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Piwi proteins play a significant role in germ cell development and the silencing of transposons in animals by associating with small non-coding RNAs known as Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). While the Piwi gene has been well characterized in various insect species, the role of the Piwi (PxPiwi) gene in the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), a globally distributed pest of cruciferous crops, remains unclear. Expression analysis demonstrated the upregulation of PxPiwi in pupae and testes. Furthermore, we generated a PxPiwi-knockout mutant using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, which resulted in a significantly prolonged pupal stage and the failure of pupae to develop into adults. Additionally, the knockdown of PxPiwi, through RNA interference (RNAi), led to a substantial decrease in the oviposition and hatchability of P. xylostella. These findings indicate that PxPiwi is specifically expressed and essential for the development and reproduction of P. xylostella. This is the first report indicating the involvement of the Piwi gene in the development of lepidopteran insects, except for reproduction and germ cell development, which provides a foundation for future investigations into the functions of PxPiwi.

Photoacoustic imaging is a good method for biological imaging, for this purpose, materials with strong near infrared (NIR) absorbance are required. In the present study, machine learning models are used to predict the light absorption behavior of polymers. Molecular descriptors are utilized to train a variety of machine learning models. Building blocks are searched from chemical databases, as well as new building blocks are designed using chemical library enumeration method. The Breaking Retrosynthetically Interesting Chemical Substructures (BRICS) method is employed for the creation of 10,000 novel polymers. These polymers are designed based on the input of searched and selected building blocks. To enhance the process, the optimal machine learning model is utilized to predict the UV/visible absorption maxima of the newly designed polymers. Concurrently, chemical similarity analysis is also performed on the selected polymers, and synthetic accessibility of selected polymers is calculated. In summary, the polymers are all easy to synthesize, increasing their potential for practical applications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Background: The effect of COVID-19 infection on post-operative mortality and the optimal timing to perform ambulatory surgery from diagnosis date remains unclear in this population. Our study was to determine whether a history of COVID-19 diagnosis leads to a higher risk of all-cause mortality following ambulatory surgery., Methods: This cohort constitutes retrospective data obtained from the Optum dataset containing 44,976 US adults who were tested for COVID-19 up to 6 months before surgery and underwent ambulatory surgery between March 2020 to March 2021. The primary outcome was the risk of all-cause mortality between the COVID-19 positive and negative patients grouped according to the time interval from COVID-19 testing to ambulatory surgery, called the Testing to Surgery Interval Mortality (TSIM) of up to 6 months. Secondary outcome included determining all-cause mortality (TSIM) in time intervals of 0-15 days, 16-30 days, 31-45 days, and 46-180 days in COVID-19 positive and negative patients., Results: 44,934 patients (4297 COVID-19 positive, 40,637 COVID-19 negative) were included in our analysis. COVID-19 positive patients undergoing ambulatory surgery had higher risk of all-cause mortality compared to COVID-19 negative patients (OR = 2.51, p < 0.001). The increased risk of mortality in COVID-19 positive patients remained high amongst patients who had surgery 0-45 days from date of COVID-19 testing. In addition, COVID-19 positive patients who underwent colonoscopy (OR = 0.21, p = 0.01) and plastic and orthopedic surgery (OR = 0.27, p = 0.01) had lower mortality than those underwent other surgeries., Conclusions: A COVID-19 positive diagnosis is associated with significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality following ambulatory surgery. This mortality risk is greatest in patients that undergo ambulatory surgery within 45 days of testing positive for COVID-19. Postponing elective ambulatory surgeries in patients that test positive for COVID-19 infection within 45 days of surgery date should be considered, although prospective studies are needed to assess this., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Context: Selecting high performance polymer materials for organic solar cells (OSCs) remains a compelling goal to improve device morphology, stability, and efficiency. To achieve these goals, machine learning has been reported as a powerful set of algorithms/techniques to solve complex problems and help/guide exploratory researchers to screen, map, and develop high performance materials. In present work, we have applied machine learning tools to screen data from reported studies and designed new polymer acceptor materials, respectively. Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models were generated using machine learning-assisted simulation techniques. For this purpose, 3000 molecular descriptors are generated. Consequently, molecular descriptors having key effect on power conversion efficiency (PCE) were identified. Moreover, numerous regression models (e.g., random forest and bagging regressor models) were developed to predict the PCE. In particular, new materials were designed based on the similarity analysis. The GDB17 chemical database consisting of 166 million organic molecules in an ordered form is used for performing similarity analysis. A similarity behavior between GDB17 materials and the materials reported in literature is studied using RDKit (a cheminformatics software). Noteworthily, 100 monomers proved to be unique and effective, and PCEs of these monomers are predicted. Among these monomers, four monomers exhibited PCE higher than 14%, which is better than various reported studies. Our methodology provides a unique, time- and cost-efficient approach to screening and designing new polymers for OSCs using similarity analysis without revisiting the reported studies., Methods: To perform machine learning analysis, data from reported studies and online databases was collected. Different molecular descriptors were generated for polymer materials utilizing Dragon software. 3D structures of studied molecules were applied as input (SDF; structure data file format). Importantly, about 3000 molecular descriptors were generated. Comma-separated value (.csv) file format was used to export these molecular descriptors. To shortlist best descriptors, univariate regression analysis was performed. These descriptors were further utilized for training machine learning models. Moreover, necessary packages of Python for data analysis and visualization were imported such as Matplotlib, Numpy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, Seaborn, and Scipy. Random forest and bagging regressor models were applied for performing machine learning analysis. A cheminformatics software, RDKit, was applied for similarity analysis., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: This study assessed in-hospital outcomes of patients with chronic systolic, diastolic, or mixed heart failure (HF) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR)., Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was used to identify patients with aortic stenosis and chronic HF who underwent TAVR or SAVR between 2012 and 2015. Propensity score matching and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine outcome risk., Results: A cohort of 9,879 patients with systolic (27.2%), diastolic (52.2%), and mixed (20.6%) chronic HF were included. No statistically significant differences in hospital mortality were noted. Overall, patients with diastolic HF had the shortest hospital stays and lowest costs. Compared with patients with diastolic HF, the risk of acute myocardial infarction (TAVR odds ratio [OR], 1.95; 95% CI, 1.20-3.19; P = .008; SAVR OR, 1.38; 95% CI, 0.98-1.95; P = .067) and cardiogenic shock (TAVR OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.43-3.23; P < .001; SAVR OR, 1.89; 95% CI, 1.42-2.53; P ≤ .001) was higher in patients with systolic HF, whereas the risk of permanent pacemaker implantation (TAVR OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.45-0.76; P < .001; SAVR OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.40-0.84; P = .004) was lower following aortic valve procedures. In TAVR, the risk of acute deep vein thrombosis and kidney injury was higher, although not statistically significant, in patients with systolic HF than in those with diastolic HF., Conclusion: These outcomes suggest that chronic HF types do not incur statistically significant hospital mortality risk in patients undergoing TAVR or SAVR., (© 2023 by the Texas Heart® Institute, Houston.)

Background: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is increasingly used in patients with severe cardiorespiratory collapse. Although prior large database reviews of ECMO use in the peripartum population exist, they do not stratify by ECMO indication nor do they include obstetric conditions such as preeclampsia. Our objective was to characterize the incidence, indication-associated mortality, and factors associated with mortality in pregnant patients who underwent ECMO., Methods: We examined the United States National Inpatient Sample database to identify hospitalizations for pregnancy from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2016. We identified pregnant patients who underwent ECMO using International Classification of Diseases ninth and tenth revisions codes. The primary outcome was in-hospital all-cause mortality across pregnant patients who underwent ECMO for any indication. We evaluated the indication for ECMO, incidence, prevalence of risk factors, comorbidities and conditions, and their association with in-hospital mortality., Results: Fifty-nine of 5'346,517 pregnant patients underwent ECMO during our study period (incidence, 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84-1.4 per 100,000 hospitalizations). Indications for ECMO support included respiratory failure (79.7%), cardiogenic shock (64.4%), or circulatory arrest (25.4%). Most patients (57.6%) had more than 1 indication. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 30.5%. Mortality was 29.8% in patients with respiratory failure, 39.5% with cardiogenic shock, 46.7% with cardiac arrest, and 42.4% in those with combined diagnoses. Cardiogenic shock was associated with a significantly higher mortality rate and adjusted odds ratio 5.0 (95% CI, 1.25-27.0). Most patients (62.7%) had one or more comorbidities., Conclusions: The frequency of ECMO use across the pregnant population was low over this time period, with a mortality rate of 1 in 3 patients. Mortality was greatest in patients with cardiogenic shock. Further work is needed to understand how best to improve ECMO outcomes in pregnant patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Introduction: Delirium occurs frequently after lung transplantation and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Significantly prolonged jugular venous congestion (JVC) occurs during off-pump lung transplantation and is thought to impair cerebral perfusion. Our study aimed to test the hypothesis that increased intraoperative JVC is associated with an increased risk of postoperative delirium among lung transplantation recipients., Methods: This is a retrospective observational cohort study. Adult patients who received off-pump lung transplantation at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center between 2006 and 2016 are included. The magnitude of JVC was calculated by the area under the curve (AUC) of the central venous pressure (CVP) above the threshold of 12 mmHg. Postoperative delirium was assessed by Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) criteria during their ICU stay. