British Journal of Biomedical Science最新文献

{"title":"Chest CT Findings at Six Months Following COVID-19 ARDS – Correlation With the mMRC Dyspnea Scale and Pulmonary Function Tests","authors":"M. Garg, Nidhi Prabhakar, Shritik Devkota, S. Dhooria, U. Debi, Ashish Dua, Tarvinder Singh, Muniraju Malarakunte, Harsimran Bhatia, M. Sandhu","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12871","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12871","url":null,"abstract":"Background: Many survivors of severe COVID-19 pneumonia experience lingering respiratory issues. There is limited research on follow-up chest imaging findings in patients with COVID-19 ARDS, particularly in relation to their mMRC dyspnea scores and pulmonary function tests (PFTs). This study addresses this gap by investigating the clinical characteristics, mMRC dyspnea scores, PFTs, and chest CT findings of COVID-19 ARDS patients at the 6 months post-recovery. By analyzing these variables together, we aim to gain a better understanding of the long-term health consequences of COVID-19 ARDS.Methods: This prospective observational study included 56 subjects with COVID-19 ARDS with dyspnea at the six-month follow-up visits. These patients were evaluated by chest CT, mMRC dyspnea scale, and PFT. The CT severity score was calculated individually for each of the four major imaging findings - ground glass opacities (GGOs), parenchymal/atelectatic bands, reticulations/septal thickening, and consolidation - using a modified CT severity scoring system. Statistics were carried out to find any association between individual CT chest findings and the mMRC dyspnea scale and forced vital capacity (FVC). p values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: Our study population had a mean age of 55.86 ± 9.60 years, with 44 (78.6%) being men. Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 on the mMRC dyspnea scale were seen in 57.1%, 30.4%, 10.7%, and 1.8% of patients respectively. Common CT findings observed were GGOs (94.6%), reticulations/septal thickening (96.4%), parenchymal/atelectatic bands (92.8%), and consolidation (14.3%). The mean modified CT severity scores for GGOs, reticulations/septal thickening, parenchymal/atelectatic bands, and consolidation were 10.32 ± 5.51 (range: 0–21), 7.66 ± 4.33 (range: 0–19), 4.77 ± 3.03 (range: 0–14) and 0.29 ± 0.91 (range 0–5) respectively. Reticulations/septal thickening (p = 0.0129) and parenchymal/atelectatic bands (p = 0.0453) were associated with an increased mMRC dyspnea scale. Parenchymal/atelectatic bands were also associated with abnormal FVC (<80%) (p = 0.0233).Conclusion: Six-month follow-up chest CTs of COVID-19 ARDS survivors with persistent respiratory problems showed a statistically significant relationship between increased mMRC dyspnea score and imaging patterns of reticulations/septal thickening and parenchymal/atelectatic bands; while parenchymal/atelectatic bands also showed a statistically significant correlation with reduced FVC.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141662205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of a Theory-Practice Gap in the Education of Biomedical Scientists","authors":"Kathryn Dudley, David Matheson","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12629","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12629","url":null,"abstract":"The Biomedical Scientist (BMS) role is established in healthcare, working in laboratory environments to provide diagnostic testing and to monitor treatment effects on a patients’ health. The profession is subject to several professional standards which highlight the importance of working in the best interests of the patient and service user. However, Biomedical Scientists have little or no patient contact. This study aimed to determine how Biomedical Scientists evidence that they meet the professional standards and support the achievement of patient outcomes.This study utilised a Delphi method to explore the opinions of professional stakeholders to determine whether there was consensus for how this professional group contributes to patient outcomes and offers evidence that they are working in the best interests of the patient. The qualitative 1st round of the study consisted of focus groups and interviews with staff and students on the BSc Biomedical Science awards, Professional, Statutory and Regulatory body (PSRB) representatives and Biomedical Scientists from the National Health Service (NHS). The first-round responses were analysed using thematic analysis which then generated attitude statements which participants scored using a 5-point Likert scale in the 2nd round. Consensus or divergence of opinion was determined based upon a 70% consensus level within each participant group and overall.Following analysis of the 2nd round data, there was divergence of opinion across all stakeholders, with consensus rates being highest in the Biomedical Scientist group (72.7% of statements reached 70% consensus), followed by the student group (54.5% of statements reached 70% consensus) and lowest in the academic group (40.9% of statements reached 70% consensus).This demonstrates a theory-practice gap in both the academic and student groups, suggesting that graduates are insufficiently prepared for their post-graduate role. This gap was particularly evident when discussing topics such as how Biomedical Scientists contribute to patient care, professional registration and working as part of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT). The identification of a theory-practice gap in the education of Biomedical Scientists is a novel finding, indicating that students may graduate with insufficient understanding of the Biomedical Scientist role.