%) were referred for procedure, including 7 patients (10%) for radiation and 11 patients (16%) for interventional procedures, and 34 patients (50%) had medication changes as outcomes of the meeting. The development of a biweekly palliative care conference modeled after traditional oncologic tumor board meetings allows patients to be discussed in a multidisciplinary setting and commonly results in changes in the management for pain and other cancer-related symptoms.

Symptom burden, service use and care dissatisfaction among older adults with cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, dementia and neurological disease during the last 3 months before death: A pooled analysis of mortality follow-back surveys.

Variation in the provision of care and outcomes in the last months of life by cancer and non-cancer conditions is poorly understood. (1) To describe patient conditions, symptom burden, practical problems, service use and dissatisfaction with end-of-life care for older adults based on the cause of death. (2) To explore factors related to these variables focussing on the causes of death. Secondary analysis of pooled data using cross-sectional mortality follow-back surveys from three studies: QUALYCARE; OPTCare Elderly; and International Access, Right, and Empowerment 1. Data reported by bereaved relatives of people aged ⩾75 years who died of cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, dementia or neurological disease. The pooled dataset contained 885 responses. Overall, service use and circumstances surrounding death differed significantly across causes of death. Bereaved relatives reported symptom severity from moderate to overwhelming in over 30% of cases for all causes of death. Across all causes of death, 28%-38% of bereaved relatives reported some level of dissatisfaction with care. Patients with cardiovascular disease and dementia experienced lower symptom burden and dissatisfaction than those with cancer. The absence of a reliable key health professional was consistently associated with higher symptom burden (p = 0.002), practical problems (p = 0.001) and dissatisfaction with care (p = 0.001). We showed different trajectories towards death depending on cause. Improving symptom burden and satisfaction in patients at the end-of-life is challenging, and the presence of a reliable key health professional may be helpful.

Altered functional connectivity of cerebellar subregions in male patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A resting-state fMRI study.

Previous studies have demonstrated impaired cerebellar function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which is associated with impaired cognition. However, the effects of OSA on resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in the cerebellum has not been determined. The purpose of this study was to investigate resting-state FC of the cerebellar subregions and its relevance to clinical symptoms in patients with OSA. Sixty-eight patients with OSA and seventy-two healthy controls (HCs) were included in the study. Eight subregions of the cerebellum were selected as regions of interest, and the FC values were calculated for each subregion with other voxels. A correlation analysis was performed to examine the relationship between clinical and cognitive data. Patients with OSA showed higher FC in specific regions, including the right lobule VI with the right posterior middle temporal gyrus and right angular gyrus, the right Crus I with the bilateral precuneus/left superior parietal lobule, and the right Crus II with the precuneus/right posterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, the oxygen depletion index was negatively correlated with aberrant FC between the right Crus II and the bilateral precuneus / right posterior cingulate cortex in OSA patients (p = 0.004). The cerebellum is functionally lateralized and closely linked to the posterior default mode network. Higher FC is related to cognition, emotion, language, and sleep in OSA. Abnormal FC may offer new neuroimaging evidence and insights for a deeper comprehension of OSA-related alterations.

Site and duration of abdominal pain discriminate symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease from previous diverticulitis patients.

Abdominal pain in patients with diverticular disease (DD) can be challenging in clinical practice. Patients with symptomatic uncomplicated diverticular disease (SUDD) and patients with a previous acute diverticulitis (PD) may share a similar clinical pattern, difficult to differentiate from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We used standardized questionnaires for DD (short and long lasting abdominal pain) and IBS (following Rome III Criteria) to assess clinical features of abdominal pain, in terms of presence, severity and length, in SUDD and PD patients. One hundred and forty-eight SUDD and 118 PD patients completed all questionnaires. Short-lasting pain was more frequent in SUDD than PD patients (p = 0.007). Number of long-lasting pain episodes was higher in SUDD (6.6 ± 11.9) compared to PD patients (3.4 ± 6.9) (p < 0.001). PD patients reported long-lasting pain more frequently in the lower left abdomen (p < 0.001), while in SUDD it was more frequently diffuse (p = 0.002) or localized in the lower right quadrant (p = 0.009). Features associated with long-lasting pain (fever, confinement to bed, consultations, antibiotic therapy, hospitalization) were more often reported in PD patients. IBS criteria were reported in 28.2% of patients and were more frequent in SUDD than PD patients (37.2% vs 17.1%, p < 0.001). SUDD and PD patients presented different pattern of abdominal pain (length, number of long lasting episodes, site and associated features), with a third reporting overlap with IBS. Further observational studies are needed to better characterize abdominal symptoms in DD patients, especially in those not fulfilling IBS criteria.Trial registration: The REMAD Registry is registered as an observational study in ClinicalTrial.gov (ID: NCT03325829).

