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- Allergen Immunotherapy in MASK‐Air Users in Real‐Life: Results of a Bayesian Mixed‐Effects ModelPublication . Sousa‐Pinto, B; Azevedo, LF; Sá‐Sousa, A; Vieira, RJ; Amaral, R; Klimek, L; Czarlewski, W; Anto, JM; Bedbrook, A; Kvedariene, V; Ventura, MT; Ansotegui, IJ; Bergmann, KC; Brussino, L; Canonica, GW; Cardona, V; Carreiro‐Martins, P; Casale, T; Cecchi, L; Chivato, T; Chu, DK; Cingi, C; Costa, EM; Cruz, AA; De Feo, G; Devillier, P; Fokkens, WJ; Gaga, M; Gemicioğlu, B; Haahtela, T; Ivancevich, JC; Ispayeva, Z; Jutel, M; Kuna, P; Kaidashev, I; Kraxner, H; Larenas‐Linnemann, DE; Laune, D; Lipworth, B; Louis, R; Makris, M; Monti, R; Morais‐Almeida, M; Mösges, R; Mullol, J; Odemyr, M; Okamoto, Y; Papadopoulos, NG; Patella, V; Pham‐Thi, N; Regateiro, FS; Reitsma, S; Rouadi, PW; Samolinski, B; Sova, M; Todo‐Bom, A; Taborda‐Barata, L; Tomazic, PV; Toppila‐Salmi, S; Sastre, J; Tsiligianni, I; Valiulis, A; Wallace, D; Waserman, S; Yorgancioglu, A; Zidarn, M; Zuberbier, T; Fonseca, JA; Bousquet, J; Pfaar, OBackground: Evidence regarding the effectiveness of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) on allergic rhinitis has been provided mostly by randomised controlled trials, with little data from real-life studies. Objective: To compare the reported control of allergic rhinitis symptoms in three groups of users of the MASK-air® app: those receiving sublingual AIT (SLIT), those receiving subcutaneous AIT (SCIT), and those receiving no AIT. Methods: We assessed the MASK-air® data of European users with self-reported grass pollen allergy, comparing the data reported by patients receiving SLIT, SCIT and no AIT. Outcome variables included the daily impact of allergy symptoms globally and on work (measured by visual analogue scales-VASs), and a combined symptom-medication score (CSMS). We applied Bayesian mixed-effects models, with clustering by patient, country and pollen season. Results: We analysed a total of 42,756 days from 1,093 grass allergy patients, including 18,479 days of users under AIT. Compared to no AIT, SCIT was associated with similar VAS levels and CSMS. Compared to no AIT, SLIT-tablet was associated with lower values of VAS global allergy symptoms (average difference = 7.5 units out of 100; 95% credible interval [95%CrI] = -12.1;-2.8), lower VAS Work (average difference = 5.0; 95%CrI = -8.5;-1.5), and a lower CSMS (average difference = 3.7; 95%CrI = -9.3;2.2). When compared to SCIT, SLIT-tablet was associated with lower VAS global allergy symptoms (average difference = 10.2; 95%CrI = -17.2;-2.8), lower VAS Work (average difference = 7.8; 95%CrI = -15.1;0.2), and a lower CSMS (average difference = 9.3; 95%CrI = -18.5;0.2). Conclusion: In patients with grass pollen allergy, SLIT-tablet, when compared to no AIT and to SCIT, is associated with lower reported symptom severity. Future longitudinal studies following internationally-harmonised standards for performing and reporting real-world data in AIT are needed to better understand its 'real-world' effectiveness.
- European Stroke Organisation (ESO) Guidelines on Management of Unruptured Intracranial AneurysmsPublication . Etminan, N; Aguiar de Sousa, D; Tiseo, C; Bourcier, R; Desal, H; Lindgren, A; Koivisto, T; Netuka, D; Peschillo, S; Lémeret, S; Lal, A; Vergouwen, M; Rinkel, GUnruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA) occur in around 3% of the population. Important management questions concern if and how to perform preventive UIA occlusion; if, how and when to perform follow up imaging and non-interventional means to reduce the risk of rupture. Using the Standard Operational Procedure of ESO we prepared guidelines according to GRADE methodology. Since no completed randomised trials exist, we used interim analyses of trials, and meta-analyses of observational and case-control studies to provide recommendations to guide UIA management. All recommendations were based on very low evidence. We suggest preventive occlusion if the estimated 5-year rupture risk exceeds the risk of preventive treatment. In general, we cannot recommend endovascular over microsurgical treatment, but suggest flow diverting stents as option only when there are no other low-risk options for UIA repair. To detect UIA recurrence we suggest radiological follow up after occlusion. In patients who are initially observed, we suggest radiological monitoring to detect future UIA growth, smoking cessation, treatment of hypertension, but not treatment with statins or acetylsalicylic acid with the indication to reduce the risk of aneurysm rupture. Additionally, we formulated 15 expert-consensus statements. All experts suggest to assess UIA patients within a multidisciplinary setting (neurosurgery, neuroradiology and neurology) at centres consulting >100 UIA patients per year, to use a shared decision-making process based on the team recommendation and patient preferences, and to repair UIA only in centres performing the proposed treatment in >30 patients with (ruptured or unruptured) aneurysms per year per neurosurgeon or neurointerventionalist. These UIA guidelines provide contemporary recommendations and consensus statement on important aspects of UIA management until more robust data come available.
