OBJECTIVEUnderstand the public's current attitudes and knowledge about suicide and, thus, provide essential information to the development of targeted public education programs-important components of the suicide prevention effort.

METHODSSeventeen mental health professionals who were extensively trained in the methods of conducting focus groups used a pre-tested focus group outline on attitudes and knowledge about suicide to conduct 101 focus groups and 18 individual in-depth interviews with a total of 842 community respondents from 6 regions in northern China. The focus groups and in-depth interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using the QSR Nvivo text analysis software.

RESULTSMost respondents believed that suicide was a greater problem in rural areas and among women and identified physical illnesses, economic problems and interpersonal conflicts (particularly family conflicts) as the main causes of suicide. Rural residents and women were believed to exhibit impulsive suicidal behavior because of their personal limitations and over-sensitiveness. Most thought that suicide was understandable and a small proportion felt that it was acceptable behavior in certain circumstances. Almost all felt that suicide resulted in the stigmatization and a loss of 'face' for the family. Most believed that one should show concern for persons who have suicidal behavior and their family members and expressed a willingness to have superficial social relationships with them but were unwilling to establish close personal relations with them. The vast majority believed that suicide was either very difficult or impossible to prevent.

CONCLUSIONSIn China the community is tolerant, sympathetic and, in some cases, accepting of suicide but there remains a substantial underlying stigmatization of suicide. Community members have some misunderstandings about suicide; the most obvious misunderstanding is the underestimation of the importance of mental illness as a cause of suicide. The content of public health messages used in suicide prevention programs should be developed by combining findings from both qualitative and quantitative research.

SUMMARY Aim: This study was conducted to measure the cross sectional area (CSA) of the ulnar nerve (UN) in the cubital tunnel and to evaluate the role of high-resolution ultrasonography in the diagnosis of ulnar nerve neuropathy (UNN). Materials and Methods This was a cross sectional study with 64 arms from 32 patients (34 neuropathic, 30 nonneuropathic). Diagnosis was confirmed by nerve conduction study and electromyography. The ulnar nerves were evaluated with 15MHz small footprint linear array transducer. The ulnar nerve CSA was measured at three levels with arm extended: at medial epicondyle (ME), 5cm proximal and 5cm distal to ME. Results from the neuropathic and nonneuropathic arms were compared. Independent T-tests and Pearson correlation tests were used. P value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Mean CSA values for the UN at levels 5cm proximal to ME, ME and 5cm distal to ME were 0.055, 0.109, 0.045 cm2 respectively in the neuropathic group and 0.049, 0.075, 0.042 cm2 respectively in the non-neuropathic group. The CSA of the UN at the ME level was significantly larger in the neuropathic group, with p value of 0.005. However, there was no statistical difference between the groups at 5cm proximal and distal to the ME, with p values of 0.10 and 0.35 respectively. Conclusion: There is significant difference in CSA values of the UN at ME between the neuropathic and non-neuropathic groups with mean CSA value above the predetermined 0.10cm2 cut-off point. High-resolution ultrasonography is therefore useful to diagnose and follow up cases of elbow UNN.
Ulnar Nerve

Adult ; Aged ; Betacoronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; complications ; therapy ; Critical Care ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Patient Positioning ; Pneumonia, Viral ; complications ; therapy ; Prone Position ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; therapy ; virology ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

INTRODUCTION: Growing evidence suggests there is potential harm associated with excess fluid in critically ill children. This study aimed to evaluate the association between percentage fluid overload (%FO) and paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) mortality in children with severe sepsis and septic shock. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to the PICU were identified through discharge codes. Data on clinical characteristics, fluid input and output were collected. %FO was calculated as: (total daily input - total daily output [L]/admission body weight [kg]) × 100. The primary outcome was PICU mortality. Secondary outcomes were 28-day ventilator-free days (VFD), intensive care unit-free days (IFD) and inotrope-free days (InoFD). Multivariate analysis adjusting for presence of comorbidities, Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM) 2 score and multiorgan dysfunction were used to determine the association between cumulative %FO over 5 days and outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 116 patients were identified, with a mortality rate of 28.4% (33/116). Overall median age was 105.9 (23.1-157.2) months. Cumulative %FO over 5 days was higher in non-survivors compared to survivors (median [interquartile range], 15.1 [6.3-27.1] vs 3.6 [0.7-11.1]%; <0.001). Cumulative %FO was associated with increased mortality (adjusted odds ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.13; = 0.001) and decreased VFD, IFD and InoFD (adjusted mean difference -0.37 [-0.53 - -0.21] days, -0.34 [-0.49 - -0.20] days, and -0.31 [-0.48 - -0.14] days, respectively). CONCLUSION Cumulative %FO within the first 5 days of PICU stay was consistently and independently associated with poor clinical outcomes in children with severe sepsis and septic shock. Future studies are needed to test the impact of restrictive fluid strategies in these children.

