The vacuum erectile device (VED) uses negative pressure to increase blood inflow into the corpora cavernosum, with a ring at the base of the penis to maintain erection for intercourse or without a ring for penile rehabilitation. Owing to the limitation of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5I) shown in the treatment of refractory erectile dysfunction (ED), the use of VED has resurged and is becoming the first line therapy in the treatment of ED following radical prostatectomy (RP). Currently, the combination therapy of VED with PDE5I and that of VED with intracavernous injection are advocated for post-RP ED. Hereby, we review the role of VED in penile rehabilitation, its underlying mechanisms, and the combination therapies for it.
Coitus ; Combined Modality Therapy ; methods ; Erectile Dysfunction ; drug therapy ; etiology ; rehabilitation ; Humans ; Male ; Penile Prosthesis ; Penis ; blood supply ; Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors ; therapeutic use ; Prostatectomy ; adverse effects ; Regional Blood Flow ; Vacuum

BACKGROUNDIdentification of hospitalized carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)-positive patient is important in preventing nosocomial transmission. The objective of this study was to illustrate the implementation of proactive infection control measures in preventing nosocomial transmission of CRE in a healthcare region of over 3200 beds in Hong Kong between October 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011.

METHODSThe program included active surveillance culture in patients with history of medical tourism with hospitalization and surgical operation outside Hong Kong within 12 months before admission, and "added test" as an opportunistic CRE screening in all fecal specimens submitted to the laboratory. Outbreak investigation and contact tracing were conducted for CRE-positive patients. Serial quantitative culture was performed on CRE-positive patients and the duration of fecal carriage of CRE was analyzed.

RESULTSDuring the study period, a total of 6533 patients were screened for CRE, of which 76 patients were positive (10 from active surveillance culture, 65 from "added test", and 1 secondary case from contact tracing of 223 patients with no nosocomial outbreak), resulting in an overall rate of CRE fecal carriage of 1.2%. The median time of fecal carriage of CRE was 43 days (range, 13-119 days). Beta-lactam-beta-lactamase-inhibitors, cephalosporins, and fluoroquinolones were associated significantly with high fecal bacterial load when used 90 days before CRE detection, while use of cephalosporins, carbapenems, and fluoroquinolones after CRE detection are significantly associated with longer duration of carriage. The duration of fecal carriage of CRE also correlates significantly with the initial fecal bacterial load (Pearson correlation: 0.53; P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONProactive infection control measures by enhanced surveillance program identify CRE-positive patients and data obtained are useful for the planning of and resource allocation for CRE control.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; therapeutic use ; Carbapenems ; therapeutic use ; Cephalosporins ; therapeutic use ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Enterobacteriaceae ; drug effects ; Enterobacteriaceae Infections ; prevention & control ; transmission ; Fluoroquinolones ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infection Control ; methods

Health literacy is critical to improving individual and public health. However, indigenous perceptions of health are largely absent from Western-derived measurements, contributing to disparities in health outcomes between indigenous and non-indigenous populations. China is the country with the world's largest population and only officially introduced the term "health literacy" in 2008. Current measures of health literacy in China are primarily based on Western-derived constructs, which have been shown to have poor comparability to the unique dual medical system in China. Given its significant importance to health management globally, understanding health perceptions from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective is essential. This review explores the concept and core elements of indigenous health literacy, evaluates the existing definitions and measurement tools as applied to the concept, and proposes a new model of traditional Chinese medicine health literacy. Please cite this article as: Qian Z, Wang GY, Henning M, Chen Y. Understanding health literacy from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective. J Integr Med. 2023; 21(3): 215-220.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Health Literacy ; China

This article summarized the general situation,impact and evaluation of voice disorders in children.According to the five models of clinical research in the field of speech therapy and audiology,the research on behav-ioral intervention of voice disorders in children was organized as follows:Model 1 involved studies on treatment se-lection and efficacy prediction.Model 2 focused on efficacy exploration and clinical trial preparation.Model 3 encom-passed studies on clinical implementation and efficacy verification.Model 4 involved comparative studies that explore different treatment methods.Model 5 focused on the analysis of social cost.These models could be used as a refer-ence for scientific research and clinical professionals.