- Intrathyroidal Ectopic Thymus: A Case SeriesPublication . Fernandes, AC; Fitas, AL; Soares, J; Nunes, A; Lopes, L
- Adherence to the “Atrial Fibrillation Better Care” (ABC) Pathway in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Cancer: a Report From the ESC-EHRA EURObservational Research Programme in Atrial Fibrillation (EORP-AF) General Long-Term RegistryPublication . Vitolo, M; Proietti, M; Malavasi, V; Bonini, N; Romiti, G; Imberti, J; Fauchier, L; Marin, F; Nabauer, M; Potpara, T; Dan, GA; Kalarus, Z; Maggioni, A; Lane, D; Lip, G; Boriani, G; Boriani Chair, G; Lip, G; Tavazzi, L; Maggioni, A; Dan, G; Potpara, T; Nabauer, M; Marin, F; Kalarus, Z; Fauchier, L; Goda, A; Mairesse, G; Shalganov, T; Antoniades, L; Taborsky, M; Riahi, S; Muda, P; Bolao, I; Piot, O; Nabauer, M; Etsadashvili, K; Simantirakis, E; Haim, M; Azhari, A; Najafian, J; Santini, M; Mirrakhimov, E; Kulzida, K; Erglis, A; Poposka, L; Burg, M; Crijns, H; Erküner, Ö; Atar, D; Lenarczyk, R; Oliveira, M; Shah, D; Serdechnaya, E; Dan, G; Potpara, T; Diker, E; Lip, G; Lane, DBackground: Implementation of the Atrial fibrillation Better Care (ABC) pathway is recommended by guidelines on atrial fibrillation (AF), but the impact of adherence to ABC pathway in patients with cancer is unknown. Objectives: To investigate the adherence to ABC pathway and its impact on adverse outcomes in AF patients with cancer. Methods: Patients enrolled in the EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry were analyzed according to (i) No Cancer; and (ii) Prior or active cancer and stratified in relation to adherence to the ABC pathway. The composite Net Clinical Outcome (NCO) of all-cause death, major adverse cardiovascular events and major bleeding was the primary endpoint. Results: Among 6550 patients (median age 69 years, females 40.1%), 6005 (91.7%) had no cancer, while 545 (8.3%) had a diagnosis of active or prior cancer at baseline, with the proportions of full adherence to ABC pathway of 30.6% and 25.7%, respectively. Adherence to the ABC pathway was associated with a significantly lower occurrence of the primary outcome vs. non-adherence, both in 'no cancer' and 'cancer' patients [adjusted Hazard Ratio (aHR) 0.78, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.66-0.92 and aHR 0.59, 95% CI 0.37-0.96, respectively]. Adherence to a higher number of ABC criteria was associated with a lower risk of the primary outcome, being lowest when 3 ABC criteria were fulfilled (no cancer: aHR 0.54, 95%CI: 0.36-0.81; with cancer: aHR 0.32, 95% CI 0.13-0.78). Conclusion: In AF patients with cancer enrolled in the EORP-AF General Long-Term Registry, adherence to ABC pathway was sub-optimal. Full adherence to ABC-pathway was associated with a lower risk of adverse events.