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"101 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141352530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Embedding Assessment Literacy Can Enhance Graduate Attribute Development in a Biomedical Sciences Curriculum","authors":"Kevin A. Robertson, Kirsty J. Hughes, Susan M. Rhind","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12229","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes the successful implementation of an assessment literacy strategy within a Biomedical Sciences degree. Teaching was aligned with an assessment literacy framework and aimed to prepare undergraduates for a literature comprehension assessment. Students were introduced to the assessment purpose and an adapted Miller’s pyramid model illustrated how the assessment contributed to competency development during their degree. Students read primary research papers and answered questions relating to the publications. They were then introduced to the processes of assessment and collaboratively graded answers of different standards. Finally, student and faculty grades were compared, differences considered, and key characteristics of answers discussed. Most students reported that they understood more about assessment standards than prior to the intervention [139/159 (87.4%)] and felt it had helped prepare them for their exam [138/159 (86.8%)]. The majority also reported they had increased confidence in evaluating data [118/159 (74%)], communicating their reasoning [113/159 (71%)] and considering what a reader needs to know [127/159 (79.9%)]. Students were asked to state the most important thing they had learned from the assessment literacy teaching. Notably, no responses referred to domain-specific knowledge. 129 free text responses were mapped to the University of Edinburgh graduate attribute framework. 93 (72%) statements mapped to the graduate attribute category “Research and Enquiry,” 66 (51.16%) mapped to “Communication” and 21 (16.27%) mapped to “Personal and Intellectual Autonomy.” To explore any longer-term impact of the assessment literacy teaching, a focus group was held with students from the same cohort, 2 years after the original intervention. Themes from this part of the study included that teaching had provided insights into standards and expectations for the assessment and the benefits of domain specific knowledge. A variety of aspects related to graduate attributes were also identified. Here, assessment literacy as a vehicle for graduate attribute development was an unexpected outcome. We propose that by explicitly engaging students with purpose, process, standards, and expectations, assessment literacy strategies may be used to successfully raise awareness of developmental progression, and enhance skills, aptitudes, and dispositions beneficial to Biomedical Sciences academic achievement and life after university.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"3 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141100174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Case Report of a Hidden Intruder—Extremely Rare Presentation of Hydatidosis as a Nuchal Tumoural Mass","authors":"Dragoș F. Voicu, C. Popazu, Delia Mihaela Râșnoveanu, Daniela Mihalache, Alexandra Toma","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12446","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12446","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: The parasitic tapeworm impersonated by the larvae of Echinococcus granulosus represents the aetiology of the hydatid pathology. The predilect site of invasion is the liver, but there are other cases of different localization all over the body, regardless of the type of invaded tissue. Soft tissue hydatidosis can be a real challenge for the clinician in terms of the diagnosis, and it might generate various complications such as anaphylactic shock. The aim of the present work is to illustrate a unique case of primary hydatidosis located in the nuchal region. Case Report: We report the case of a 68-year-old male patient, a zootechnic, who presented at the hospital with a tumoural mass (dimension: about 12/10 cm) located in the nuchal region. The complex approach needed consisted of surgical therapy along with histopathological confirmation of the diagnostic and antiparasitic medication, which led to a complete recovery with a low probability of recurrence. Discussion: Encounters with patients with primary soft tissue hydatidosis are exceptionally rare, but the surgeon must take into consideration this clinical diagnosis, especially for patients located in an endemic region with occupations that might have exposed the patient to this type of parasite.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"36 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140729582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Double Immunohistochemical Labelling of PRAME and Melan A in Slow Mohs Biopsy Margin Assessment of Lentigo Maligna and Lentigo Maligna Melanoma","authors":"R. Salih, F. Ismail, G. E. Orchard","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12319","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12319","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Lentigo maligna (LM) and lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM) predominantly affect the head and neck areas in elderly patients, presenting as challenging ill-defined pigmented lesions with indistinct borders. Surgical margin determination for complete removal remains intricate due to these characteristics. Morphological examination of surgical margins is the key form of determining successful treatment in LM/LMM and underpin the greater margin control provided through the Slow Mohs micrographic surgery (SMMS) approach. Recent assessments have explored the use of immunohistochemistry (IHC) markers, such as Preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma (PRAME), to aid in LM/LMM and margin evaluation, leveraging the selectivity of PRAME labelling in malignant melanocytic neoplasms.Methods: A Novel double-labelling (DL) method incorporating both PRAME and MelanA IHC was employed to further maximise the clinical applicability of PRAME in the assessment of LM/LMM in SMMS biopsies. The evaluation involved 51 samples, comparing the results of the novel DL with respective single-labelling (SL) IHC slides.Results: The findings demonstrated a significant agreement of 96.1% between the DL method and SL slides across the tested samples. The benchmark PRAME SL exhibited a sensitivity of 91.3% in the SMMS specimens and 67.9% in histologically confirmed positive margins.Discussion: This study highlights the utility of PRAME IHC and by extension PRAME DL as an adjunctive tool in the assessment of melanocytic tumours within staged excision margins in SMMS samples.