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine the association of intraoperative JVC with postoperative delirium, adjusting for baseline demographics, surgical, and intraoperative characteristics., Results: Thirty-two (23.5%) out of 136 patients developed delirium in the ICU. There was no statistical difference in terms of intraoperative JVC between patients with delirium and those without (4058 ± 6650 vs. 3495 ± 10 151 mmHg min; p = .772). Furthermore, during multivariate regression analysis, JVC was not associated with an increased risk of delirium (odds ratio: 1.03 per 100 mmHg min increase in venous congestion; 95% confidence interval: .31, 3.39; p = .96)., Conclusions: Delirium occurred frequently after off-pump lung transplantation. Although physiologically plausible, the present study did not find an association between increased JVC during off-pump lung transplantation and an increased risk of postoperative delirium., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Introduction: Chronic heart failure (CHF) patients are often malnourished. Our aim was to determine the effect of protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) on in-hospital outcomes in CHF patients following elective cardiac surgery and to identify risk factors for PCM in this patient population., Methods: A retrospective analysis of the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database was conducted from 2016 to 2018. In-hospital outcomes in adult patients with CHF undergoing elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) with cardiopulmonary bypass-assist or cardiac valve replacement surgeries were analyzed. Propensity-score matching was used to match CHF patients with and without PCM and followed by logistic regression analysis. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify the risk factors associated with PCM in this population., Results: In total 25,940 CHF patients were identified, of which 6,271 underwent elective CABG and 19,669 underwent valve replacement surgeries. The prevalence of PCM in CHF patients undergoing CABG and valve replacement was 3.9% and 2.9%, respectively. CHF patients with PCM had significantly higher risk of in-hospital mortality, post-operative cardiac and gastrointestinal complications compared to CHF patients without PCM. The mean hospital length of stay was twice as high in the PCM group (mean days: 18.6 vs 9.9). Female gender, Black race (vs White race), a high Charlson Comorbidity Index, Medicare/Medicaid insurance status (vs private insurance), and CHF (systolic and combined systolic and diastolic) were independently associated with significantly higher risk of PCM diagnosis., Conclusions: CHF patients with PCM who undergo elective CABG or valve replacement surgeries are at a significantly higher risk of mortality, post-operative cardiac and gastrointestinal complications, and increased duration of hospital stay compared to those without PCM. Future prospective studies should assess the CHF patients who are at a higher risk of PCM and whether correcting pre-operative nutrition in this surgical population can improve outcomes following cardiac surgery., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Mubashir et al.)

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are common in the general population and are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The objective of this study was to assess hospital outcomes of patients with TBI with and without a pre-existing OSA diagnosis., Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database of adult patients aged ≥ 18 years with a primary diagnosis of TBI. In-hospital outcomes were assessed among patients with TBI with and without pre-existing OSA hospitalized between 2005 to 2015 in the United States. Propensity score matching and conditional logistic regression models were used to analyze in-hospital mortality, length of hospitalization, and in-hospital complications among patients with TBI with and without a pretrauma OSA diagnosis., Results: In our TBI cohort, the overall prevalence of diagnosed OSA was 0.90%. Patients with OSA were mostly obese or morbidly obese older men with high comorbidity burden and sustained more severe head injuries yet were less likely to undergo craniotomy or craniectomy. Following propensity score matching, the odds risk (OR) of in-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the OSA group with TBI (OR 0.58; p < 0.001). Compared with the non-OSA group, patients with OSA had significantly higher risk of respiratory complications (OR 1.23) and acute heart failure (OR 1.25) and lower risk of acute myocardial infarction (OR 0.73), cardiogenic shock (OR 0.34), and packed red blood cell transfusions (OR 0.79). Patients with OSA spent on average 0.3 days less (7.4 vs. 7.7 days) hospitalized compared with the non-OSA group., Conclusions: Patients with TBI with underlying OSA diagnosis were older and had higher comorbidity burden; however, hospital mortality was lower. Pre-existing OSA may result in protective physiologic changes such as hypoxic-ischemic preconditioning especially to cardiac and neural tissues, which can provide protection following neurological trauma, which may lead to a reduction in mortality., (© 2022. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature and Neurocritical Care Society.)

