Longitudinal study of infants born preterm (<33 weeks) or with a very low birth weight in the Ile de France region of France (SEV-IDF programme): cohort profile

Purpose
The SEV-IDF programme aims to track infants born before 33 weeks of gestation, with very low birth weight (VLBW), neonatal encephalopathy or severe birth anomalies and perinatal disease. It employs an open, prospective, multicentric, population-based cohort approach. This report aims to describe the methodology employed to establish and manage the programme, details regarding follow-up procedures, baseline characteristics of the included infants, and highlights new research opportunities emerging from the “Suivi des Enfants Vulnérables d’Ile-de-France” (SEV-IDF) programme.

Participants
The programme aims to (1) detect developmental anomalies early, (2) improve prevention using standardised data, (3) optimise follow-up care and (4) support multidisciplinary research.
Eligible participants are infants alive at discharge from the 59 maternities with a neonatal unit of the Île-de-France (IDF) region (France). A network of 567 trained physicians monitors the children’s development at 4 months, 1 and 2 years of corrected age, and 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 years of age. Collected data include sociodemographic, pregnancy and neonatal characteristics, and standardised child development scores.

Findings to date
The programme enrolled 21 175 participants between 2016 and 2023, with 16 461 (77.7%) having a gestational age less than 33 weeks, 1916 (9.0%) others having VLBW, 1525 (7.2%) having encephalopathy and 1273 (6.0%) having another severe birth anomaly.

Future plans
The collected data will enable the SEV-IDF scientific committee to describe high-risk infants in the IDF region, design evidence-based campaigns to improve the quality and effectiveness of the follow-up as well as conduct research on developmental anomalies in these high-risk infants. Ongoing research currently focuses on anticipating loss to follow-up and early detection of developmental anomalies.

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Interventions to mitigate drug shortages in public health systems in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol

Introduction
Globally, drug shortages affect low-, middle- and high-income countries to different degrees. The challenges associated with drug shortages in health systems, particularly in public health facilities, and the consequent multiple adverse effects on patients and the health systems have led countries to continue to explore and implement different strategies to combat this challenge. Various factors implicated in drug shortages range from manufacturing concerns, demand issues, supply chain disruptions and regulatory issues. The effects of drug shortages in health systems range from poor patient compliance and therapeutic failure to antimicrobial resistance, low morale among healthcare workers and public distrust in government services. Furthermore, the effects of drug shortages in public health facilities include unavailability of drugs to patients, hospitalisation and readmissions, and associated costs that could be avoided, high out-of-pocket expenditures suffered by patients as patients resort to buying drugs from private pharmacies where the prices are usually exorbitant and prohibitive, putting patients at risk of treatment default due to lack of affordability. Successful mitigation strategies deployed to prevent and manage drug shortages in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain unshared despite the potential of these strategies to serve as valuable lessons if the evidence is scientifically synthesised and reported. The scoping review will synthesise evidence to provide policy guidance for better planning of health services and resources, resulting in improved quality of life for citizens, underscoring the importance of functional and responsive health systems.

Methods and analysis
Using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology, a five-stage review is outlined: (1) determining the research question, (2) search strategy, (3) inclusion criteria, (4) data extraction and (5) analysis and presentation of the results. The literature search will use PubMed, SCOPUS and the Elsevier Science Direct search interfaces, reflecting empirical and grey literature. We will focus on literature published between 2000 and 2025. The study start and end dates are 1 September–30 November 2025. A two-stage screening process will be used to determine the eligibility of articles. All articles will be individually assessed for eligibility by two reviewers, while a third reviewer will resolve any disagreements. The data from eligible articles will be extracted and charted using a standardised form. Extracted data will be analysed using narrative and descriptive analyses.

Ethics and dissemination
Ethical approval is not required for this scoping review as it will use only previously published data. It does not require human participation. The results of this search will be disseminated through academic presentations at conferences and peer-reviewed publications.

