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Background: Despite its high prevalence, little is known about the effect of sex on the management and outcomes of aortic stenosis (AS). We sought to characterize the effect of sex on the clinical evaluation for and provision of aortic valve replacement (AVR), including surgical (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), and the subsequent morbidity and mortality outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive chart review was conducted on all patients with a first diagnosis of severe aortic stenosis (AS) at Vancouver General and University of British Columbia hospitals from 2012 to 2022. Exact chi-square and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to evaluate the variables of interest. Results: A total of 1794 studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising 782 females (44%) and 1012 males (56%). Females were significantly older than males at the time of the first diagnosis (79 versus 75 years, p < 0.001). Females were significantly less likely to be evaluated by the TAVR clinic or cardiac surgeon or to receive aortic valve intervention (p-value ≤ 0.001). Females were significantly more likely to be rejected for TAVR due to older age (OR 0.23 (0.07, 0.59)), comorbid conditions (OR 0.68 (0.47, 0.97)), and frailty (OR 0.23 (0.07, 0.59)). Females were significantly more likely to be rejected for SAVR on the basis of frailty (OR 0.66 (0.46, 0.94)). Females also had significantly higher rates of 1-year mortality, hospitalization, and heart failure hospitalization compared to males (p-values < 0.05). Conclusions: Our data suggest significant sex-based discrepancies in the management of AS. Females with severe AS are diagnosed later in life and are less likely to be evaluated for valve intervention. They are less likely to receive intervention due to older age, frailty, and multimorbid conditions. Further research is warranted for a more effective identification and follow up of aortic stenosis, as well as timely referral for AVR, where appropriate, especially for females.

Integration of smoking cessation program into routine oral health care has been advocated by World Health Organization since it brings extensive benefits to oral health. By tobacco cessation, patients are less prone to progression of periodontal disease, have less future tooth loss, have reduced risks of oral mucosal lesions and head and neck cancers. Evidence indicates that dentists are in a favorable position to deliver effective smoking cessation advice to improve patients’ oral health. This article aims to present the current situation of smoking cessation in dental setting, including dental management of smoking patients, perceptions of dentists and dental students towards smoking cessation, challenges dental professionals face when carrying out cessation interventions. Patients’ perspectives are also evaluated to provide a clearer picture of smoking cessation practice in the dental field. Review of past surveys show most patients welcome smoking cessation advice from dental practitioners. Meanwhile dentists may have wrong assumption that patients would disapprove them if they advise patient to quit smoking. On top of that, main obstacles identified are lack of training, inadequate treatment time and insufficient knowledge towards smoking cessation guidelines and referral routes. With regard to the potential barriers, evidence demonstrates that more trainings on smoking cessation strategies are needed. Future research in this aspect is also indicated to further foster the practice of smoking cessation counselling in dental setting.

Periodontal disease is a significant global health burden affecting half of the world's population. Given that plaque and inflammation control are essential to the attainment of periodontal health, recent trends in preventive dentistry have focused on the use of behavioral models to understand patient psychology and promote self-care and treatment compliance. In addition to their uses in classifying, explaining and predicting oral hygiene practices, behavioral models have been adopted in the design of oral hygiene interventions from individual to population levels. Despite the growing focus on behavioral modification in dentistry, the currently available evidence in the field of periodontology is scarce, and interventions have primarily measured changes in patient beliefs or performance in oral hygiene behaviors. Few studies have measured their impact on clinical outcomes, such as plaque levels, gingival bleeding and periodontal pocket reduction, which serve as indicators of the patient's disease status and quality of oral self-care. The present narrative review aims to summarize selected literature on the use of behavioral models to improve periodontal outcomes. A search was performed on existing behavioral models used to guide dental interventions to identify their use in interventions measuring periodontal parameters. The main models were identified and subsequently grouped by their underlying theoretical area of focus: patient beliefs (health belief model and cognitive behavioral principles); stages of readiness to change (precaution adoption process model and transtheoretical model); planning behavioral change (health action process approach model, theory of planned behavior and client self-care commitment model); and self-monitoring (self-regulation theory). Key constructs of each model and the findings of associated interventions were described. The COM-B model, a newer behavioral change system that has been increasingly used to guide interventions and policy changes, is discussed with reference to its use in oral health settings. Within the limitations of the available evidence, interventions addressing patient beliefs, motivation, intention and self-regulation could lead to improved outcomes in periodontal health. Direct comparisons between interventions could not be made due to differences in protocol design, research populations and follow-up periods. The conclusions of this review assist clinicians with implementing psychological interventions for oral hygiene promotion and highlight the need for additional studies on the clinical effects of behavioral model-based interventions.