Setting: In the last few decades, an opioid related health crisis has been a challenging problem in many countries around the world, especially the United States. Better understanding of the association of pre-admission opioid abuse and/or dependence (POAD) on specific major complications in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients can aid the medical team in improving patient care management and outcomes., Study Objective: Our goal is to assess and quantify the risk of POAD on in-hospital mortality and major complications in TBI patients., Design: We conducted a retrospective study and used the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database from 2004 to 2015 to investigate the impact of POAD on in-hospital mortality and major complications in TBI patients. We utilized propensity score matching and conditional logistic regression models, adjusted with injury severity score (ISS) and comorbidities, to obtain the adjusted odds ratios (OR)., Main Results: POAD TBI patients had lower risks of in-hospital mortality (OR 0.58; p < 0.001) and acute myocardial infarction (OR 0.53; p = 0.045), while a higher risk of respiratory (OR 1.59; p < 0.001) and neurologic complications (OR 2.54; p < 0.001), compared to non-POAD TBI patients. Additionally, POAD patients were significantly more likely to have sepsis (OR 2.16, p < 0.001), malnutrition (OR 1.56, p < 0.001), delirium (OR 2.81, p < 0.001), respiratory failure (OR 1.79, p < 0.001), and acute renal failure (OR 1.83, p < 0.001). POAD TBI patients had shorter length of hospital stay compared to non-POAD TBI patients (mean 8.0 vs 9.2 days, p < 0.001)., Conclusions: POAD TBI patients have a lower in-hospital mortality, shorter duration of hospitalization and a lower risk of acute myocardial infarction, while they are more likely to have respiratory failure, delirium, sepsis, malnutrition, and acute renal failure compared to TBI patients without POAD. Prospective study is warranted to further confirm these findings., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Tracheostomy following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common, yet the outcomes associated with tracheostomy timing are unclear. The objective of this study was to assess hospital outcomes of tracheostomy timing in TBI patients. We retrospectively analyzed data from the National Inpatient Sample database of adult patients aged ≥18 years with a primary diagnosis of TBI. Indexed hospitalizations of TBI patients who underwent either percutaneous or surgical tracheostomy between 1995 and 2015 in the United States were included. The interventional groups were 1) early tracheostomy (≤7 days) vs standard tracheostomy (8-14 days), vs late tracheostomy (≥15 days), and 2) tracheostomy vs no tracheostomy. Propensity score matching and conditional logistic regression models were used to analyze in-hospital mortality, length of hospitalization, and in-hospital complications among TBI patients in relation to tracheostomy timing. The risk of in-hospital mortality was 35% lower in patients who underwent tracheostomy vs those who did not (odds ratio 0.65; P  < 0.001). Patients who underwent early tracheostomy had a higher risk of in-hospital mortality compared to standard tracheostomy (odds ratio 1.69; P  < 0.001) or late tracheostomy (odds ratio 1.80; P  < 0.001). An early tracheostomy was associated with a shorter mean hospital length of stay (27 days) compared to standard (36 days) or late tracheostomy (48 days)., (Copyright © 2022 Baylor University Medical Center.)

