Translation and adaptation of the EORTC QLQ-LC 29 for use in Chinese patients with lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: The latest European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-Lung Cancer 29 (QLQ-LC29) has been translated and validated in several languages but not yet in simplified Chinese. This study aimed to translate this questionnaire into simplified Chinese and adapt it for use in Chinese patients with lung cancer. METHODS: The translation and adaptation process followed the EORTC translation procedure, and consisted of eight steps, namely, translation preparation, forward translations, reconciled translation, back translations, a back translation report, proofreading, pilot testing, and finalisation. The pilot testing included 10 patients with lung cancer. RESULTS: We obtained the permission to perform the EORTC QLQ-LC29 translation work on November 17, 2020. Thereafter, it took 3 weeks to complete the forward translations, reconciled translation, and back translations. After several rounds of discussion with the EORTC Translation Unit, 19 items used the existing translations from the EORTC Item Library (a database of EORTC questionnaire items and their translations), and 10 items were translated from scratch. The 10 patients included in the pilot testing phase had a median age of 64 years (range 31-69 years); five were male, five had an educational level of high school or above, and six had undergone surgery. Eight items received comments from patients (six items by one patient alone and the other two items by three patients). No patients commented on the instructions or the format used for responses. After discussion with the EORTC Translation Unit, we modified the Chinese wording in item 50 to ensure that the meaning of "lifeless" was clear. No changes were made to the remaining items. CONCLUSIONS: The simplified Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-LC29 is now available on the EORTC website. This translation may contribute to the application of the EORTC QLQ-LC29 scale in both research and clinical practice in the Chinese population with lung cancer. Further evaluation of the psychometric properties of the translated EORTC QLQ-LC29 is warranted.

Eliciting SF-6Dv2 health state utilities using an anchored best-worst scaling technique.

There is an increasing interest in using ordinal data collection methods, such as the best-worst scaling (BWS), to develop preference-based tariffs (value sets) for health-related quality of life instruments, yet the evidence on their performance is limited. This paper proposed to use an anchored BWS technique (in which the state of "death" served as an anchoring state) to directly develop a utility weight that lies on a scale anchored at 0 = death and 1 = full health for the Simplified Chinese version of the Short Form 6 Dimension version 2 (SF-6Dv2). An online panel from the general population of Mainland China completed an online survey between 20th July and 19th August, 2019 and 463 respondents were included in the main analysis. The Conditional Logit (CL) model, which assumes a homogeneous preference, as well as a Hierarchical Bayes (HB) model, which accounts for preference heterogeneity, were used to analyze the BWS data. The model performances were evaluated based on monotonicity and model-fit statistics. The majority of respondents indicated that the BWS questions were easy to understand and complete. Initial analyses suggested that the best and worst choices should not be pooled together. Based on model fit statistics of separated estimations and previous literature on health state valuation studies using BWS, the best choices were used for developing the final algorithm. The HB estimates were found to have better model performance than the CL estimates. This study provides an essential insight into using an anchored BWS approach in health state valuation. Furthermore, it demonstrates the advantage of using HB compared to the traditional CL model in producing preference values.

Effect of Finish Line Design and Cement Space Thickness on the Marginal Accuracy of Monolithic Zirconia Crowns / Efeito do desenho da linha de término e da espessura do espaço de cimento na precisão marginal de coroas monolíticas de zircônia

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of finish line design and cement space thickness on the marginal accuracy of monolithic zirconia crowns. Materials and methods: Thirty crowns were fabricated from translucent zirconia (inCoris TZI) using Cerec in-Lab system and divided into three main groups (10 each) according to the finish line type of the die (knife-edge, chamfer, and shoulder). Every group was divided into two subgroups (5 each) according to cement space thickness (20 and50µm). Optical impressions were taken for the dies using the Cerec scanner and cement space was set twice for every finish line design; 20 and 50 µm. The completed crowns were cemented to the dies and the marginal gap was evaluated. The collected data was statistically analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test and the significance level was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: Regarding the marginal gap; there was no statistically significant difference between different finish line designs or between different cement space thicknesses. Conclusion: Neither finish line design nor cement space thickness has an effect on the marginal gap of inCoris TZI crowns. (AU)

Declaração do problema: A necessidade de um método minimamente invasivo de preparação de coroa única é inevitável, principalmente com dentes enfraquecidos e com alta probabilidade de irritação pulpar. Portanto, é necessária uma restauração durável e adaptada, com preparação menos invasiva da linha de término. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito do design da linha de término e da espessura do espaço de cimento na precisão marginal das coroas monolíticas de zircônia. Material e Métodos: Trinta coroas foram fabricadas a partir de zircônia translúcida (inCoris TZI) usando o sistema Cerec em laboratório, e divididas em três grupos principais (n = 10), de acordo com o tipo de linha de término da matriz (lâmina, chanfro e ombro). Cada grupo foi dividido em dois subgrupos (5 cada), de acordo com a espessura do espaço do cimento (20 e 50 µm). Impressões ópticas foram obtidas para as matrizes usando o scanner Cerec e o espaço de cimento foi definido duas vezes para cada projeto de linha de chegada: 20 e 50 µm. As coroas confeccionadas foram cimentadas nos moldes e a diferença marginal foi avaliada. Os dados coletados foram analisados estatisticamente pelo teste U de Mann-Whitney e Kruskal-Wallis e o nível de significância foi estabelecido em P ≤ 0,05. Resultados: Em relação ao gap marginal não houve diferença estatisticamente significante entre diferentes projetos de linha de acabamento ou entre diferentes espessuras de espaço de cimento. Conclusão: nem o design da linha de término, nem a espessura do espaço de cimento afetam a folga marginal das coroas inCoris TZI. (AU)

