Methodological Issues With Sham-Controlled Acupuncture Trial—Reply

In Reply We appreciate the interest in our trial from Fan and Gong and Laguna and Hincapié. The ideal sham acupuncture (SA) should be inert to enable differentiation of the specific and nonspecific effects of acupuncture, yet indistinguishable from real acupuncture to allow blinding of patients. We agree that inert SA does not exist; however, SA is a critical control group for acupuncture trials. Noninvasive SA is more inert than invasive SA but has difficulty maintaining blinding in patients familiar with acupuncture. In this study, we adopted SA control combining conventional needling (invasive) at the fifth nonacupoint and blunt-tipped needle (noninvasive) at other nonacupoints. Although a needle was inserted at the fifth location in the SA group, an acupuncture effect is unlikely as this nonacupoint location is far from known acupoints and meridians. Similarly, the noninvasive SA technique was also used at nonacupoints. The clinical improvement observed in the SA group may be the result of a combination of the Hawthorne effect, regression to the mean, self-healing, tactile stimulation, physician-patient communication, and placebo effects. Future pragmatic randomized clinical trials comparing acupuncture with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or surgery are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of acupuncture for patients with chronic sciatica from herniated discs.

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Concerns About Crisis Pregnancy Center Analysis—Reply

In Reply We thank Swartzendruber and Lambert for their interest in our Research Letter on crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs); however, we stand by our findings. The correspondents claim that our definition of CPCs is incorrect. Yet, our definition aligns with common understanding and is remarkably similar to the one used by Swartzendruber and Lambert themselves: “nonprofit organizations with a primary aim of keeping women from having an abortion.” Additionally, we crowdsourced CPCs from lists vetted by experts, including the Fake Clinic Database (Reproaction) and Expose Fake Clinics (Access Front).

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Mentor and Peer Support for Long-Term Weight Loss Maintenance

Obesity remains a substantial public health challenge in the US, affecting more than 40% of US adults. There exist a range of effective weight loss treatments, including comprehensive lifestyle interventions, anti-obesity medications (AOMs), and metabolic and bariatric procedures; however, weight regain is pervasive, and the promotion of long-term weight loss maintenance persists as a key obstacle for researchers and clinicians. The conceptualization of obesity as a chronic disease has highlighted the need for continuous care to support long-term treatment outcomes. Indeed, the most successful approaches for supporting long-term weight loss maintenance have included continued treatment provision (ie, continued provision of lifestyle intervention support via extended-care programs or sustained use of AOMs) and/or more invasive surgical approaches. These approaches, however, are costly and may not be appropriate for all patients.

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Disparities in Trends of Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Incidence—Reply

In Reply We read with great interest the letter by Dr Yu et al shedding light on sex and age disparities of patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs). While we agree with the authors that comparing the incidence rates and trends based on sex and age is of value, the aim of our prior study was not to conduct a head-to-head comparison between different populations. In light of the increasing recognition and familiarity of GEP-NETs by clinicians in the US, our recent epidemiologic analysis aimed to evaluate the national burden of GEP-NETs and to statistically demonstrate the significant increase in GEP-NETs across most gastrointestinal organs while highlighting variations between organs and populations. Our goal was to provide an updated and comprehensive epidemiological understanding of the burden of GEP-NETs using a nationally representative database that covers around 98% of the US population.

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The Future of Pharmaceuticals for Knee Osteoarthritis Needs to Move Past Methotrexate

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a degenerative joint disease in which the cartilage in the knee joint wears down, causing the bone adjacent to the joint to proliferate; often, inflammation is present due to abnormal biomechanics and reactions to the debris released from the degenerating cartilage. OA is the most common joint disorder in the US with symptomatic knee OA present in 10% of men and 13% of women 60 years or older and can significantly impact mobility over time if left untreated. To date, there are no medical treatments that can slow the progression of the disease. Guidelines provided by professional societies recommend lifestyle interventions including weight loss and exercise and pharmacologic treatments including medications to treat the joint pain, nutraceuticals, and intermittent joint injections with either glucocorticoids or hyaluronic acid. Numerous clinical studies have evaluated disease-modifying therapies for OA such as potent anti-inflammatories, molecules to stimulate cartilage growth, and antiresorptive agents (eg, bisphosphonates to reduce bone remodeling). However, none have been successful in late-stage clinical trials to slow the progression of the disease.

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Risk of myocardial infarction and stroke following microbiologically confirmed urinary tract infection: a self-controlled case series study using linked electronic health data

Objectives
The inflammatory response from acute infection may trigger cardiovascular events. We aimed to estimate associations between microbiologically confirmed urinary tract infections (UTIs) and first acute myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke.

