Conectar
by Nadieh Abdallah, Ahed Almahdi, Diana Shella, Rasha Al-Masri, Iyad Maqboul, Mohammad Jaber, Ramzi Shawahna
This study was conducted to assess the incidence and types of complications and mortality following liver biopsy, and to identify independently associated factors that can inform clinical practice in a resource‑limited healthcare system. A retrospective multicenter study was conducted across six major hospitals between January 2020 and December 2025. Medical records of 218 patients undergoing percutaneous and laparoscopic liver biopsies were reviewed. Demographic, clinical, laboratory, procedural, and outcome variables were extracted using a validated data collection form. Inferential analyses were conducted using chi‑square, Fisher’s exact, and Mann‑Whitney U tests, while multivariate logistic regression models were employed to identify factors independently associated with complications and mortality. The most common types of complications were infection (n = 7, 3.2%) and hemorrhage (n = 6, 2.8%), followed by pulmonary complications (n = 4, 1.8%), metabolic disturbances (n = 3, 1.4%), and acute kidney injury (n = 2, 0.9%). Mortality was recorded in 6 patients (2.8%). Higher pre-operative white blood cell count was independently associated with infections (OR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.02–1.62, p = 0.036). Older age was independently associated with mortality (OR: 1.07 per year increase, 95% CI: 1.01–1.15, p = 0.035). Hemorrhage and pulmonary complications were more frequent after laparoscopic biopsy and under general anesthesia, although these associations did not remain significant in adjusted models. This study provides the first systematic evidence on liver biopsy safety in Palestine, a resource‑limited healthcare system, thereby filling a critical gap in the regional literature. The study identified pre-operative increases in white blood cell count as a predictor of infection and older age as a predictor of mortality. These simple, pragmatic markers can guide monitoring and risk stratification in constrained environments, offering actionable insights for clinicians and policymakers. Future studies should be conducted to evaluate whether these markers can help reduce complications and mortality.Preterm birth remains a major risk factor for language delay, which may impact learning throughout life. Systematic reviews have shown conflicting effects of maternal voice exposure on premature infants’ physiological parameters, oral feeding and preterm cognitive and neurobehavioural development. Although simple measures to promote language development include exposure to music and maternal voice, the beneficial effects of maternal singing and voice on language and social-emotional development of preterm infants have not been systematically reviewed to confirm these findings. The overall aim of this systematic review is to assess the effects of maternal singing or voice, live or recorded, on the language and social-emotional development of preterm infants compared with standard of care. We will also determine the specific effects of maternal singing or voice on preterm infants’ physiological and behavioural parameters and on maternal stress and mother-infant bonding.
A search strategy will be developed to identify randomised controlled trials published in any language from inception till July 2025 on Medline OVID, EMBASE and CINAHL. We will also search the reference lists of relevant studies and reviews. Two reviewers will independently extract data on study design, baseline characteristics, details of the interventions employed and primary and secondary outcomes using a pre-piloted standardised data extraction form. The risk of bias and quality of evidence assessment will be done independently and in duplicate using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach, respectively. Random-effects models will be performed in case meta-analysis is possible, otherwise a qualitative summary will be provided. We will use RevMan 5.1 for data synthesis. We will adhere to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.
Since this is a systematic review or previously published studies, it is exempt from IRB approval and was approved by the school’s Graduate Studies Committee (GSC) studies. The results of this systematic review will be disseminated at relevant conferences and submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
CRD42024613086.
There are estimated to be 3.4 million patients in the UK living after a diagnosis of cancer. We know very little about their quality of life or healthcare usage. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are tools which help to translate a patient’s quality of life into measurable categories, but how to do this at scale remains underexplored. The study employs a randomised design to assess different engagement strategies for optimising participation, data linkage and questionnaire completion in Northwest London and then nationally, with appropriate research approvals.
We have designed and implemented an online, patient-completed, randomised observational trial. We will pilot it in Northwest London before national roll-out, using initially the General Practice (GP) record of a cancer diagnosis and then exploring the use of social media. The primary objective is to explore the feasibility of recruiting participants via self-identification or contact from the primary care research network and obtaining consent to link participants’ PROMs responses to their cancer registry records. Data collection occurs through a secure platform, with participants directly responsible for data entry. There is no formal target sample size because this is a feasibility study, and we want to explore how many patients we can recruit. Analyses will be conducted using descriptive statistics, repeated measures multilevel modelling and machine learning techniques. If a substantial difference in responses between randomisation arms is detected, ineffective strategies will be removed. If no clear difference is observed, recruitment will continue with periodic reviews based on response rates and data completeness.
The Study Coordination Centre has obtained approval from the London—Surrey Research Ethics Committee and Health Research Authority. We will publish and disseminate the results in local, national and international meetings, in peer-reviewed journals, on social media and on websites.
It has been registered under ‘Investigating Digital Outcomes for Cancer Survivors in the Community’ (NCT06095024).
NCT06095024: Investigating Digital Outcomes for Cancer Survivors in the Community.
FreshRSS 