Balanced crystalloids versus isotonic saline in critically ill patients: systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Intravenous fluids are one of the most used medical therapy for patients, especially critically ill patients. We conducted a meta-analysis comparing between balanced crystalloids and normal saline in critically ill patients and its effect on various clinical outcomes. DESIGN: Meta-analysis and systematic review of randomized clinical trials (RCTs). METHODS AND DATA SOURCE: Electronic search was performed using PubMed, Cochrane library, and clinical trials.gov from inception through March 1, 2018, with inclusion of prospective studies that investigated one of the primary outcomes which were acute kidney injury (AKI) and in-hospital mortality while secondary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and new renal replacement therapy (RRT). RESULTS: Six RCTs were included. Total of 19,332 patients were included in the final analysis. There was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality (11.5% vs 12.2%; OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.85-1.01; P = 0.09; I2 = 0%), incidence of AKI (12% vs 12.7%, OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.84-1.01; P = 0.1; I2 = 0), overall ICU mortality (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.81-1.01, P = 0.08, I2 = 0%), or need for new RRT (OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.67-1.28, P = 0.65, I2 = 38%) between balanced crystalloids and isotonic saline in critically ill patients. CONCLUSION: Balanced crystalloids and isotonic saline have no difference on various clinical outcomes including in-hospital mortality, AKI, overall ICU mortality, and new RRT. Further powerful clinical trials are required to determine the relationship between crystalloid fluid type and clinical outcomes.

Morphometric and DNA Image Analysis of Endometrial Hyperplasia and Carcinoma.

Endometrial hyperplasia is believed to increase the risk of endometrial carcinoma and represents a spectrum of morphologic and biological alterations of endometrial glands and stroma ranging from an exaggerated physiological state to carcinoma in situ. Considering the overlap between the various entities, it is not surprising that the morphologic assessment of endometrial lesions is particularly challenging. This work aimed to evaluate endometrial lesions according to their nuclear and glandular morphometric parameters, their D score, and their DNA ploidy, which help in making an accurate diagnosis. In this study, 50 endometrial biopsy specimens were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for their histopathologic and morphometric study and Feulgen stain for DNA analysis. The cases were classified into 20 cases of simple hyperplasia, 10 cases of atypical hyperplasia, and 20 cases of endometrial carcinoma. Morphometric analysis of nuclear, glandular, and stromal parameters was performed using the Leica Qwin 500 image analysis system. In the studied cases, a significant difference was found in the mean values of the morphometrical parameters of endometrial lesions, including the nuclear area and the nuclear roundness, and all glandular measurements including their complexity, area, volume percentage of stroma, and D score were significantly different. The DNA index and diploid and aneuploid values could differentiate significantly between endometrial lesions. We conclude that nuclear morphometric evaluation of the hyperplastic and carcinomatous endometrium may be used as an ancillary technique in the diagnosis of atypical changes occurring in precancerous endometrial lesions. In addition, DNA and D score assessment may be a reproducible and accurate predictor of the outcome of endometrial hyperplasia and may add some objective criteria for the correct diagnosis of difficult cases.

The needle-wire-dilator technique for the insertion of chest tubes in pediatric patients.

We evaluated the needle-wire-dilator (NWD) technique, using commercially available sets, for insertion of chest tubes in 24 pediatric patients who were admitted to our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Fourteen patients had pneumothoraces, three had hemothoraces, two had pneumonia with empyema, four had pleural transudate effusions, and one had chylothorax. The ages of the patients ranged from four months to 24 years, and the sizes of the inserted chest tubes ranged from 10F to 20F. All insertions were successful, and the time from invasion of the pleural space by the needle to completion of chest tube insertion and connection to the tubing drainage system ranged from four to seven minutes. In four patients the procedure had to be performed while a significant coagulopathy existed. However, none of the 24 patients developed hemorrhagic complications. The only complication observed was a kink in the chest tube in five patients, resulting in recurrence of pneumothorax in four and pleural effusion in one. These adverse occurrences were corrected by repositioning the chest tubes in three patients, and by replacing the chest tubes with the stiffer, trochar type, chest tubes in the other two. We conclude that the NWD technique for chest tube insertion is quick, safe, and easy to perform in all pediatric age groups. The commercially available chest tubes used in our study were somewhat softer than the trochar type chest tubes available, which explains the occurrence of kinks in some of them.