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Albright Connolly
Albright Connolly

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Any wAlbB Wolbachia transinfection shows steady phenotypic outcomes around divergent Aedes aegypti mosquito backgrounds.

Orbital decompression (OD) for Graves' orbitopathy usually includes removal of orbital medial wall. While OD occasionally cause or worsen chronic sinusitis because of the obstructed sinus drainage by prolapsed orbital fat, to date few reports have been published on the management or prevention of sinusitis associated with OD. Here, we present two patients (three sides) with newly developed and one patient (one side) with worsening obstructive frontal sinusitis following OD. These three patients had OD including the removal of the superior attachment of uncinated process to lamina papyracea. AZD1390 ic50 Endoscopic modified Lothrop procedure (EMLP) was useful to relieve symptoms and keep an enough access to frontal sinuses for all cases. We also performed EMLP for another two patients (four sides) with pre-existing sinusitis before OD. Worsening of sinusitis could be avoided by EMLP before OD. EMLP was useful approach for both treatment and prevention of sinusitis related to OD. The superior attachment site of uncinated process and the pattern of frontal sinus drainage might predict the occurrence of obstructive frontal sinusitis following OD. V.OBJECTIVES The risk of aspiration pneumonia has been reported to increase with age, especially in elderly residents of nursing homes. However, the characteristics of those with swallowing impairments at elderly care facilities have not yet been evaluated using reliable instrumental examinations. The aims of the current study were to investigate the frequency of swallowing impairment and determine the characteristics of the elderly with swallowing disorders residing at care facilities. METHODS To reveal the characteristics of the elderly with swallowing disorders, questionnaires for dysphagia screening and flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) were used. Regarding the dysphagia screening, two types of questionnaires were sent to 451 elderly persons aged 65 years and older who were living in facilities for the elderly in Japan. FEES was performed to assess swallowing impairment at each facility for those who were found to be positive for dysphagia by the questionnaires. The frequency of swallowing impairment and the characteristics of elderly subjects with swallowing disorders were investigated. RESULTS Among 413 subjects who completed both questionnaires, 229 were screened positive for dysphagia, 160 of whom underwent FEES. Swallowing impairment was observed in 93 subjects. The subjects with swallowing impairment had a significantly high prevalence of fever, sputum, and/or history of aspiration pneumonia. Their oral intake ability and activities of daily living were significantly low. CONCLUSION We demonstrated the frequency of swallowing disorders and the characteristics of elderly subjects with swallowing disorders living in care facilities using FEES. Our results suggest the importance of screening all elderly care facility residents for dysphagia. V.OBJECTIVES To compare the medical costs associated with treatments for knee osteoarthritis (OA) intra-articular corticosteroids (ICS) and intra-articular hyaluronic acid (IHA) primarily, and ICS/IHA vs knee arthroplasty (TKA) secondarily. METHODS This was a retrospective analysis of an insurance claims database. Eligible members had diagnosed OA and no claims for ICS, IHA, or TKA during the 6-18-month look-back period. Cohorts of interest over the 4-year observation period were patients who received ICS only, those who received IHA only, and those who received TKA only. Outcomes assessed included (1) total allowed medical costs, (2) claims for pre-specified, treatment-related adverse outcomes and costs, and (3) opioid and/or prescription analgesic use and costs. Data extraction began on the date of the first ICS, IHA, or TKA in 2013 until December 31, 2017. RESULTS Of the 260,828 patients who qualified, 126,831 were taking monotherapy (IHA=3703, ICS=117,588, TKA = 5540). Adjusted 4-year per patient per month .43-4.97). CONCLUSIONS Patients in the IHA cohort had lower total medical care costs, fewer adverse outcomes, and lower use/costs of opioids and prescription analgesics vs patients in the ICS and TKA cohorts. Reducing total medical care costs and minimizing opioid/analgesic use should be a treatment goal when selecting therapies for patients with knee OA. OBJECTIVE We retrospectively investigated drug retention rate (DRR) and reasons for discontinuation of seven biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in Takayasu's arteritis (TA) in a real-world setting. METHODS TA patients followed-up in our center fulfilling the 1990 ACR criteria and treated with ≥1 bDMARD were selected. Data about disease duration, number of bDMARDs, reasons for bDMARDs discontinuation, and concomitant conventional synthetic (cs)DMARDs were collected. Survival curves were examined by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using a stratified log-rank test. 24-month DRR was calculated. Hazard ratio (HR) for concomitant csDMARDs and for previous bDMARDs was evaluated. A comparative sub-analysis between anti-TNFα drugs and tocilizumab was performed. RESULTS We identified 50 patients and 86 bDMARD-courses. No significant differences were observed in age and disease duration between the seven groups. Infliximab was the most frequent first-line bDMARD (78.6%). At bDMARDs initiation, all patients were prescribed prednisone (mean dose, 13.5 ± 10.3 mg/day) and 85.2% concomitant csDMARD therapy. 43% of treatment courses were stopped by 24 months. Golimumab had the highest DRR (71.4%), followed by infliximab (69%), adalimumab (56.3%), abatacept (50%), tocilizumab (41.1%), anakinra (0%) and rituximab (0%), p = 0.016. Concomitant csDMARDs therapy showed positive effects on DRR (HR=2.87, 95% CI=1.19-6.92, p = 0.019). Anti-TNFα drugs had significantly higher DRR compared to tocilizumab (67.2% vs 41.1%, p = 0.028). Even in these subgroups, csDMARDs showed positive effects on DRR (HR=3.79, 95% CI=1.49-9.6, p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS Anti-TNFα agents had the highest DRR overall and a higher DRR in a head-to-head comparison with tocilizumab. Concomitant csDMARDs had a significant positive effect on bDMARDs DRR.AZD1390 ic50

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