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Background: Cabozantinib, a new first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC), targets essential tyrosine kinases and outperforms the established comparator (sunitinib) in various efficacy outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of cabozantinib compared to other aRCC treatments. Methods: Following PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines, our protocol was registered in PROSPERO. A systematic search, without date limits, was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and EMBASE until October 8, 2023. Data extraction encompassed study details, baseline information, and outcomes. Hazard ratios (HR) and risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals were employed for each outcome, and a random-effects model was applied to account for expected heterogeneity. Results: Three studies, encompassing 967 patients, were included in our analysis. In terms of efficacy, the pooled rate for overall survival significantly favored cabozantinib. However, in subgroup analyses, cabozantinib was only statistically superior to everolimus. For progression-free survival and tumor objective response rate, cabozantinib outperformed both everolimus and sunitinib. In adverse events, compared to sunitinib, cabozantinib exhibited inferiority in nearly all evaluated aspects, except for nausea and stomatitis, which showed no difference between the two groups. Conversely, it demonstrated a comparable risk profile with everolimus across various side effects. Conclusion: Cabozantinib shows significant efficacy in extending overall survival, progression-free survival, and tumor objective response rate despite a potentially higher risk of adverse events compared to sunitinib. These findings support cabozantinib as a first-line therapy for aRCC, either as an initial treatment or after prior VEGFR-targeted therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aim,1 Mohammed AL-Ithawi,1 Obada Mohammad Mansour,1 Anoud Hamati,1 Farah A Khraisat,2 Hadi Abu-Hantash41Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, Specialty Hospital, Amman, Jordan; 2Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan; 3Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, Jordan; 4Department of Cardiology, Amman Surgical Hospital, Amman, Jordan Correspondence: Mahmoud Izraiq, Email [email protected] Background: Heart failure (HF) is a global health challenge affecting millions, with significant variations in patient characteristics and outcomes based on ejection fraction. This study aimed to differentiate between HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) with respect to patient characteristics, risk factors, comorbidities, and clinical outcomes, incorporating advanced machine learning models for mortality prediction. Methodology: The study included 1861 HF patients from 21 centers in Jordan, categorized into HFrEF (EF < 40%) and HFpEF (EF ≥ 50%) groups. Data were collected from 2021 to 2023, and machine learning models were employed for mortality prediction. Results: Among the participants, 29.7% had HFpEF and 70.3% HFrEF. Significant differences were noted in demographics and comorbidities, with a higher prevalence of males, younger age, smoking, and familial history of premature ASCVD in the HFrEF group. HFpEF patients were typically older, with higher rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Machine learning analysis, mainly using the Random Forest Classifier, demonstrated significant predictive capability for mortality with an accuracy of 0.9002 and an AUC of 0.7556. Other models, including Logistic Regression, SVM, and XGBoost, also showed promising results. Length of hospital stay, need for mechanical ventilation, and number of hospital admissions were the top predictors of mortality in our study. Conclusion: The study underscores the heterogeneity in patient profiles between HFrEF and HFpEF. Integrating machine learning models offers valuable insights into mortality risk prediction in HF patients, highlighting the potential of advanced analytics in improving patient care and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

aim,1 Abdel-Latif Mughrabi Sabbagh,1 Karam I Khraim,1 Ahmad A Toubasi,4 Abdullah Al-Kasasbeh,3 Sukaina Rawashdeh,3 Hadi Abu-Hantash51Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, Specialty Hospital, Amman, Jordan; 2Department of Cardiology, Istishari Hospital, Amman, Jordan; 3Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, King Abdullah University Hospital, Irbid, Jordan; 4Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, Jordan University Hospital, Amman, Jordan; 5Department of Cardiology, Amman Surgical Hospital, Amman, Jordan Correspondence: Mahmoud Izraiq, Cardiology Section, Internal Medicine Department, Specialty Hospital, Amman, Jordan, Tel +962795652260, Email [email protected] Background: Heart failure (HF) is a common final pathway of various insults to the heart, primarily from risk factors including diabetes mellitus (DM) type 2. This study analyzed the clinical characteristics of HF in a Jordanian population with a particular emphasis on the relationship between DM and HF. Methods: This prospective study used the Jordanian Heart Failure Registry (JoHFR) data. Patients with HF were characterized by DM status and HF type: HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) or HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Demographics, clinical presentations, and treatment outcomes were