We sought to determine the cardiac ultrasound view of greatest quality using a machine learning (ML) approach on a cohort of transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) with abnormal left ventricular (LV) systolic function. We utilize an ML model to determine the TTE view of highest quality when scanned by sonographers. A random sample of TTEs with reported LV dysfunction from 09/25/2017-01/15/2019 were downloaded from the regional database. Component video files were analyzed using ML models that jointly classified view and image quality. The model consisted of convolutional layers for extracting spatial features and Long Short-term Memory units to temporally aggregate the frame-wise spatial embeddings. We report the view-specific quality scores for each TTE. Pair-wise comparisons amongst views were performed with Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Of 1,145 TTEs analyzed by the ML model, 74.5% were from males and mean LV ejection fraction was 43.1 ± 9.9%. Maximum quality score was best for the apical 4 chamber (AP4) view (70.6 ± 13.9%, p<0.001 compared to all other views) and worst for the apical 2 chamber (AP2) view (60.4 ± 15.4%, p<0.001 for all views except parasternal short-axis view at mitral/papillary muscle level, PSAX M/PM). In TTEs scanned by professional sonographers, the view with greatest ML-derived quality was the AP4 view.

The diagnostic accuracy of the cardiothoracic ratio on chest X-ray to detect left ventricular (LV) enlargement has not been well defined despite its traditional association with cardiomegaly. We aimed to determine whether the cardiothoracic ratio can accurately predict LV enlargement based on indexed linear measurements of the LV on transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). We included consecutive patients who had a TTE and a posteroanterior chest X-ray performed within 90 days of each other at a tertiary care center. LV size was determined by measuring the LV end-diastolic dimension (LVEDD) and LV end-diastolic dimension indexed (LVEDDI) to body surface area. The cardiothoracic ratio was calculated by dividing the maximum transverse diameter of the cardiac silhouette by the maximum transverse diameter of the right and left lung boundaries. 173 patients were included in the study (mean age 68 ± 15 years, 49.1% female). Mean cardiothoracic ratio was 0.56 ± 0.09, and the mean LVEDD and indexed LVEDDI were of 47 ± 8.6 mm and dimension of 27 ± 4.5 mm/m2 respectively. There was no significant correlation between the cardiothoracic ratio measured on chest X-ray and either the LVEDD or LVEDDI measured on TTE (r = 0.011, p = 0.879; r = 0.122, p = 0.111). The ability of the cardiothoracic ratio to predict LV enlargement (defined as LVEDDI > 30 mm/m2) was not statistically significant. The cardiothoracic ratio on chest X-ray is not a predictor of LV enlargement based on indexed linear measurements of the LV by TTE.

Combined post- and precapillary pulmonary hypertension (CpcPH) portends poor outcomes in pulmonary hypertension related to left heart disease (PH-LHD). While recent evidence does not support the use of targeted pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapy in PH-LHD, there is a lack of clinical data on their use in CpcPH. We evaluated the outcomes in patients with CpcPH treated with PAH therapies. Retrospectively, 50 patients meeting hemodynamic criteria of CpcPH and started on PAH-targeted drugs were identified. Fifty age- and gender-matched PAH patients were chosen as controls. We evaluated the change in 6-minute walk distance, World Health Organization functional class (FC), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, BNP or NT-proBNP, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of follow-up. After adjusting for age and gender, there was no improvement in World Health Organization FC in CpcPH over 2 years (odds ratio of change to FC I/II 1.01, 95% CI: 0.98-1.04). There was no significant improvement in 6-minute walk distance (β coefficient 0.21, 95% CI: −0.98 to 1.4), reduction in BNP/NT-proBNP (β coefficient −12.16, 95% CI: −30.68 to 6.37), increase in tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (β coefficient 0.074, 95% CI: 0.010-0.139), or decrease in pulmonary artery systolic pressure (0.996, 95% CI: 0.991-1.011) in CpcPH with therapy. There was higher mortality in CpcPH compared to PAH on treatment (24% vs 4%, P = .003). There were no improvements in symptoms, exercise capacity, or echocardiographic parameters with PAH-targeted therapy in CpcPH. Further studies into potential treatments benefiting this population are needed.

