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18F-FDG PET is widely used in epilepsy surgery. We established a robust quantitative algorithm for the lateralization of epileptogenic foci and examined the value of machine learning of 18F-FDG PET data in medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) patients.

We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent surgery for MTLE. Three clinicians identified the side of MTLE epileptogenesis by visual inspection. The surgical side was set as the epileptogenic side. Two parcellation paradigms and corresponding atlases (Automated Anatomical Labeling and FreeSurfer aparc + aseg) were used to extract the normalized PET uptake of the regions of interest (ROIs). AEBSF The lateralization index of the MTLE-associated regions in either hemisphere was calculated. The lateralization indices of each ROI were subjected for machine learning to establish the model for classifying the side of MTLE epileptogenesis.

Ninety-three patients were enrolled for training and validation, and another 11 patients were used for testing. The hit ratel regions.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts, which are densely found in tumor tissue, express high levels of fibroblast activation protein (FAP), and FAP inhibitors (FAPIs) labeled with radionuclides can be used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In this study, the role of 68Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT in imaging of primary, metastatic, and recurrent cancers was investigated.

A total of 42 patients (16 females, 26 males; mean age, 58.5 years; range, 31-84 years) with 22 different types of malignant diseases were included in the study. 68Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT imaging was performed 1 to 7 days after 18F-FDG PET/CT. Pathological uptake levels in primary tumoral lesions, lymph nodes, skeletal system, liver, peritoneal surfaces, and other body parts were compared between 2 PET/CTs. In addition, physiological uptake levels of 18F-FDG and 68Ga-FAPI were defined measuring the liver, thoracic aorta, gluteal muscle activities, and uterus activity in female patients.

Of the 42 patients in the study group, 33 patients were inCT.

The preliminary findings of this study showed that 68Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT can contribute to the diagnostic process in solid tumors. Especially in malignancies with mild uptake on 18F-FDG PET/CT, it stands out in diagnosis, staging, and restaging. It is also predicted that FAPI molecules can be used for radionuclide therapy in patients with metastatic disease and unresponsive to other treatments showing intense uptake on 68Ga-DOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT.

Suicide risk assessment often requires health professionals to consider a complex interplay of multiple factors, with a significant reliance on judgment, which can be influenced by factors such as education and experience. Our study aimed at assessing the uniformity of decision making around suicide risk within healthcare professionals.

We used a factorial survey approach to gather information on healthcare professionals’ demographics, clinical experience, and their decision on 3 vignettes of patients with suicidal ideation. We used Kruskal-Wallis tests for determining if there were significant differences between groups for continuous variables and Spearman rank correlation for measuring the association between continuous variables. Content analysis was used for analyzing free-text comments.

Responses were gathered from 79 healthcare professionals (nurses, nurse practitioners, physicians) who worked in primary care, mental health, or emergency department settings. Median suicide risk rates across all rice settings, with the high-risk vignette showing the least variability. Insights from this study are relevant when building clinical decision support systems for suicide risk assessment. Designers should think about incorporating tailored messaging and alerts to health professionals’ mental health experience and/or designation.

Within our Canadian sample, there was considerable variability among healthcare professionals assessing the risk of suicide, with important implications for tailoring education and decision support.

Within our Canadian sample, there was considerable variability among healthcare professionals assessing the risk of suicide, with important implications for tailoring education and decision support.

Digital ocular compressions (DOCs) decrease intraocular pressure in eyes with tube shunts by significantly greater magnitude and duration when compared with fellow eyes without filtering surgery.

DOCs are commonly used by glaucoma surgeons to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP) in the early postoperative period. Little is known, however, about the effects of DOC in eyes with tube shunts. We therefore examined these effects in eyes with long-established, functional glaucoma tube shunts.

In this masked prospective study, adult subjects with primary open angle glaucoma and an Ahmed tube shunt in only 1 eye were recruited. After obtaining baseline IOP with Goldmann applanation tonometry a single transpalpebral DOC was applied to each eye (in random order). Postcompression IOP was measured after 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180, 210, and 240 minutes or until the measured IOP returned to baseline. The fellow (nonsurgical) eye was a control. Magnitude and duration of IOP reduction were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier analysis. The pressure applied to eyes in each cohort was standardized through the use of a force sensitive resistor and impulse was analyzed for differences.

Twenty-two eyes of 11 patients underwent DOC. There was no significant difference in the impulse applied to eyes in each cohort (P=0.6). A mean initial IOP reduction of 5.36 mm Hg occurred in tube shunt eyes and 2.55 in control eyes (P=0.014). Log-rank analysis demonstrated longer survival in the tube shunt group (P=0.049).

