Electronic Health Records (EHRs)-based surveillance systems are being actively developed for detecting adverse drug reactions (ADRs), but this is being hindered by the difficulty of extracting data from unstructured records. This study performed the analysis of ADRs from nursing notes for drug safety surveillance using the temporal difference method in reinforcement learning (TD learning).

BACKGROUND: There is a well recognized interlaboratory variation in the results using the polymerase chain reaction(PCR) to detect the IS6110 sequence. The clinical utility of a commercially developed PCR test(Amplicor) in bronchial washings for detecting pulmonary tuberculosis in smear negative patients was evaluated. The sensitivity and specificity of Amplicor was compared with that of an in-house PCR test used for detecting the IS6110 sequence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis(M.tbc) in the bronchial washing fluid. METHODS: 66 patients whose sputum smear for M.tbc were negative or who could not produce any sputum were recruited from January 1999 to July 1999. They all had a bronchoscopy performed to determine if there were signs of hemoptysis, patients who could not cough up sputum, lung lesion that exclude pulmonary tuberculosis. Pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed on the basis of a positive culture or a response to anti-tuberculosis therapy. RESULTS: 19 patients with tuberculosis were identified and samples from 16 patients were later confirmed by culture. Bronchial washing for Amplicor PCR revealed a sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values of 94.7%, 97.9%, 94.7%, 97.9%, respectively. Using IS6110 based PCR, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values were of 73.7%, 87.2%, 70%, 89.1% respectively. CONCLUSION: Bronchial washing for Amplicor PCR proved to be more useful than IS6110 based PCR in rapidly diagnosing smear negative pulmonary pulmoary tuberculosis in patients where tuberculosis was likely to be differential and rapid diagnosis was essential for optimal treatment.
Bronchoscopy ; Cough ; Diagnosis* ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Lung ; Mycobacterium ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

Purpose: This study investigated lifestyle, depression, marital intimacy, and quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer survivors, with the goal of identifying the impacts of these factors on QoL. Methods: A sample of 146 breast cancer survivors was surveyed in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected from March 20 to May 30, 2019, using self-report structured questionnaires at a hospital located in Jeonju, Korea. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficients, and hierarchical regression analysis. Participants agreed to complete a face-to-face interview, including administration of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21-Depression Scale, Marital Intimacy Scale, and Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer tool. Results: QoL was positively correlated with lifestyle (r=.49, p<.001) and marital intimacy (r=.45, p<.001) and negatively correlated with depression (r=–.72, p<.001). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed that depression (β=–0.63, p<.001), marital intimacy (β=0.19, p=.001), and lifestyle (β=0.13, p=.031) had significant effects on the QoL of breast cancer survivors, accounting for 63.3% of variance in related QoL. Conclusion This study provides insights into how breast cancer survivors’ QoL was influenced by depression, marital intimacy, and lifestyle. To improve the QoL of breast cancer survivors, healthcare providers should consider developing strategies to decrease depression, to increase marital intimacy, and to improve lifestyle.

Background: Exhaled condensates contain inflammatory biomarkers; however, their roles in the clinical field have been under-investigated. Methods: We prospectively enrolled subjects admitted to pulmonology clinics. We collected exhaled breath condensates (EBC) and analysed the levels of six and 12 biomarkers using conventional and multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Results: Among the 123 subjects, healthy controls constituted the largest group (81 participants; 65.9%), followed by the preserved ratio impaired spirometry group (21 patients; 17.1%) and the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) group (21 patients; 17.1%). In COPD patients, platelet derived growth factor-AA exhibited strong positive correlations with COPD assessment test (ρ=0.5926, p=0.0423) and COPD-specific version of St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ-C) score (total, ρ=0.6725, p=0.0166; activity, ρ=0.7176, p=0.0086; and impacts, ρ=0.6151, p=0.0333). Granzyme B showed strong positive correlations with SGRQ-C score (symptoms, ρ=0.6078, p=0.0360; and impacts, ρ=0.6007, p=0.0389). Interleukin 6 exhibited a strong positive correlation with SGRQ-C score (activity, ρ=0.4671, p=0.0378). The absolute serum eosinophil and basophil counts showed positive correlations with pro-collagen I alpha 1 (ρ=0.6735, p=0.0164 and ρ=0.6295, p=0.0283, respectively). In healthy subjects, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/forced vital capacity demonstrated significant correlation with CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3)/macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha (ρ=0.3897 and p=0.0068). FEV1 exhibited significant correlation with CCL11/eotaxin (ρ=0.4445 and p=0.0017). Conclusion Inflammatory biomarkers in EBC might be useful to predict quality of life concerning respiratory symptoms and serologic markers. Further studies are needed.