To investigate patient acceptability, efficacy, and skin biophysiological effects of a cream/cleanser combination for childhood atopic dermatitis. Paediatric dermatology clinic at a university teaching hospital in Hong Kong. Consecutive paediatric patients with atopic dermatitis who were interested in trying a new moisturiser were recruited between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014. Swabs and cultures from the right antecubital fossa and the worst eczematous area, disease severity (SCORing Atopic Dermatitis index), skin hydration, and transepidermal water loss were obtained prior to and following 4-week usage of a cream/cleanser containing lipid complex with shea butter extract (Ezerra cream; Hoe Pharma, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia). Global or general acceptability of treatment was documented as 'very good', 'good', 'fair', or 'poor'. A total of 34 patients with atopic dermatitis were recruited; 74% reported 'very good' or 'good', whereas 26% reported 'fair' or 'poor' general acceptability of treatment of the Ezerra cream; and 76% reported 'very good' or 'good', whereas 24% reported 'fair' or 'poor' general acceptability of treatment of the Ezerra cleanser. There were no intergroup differences in pre-usage clinical parameters of age, objective SCORing Atopic Dermatitis index, pruritus, sleep loss, skin hydration, transepidermal water loss, topical corticosteroid usage, oral antihistamine usage, or general acceptability of treatment of the prior emollient. Following use of the Ezerra cream, mean pruritus score decreased from 6.7 to 6.0 (P=0.036) and mean Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index improved from 10.0 to 8.0 (P=0.021) in the 'very good'/'good' group. There were no statistically significant differences in the acceptability of wash (P=0.526) and emollients (P=0.537) with pre-trial products. When compared with the data of another ceramide-precursor moisturiser in a previous study, there was no statistical difference in efficacy and acceptability between the two products. The trial cream was acceptable in three quarters of patients with atopic dermatitis. Patients who accepted the cream had less pruritus and improved quality of life than the non-accepting patients following its usage. The cream containing shea butter extract did not differ in acceptability or efficacy from a ceramide-precursor product. Patient acceptability is an important factor for treatment efficacy. There is a general lack of published clinical trials to document the efficacy and skin biophysiological effects of many of the proprietary moisturisers.

Purpose There is lack of validated methods for quantifying the size of pleural effusion from standard transthoracic (TTE) windows. The purpose of this study is to determine whether pleural effusion (Peff) measured from routine two-dimensional (2D) TTE views correlate with chest radiograph (CXR). Materials and methods We retrospectively identified all inpatients who underwent a TTE and CXR within 2 days in a large tertiary care center. Peff was measured on TTE from parasternal long axis (PLAX), apical four-chamber (A4C), and subcostal views and on CXR. Logistic regression models were used determine optimal cut points to predict moderate or greater Peff. Results In 200 patients (mean age 69.3 ± 14.3 years, 49.5% female), we found statistically significant associations between Peff size assessed by all TTE views and CXR, with weak to moderate correlation (PLAX length: 0.21 (95% CI [0.05, 0.35]); PLAX depth: 0.21 (95% CI [0.05, 0.35]); A4C left: 0.31 (95% CI [0.13, 0.46]); A4C right: 0.39 (95% CI [0.17, 0.57]); subcostal: 0.38 (95% CI [0.07, 0.61]). The best TTE thresholds for predicting moderate or greater left-sided Peff on CXR was PLAX length left >  = 8.6 cm (sensitivity 78%, specificity 54%, PPV 26%, and NPV 92%). The best TTE thresholds for predicting moderate or greater right-sided Peff on CXR was A4C right >  = 2.6 cm (sensitivity 87%, specificity 60%, PPV 37%, and NPV 94%). Conclusions We identified statistically significant associations with Peff size measured on TTE and CXR. The predictive ability of TTE to identify moderate or large pleural effusion is limited.