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Poetry, Memory, and Medicine

Poetry catalyzes memory, as other poems featured in JAMA have variously demonstrated. It is used directly among patients with dementia in programs such as the Alzheimer’s Poetry Project to reproducibly beneficial effect. “Missing Father” offers another example of the connections between poetry and memory. The poem both describes actual memories while at the same time seeming to spark more of them. The paradoxical double meaning of the title both reports on and grieves for the lost voice of the storyteller father—he is both absent and an actively yearned-for presence—while the first line’s immediacy of “this morning being” ironically unleashes vivid memories, from the sound of his voice “rising/from the worn pages” of a picture book to the uncanny word-picture of the speaker and her twin sister eagerly awaiting his return from work, “pajamas hanging on us/like wilted petunias.” The poem reanimates them all together as they chant the names of the book’s characters, simultaneously recalling both the tenderness of a distant childhood and enacting poetry’s mooted origins in the passing down of community wisdom through incantatory language. Yet even as poetry facilitates such recollection, and helps sustain the more practical, trying search for “nursing homes close and affordable,” ultimately it cannot bring back the long-gone, stricken father; instead, it becomes an act of healing, remembering that brighter time of more bearable loss, “a day when the only problem/was a carrot missing from/Mister McGregor’s garden.”

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Gene score to quantify systemic inflammation in patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis

Background and aims
Quantifying systemic inflammation (SI) in acutely decompensated cirrhosis (ADC) is of major importance because SI is a driver of the most severe forms of ADC, including acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Blood biomarkers of SI already evaluated in ADC failed to appropriately assess SI in ADC. We aimed to investigate whether gene expression related to circulating immune cells could quantify SI in ADC.

Methods
Standard biomarkers (white cell count, C reactive protein, cytokines) and genome-wide RNA expression (RNA-sequencing) were obtained in blood from 700 patients with ADC at the time of their hospital admission. A composite score based on standard biomarkers of SI (Chronic Liver Failure-Standard Biomarkers Composite (CLIF-SBC) score) and a gene score (CLIF-Systemic Inflammation Gene (SIG) score) composed of the 28 top differentially expressed immune cell-related genes in the comparison between high-severity and low-severity clinical phenotypes were computed. Among the 700 patients, the CLIF-SIG score was repeated once during follow-up in 375 patients, and 3 times or more in 46 patients.

Results
The CLIF-SIG score was more accurate in reflecting clinical severity induced by SI than the CLIF-SBC score (area under the curve 0.803 vs 0.658). A CLIF-SIG score of 0.386 (Youden Index) was the best cut-off level discriminating patients with poor outcomes from the others, in all clinical scenarios. Sequential measurement of the CLIF-SIG score showed that 78% of patients were admitted at the peak or descending part of the SI-wave. ACLF developed during hospitalisation in 80% of patients with a CLIF-SIG score >0.386 on admission.

Conclusions
In patients with ADC, the CLIF-SIG score is an accurate estimator of SI, clinical course severity and prognosis.

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Diagnostic efficacy of an extracellular vesicle-derived lncRNA-based liquid biopsy signature for the early detection of early-onset gastric cancer

Background
Early-onset gastric cancer (EOGC) is a lethal malignancy. It differs from late-onset gastric cancer (LOGC) in clinical and molecular characteristics. The current strategies for EOGC detection have certain limitations in diagnostic performance due to the rising trend in EOGC.

Objective
We developed a liquid biopsy signature for EOGC detection.

Design
We use a systematic discovery approach by analysing genome-wide transcriptomic profiling data from EOGC (n=43), LOGC (n=31) and age-matched non-disease controls (n=37) tissue samples. An extracellular vesicle-derived long non-coding RNA (EV-lncRNA) signature was identified in blood samples from a training cohort (n=299), and subsequently confirmed by qPCR in two external validation cohorts (n=462 and n=438), a preoperative/postoperative cohort (n=66) and a gastrointestinal tumour cohort (n=225).

Results
A three EV-lncRNA (NALT1, PTENP1 and HOTTIP) liquid biopsy signature was developed for EOGC detection with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.924 (95% CI 0.889 to 0.953). This EV-lncRNA signature provided robust diagnostic performance in two external validation cohorts (Xi’an cohort: AUROC, 0.911; Beijing cohort: AUROC, 0.9323). Furthermore, the EV-lncRNA signature reliably identified resectable stage EOGC patients (stage I/II) and demonstrated better diagnostic performance than traditional GC-related biomarkers in distinguishing early-stage EOGC (stage I) from precancerous lesions. The low levels of this biomarker in postsurgery and other gastrointestinal tumour plasma samples indicated its GC specificity.

Conclusions
The newly developed EV-lncRNA signature effectively identified EOGC patients at a resectable stage with enhanced precision, thereby improving the prognosis of patients who would have otherwise missed the curative treatment window.