Objectives: To determine the incidence and predictive factors of acute kidney injury (AKI) after off-pump lung transplantation., Design: A retrospective cohort study., Setting: The operating room and intensive care unit., Participants: Adult patients who underwent lung transplant without cardiopulmonary bypass or extracorporeal membrane oxygenator between 2006 and 2016 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: The presence of postoperative AKI was assessed by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria in the first seven postoperative days. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent predictive factors of AKI. One hundred forty-eight patients were included in the final analysis, of whom 63 (42.6%) subsequently developed AKI: 43 (29.0%) stage 1, ten (6.8%) stage 2, and ten (6.8%) stage 3. Patients who had AKI had a longer hospital length of stay (12 days [interquartile range (IQR): 10-17] vs ten days [IQR: 8-12], p < 0.001). For every one-year increase in age, the odds of AKI decreased by 8% (odds ratio [OR] 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87-0.98, p = 0.008). The odds of having AKI in patients with bilateral lung transplant was lower than patients with unilateral transplant (OR 0.09, 95% CI: 0.01-0.63, p = 0.015). Additionally, a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increased the odds of AKI by four-fold compared with a diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (OR 4.73, 95% CI: 1.44-15.56, p = 0.011)., Conclusions: AKI is a common complication after off-pump lung transplantation and is associated with increased hospital length of stay. Younger age, unilateral lung transplant, and diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are independently associated with AKI., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To determine in-hospital outcomes and assess high-risk groups among chronic heart failure (CHF) patients with aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) or surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR)., Design: A retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database from January 2012 to September 2015 was performed., Setting: Hospitals across the United States that offer TAVRs or SAVRs., Participants: Adults with a diagnosis of CHF and AS., Interventions: The patients underwent either TAVR or SAVR., Measurements and Main Results: Totals of 5,871 and 4,008 CHF patients underwent TAVR and SAVR, respectively. TAVR patients were significantly older, more were female, and had a higher comorbidity burden. No significant differences in in-hospital mortality were noted between TAVR and SAVR. However, mean length of stay was significantly longer by 3.5 days in the SAVR group, as was the mean total cost. With the exception of complete heart block, permanent pacemaker implantation, and vascular complications, the majority of postoperative events were higher among the SAVR group. Multivariate regression analysis identified postoperative cardiac, respiratory and renal complications as significant predictors of in-hospital mortality for both groups. Additionally, age ≥75 years and vascular complications were significant predictors of mortality for patients undergoing TAVR., Conclusions: Among CHF patients with symptomatic AS, TAVR had similar in-hospital mortality rate compared with SAVR despite higher comorbidity burden. TAVR patients are at a lower risk of cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal complications and might lead to reduced length of hospital stay and cost. Hence, TAVR may be a safer option in this population., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acute traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) often result in impairments in respiration that may lead to a sequelae of pulmonary dysfunction, increased risk of infection, and death. The optimal timing for tracheostomy in patients with acute SCI is currently unknown. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to assess the optimal timing of tracheostomy in SCI patients and evaluate the potential benefits of early versus late tracheostomy., Methods: We searched Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and PsycINFO for published studies. We included studies on adults with SCI who underwent early or late tracheostomy and compared outcomes. In addition, studies that reported a concomitant traumatic brain injury were excluded. Data were extracted independently by 2 reviewers and copied into R software for analysis. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate the pooled odds ratio (OR) or mean difference (MD)., Results: Eight studies with a total of 1220 patients met our inclusion criteria. The mean age and gender between early and late tracheostomy groups were similar. The majority of the studies performed an early tracheostomy within 7 days from either time of injury or tracheal intubation. Patients with a cervical SCI were twice as likely to undergo an early tracheostomy (OR = 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.24-3.64; P = .006) compared to patients with a thoracic SCI. Early tracheostomy reduced the mean intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay by 13 days (95% CI, -19.18 to -7.00; P = .001) and the mean duration of mechanical ventilation by 18.30 days (95% CI, -24.33 to -12.28; P = .001). Although the pooled risk of in-hospital mortality was lower with early tracheostomy compared to late tracheostomy, the results were not significant (OR = 0.56; 95% CI, 0.32-1.01; P = .054). In the subgroup analysis, mortality was significantly lower in the early tracheostomy group (OR = 0.27; P = .006). Finally, no differences in pneumonia between early and late tracheostomy groups were noted., Conclusions: Based on the available data, patients with early tracheostomy within the first 7 days of injury or tracheal intubation had higher cervical SCI, shorter ICU length of stay, and shorter duration of mechanical ventilation compared to late tracheostomy. The risk of in-hospital mortality may be lower following an early tracheostomy. However, due to the quality of studies and insufficient clinical data available, it is challenging to make conclusive interpretations. Future prospective trials with a larger patient population are needed to fully assess short- and long-term outcomes of tracheostomy timing following acute SCI., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 International Anesthesia Research Society.)