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140228597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the Efficacy of Active Learning to Support Student Performance Across Undergraduate Programmes in Biomedical Science","authors":"D. J. Lees-Murdock, D. Khan, R. Irwin, J. Graham, V. Hinch, B. O’Hagan, S. McClean","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12148","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12148","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Active learning is a useful tool to enhance student engagement and support learning in diverse educational situations. We aimed to assess the efficacy of an active learning approach within a large interprofessional first year Medical Cell Biology module taken by six healthcare programmes across the School of Biomedical Sciences at Ulster University, United Kingdom.Materials and methods: An active learning approach was developed for weekly formative assessment using Smartwork to design a weekly interactive multiple-choice quiz to reinforce key concepts specifically for each lecture. We tracked and assessed student performance in the module overall and in each element of course work and exam for 2 years prior to and following the introduction of an active learning strategy to engage and support learning for students from all academic backgrounds and abilities.Results: Full engagement with active learning was significantly associated with an increased overall module performance as well as a significantly increased performance in each element of class test (No engagement vs. Full engagement, p < 0.001), exam (No Engagement vs. Full engagement, p < 0.05) and coursework (No engagement vs. Full engagement, p < 0.001) within this overall total (No Engagement vs. Full engagement, p < 0.01). Partial engagement with active learning was associated significantly improved class test (No engagement vs. partially engaged, p < 0.001) and coursework (No engagement vs. partially engaged, p < 0.05) performance. While a trend toward increased performance in exam and overall module mark was observed, these were not significant.Discussion: Active learning is a useful tool to support student learning across a range of healthcare programmes taken by students with differing backgrounds and academic abilities in an interprofessional and widening participation setting. Student engagement in active learning was highlighted as a key contributory factor to enhanced student performance in all aspects of assessment.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"91 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140079946","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The One Health Concept","authors":"S. Pitt, Alan Gunn","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12366","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of One Health has been developed as the appreciation that human health is intricately connected to those of other animals and the environment that they inhabit. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and noticeable effects of climate change have encouraged national and international cooperation to apply One Health strategies to address key issues of health and welfare. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals have established targets for health and wellbeing, clean water and sanitation, climate action, as well as sustainability in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The One Health Quadripartite comprises the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH—formerly OIE), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). There are six areas of focus which are Laboratory services, Control of zoonotic diseases, Neglected tropical diseases, Antimicrobial resistance, Food safety and Environmental health. This article discusses the concept of One Health by considering examples of infectious diseases and environmental issues under each of those six headings. Biomedical Scientists, Clinical Scientists and their colleagues working in diagnostic and research laboratories have a key role to play in applying the One Health approach to key areas of healthcare in the 21st Century.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"283 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139835074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The One Health Concept","authors":"S. Pitt, Alan Gunn","doi":"10.3389/bjbs.2024.12366","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/bjbs.2024.12366","url":null,"abstract":"The concept of One Health has been developed as the appreciation that human health is intricately connected to those of other animals and the environment that they inhabit. In recent years, the COVID-19 pandemic and noticeable effects of climate change have encouraged national and international cooperation to apply One Health strategies to address key issues of health and welfare. The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals have established targets for health and wellbeing, clean water and sanitation, climate action, as well as sustainability in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The One Health Quadripartite comprises the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH—formerly OIE), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). There are six areas of focus which are Laboratory services, Control of zoonotic diseases, Neglected tropical diseases, Antimicrobial resistance, Food safety and Environmental health. This article discusses the concept of One Health by considering examples of infectious diseases and environmental issues under each of those six headings. Biomedical Scientists, Clinical Scientists and their colleagues working in diagnostic and research laboratories have a key role to play in applying the One Health approach to key areas of healthcare in the 21st Century.","PeriodicalId":505701,"journal":{"name":"British Journal of Biomedical Science","volume":"45 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139775218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}