- COVID-19 in a Tertiary Paediatric Centre in Portugal: a Single-Centre Retrospective StudyPublication . Milheiro Silva, T; Garcia, AM; Gouveia, C; Candeias, F; Brito, MJObjective: To describe the demographic, clinical, laboratory and imaging features of the first 300 SARS-CoV-2-infected children presenting to a tertiary paediatric centre in Portugal. Design: Single-centre, retrospective, descriptive study of paediatric patients who had a confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 7 March to 20 September 2020. Setting: Tertiary paediatric referral centre (Hospital Dona Estefânia, Lisbon, Portugal). Patients: 18 years or younger. Main outcome measures: Incidence, mortality, age of infection, clinical characteristics, treatment prescribed and outcome. Results: Three hundred patients with confirmed COVID-19 presented to the centre. One hundred and seventeen (39%) patients were admitted to the hospital: 69 with COVID-19 and 48 for other reasons. The most common symptoms in children admitted with COVID-19 were fever (49) and cough (38). Six patients required intensive care. Two children died and seven reported short-term sequelae. Conclusions: COVID-19 is usually a mild disease in children, but a small proportion of patients develop severe and critical disease. Fatal outcomes were rare and only occurred in children with severe previous medical conditions.
- T1 Signal Intensity in the Dentate Nucleus After the Administration of the Macrocyclic Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agent Gadoterate Meglumine: An Observational StudyPublication . Ramalho, J; Semelka; Cruz, J; Morais, T; Ramalho, MIntroduction and aims: Contradictory results have been reported about hyperintensity of the globus pallidus and/or dentate nucleus on unenhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images after exposure to various gadolinium-based contrast agents. This change in signal intensity varies with different gadolinium-based contrast agents. We aimed to determine whether signal intensity in the dentate nucleus is increased in unenhanced T1-weighted images in patients who have undergone multiple studies with the macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent gadoterate meglumine. We thoroughly reviewed the literature to corroborate our results. Materials and methods: We included patients who had undergone more than 10 MR studies with gadoterate meglumine. We quantitatively analyzed the signal intensity in unenhanced T1-weighted MR images measured in regions of interest placed in the dentate nucleus and the pons, and we calculated the dentate nucleus-to-pons signal intensity ratios and the differences between the ratio in the first MR study and the last MR study. We used t-tests to evaluate whether the differences between the signal intensity ratios were different from 0. We also analyzed the subgroups of patients who had been administered <15 and ≥15 doses of gadoterate meglumine. We used Pearson correlation to determine the relationships between the differences in the signal intensity ratios and the number of doses of gadoterate meglumine administered. Results: The 54 patients (26 men) had received a mean of 13.8±3.47 doses (range, 10-23 doses). The difference in the dentate nucleus-pons signal intensity ratio between the first and last MR study was -0.0275±0.1917 (not significantly different from 0; p=0.2968) in the entire group, -0.0357±0.2204 (not significantly different from 0; p = 0.351 in the patients who had received <15 doses (n=34), and -0.0135±0.1332 (not significantly different from 0; p = 0.655) in those who had received ≥15 doses (n=20). Differences in signal intensity ratios did not correlate significantly with the accumulated dose of gadoterate meglumine (P = 0.9064; ρ = -0.0164 [95%]). Conclusions: Receiving more than 10 doses of gadoterate meglumine was not associated with increased signal intensity in the dentate nucleus.
- Behavioural Patterns in Allergic Rhinitis Medication in Europe: A Study Using MASK‐Air ® Real‐World DataPublication . Sousa‐Pinto, B; Sá‐Sousa, A; Vieira, RJ; Amaral, R; Klimek, L; Czarlewski, W; Antó, JM; Pfaar, O; Bedbrook, A; Kvedariene, V; Ventura, MT; Ansotegui, IJ; Bergmann, KC; Brussino, L; Canonica, GW; Cardona, V; Carreiro‐Martins, P; Casale, T; Cecchi, L; Chivato, T; Chu, DK; Cingi, C; Costa, EM; Cruz, AA; De Feo, G; Devillier, P; Fokkens, WJ; Gaga, M; Gemicioğlu, B; Haahtela, T; Ivancevich, JC; Ispayeva, Z; Jutel, M; Kuna, P; Kaidashev, I; Kraxner, H; Larenas‐Linnemann, DE; Laune, D; Lipworth, B; Louis, R; Makris, M; Monti, R; Morais‐Almeida, M; Mösges, R; Mullol, J; Odemyr, M; Okamoto, Y; Papadopoulos, NG; Patella, V; Pham‐Thi, N; Regateiro, FS; Reitsma, S; Rouadi, PW; Samolinski, B; Sova, M; Todo‐Bom, A; Taborda‐Barata, L; Tomazic, PV; Toppila‐Salmi, S; Sastre, J; Tsiligianni, I; Valiulis, A; Vandenplas, O; Wallace, D; Waserman, S; Yorgancioglu, A; Zidarn, M; Zuberbier, T; Fonseca, JA; Bousquet, JBackground: Co-medication is common among patients with allergic rhinitis (AR), but its dimension and patterns are unknown. This is particularly relevant since AR is understood differently across European countries, as reflected by