Exploring Electrical Neuromodulation as an Alternative Therapeutic Approach in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Background and Objectives: This review systematically evaluates the potential of electrical neuromodulation techniques—vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), sacral nerve stimulation (SNS), and tibial nerve stimulation (TNS)—as alternative treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD). It aims to synthesize current evidence on the efficacy and safety of these modalities, addressing the significant burden of IBD on patient quality of life and the limitations of existing pharmacological therapies. Materials and Methods: We conducted a comprehensive analysis of studies from PubMed, focusing on research published between 1978 and 2024. The review included animal models and clinical trials investigating the mechanisms, effectiveness, and safety of VNS, SNS, and TNS in IBD management. Special attention was given to the modulation of inflammatory responses and its impact on gastrointestinal motility and functional gastrointestinal disorders associated with IBD. Results: Preliminary findings suggest that VNS, SNS, and TNS can significantly reduce inflammatory markers and improve symptoms in IBD patients. These techniques also show potential in treating related gastrointestinal disorders during IBD remission phases. However, the specific mechanisms underlying these benefits remain to be fully elucidated, and there is considerable variability in treatment parameters. Conclusions: Electrical neuromodulation holds promise as a novel therapeutic avenue for IBD, offering an alternative to patients who do not respond to traditional treatments or experience adverse effects. The review highlights the need for further rigorous studies to optimize stimulation parameters, understand long-term outcomes, and integrate neuromodulation effectively into IBD treatment protocols.

Prescribed psychostimulants and other pro-cognitive medications in bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis of recurrence of manic symptoms.

Clinicians are often hesitant to prescribe psychostimulants in bipolar disorder (BD) due to concerns of inducing (hypo)mania, despite limited published evidence on associations between prescribed psychostimulant use and recurrence of mood episodes in BD. The current systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the emergence of (hypo)manic symptoms in patients with BD receiving prescribed psychostimulants or other pro-cognitive medications in euthymic or depressive states. A systematic search was performed of MEDLINE, Embase, and PsychINFO from inception to April 5, 2023 and search of Clinicaltrials.gov and Clinicaltrialsregister.eu for unpublished data. References of included studies were hand-searched. Randomized trials and prospective longitudinal studies that evaluated psychostimulants and non-stimulant medications recommended for the treatment of ADHD by the Canadian ADHD practice guidelines were included. The review was reported in line with PRISMA guidelines and was preregistered on PROSPERO (CRD42022358588). After screening 414 unique records, we included 27 studies, of which five reported data that was quantitatively synthesized (n = 1653). The use of psychostimulants in BD was not associated with increased scores on the Young Mania Rating Scale in patients who were in a euthymic or depressed state (SMD IV -0.17; 95% CI, -0.40 to 0.06) compared to placebo. There was a high degree of study-level heterogeneity (I2 = 80%). A qualitative synthesis of studies revealed a limited risk of medication-induced manic symptoms. Our review provides preliminary evidence to suggest psychostimulants and non-stimulant ADHD medications have a limited risk of precipitating (hypo)mania symptoms. More extensive studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of these medications are warranted.

The severity of lower urinary tract symptoms during the postoperative period as a factor in choosing an approach to surgical treatment for large prostate hyperplasia: holmium enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP) vs laparoscopic simple prostatectomy

Introduction. Analysis of complications after transurethral surgery for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) demonstrates that 20 – 30% of patients require prolonged postoperative treatment for severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) despite improvements in technology and surgical techniques. These complications play a significant role in reducing the quality of life of patients in the postoperative period. Severe storage symptoms and urgent urinary incontinence represent significant challenges in the postoperative phase when performing laser enucleation surgery. There are also limits to standard approaches to perform laparoscopic prostatectomy, which requires the development of improved techniques.Objective. To conduct a comparative assessment of the postoperative dynamics of LUTS in groups undergoing holmium laser enucleation of the prostate (HoLEP), a standard Millin laparoscopic simple prostatectomy (LSP), and a modified LSP.Materials &amp; Methods. This multicenter study included 439 patients who were randomly assigned to 3 groups depending on the surgical treatment technique used for bladder outlet obstruction associated with large-volume BPH: the HoLEP group (n = 151), the standard Millin LSP (n = 142) and the modified LSP, combined with temporary clamping of the internal iliac arteries and vesicourethral anastomosis (n = 146). The main criterion assessed during six-months follow-up was the severity of LUTS on the IPSS scale (obstructive and irritative components). Complications that developed during the postoperative observation period were recorded.Results. A lower severity of LUTS was revealed in the group of the modified LSP compared to the standard LSP and HoLEP (p = 0.041 and p = 0.001, respectively). The average irritative component of IPSS was significantly lower in the modified LSP group compared to the standard LSP and HoLEP (p = 0.032 and p = 0.001, respectively). The observed trend continued to the third month after surgery. Comparison of changes in symptom severity six months after surgery demonstrated a significant advantage for the modified LSP both compared to HoLEP (p = 0.017) and a standard LSP (p = 0.032). All three groups showed comparable significant improvements in quality of life.Conclusion. The severity of postoperative storage symptoms is a limitation of HoLEP use, whereas the standard LSP is associated with lower severity of LUTS. The authors' modification of the LSP has the potential to reduce the severity of storage symptoms in patients for up to three months after surgery, and is associated with a low rate of urge incontinence.

Minimally Invasive Management of Uterine Fibroids - Role of Transvaginal Radiofrequency Ablation

Minimally invasive approaches in management of common gynecological pathologies such as uterine fibroids are of outmost importance to offer fertility preservation and cost-effective solutions. Transvaginal radiofrequency ablation in day surgery setting offers an efficient volume reduction solution with improvement of fibroid related symptoms in patients undergoing accurate pre-operative selection.