collected. Statistical analyses and machine learning techniques were carried out for the prediction of mortality among HF patients: Recursive Feature Elimination with Cross-Validation (RFECV) and Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique with Edited Nearest Neighbors (SMOTEENN) were employed. Results: A total of 2007 patients with HF were included. Notable differences between diabetic and non-diabetic patients are apparent. Diabetic patients were predominantly male, older, and obese (p < 0.001 for all). A higher incidence of HFpEF was observed in the diabetes cohort (p = 0.006). Also, diabetic patients had significantly higher levels of cholesterol (p = 0.008) and LDL (p = 0.003), reduced hemoglobin levels (p < 0.001), and more severe renal impairment (eGFR; p = 0.006). Machine learning models, particularly the Random Forest Classifier, highlighted its superiority in mortality prediction, with an accuracy of 90.02% and AUC of 80.51%. Predictors of mortality included creatinine levels > 115 μmol/L, length of hospital stay, and need for mechanical ventilation. Conclusion: This study underscores notable differences in clinical characteristics and outcomes between diabetic and non-diabetic heart failure patients in Jordan. Diabetic patients had higher prevalence of HFpEF and poorer health indicators such as elevated cholesterol, LDL, and impaired kidney function. High creatinine levels, longer hospital stays, and the need for mechanical ventilation were key predictors of mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cabozantinib, a new first-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC), targets essential tyrosine kinases and outperforms the established comparator (sunitinib) in various efficacy outcomes. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of cabozantinib compared to other aRCC treatments., Methods: Following PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines, our protocol was registered in PROSPERO. A systematic search, without date limits, was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and EMBASE until October 8, 2023. Data extraction encompassed study details, baseline information, and outcomes. Hazard ratios (HR) and risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals were employed for each outcome, and a random-effects model was applied to account for expected heterogeneity., Results: Three studies, encompassing 967 patients, were included in our analysis. In terms of efficacy, the pooled rate for overall survival significantly favored cabozantinib. However, in subgroup analyses, cabozantinib was only statistically superior to everolimus. For progression-free survival and tumor objective response rate, cabozantinib outperformed both everolimus and sunitinib. In adverse events, compared to sunitinib, cabozantinib exhibited inferiority in nearly all evaluated aspects, except for nausea and stomatitis, which showed no difference between the two groups. Conversely, it demonstrated a comparable risk profile with everolimus across various side effects., Conclusion: Cabozantinib shows significant efficacy in extending overall survival, progression-free survival, and tumor objective response rate despite a potentially higher risk of adverse events compared to sunitinib. These findings support cabozantinib as a first-line therapy for aRCC, either as an initial treatment or after prior VEGFR-targeted therapies., Competing Interests: The authors report no funding or conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Baylor University Medical Center.)

Background: As the incidence of intracranial infections increase due to diagnostic procedures improvement, more real-life data is needed to reach a more solid informed management approach., Objective: This study aims to describe and analyse clinical features of intracranial abscesses patients treated at a tertiary hospital in North Jordan during a 10-year period., Methods: We retrospectively identified 37 patients treated at King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) from 2011 to 2020 in Irbid, North Jordan. Treatment consisted of either aspiration, open craniotomy excision (OCE) or conservative therapy. Extracted variables included demographic data such (age, gender), clinical presentation, lab findings, radiological findings as well as management plan. Retrieved data was compared between the patients who underwent a single operation and those who underwent reoperation after the initial procedure., Results: Thirty-seven patients with 55 intracerebral abscesses were identified, 29 of whom had intraparenchymal brain abscesses, 4 patients had epidural empyema, and 4 had subdural empyema. The mean age was 28.8 (± 20.7) years, with a male predominance (78.4%). Sixteen patients underwent open craniotomy excision (OCE), 14 patients were treated by aspiration and 7 patients were treated conservatively. When comparing the single operation and the reoperation groups, there was no statistically significant difference across variables., Conclusion: Our study presents valuable insight from a tertiary hospital in north Jordan on intracranial abscesses and empyemas. Our findings confirm that good recovery can be established after aspiration or OCE in the majority of patients. Similar results were obtained when comparing the SOP and the ROP groups., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2022 Sultan Jarrar, Mohammed M. Al Barbarawi, Suleiman S. Daoud, Yaman B. Ahmed, Leen M. Al-Kraimeen, Hassan M. Abushukair, Sebawe Syaj, Omar F. Jbarah.)