rhinitis-related search patterns in Google Trends. This study aims to assess AR co-medication and its regional patterns in Europe, using real-world data. Methods: We analysed 2015-2020 MASK-air® European data. We compared days under no medication, monotherapy and co-medication using the visual analogue scale (VAS) levels for overall allergic symptoms ('VAS Global Symptoms') and impact of AR on work. We assessed the monthly use of different medication schemes, performing separate analyses by region (defined geographically or by Google Trends patterns). We estimated the average number of different drugs reported per patient within 1 year. Results: We analysed 222,024 days (13,122 users), including 63,887 days (28.8%) under monotherapy and 38,315 (17.3%) under co-medication. The median 'VAS Global Symptoms' was 7 for no medication days, 14 for monotherapy and 21 for co-medication (p < .001). Medication use peaked during the spring, with similar patterns across different European regions (defined geographically or by Google Trends). Oral H1 -antihistamines were the most common medication in single and co-medication. Each patient reported using an annual average of 2.7 drugs, with 80% reporting two or more. Conclusions: Allergic rhinitis medication patterns are similar across European regions. One third of treatment days involved co-medication. These findings suggest that patients treat themselves according to their symptoms (irrespective of how they understand AR) and that co-medication use is driven by symptom severity.
- Informal Caregivers’ Health Literacy in Lisbon, Portugal: A Profile for Health Promotion PrioritizationPublication . Costa, A; Loura, DS; Nogueira, P; Melo, G; Gomes, I; Ferraz, I; Viegas, L; Henriques, MAHealth literacy (HL) allows people to access, understand and evaluate health information. Informal caregivers' levels of HL may impact long-term care outcomes. 'Informal caregivers' profile in Lisbon county: a health community approach' is a nurse-led research project aiming to assess informal caregivers' health literacy and associated factors in Lisbon county, as well as to foster the development of a local-specific health literacy strategy. A survey to identify a health/social caregiver profile, including questions about HL (HLS-EU-PT), was submitted to a representative sample of carers. Descriptive and bivariate inferential analysis was developed. Informal caregivers' level of HL was mostly sufficient (n = 99, 38%). More than 60% of caregivers have limited HL regarding health promotion. 'Access', 'Appraisal' and 'Use' are the information processing stages with lower mean scores of HL. Carers with low HL levels appear to be older and to have less education, low knowledge of community resources and decreased wellbeing (p < 0.05). A strategy focused on health promotion-related HL through primary care resources can potentially improve caregivers' knowledge, competencies and motivation, as well as health system sustainability. Reported HLS-EU-PT scores deserve special attention. Future work should emphasize the role of HL-associated factors and health outcomes for caregivers and cared-for persons.
- Severe Asthma in the Era of COVID-19: A Narrative ReviewPublication . Gaspar-Marques, J; van Zeller, M; Carreiro-Martins, P; Chaves Loureiro, CIntroduction and objectives: Severe asthma management during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a challenge and will continue to be, at least in the next few months, as herd immunity is still a mirage. A lot has to be learned about how COVID-19 affects underlying diseases, and severe asthma is no exception. Methods: Narrative review of papers available until February 2021 in PubMed and Google Scholar, relating severe asthma and COVID-19. Four main research topics were reviewed: SARS-CoV-2 infection: immunology and respiratory pathology; interrelationship of severe asthma endotypes and COVID-19 disease mechanisms; severe asthma epidemiology and COVID-19; and biologics for severe asthma in the context of COVID-19. Results: COVID-19 disease mechanisms start with upper respiratory cell infection, and afterwards several immunological facets are activated, contributing to disease severity, namely cell-mediated immunity and antibody production. Although infrequent in the COVID-19 course some patients develop a cytokine storm that causes organ damage and may lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome or multiorgan failure. Regarding severe asthma endotypes, type2-high might have a protective role both in infection risk and disease course. There is conflicting data regarding the epidemiological relationship between COVID-19 among severe asthma patients, with some studies reporting increased risk of infection and disease course, whereas others the other way round. Biologics for severe asthma do not seem to increase the risk of infection and severe COVID-19, although further evidence is needed. Conclusions: Globally, in the era of COVID-19, major respiratory societies recommend continuing the biologic treatment, preferably in a self-home administration program.
- Trotinetes Elétricas – É Urgente RegulamentarPublication . Machado, M; Diogo, N