Retinoblastoma is associated with mortality in resource-poor nations due to disparities and poor access to treatment. The aim was to determine the relationships between patient-related factors and ...clinical outcomes of retinoblastoma in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.
It was a retrospective study of all children diagnosed and treated for retinoblastoma from January 2017 through December 2022. Information obtained from their records included bio-socioeconomic data, symptoms, lag time from initial symptoms, staging, treatment, and survival outcome.
Fifty-three patients, aged 6–88 months on first hospital presentation were recruited. There were 29 (54.7%) females. Twenty (37.7%) patients died. The majority were the last child of their parents (62.3%) with a low socioeconomic class (86.8%) and lived in rural areas (50.9%). The median (interquartile) age at diagnosis 24 (18–36) months, p = 0.005 and lag time 13 (6–20) months, p = 0.274 were lower in those who survived than in those who died. The prevalence of bilateral disease (20.8%, p = 0.002), brain metastasis (22.6%, p < 0.001), stage IV disease (18.9%, p = 0.01) and relapse (34%, p < 0.001) was higher among the patients who died. The median (interquartile) overall survival (OS) was 22 (11.8–32.2) months with a 1-year OS of 63%. Treatment with only chemotherapy HR 4.76 (95% CI: 1.7–13.1), incomplete chemotherapy HR 5.61 (95% CI: 1.3–24.7), relapse HR 5.98 (95% CI: 1.4–25.9) and eye surgery delayed after 3 chemotherapy cycles HR 8.22 (95% CI: 1.1–62.2) were predictors of mortality.
Most patients with retinoblastoma arrived at our treatment center approximately 14 months following the first symptom. Most (84.9%) presented with proptosis. The majority were of a low social class (86.8%), had a secondary level of education only (47.2%), and lived in rural areas (50.9%). The 3-year overall survival was 29%.
Nigeria commenced a phased programmatic deployment of rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) at the primary health care (PHC) facility levels since 2011. Despite various efforts, the national testing rate for ...malaria is still very low. The uptake of RDT has been variable. This study was undertaken to determine the provider and patient perceptions to RDT use at the PHC level in Nigeria with their implications for improving uptake and compliance.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 120 randomly selected PHCs across six states, across the six-geopolitical zones of Nigeria in January 2013. Health facility staff interviews were conducted to assess health workers (HW) perception, prescription practices and determinants of RDT use. Patient exit interviews were conducted to assess patient perception of RDT from ten patients/caregivers who met the eligibility criterion and were consecutively selected in each PHC, and to determine HW's compliance with RDT test results indirectly. Community members, each selected by their ward development committees in each Local Government Area were recruited for focus group discussion on their perceptions to RDT use.
Health workers would use RDT results because of confidence in RDT results (95.4%) and its reduction in irrational use of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) (87.2%). However, in Enugu state, RDT was not used by health workers because of the pervasive notion RDT that results were inaccurate. Among the 1207 exit interviews conducted, 549 (45.5%) had received RDT test. Compliance rate (administering ACT to positive patients and withholding ACT from negative patients) from patient exit interviews was 90.2%. Among caregivers/patients who had RDT done, over 95% knew that RDT tested for malaria, felt it was necessary and liked the test. Age of patients less than 5 years (p = 0.04) and "high" educational status (p = 0.0006) were factors influencing HW's prescription of ACT to RDT negative patients.
The study demonstrated positive perception to RDT use by HW and among community members with good compliance rate among health workers at the PHC level. This positive perception should be explored in improving the current low level of malaria testing in Nigeria while addressing the influence of age on HW administration of ACT to RDT negative cases.
Nigeria has the largest number of malaria-related deaths, accounting for a third of global malaria deaths. It is important that the country attains universal coverage of key malaria interventions, ...one of which is the policy of universal testing before treatment, which the country has recently adopted. However, there is a dearth of data on its implementation in formal private health facilities, where close to a third of the population seek health care. This study identified the level of use of malaria rapid diagnostic testing (RDT), compliance with test results and associated challenges in the formal private health facilities in Nigeria.
A cross-sectional study that involved a multi-stage, random sampling of 240 formal private health facilities from the country's six geo-political zones was conducted from July to August 2014. Data were collected using health facility records, healthcare workers' interviews and an exit survey of febrile patients seen at the facilities, in order to determine fever prevalence, level of testing of febrile patience, compliance with test results, and health workers' perceptions to RDT use.
Data from the 201 health facilities analysed indicated a fever prevalence of 38.5% (112,521/292,430). Of the 2077 exit interviews for febrile patients, malaria testing was ordered in 73.8% (95% CI 71.7-75.7%). Among the 1270 tested, 61.8% (719/1270) were tested with microscopy and 38.2% (445/1270) with RDT. Compliance to malaria test result administering arteminisin-based combination therapy (ACT) to positive patients and withholding ACT from negative patients was 80.9% (95% CI 78.7-83%). Compliance was not influenced by the age of patients or type of malaria test. The health facilities have various cadres of the health workers knowledgeable on RDT with 70% knowing the meaning, while 84.5% knew what it assesses. However, there was clearly a preference for microscopy as only 20% reported performing only RDT.
In formal private health facilities in Nigeria there is a high rate of malaria testing for febrile patients, high level of compliance with test results but relatively low level of RDT utilization. This calls for improved engagement of the formal private health sector with a view to achieving universal coverage targets on malaria testing.