Purpose: Medical schools have faced various challenges in preparing their clinical students for the frontlines of a pandemic. This study investigated medical students’ satisfaction with their institutions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with the intention of guiding educators in future public health crises. Methods: In this cross-sectional study surveying students in clinical rotations, the primary outcome was overall satisfaction regarding medical schools’ responses to the pandemic, and the four secondary outcomes were school communication, exposure to COVID-19, availability of personal protective equipment, and access to COVID-19 testing. Results: The survey was distributed to ten medical schools, of which 430 students responded for a response rate of 13.0%. While most students were satisfied (61.9%, n=266) with their schools’ response, more than one in five (21.9%, n=94) were dissatisfied. Among the four secondary outcomes, communication with students was most predictive of overall satisfaction. Conclusion In future crises, schools can best improve student satisfaction by prioritizing timely communication.

Objective: This study aims to validate a Filipino version of the questionnaire by Delclos et al on occupational risk factors and asthma among the health care workers of the Philippine General Hospital. Methodology: Forward and backward translation method for bilinguals was used in this study. The Filipino translation was administered to 110 health care workers selected by stratified random sampling. After 24 hours, the retranslated English version was given to the same respondents. Testing for internal consistency reliability was done by computing for Cronbach's alpha. Construct validity was subsequently determined using the Cramer's V Coefficient. Results: The Filipino questionnaire showed good internal consistency reliability, as shown by the overall Cronbach’s alpha of 0.9016, which is comparable to that of the original version by Delclos. Likewise, our Filipino questionnaire showed good construct validity, supported by the Cramer’s V coefficients ranging from 0.2204 (strong relationship) to 0.7843 (very strong relationship). Conclusion Overall, the Filipino version of the questionnaire for work-related asthma tested among the health care workers of Philippine General Hospital showed good reliability and validity. This may now be used as screening tool for occupational asthma among health care workers who are at risk of developing the disease. In addition, this research tool may be utilized to establish the prevalence of occupational asthma in hospitals and later on, aid in the development of a better working environment for the whole health care team.
Health Personnel ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The serum and glucocorticoid inducible protein kinase (SGK) family members share similar structure, substrate specificity and function with AKT and signal downstream of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathway. They regulate a range of fundamental cellular processes such as cell proliferation and survival, thereby playing an important role in cancer development. This perspective intends to give an overview on the involvement of SGKs (particularly SGK3) in cancer progression, and compares the actions of SGK3 and AKT in cell cycle regulation, oncogenic signalling, and the potential as a therapeutic target for cancer.

The present study was designed to characterize the polyphenols isolated from Acacia mearnsii bark crude extract (B) and fractions (B1-B7) obtained by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) and evaluate their anti-inflammatory and carbolytic enzymes (α-glucosidase and α-amylase) inhibitory activities. Fractions B4, B5, B6, B7 (total phenolics 850.3, 983.0, 843.9, and 572.5 mg·g, respectively; proanthocyanidins 75.7, 90.5, 95.0, and 44.8 mg·g, respectively) showed significant activities against reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO) production, and expression of pro-inflammatory genes interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated mouse macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. All the extracts suppressed α-glucosidase and α-amylase activities, two primary enzymes responsible for carbohydrate digestion. A. mearnsii bark samples possessed significantly stronger inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase enzyme (IC of 0.4-1.4 μg·mL) than the pharmaceutical acarbose (IC 141.8 μg·mL). B6 and B7 (IC 17.6 and 11.7 μg·mL, respectively) exhibited α-amylase inhibitory activity as efficacious as acarbose (IC 15.4 μg·mL). Moreover, B extract, at 25 µg·mL, significantly decreased the non-mitochondrial oxidative burst that is often associated with inflammatory response in human monocytic macrophages.
Acacia ; chemistry ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Carbohydrate Metabolism ; drug effects ; Glycoside Hydrolase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Inflammation ; metabolism ; Interleukin-1beta ; metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; Mice ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Plant Bark ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; Polyphenols ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Proanthocyanidins ; pharmacology ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; alpha-Amylases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; alpha-Glucosidases ; metabolism