DOC is an effective method for transiently reducing IOP in eyes with long-established, patent tube shunts for about an hour. To maintain this decrease in pressure, compressions will have to be performed on a scheduled basis.

DOC is an effective method for transiently reducing IOP in eyes with long-established, patent tube shunts for about an hour. To maintain this decrease in pressure, compressions will have to be performed on a scheduled basis.

With expanding legality of medical marijuana (MMJ) in the United States, it is important for ophthalmologists to have greater understanding of the implications of MMJ and glaucoma treatment and how it can impact their patients.

Previous work has demonstrated that inhaled tetrahydrocannabinol can lower intraocular pressure. The stance of the American Glaucoma Society (AGS) is that MMJ is not an acceptable treatment for glaucoma. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the glaucoma specialists’ perceptions and attitudes toward the use of MMJ for glaucoma.

An electronic survey was sent to members of the AGS which addressed attitudes and perceptions on the use of MMJ in the management of glaucoma. Study questions included practitioner demographics, previous experiences with patients discussing the topic, prescribing patterns, and knowledge regarding the use of MMJ for the treatment of glaucoma.

Thirty-seven percent of respondents reported having patients who cited using MMJ for their glaucoma, and 38% of despite the recommendation of the professional society. This group was least likely to have received education on the topic. Given the expanding legality and curiosity of patients with regards to marijuana in the United States, it is important for ophthalmologists to have a greater understanding of the implications of marijuana in glaucoma.A scarcity in research assessing the palliative care (PC) educational and health care system-related issues has been reported in the Middle East region; the region comprises a wide range of economically diverse countries. Discrepancies across countries have created difficulties in adopting other countries’ experiences. This study aimed to assess PC knowledge, attitude, educational needs, and health care system-related issues from physicians’ and nurses’ perspectives before developing PC services within the Palestinian health care system. One hundred sixty-nine professionals participated in this cross-sectional survey. Data were collected by validated instruments. Professionals had insufficient knowledge about PC, but they had positive attitudes toward end-of-life care and care of the dying. Patients’/families’ avoidance of talking about issues around dying and lack of training for staff related to PC were the most 2 significant barriers to providing PC. Educational level and previous training were found to be associated significantly with knowledge and attitudes toward PC. Study conclusions support the recommendation for integration of education about PC within the health curricula and in-service training and should cover the basic and advanced principles of PC and symptom management.

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a modifiable contributor of in-stent restenosis (ISR), but quantitative analyses using a noninvasive approach are limited. We aimed to investigate the associations between CAC score derived from ECG-gated coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) or non-gated non-contrast chest computed tomography (NCCT) and ISR.

We included 368 lesions in 194 patients with coronary drug-eluting stent implantations in final analyses. CAC was quantified using the Agatston score. Primary endpoint was ISR, defined as lumen diameter stenosis over 50% at the stent segment or its proximal or distal edges (5-mm segments adjacent to the stent), at angiographic follow-up.

The CAC scores in either CCTA/2.5 mm group (r = 0.7702; P < 0.0001) or NCCT/5 mm group (r = 0.7105; P < 0.0001) were both correlated with in-stent diameter stenosis. The receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis identified a CAC score >245 in CCTA/2.5 mm group as the optimal ISR cutoff (sensitivity, 60.0%; specificity, 83.7%; area under the curve, 0.744; P < 0.001), and >209 in NCCT/5 mm group (sensitivity, 46.7%; specificity, 91.9%; area under the curve, 0.704; P < 0.001). Multivariable logistic regression models indicated a CAC score >245 in CCTA/2.5 mm group and >209 in NCCT/5 mm group independently associated with an 8.46- and 21.89-fold increase in ISR, respectively (all P < 0.01).

Either a CAC score >245 in CCTA/2.5 mm or >209 in NCCT/5 mm was significantly associated with increased risk in ISR.

209 in NCCT/5 mm was significantly associated with increased risk in ISR.A retired nurse gets up to speed, with a little help from a nursing student.An expert in disaster nursing discusses COVID-19, Hurricane Maria, and emergency preparedness.Updated several times a week with posts by a wide variety of authors, AJN’s blog Off the Charts allows us to provide more timely-and often more personal-perspectives on professional, policy, and clinical issues. Best of the Blog is a regular column to draw the attention of AJN readers to posts we think deserve a wider audience. To read more, please visit http://www.ajnoffthecharts.com.Editor‘s note This is the next installment in a series on electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation. Nurses in all settings should know the basics, as medications and physiological changes can cause cardiac arrhythmias. Each article will start with a brief case scenario and an ECG strip and then take you step by step through analyzing the heart rhythm.