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Rare cause of liver lesion in a patient with ulcerative colitis

Clinical presentation A 26-year-old man was diagnosed with a 4-month history of ulcerative colitis. At the time of diagnosis, an abdominal CT showed a thickened colorectum (figure 1A) and a normal liver (figure 1B). He was started on mesalazine 4 g/day and received this for approximately 2 months without therapeutic benefit. He clinically deteriorated and was admitted to the hospital with a fever of up to 38.5°C daily, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Laboratory findings revealed significantly elevated white blood cells (13.86×109/L), C reactive protein (69.5 mg/L) and elevated liver enzymes: aspartate aminotransferase 245 U/L, alanine aminotransferase 368 U/L (normal

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Histology of subepithelial lesions (SELs) in the gastrointestinal tract-resected endoscopic: a database study of 4901 patients

Message Subepithelial lesions (SLEs) are often detected incidentally during endoscopic examination. They represent a heterogeneous group of lesions including non-neoplastic and neoplastic lesion, the most relevant of which may be gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) and neuroendocrine tumours (NET). We report the biggest SELs database (4901 cases) on histology characteristics of different SELs resected endoscopically (mean size 1.45 cm, range 0.80–1.90 cm). In the oesophagus, leiomyomas comprised 95.7% of all lesions, while, in the stomach, GIST tumours were the predominant lesions (40.3%), but mostly in body (39.8%) and fundus (46.2%), much less so in the antrum (13.6%). Most of the gastric GISTs were of very low or low risk (93.1%). In the antrum, non-neoplastic lesions were most prominent (48.5%), and 20.1% lipomas were lipomas. Only a few lesions were resected in the duodenum (n=208), mostly non-neoplastic (35.6%), as were in the colorectum (n=592), with the vast majority being rectal NETs (55.9%)….

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Incidence and disability-adjusted life-years of infective endocarditis in China from 1990 to 2021: comparison with G20 based on the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

Objectives
Infective endocarditis (IE) is a global public health challenge, and our understanding of its temporal evolution in China compared with the Group of Twenty (G20) countries remains limited. This study aims to analyse the disease burden of IE in China from 1990 to 2021, forecast trends for the next 15 years and compare the findings with those in G20 countries.

Design
Observational study.

Setting
The data of 20 countries and regions in G20 were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study 2021.

Participants
Data were publicly available and individuals were not involved.

Main outcome measures
Using data from the GBD 2021, we collected incidence, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and age-standardised rates for both China and G20 countries. Temporal trends were assessed using the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) and a joinpoint regression analysis was conducted to pinpoint periods of significant change. Additionally, a decomposition analysis was performed to identify the factors driving changes. Finally, the Bayesian age-period-cohort model was used to forecast trends for the next 15 years.

Results
In 2021, there were 264 282 (95% UI: 216 083 to 315 405) incident cases of IE in China, resulting in 49 925 (95% UI: 38 779 to 69 119) DALYs. The age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardised DALY rate (ASDR) were 14.38 (95% UI: 12.03 to 16.92) and 3.46 (95% UI: 2.65 to 5.01) per 100 000 population, respectively, with both rates being higher in males than in females. Notably, both ASIR and ASDR showed a pattern of first decreasing and then increasing with age, with the highest values observed in the age group of 95 years and above. From 1990 to 2021, the ASIR of IE in China showed a slow upward trend (EAPC: 0.49, 95% CI: 0.44 to 0.55), which was lower than the average level among G20 countries. In contrast, the ASDR exhibited a significant downward trend (EAPC: –6.26, 95% CI: –6.8 to –5.71), representing the largest decline among the G20 countries. The most notable increase in ASIR occurred from 1995 to 2005 in both China and the G20. The greatest decrease in ASDR was observed in China between 2001 and 2004 and in the G20 between 2018 and 2021. Projections suggest that over the next 15 years, the ASIR for both males and females in China will continue to rise, while the ASDR will show a declining trend.

Conclusions
In China, the incidence of IE-related diseases has steadily increased across both genders, despite a declining trend in DALYs. Compared with G20 countries, China’s age-standardised burden of IE is relatively low, yet the large increasing number of cases should not be underestimated. Therefore, establishing effective prevention and treatment strategies is crucial to alleviating the future burden of IE.