Design
We used a self-controlled case series, with risk periods 1–7, 8–14, 15–28 and 29–90 days after UTI. Included individuals experienced the outcome and exposure of interest and acted as their own controls.

Setting
We used individually linked general practice, hospital admission and microbiology data for the population of Wales held by the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage databank.

Participants
Included individuals were Welsh residents aged over 30 years with a record of a hospital admission for MI or stroke (outcomes) and evidence of a microbiologically confirmed UTI (exposure) during the study period of 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2020.

Main outcome measures
The primary outcome was acute MI or stroke identified using the International Classification of Disease V.10 codes from inpatient diagnoses recorded in the Patient Episode Database for Wales. We used Poisson regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% CIs for MI and stroke during predefined risk periods, compared with baseline periods.

Results
During the study period, 51 660 individuals had a hospital admission for MI, of whom 2320 (4.5%) had 3900 microbiologically confirmed UTIs, and 58 150 had a hospital admission for stroke, of whom 2840 (4.9%) had 4600 microbiologically confirmed UTIs. There were 120 MIs during risk periods and 2190 during baseline periods, with an increased risk of MI for 1–7 days following UTI (IRR 2.49, 95% CI (1.65 to 3.77)). There were 200 strokes during risk periods and 2640 during baseline periods, with an increased risk of stroke for 1–7 days following UTI (IRR 2.34, 95% CI (1.61 to 3.40)).

Conclusions
UTI may be a trigger for MI or stroke. Further work is needed to understand mechanisms and test interventions to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events among people with UTIs in primary care.

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Impact of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs exposure on persistent cough after pulmonary resection in a Chinese tertiary hospital: a prospective cohort study protocol

Introduction
Previous studies have pointed out that persistent cough is a common complication after pulmonary resection and its occurrence is closely related to inflammatory response. However, there are no clinical studies to date that directly verify that the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can reduce the incidence of persistent cough after pulmonary resection (CAP). In view of this, this study aimed to explore and confirm whether exposure to NSAIDs can effectively reduce the incidence of CAP through a prospective cohort study.

Methods and analysis
We will conduct a single-centre, prospective cohort comparative study to investigate the impact of NSAIDs use on persistent cough after video-assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) lung resection surgery. The study will include all patients without preoperative cough symptoms who are scheduled for VATS lung resection. These patients will be divided into exposed and non-exposed groups according to whether they used NSAIDs after surgery. The primary outcome measures of this study are the incidence of CAP and the association between NSAIDs exposure and the incidence of CAP in patients undergoing VATS lung resection, while the secondary outcome parameter was set as severity of cough.

Ethics and dissemination
This research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the 920th Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (2024-041-01). The study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at professional conferences.

Trial registration number
NCT06476249.

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Postthrombectomy Flat-Panel CT Contrast Staining ASPECTS and Functional Outcome Prediction

Stroke, Ahead of Print. BACKGROUND:As indications for and utilization of mechanical thrombectomy continue to expand, there has been an increasing focus on developing improved tools for functional outcome prediction. We aim to evaluate the reliability of utilizing the areas of contrast staining for the Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score (s-ASPECTS) rating in immediate postthrombectomy flat-panel computed tomography and investigate its outcome predictive performance.METHODS:Retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected institutional mechanical thrombectomy database spanning March 2018 to February 2024. s-ASPECTS was calculated. We used ordinal logistic regression models to estimate the relationship between s-ASPECTS and the 90-day modified Rankin Scale and the additional value of these findings to the linear predictor of the MR-PREDICTS tool.RESULTS:One thousand sixty-three patients were included in this study with a mean age of 65±15 years, with 53% being male. s-ASPECTS was independently associated with functional outcomes. s-ASPECTS was observed to have more relevance in the clinical predictive model compared with baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score, as well as to occlusion site and final expanded Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction grade. s-ASPECTS was lower among patients with more proximal occlusions, with a lower degree of final reperfusion, with a higher number of passes and longer procedures. The information gathered from flat-panel computed tomography added 18% of new information to MR-PREDICTS, as assessed by the ratio of the variances of the estimated probabilities of good functional outcome with an interobserver consensus score of κ=0.63.CONCLUSIONS:s-ASPECTS was reliably reported and found to be a stronger predictor of outcome compared with baseline Alberta Stroke Program Early Computed Tomography Score, characterizing it as an important prognostic tool for evaluating functional outcomes of patients following mechanical thrombectomy. Further studies are warranted.

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