Background: There is limited and conflicting data on whether sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with postoperative major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE), and mortality., Objectives: To determine whether SDB is associated with increased risks of MACCE, mortality and length of hospital stay., Design: Retrospective cohort analysis from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample., Setting: Adults who underwent elective abdominal, orthopaedic, prostatic, gynaecological, thoracic, transplant, vascular or cardiac surgery in the United States of America between 2011 and 2014., Patients: The study cohort included 1813 974 surgical patients, of whom 185 615 (10.2%) had SDB. Emergency or urgent surgical procedures were excluded., Main Outcome Measures: The incidences of MACCE, respiratory and vascular complications, in-hospital mortality and mean length of hospital stay were stratified by SDB. Linear and logistic regression models were constructed to determine the independent association between SDB and outcomes of interest., Results: The incidences of MACCE [25.3 vs. 19.8%, odds ratio (OR) 1.20, P < 0.001] and respiratory complications (11.75 vs. 8.0%, OR 1.43, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in patients with SDB than in those without SDB. SDB was associated with higher rates of atrial fibrillation (14.7 vs. 10.8%, P < 0.001), other arrhythmias (6.0 vs. 5.4%, P < 0.001) and congestive heart failure (9.8 vs. 7.1%, P < 0.001). SDB patients had a lower rate of myocardial infarction (3.1 vs. 3.4%, OR 0.69, P < 0.001), lower mortality (0.6 vs. 1.3%, P < 0.001) and shorter length of hospital stay (4.8 vs. 5.2 days, P < 0.001)., Conclusion: SDB was associated with increased risks of MACCE, and respiratory and vascular complications, but had a lower incidence of in-hospital mortality and shorter length of hospital stay.

Background: A country level exploratory analysis was conducted to assess the impact of timing and type of national health policy/actions undertaken towards COVID-19 mortality and related health outcomes., Methods: Information on COVID-19 policies and health outcomes were extracted from websites and country specific sources. Data collection included the government's action, level of national preparedness, and country specific socioeconomic factors. Data was collected from the top 50 countries ranked by number of cases. Multivariable negative binomial regression was used to identify factors associated with COVID-19 mortality and related health outcomes., Findings: Increasing COVID-19 caseloads were associated with countries with higher obesity (adjusted rate ratio [RR]=1.06; 95%CI: 1.01-1.11), median population age (RR=1.10; 95%CI: 1.05-1.15) and longer time to border closures from the first reported case (RR=1.04; 95%CI: 1.01-1.08). Increased mortality per million was significantly associated with higher obesity prevalence (RR=1.12; 95%CI: 1.06-1.19) and per capita gross domestic product (GDP) (RR=1.03; 95%CI: 1.00-1.06). Reduced income dispersion reduced mortality (RR=0.88; 95%CI: 0.83-0.93) and the number of critical cases (RR=0.92; 95% CI: 0.87-0.97). Rapid border closures, full lockdowns, and wide-spread testing were not associated with COVID-19 mortality per million people. However, full lockdowns (RR=2.47: 95%CI: 1.08-5.64) and reduced country vulnerability to biological threats (i.e. high scores on the global health security scale for risk environment) (RR=1.55; 95%CI: 1.13-2.12) were significantly associated with increased patient recovery rates., Interpretation: In this exploratory analysis, low levels of national preparedness, scale of testing and population characteristics were associated with increased national case load and overall mortality., Funding: This study is non-funded., Competing Interests: Rabail Chaudhry MD, MSc: This author declares no financial interests. George Dranitsaris PhD: This author declares no financial interests. Talha Mubashir MD: This author declares no financial interests. Justyna Bartoszko MD, MSc: This author declares no financial interests. Sheila Riazi MD: This author declares no financial interests., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Study Objectives: Opioids have been reported to increase the risk for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in patients with noncancer chronic pain on opioid therapy. This study aims to determine the pooled prevalence of SDB in opioid users with chronic pain and compare it with patients with pain:no opioids and no pain:no opioids., Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials was conducted. We included all observational studies that reported the prevalence of SDB in patients with chronic pain on long-term opioid therapy (≥3 months). The primary outcome was the pooled prevalence of SDB in opioid users with chronic pain (pain:opioids group) and a comparison with pain:no opioids and no pain:no opioids groups. The meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model., Results: After screening 1,404 studies, 9 studies with 3,791 patients were included in the meta-analysis (pain:opioids group, n = 3181 [84%]; pain:no opioids group, n = 359 [9.4%]; no pain:no opioids group, n = 251 [6.6%]). The pooled prevalence of SDB in the pain:opioids, pain:no opioids, and no pain:no opioids groups were 91%, 83%, and 72% in sleep clinics and 63%, 10%, and 75% in pain clinics, respectively. Furthermore, in the pain: opioids group, central sleep apnea prevalence in sleep and pain clinics was 33% and 20%, respectively., Conclusions: The pooled prevalence of SDB in patients with chronic pain on opioid therapy is not significantly different compared with pain:no opioids and no pain:no opioids groups and varies considerably depending on the site of patient recruitment (ie, sleep vs pain clinics). The prevalence of central sleep apnea is high in sleep and pain clinics in the pain:opioids group. Clinical Trial Registration: Registry: PROSPERO: International prospective register of systematic reviews; Name: Prevalence of sleep disordered breathing, hypoxemia and hypercapnia in patients on oral opioid therapy for chronic pain management; URL: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display&#95;record.php?ID=CRD42018103298; Identifier: CRD42018103298., (© 2020 American Academy of Sleep Medicine.)