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Genicular nerve radiofrequency ablation, phenol neurolysis or conservative medical management in patients with knee osteoarthritis: protocol for the RADIOPHENOL randomised controlled multicentre trial with three parallel groups

Introduction
Guidelines for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) dictate the initiation of conservative treatment (physical therapy, analgesics and intra-articular injections with corticosteroids) as a first line defence. When conservative treatment fails, the golden standard is invasive joint replacement surgery, but for a substantial group of patients who do not respond to the current conservative treatment, this is not (yet) indicated. The RADIOPHENOL study investigates if denervation of knee sensory (genicular) nerves can serve the gap between conservative and invasive treatment for younger patients and for patients who cannot undergo joint replacement surgery due to comorbid health conditions.

Methods and analysis
The RADIOPHENOL study is a multicentre unblinded randomised controlled trial with three parallel arms (1:1:1). In total, 192 patients with knee OA Kellgren-Lawrence grades 2–4 but not eligible for joint replacement according to the orthopaedic surgeon due to young age, old age and/or comorbidity or technical reasons are eligible and will be randomised to three groups of 64 patients. Group A: traditional radiofrequency ablation, group B: chemical neurolysis with phenol, group C: conservative medical management. Primary outcome is the Oxford Knee Score at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, knee pain by numeric rating scale, physical functionality, health-related quality of life, mental health, change in medication use, predictive value of a diagnostic block, procedure time, patient discomfort score during the intervention and adverse events.

Ethics and dissemination
The protocol (V.2.0, 15 May 2023), was approved by the Ethics Committee of Amsterdam UMC (NL83410.018.22 – METC2022.0890) on 31 July 2023. We aim to publish our results in international peer-reviewed journals.

Trial registration details
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06094660, including the WHO Trial Registration data set items. Registered on 20 October 2023, first patient enrolled on 27 November 2023.

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Associations between optimism and mental health in postradiotherapy cancer survivors: a cross-sectional survey study

Objectives
Cancer patients often experience psychological distress, while optimism has been identified as a protective factor. However, the mental health of postradiotherapy cancer survivors and its association with optimism remain largely unexplored. This study assesses the mental health status and optimism levels of postradiotherapy cancer survivors and evaluates their associations.

Design
Cross-sectional survey study.

Participants
114 Hong Kong cancer survivors who (1) were aged 18 years or above and (2) had received radiotherapy for their cancer treatment and finished the radiotherapy within the previous 3 years (2021–2024).

Outcome measures
Mental health was assessed using the Chinese Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, and optimism was measured using the Revised Life Orientation Test. Correlation and regression analyses were used to examine the associations between these measures.

Results
Participants reported overall low optimism with mild to moderate depression, anxiety and stress. Strong negative correlations were identified between optimism and depression (r=–0.833, p

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Developing an evidence brief for policy on implementing deprescribing practices across different levels of healthcare: a protocol

Objectives
To identify and contextualise evidence-based strategies for implementing deprescribing practices at different levels of healthcare in Brazil, through the development of an evidence brief for policy that includes stakeholder deliberation and considers barriers, facilitators and equity aspects.

Methods and analysis
This protocol outlines the development of an evidence brief for policy using a mixed-methods design. It involves synthesising evidence for health policies by integrating global research and local evidence through three stages: stakeholder exchange, evidence brief development and external endorsement. The Supporting Policy-Relevant Reviews and Trials tools for evidence-informed health policies will guide both the synthesis of strategies and the facilitation of deliberative dialogues. The synthesis will encompass evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analysis on deprescribing strategies across healthcare levels, focusing on effectiveness, harms, costs, perceptions, barriers, facilitators and equity. Studies proposing strategies not yet implemented will be excluded. Study selection and data extraction will be conducted independently and in duplicate. The methodological quality of included studies will be assessed using the A Measurement Tool for Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews-2 criteria. Synthesised evidence will be used to develop evidence-based strategies, which will then be presented in deliberative dialogues for endorsement by stakeholders and adaptation to the Brazilian context. Endorsement rates will be classified as high, moderate or low based on predefined criteria.

Ethics and dissemination
This study was approved by the University of Sorocaba Research Ethics Committee (certificate 82098324.7.0000.5500). Informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conference presentations.

PROSPERO registration number
CRD42024548845.

