1,721,066 research outputs found
Lack of Evidence for an Increased Risk of Severe COVID-19 in Psoriasis Patients on Biologics: A Cohort Study from Northeast Italy
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Prediction of high total naevus count to estimate melanoma risk. We need more, don't we?
No full textPreference for Telemedicine Versus In-Person Visit Among Patients with Psoriasis Receiving Biological Drugs.
Full text linkINTRODUCTION
The use of telemedicine has significantly increased since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In the dermatological setting, patients with stable plaque psoriasis on maintenance therapy with biological drugs may be suitable candidates for telemedicine, although their preference for telemedicine has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the preference for telemedicine versus in-person visit among patients with psoriasis receiving biological drugs and the reported reasons behind their preferences.
METHODS
Consecutive adult patients with chronic plaque psoriasis in stable clinical remission (Psoriasis Area Severity Index [PASI] ≤ 3 for at least 12 months) receiving maintenance biological therapy answered a survey investigating whether they would choose telemedicine or in-person visit for the next scheduled visit and the reasons behind their preference. The survey was undertaken through a questionnaire that was developed according to a structured process.
RESULTS
Of the 246 participants in the survey, 118 (48%) preferred telemedicine over an in-person visit for their next scheduled visit with a dermatologist. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that previous experience with digital video-communication tools was a significant predictor for the preference for telemedicine (odds ratio [OR] 10.75; 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.61-32.03), while older age (< 60 years) was negatively associated with the preference for telemedicine (OR 0.30; 95% CI 0.10-0.90). The most common reasons (75%) for preferring telemedicine were saving time and safety in relation to the risk presented by the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic (38%). In contrast, 56% of the patients who preferred the in-person visit option declared that they were unable to use video-communication tools.
CONCLUSION
About half of the patients with stable psoriasis receiving biological drugs may be good candidates for telemedicine
Research Techniques Made Simple: Latent Class Analysis.
No full textLatent class analysis (LCA) is a statistical technique that allows for identification, in a population characterized by a set of predefined features, of hidden clusters or classes, that is, subgroups that have a given probability of occurrence and are characterized by a specific and predictable combination of the analyzed features. Compared with other methods of so called data segmentation, such as hierarchical clustering, LCA derives clusters using a formal probabilistic approach and can be used in conjunction with multivariate methods to estimate parameters. The optimal number of classes is the one that minimizes the degree of relationship among cases belonging to different classes, and it is decided by relying on methods such as the Bayesian Information Criterion that capitalize on the value of the negative log-likelihood function, a well-established measure of the goodness of fit of a statistical model. LCA has not been extensively used in dermatology. The areas of application are manifold, from the phenotype classification to the analysis of behavior in relation with risk factors to the performance of diagnostic tests
Assessing the Risk and Outcome of COVID-19 in Patients with Psoriasis or Psoriatic Arthritis on Biologic Treatment: A Critical Appraisal of the Quality of the Published Evidence.
Full text linkThe need to rapidly spread information about the risk of COVID-19 in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis on biologics may have hampered the methodological rigor in published literature. We analyzed the quality of papers dealing with the risk and outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis receiving biologic therapies. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to estimate the quality of the published studies. Moreover, to better contextualize results, specific internal and external validity items were further considered, that is, case definition, modality of COVID-19 assessment, evidence for self-selection of participants, percentage of dropout/nonparticipants, and sample size calculation. A total of 25 of 141 papers were selected. The median Newcastle-Ottawa Scale score was 47% for psoriasis and 44% for psoriatic arthritis, indicating an overall high risk of bias. A total of 37% of psoriasis and 44% of psoriatic arthritis studies included patients with suspected COVID-19 without a positive swab. No studies provided a formal sample size calculation. A significant risk of bias in all the published papers was found. Major issues to be considered in future studies are reduction of ascertainment bias, better consideration of nonresponse or participation bias, and provision of formal statistical power calculation
The chicken or the egg: disentangling the relationship between smoking, alcohol consumption and psoriasis using Mendelian randomization.
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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