INTRODUCTION: Studies of concordance between patients' self-report of diseases and a criterion standard (e.g. chart review) are usually conducted in epidemiological studies to evaluate the agreement of self-reported data for use in public health research. To our knowledge, there are no published studies on concordance for highly prevalent chronic diseases such as diabetes and pre-diabetes. The aims of this study were to evaluate the concordance between patients' self-report and their medical records of diabetes and pre-diabetes diagnoses, and to identify factors associated with diabetes concordance. METHOD: A cross-sectional, interviewer-administered survey was conducted on patients with chronic diseases after obtaining written consent to assess their medical notes. Interviewers were blinded to the participants' profiles. Concordance was evaluated using Cohen's kappa (κ). A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with diabetes concordance. RESULTS: There was substantial agreement between self-reported and medical records of diabetes diagnoses (κ=0.76) and fair agreement for pre-diabetes diagnoses (κ=0.36). The logistic regression model suggested that non-Chinese patients had higher odds of diabetes concordance than Chinese patients (odds ratio [OR]=4.10, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.19-14.13, P=0.03). Patients with 3 or more chronic diseases (i.e. multimorbidity) had lower odds of diabetes concordance than patients without multimorbidity (OR=0.21, 95% CI 0.09-0.48, P<0.001). CONCLUSION Diabetes concordance was substantial, supporting the use of self-report of diabetes by patients with chronic diseases in the primary care setting for future research. Pre-diabetes concordance was fair and may have important clinical implications. Further studies to explore and improve health literacy and patient-physician communication are needed.
Humans ; Prediabetic State ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus/epidemiology* ; Medical Records ; Self Report

Aged ; Feasibility Studies ; Health Status ; Humans ; Mobile Applications ; Treatment Outcome

Organ transplantation from donors with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a condition involving the autoantibody-mediated destruction of platelets, is a topic of debate due to the potential for transplantation-mediated autoimmune thrombocytopenia (TMAT), a rare but potentially fatal complication. Previous reports have described transplants from deceased liver donors with ITP who had very low platelet counts and disease largely refractory to treatment. Here, we present the first case of living kidney transplantation from a donor with ITP who underwent preoperative treatment, with concurrent splenectomy performed to reduce the long-term risk of spontaneous hemorrhage.To ensure the safety of the procedure, we monitored perioperative rotational thromboelastometry parameters and platelet counts, leading to the normalization of the donor’s platelet levels. The recipient experienced an uneventful recovery of renal function without perioperative bleeding or the development of TMAT. Our report suggests that kidney transplantation from a donor with well-managed ITP is safe, and such a condition should not be considered a contraindication for donation.

Organ transplantation from donors with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a condition involving the autoantibody-mediated destruction of platelets, is a topic of debate due to the potential for transplantation-mediated autoimmune thrombocytopenia (TMAT), a rare but potentially fatal complication. Previous reports have described transplants from deceased liver donors with ITP who had very low platelet counts and disease largely refractory to treatment. Here, we present the first case of living kidney transplantation from a donor with ITP who underwent preoperative treatment, with concurrent splenectomy performed to reduce the long-term risk of spontaneous hemorrhage.To ensure the safety of the procedure, we monitored perioperative rotational thromboelastometry parameters and platelet counts, leading to the normalization of the donor’s platelet levels. The recipient experienced an uneventful recovery of renal function without perioperative bleeding or the development of TMAT. Our report suggests that kidney transplantation from a donor with well-managed ITP is safe, and such a condition should not be considered a contraindication for donation.

Organ transplantation from donors with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a condition involving the autoantibody-mediated destruction of platelets, is a topic of debate due to the potential for transplantation-mediated autoimmune thrombocytopenia (TMAT), a rare but potentially fatal complication. Previous reports have described transplants from deceased liver donors with ITP who had very low platelet counts and disease largely refractory to treatment. Here, we present the first case of living kidney transplantation from a donor with ITP who underwent preoperative treatment, with concurrent splenectomy performed to reduce the long-term risk of spontaneous hemorrhage.To ensure the safety of the procedure, we monitored perioperative rotational thromboelastometry parameters and platelet counts, leading to the normalization of the donor’s platelet levels. The recipient experienced an uneventful recovery of renal function without perioperative bleeding or the development of TMAT. Our report suggests that kidney transplantation from a donor with well-managed ITP is safe, and such a condition should not be considered a contraindication for donation.

Organ transplantation from donors with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a condition involving the autoantibody-mediated destruction of platelets, is a topic of debate due to the potential for transplantation-mediated autoimmune thrombocytopenia (TMAT), a rare but potentially fatal complication. Previous reports have described transplants from deceased liver donors with ITP who had very low platelet counts and disease largely refractory to treatment. Here, we present the first case of living kidney transplantation from a donor with ITP who underwent preoperative treatment, with concurrent splenectomy performed to reduce the long-term risk of spontaneous hemorrhage.To ensure the safety of the procedure, we monitored perioperative rotational thromboelastometry parameters and platelet counts, leading to the normalization of the donor’s platelet levels. The recipient experienced an uneventful recovery of renal function without perioperative bleeding or the development of TMAT. Our report suggests that kidney transplantation from a donor with well-managed ITP is safe, and such a condition should not be considered a contraindication for donation.