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Comparative efficacy of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions on pain intensity of primary dysmenorrhoea: protocol for systematic review and network meta-analysis

Introduction
Primary dysmenorrhoea (PD) is the most common gynaecological condition among young women and is associated with significant socioeconomic repercussions. It is unclear which works best for pain relief when pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are compared. This systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) will aim to compare and rank the effects of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in patients with PD.

Methods and analysis
Randomised controlled trials of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for PD will be identified via a search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus database and Google Scholar search engine until September 2025. The primary outcome will be a change in pain intensity among patients with PD, while the secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and treatment-related adverse events. Two independent reviewers will perform document screening, study selection and data extraction. The methodological quality of the included studies will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (V.2). The RevMan, Stata and Aggregate Data Drug Information System software will be used to perform a pairwise meta-analysis and Bayesian NMA in a random-effects model. The certainty of the evidence will be rated using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation System.

Ethics and dissemination
This systematic review protocol is exempt from ethical approval as it involves analysis of previously published data. The findings of this review will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals.

Trial Registration number
CRD42024543573.

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Effect of family-centred perioperative care for anaesthesia on the incidence of emergence delirium in children after surgery: a protocol for a randomised controlled trial in China

Introduction
Emergence delirium (ED) stands out as a prevalent postoperative complication among paediatric patients, correlating with extended hospitalisation periods, escalated healthcare expenses and increased incidence of postoperative maladaptive behaviours (POMBs). Well-established pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions demonstrating efficacy in reducing the occurrence of ED are notably absent. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the potential of family-centred perioperative care for anaesthesia (FPCA) in mitigating the incidence of ED in children compared with routine anaesthesia.

Method and analysis
This multicentre, prospective, open-label, randomised controlled clinical trial will enrol a total of 444 children aged 2–6 years undergoing elective short surgery (estimated duration ≤2 h). According to the stratification factors of surgical types (ophthalmology, ear, nose and throat (Oph&ENT) and non-Oph&ENT surgeries), patients will be randomly allocated into two groups in a 1:1 ratio. For the FPCA group (group F), both children and parents will receive FPCA (including video education, mask practice, electronic pamphlet, distraction strategies and parental presence), without sedatives before surgery. For the routine anaesthesia group (group R), both children and parents will receive routine preoperative education and anaesthesia, and preoperative sedatives (such as oral midazolam or intranasal dexmedetomidine) will be recommended. The primary outcome is the incidence of ED. Secondary outcomes include the severity of ED, incidence of POMBs, cognitive function, quality of sleep and life, preoperative anxiety, compliance with anaesthesia induction and postoperative pain score. Logistic regression will be applied to compare differences in primary and secondary outcomes between groups, and patients’ age, sex, and body mass index will be considered as covariates in baseline measurements.

Ethics and dissemination
This study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed journals, academic conferences and mass media. Recruitment began in October 2023.

Trial registration number
NCT06092671.

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High-risk human papillomavirus infection (HPV 16/18) and its determinants among women in East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia: a population-based cross-sectional study, 2021

Objective
This study aimed to assess high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (HPV 16/18) and its determinants among women in East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia.

Design
An institutional-based cross-sectional study.

Setting and participants
The study was conducted among 337 women screened for cervical cancer in two hospitals in East Gojjam Zone from February to April 2021 gregoriean calander.

Results
The prevalence of HPV infection was 14.2% (95% CI: 10.7% to 18.1%). The mean age of the respondents was 36.7±9.1 years. Women in the age group of 55–65 years (adjusted OR (AOR)=7.91, 95% CI: 1.95 to 32.09), early initiation of sexual intercourse (AOR=5.36, 95% CI: 1.58 to 18.13), history of sexually transmitted infection (STI) (AOR=3.52, 95% CI: 1.27 to 9.72), HIV positive status (AOR=6.8, 95% CI: 1.99 to 23.54) and number of lifetime sexual partners (AOR=4.37, 95% CI: 1.15 to 17.3) were important independent factors associated with the presence of oncogenic HPV infection.

Conclusion and recommendation
We found a relatively low prevalence of high-risk HPV infection. Age, early initiation of sexual intercourse at less than 18 years, history of STI, being HIV seropositive and multiple sexual partners were important factors for high-risk HPV infection. Women aged >46 years, women with early initiation of sex, a history of STI, being HIV positive and a history of multiple sexual partners should be encouraged to be screened and vaccinated for HPV infection. Wider-ranging studies are also needed in HPV-infected women in association with the cervical lesion.

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