Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)is a serious chronic respiratory disease.Improving the ability to identify patients with COPD in primary medical institutions is important to prevent and treat the disease.Wi...
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)is a serious chronic respiratory disease.Improving the ability to identify patients with COPD in primary medical institutions is important to prevent and treat the disease.With the continuous development of medical digitization,the application of big data informatization in the medical and health fields has become possible.Recently,applying innovative technologies such as big data analysis,machine learning,and artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making in the medical field has become an interdisciplinary research hotspot.Based on the identification and diagnosis of COPD in the high-risk population,this study proposes a convenient and effective clinical decision support system to help identify patients with COPD in primary health institutions.The results of the preliminary experiments show that the proposed method is convenient and effective compared with the existing methods.
Background:The World Health Organization(WHO)End TB Strategy has established a milestone to reduce the number of tuberculosis(TB)-affected households facing catastrophic costs to zero by 2020.The role of active case f...
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Background:The World Health Organization(WHO)End TB Strategy has established a milestone to reduce the number of tuberculosis(TB)-affected households facing catastrophic costs to zero by 2020.The role of active case finding(ACF)in reducing patient costs has not been determined globally.This study therefore aimed to compare costs incurred by TB patients diagnosed through ACF and passive case finding(PCF),and to determine the prevalence and intensity of patient-incurred catastrophic costs in Nepal.Methods:The study was conducted in two districts of Nepal:Bardiya and Pyuthan(Province No.5)between June and August 2018.One hundred patients were included in this study in a 1:1 ratio(PCF:ACF,25 consecutive ACF and 25 consecutive PCF patients in each district).The WHO TB patient costing tool was applied to collect information from patients or a member of their family regarding indirect and direct medical and non-medical costs.Catastrophic costs were calculated based on the proportion of patients with total costs exceeding 20%of their annual household income.The intensity of catastrophic costs was calculated using the positive overshoot method.The chi-square and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare proportions and costs.Meanwhile,the Mantel Haenszel test was performed to assess the association between catastrophic costs and type of diagnosis.Results:Ninety-nine patients were interviewed(50 ACF and 49 PCF).Patients diagnosed through ACF incurred lower costs during the pre-treatment period(direct medical:USD 14 vs USD 32,P=0.001;direct non-medical:USD 3 vs USD 10,P=0.004;indirect,time loss:USD 4 vs USD 13,P<0.001).The cost of the pre-treatment and intensive phases combined was also lower for direct medical(USD 15 vs USD 34,P=0.002)and non-medical(USD 30 vs USD 54,P=0.022)costs among ACF patients.The prevalence of catastrophic direct costs was lower for ACF patients for all thresholds.A lower intensity of catastrophic costs was also documented for ACF patients,although the difference was not statistically signifi
Background:Buruli ulcer(BU),also known as Mycobacterium ulcerans disease,is the third most common mycobacterial disease worldwide.Although BU disease has been diagnosed among Nigerians in neighbouring West African cou...
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Background:Buruli ulcer(BU),also known as Mycobacterium ulcerans disease,is the third most common mycobacterial disease worldwide.Although BU disease has been diagnosed among Nigerians in neighbouring West African countries,data on the burden of the disease in Nigeria itself are scanty.This study aimed to assess the magnitude and epidemiology of BU in the South South region of Nigeria.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional survey in the Ogoja territory(comprising 31 communities).We undertook sensitisation programmes centred on BU in 10 of the communities.Participants were asked to identify community members with long-standing ulcers,who were then invited for evaluation.We also contacted traditional healers to refer their clients who had non-healing ulcers.All suspected cases had a full clinical evaluation and laboratory testing.Confirmed cases were given treatment in a referral hospital in the territory.Results:We diagnosed 41 clinical BU cases;36(87.8%)of which were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction(qPCR).These 36 PCR-confirmed cases were diagnosed in a total population of 192,169 inhabitants.Therefore,the estimated crude prevalence of BU was 18.7 per 100,000 population,varying from 6.0 to 41.4 per 100,000 in the districts surveyed.The majority(66.7%)of the cases were females.About 92%of the BU lesions were located on the patients’extremities.No differences were observed between the sexes in terms of the location of the lesions.The age of the patients ranged from four to 60 years,with a median age of 17 years.All 35(100%)patients who consented to treatment completed chemotherapy as prescribed.Of the treated cases,29(82.9%)needed and received surgery.All cases healed,but 29(82.9%)had some limitations in movement.Healing with limitations in movement occurred in 18/19(94.7%)and 8/10(80.0%)of patients with lesions>15 cm(Category III)and 6–15 cm in diameter(Category II),respectively.The median duration of treatment was 130(87–164)days for children and 98(56–134)days for adults(p=0.15).Conclusions:In
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