Background: Previous studies have shown that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment or dementia in the elderly, leading to deleterious health effects and decreasing quality of life. This systematic review aims to determine the prevalence of OSA in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and examine whether an association between OSA and MCI exists., Methods: We searched Medline, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, PsychINFO, Scopus, the Web of Science, ClinicalTrials.gov and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform for published and unpublished studies. We included studies in adults with a diagnosis of MCI that reported on the prevalence of OSA. Two independent reviewers performed the abstract and full-text screening, data extraction and the study quality critical appraisal., Results: Five studies were included in the systematic review. Overall, OSA prevalence rates in patients with MCI varied between 11 and 71% and were influenced by OSA diagnostic methods and patient recruitment locations (community or clinic based). Among studies using the following OSA diagnostic measures- self-report, Home Sleep Apnea Testing, Berlin Questionnaire and polysomnography- the OSA prevalence rates in MCI were 11, 27, 59 and 71%, respectively. In a community-based sample, the prevalence of OSA in patients with and without MCI was 27 and 26%, respectively., Conclusions: Based on limited evidence, the prevalence of OSA in patients with MCI is 27% and varies based upon OSA diagnostic methods and patient recruitment locations. Our findings provide an important framework for future studies to prospectively investigate the association between OSA and MCI among larger community-based cohorts and implement a standardized approach to diagnose OSA in memory clinics., Prospero Registration: CRD42018096577.

In the surgical setting, OSA is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. At present, risk stratification using OSA-associated parameters derived from polysomnography (PSG) or overnight oximetry to predict postoperative complications has not been established. The objective of this narrative review is to evaluate the literature to determine the association between parameters extracted from in-laboratory PSG, portable PSG, or overnight oximetry and postoperative adverse events. We obtained pertinent articles from Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, and Embase (2008 to December 2017). The search included studies with adult patients undergoing surgery who had OSA diagnosed with portable PSG, in-laboratory PSG, or overnight oximetry that reported on specific sleep parameters and at least one adverse outcome. The search was restricted to English-language articles. The search yielded 1,810 articles, of which 21 were included in the review. Preoperative apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and measurements of nocturnal hypoxemia such as oxygen desaturation index (ODI), cumulative sleep time percentage with oxyhemoglobin saturation (Spo 2 ) < 90% (CT90), minimum Spo 2 , mean Spo 2 , and longest apnea duration were associated with postoperative complications. OSA is associated with postoperative complications in the population undergoing surgery. Clinically and statistically significant associations between AHI and postoperative adverse events exists. Complications may be more likely to occur in the category of moderate to severe OSA (AHI ≥ 15). Other parameters from PSG or overnight oximetry such as ODI, CT90, mean and minimal Spo 2 , and longest apnea duration can be associated with postoperative complications and may provide additional value in risk stratification and minimization., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

One in 4 deaths occurring within a week of surgery are related to pulmonary complications, making it the second most common serious morbidity after cardiovascular events. The most significant predictors of the postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status, advanced age, dependent functional status, surgical site, and duration of surgery. The overall risk of PPCs can be predicted using scores that incorporate readily available clinical data., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)