Predictable prey locations reduce search time and energetic costs of foraging; thus marine predators often exploit locations where prey concentrations persist. In our study, we examined whether this ...association is influenced by differences among predator species in foraging modes (travel cost, surface feeder or diver) or whether the predator species is a central place forager or not. We examined distributions of two seabird species during their nesting period, the surface-feeding black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and the pursuit-diving thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), and two baleen whale species, the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus), in relation to two key prey, age-1 walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) and euphausiids (Euphausiidae). Prey surveys were conducted once each year during 2004 and 2006–2010. Concurrent predator surveys were conducted in 2006–2010 (seabirds) and 2008 and 2010 (whales). We compared the seabird and whale foraging locations to where age-1 pollock and euphausiids were concentrated and considered the persistence of these concentrations, where the time-scale of persistence is year (i.e., a comparison among surveys that are conducted once each year). Euphausiids were widespread and concentrations often were reliably found within specific 37km×37km blocks (‘persistent hot spots of prey’). In contrast, age-1 pollock were more concentrated and their hot spots were persistent only on coarser scales (>37km). Both seabird species, regardless of foraging mode, were associated with age-1 pollock but not with euphausiids, even though age-1 pollock were less persistent than euphausiids. The higher travel cost central place foragers, thick-billed murres, foraged at prey concentrations nearer their island colonies than black-legged kittiwakes, which were more widespread foragers. Humpback whales were not tied to a central place and mostly were located only where euphausiids were concentrated, and further, often in locations where these concentrations were persistent. Fin whales were associated with locations where age-1 pollock were more likely, similar to black-legged kittiwakes and thick-billed murres, but their association with euphausiids was unclear. Our results suggest that a predator's foraging mode and their restrictions during breeding affect their response to prey persistence.
The only anticipated resonant contributions to B^{+}→D^{+}D^{-}K^{+} decays are charmonium states in the D^{+}D^{-} channel. A model-independent analysis, using LHCb proton-proton collision data ...taken at center-of-mass energies of sqrts=7, 8, and 13 TeV, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 9 fb^{-1}, is carried out to test this hypothesis. The description of the data assuming that resonances only manifest in decays to the D^{+}D^{-} pair is shown to be incomplete. This constitutes evidence for a new contribution to the decay, potentially one or more new charm-strange resonances in the D^{-}K^{+} channel with masses around 2.9 GeV/c^{2}.
Retinoblastoma is curable in industrialized countries. However, it is associated with mortality in resource-poor nations due to disparities and poor access to eye care. Aim was to determine the ...relationships between patient-related factors and clinical outcomes of Retinoblastoma management in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.
This was a retrospective study of all children who were diagnosed and treated for Retinoblastoma from January 2017 through December 2022. Information obtained from their records included biosocioeconomic data, symptoms, lag time from initial symptoms, staging, treatment and outcome (dead or alive).
Fifty-three patients, aged 6 to 88 months on first hospital presentation were recruited. There were 29(54.7%) females and 20(37.7%) patients died. Parental low socioeconomic class, rural residence and poor nutrition occurred more in those that survived, though not significantly (p>0.05). Median(interquartile) age at diagnosis 24(18-36) months, p=0.005 and lag time 13(6-20) months, p=0.274 were low in the survived group. Bilateral Retinoblastoma (20.8%,p=0.002), brain metastasis (22.6%,p<0.001), IRSS IV (18.9%,p=0.01) and relapse (34%,p<0.001) occurred more among the patients that died. The overall survival (OS) was 22(11.77-32.23) months with 1-year OS of 63%. Treatment with only chemotherapy HR 4.76(95%CI:1.726-13.128), incomplete chemotherapy HR 5.61(95%CI:1.271-24.741), relapse HR 5.98(95%CI:1.376-25.983) and eye surgery after 3 chemotherapy cycles HR 8.22(95%CI:1.087-62.239) were predictors of mortality.
Early presentation of retinoblastoma especially of advanced and bilateral disease may lead to improved survival if chemotherapy and eye surgery are appropriately performed. Routine screening and immediate referral of retinoblastoma particularly in rural areas are recommended.
We present an angular analysis of the B^{+}→K^{*+}(→K_{S}^{0}π^{+})μ^{+}μ^{-} decay using 9 fb^{-1} of pp collision data collected with the LHCb experiment. For the first time, the full set of ...CP-averaged angular observables is measured in intervals of the dimuon invariant mass squared. Local deviations from standard model predictions are observed, similar to those in previous LHCb analyses of the isospin-partner B^{0}→K^{*0}μ^{+}μ^{-} decay. The global tension is dependent on which effective couplings are considered and on the choice of theory nuisance parameters.
The first simultaneous test of muon-electron universality using B+→K+ℓ+ℓ− and B0→K*0ℓ+ℓ− decays is performed, in two ranges of the dilepton invariant-mass squared, q2. The analysis uses beauty mesons ...produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 fb−1. Each of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in the given q2 interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model.
Angular analysis of the rare decay Bs0→ ϕμ+μ Ackernley, T.; Balagura, V.; Belyaev, I. ...
The journal of high energy physics,
11/2021, Letnik:
2021, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
A
bstract
An angular analysis of the rare decay
B
s
0
→ ϕμ
+
μ
−
is presented, using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV, ...corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.4 fb
−
1
. The observables describing the angular distributions of the decay
B
s
0
→ ϕμ
+
μ
−
are determined in regions of
q
2
, the square of the dimuon invariant mass. The results are consistent with Standard Model predictions.
PDF
