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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is currently spreading worldwide. This study examined whether serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) level is a useful biomarker for evaluating the severity of COVID-19.

We retrospectively examined patients diagnosed with COVID-19 at the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center between February 1, 2020, and May 15, 2020. Patients were divided into four categories based on clinical and radiological findings mild, moderate, severe, and critical. Patients who presented with a mild or moderate illness and patients who started with or worsened to a severe or critical illness were classified as the non-severe and severe groups, respectively. The two groups were compared for patient characteristics, including serum KL-6 levels. Receiver operating characteristic curves were used to define the optimum cut-off value of serum KL-6 level to evaluate COVID-19 severity.

A total of 54 patients were enrolled, including 33 in the non-severe group and 21 in the severe group, of which four died. Compared with those in the non-severe group, more patients in the severe group were significantly older and had comorbidities. Serum KL-6 levels were significantly higher in the severe group than in the non-severe group both at diagnosis (median, 338U/mL) and at peak levels within one week after diagnosis (median, 781U/mL) (both p<0.001). Serum KL-6 value at peak level (371U/mL) was used as the optimal cut-off to evaluate disease severity (sensitivity, 85.7%; specificity, 96.6%).

Serum KL-6 levels were significantly elevated in severe COVID-19 and is useful for evaluating its severity.

Serum KL-6 levels were significantly elevated in severe COVID-19 and is useful for evaluating its severity.

Erectile dysfunction is a multifactorial disorder that increases in prevalence as men age. PI3K inhibitor When medical therapy fails or when men are unwilling to try it, surgical intervention becomes the urologist's next best tool. However, the loss of penile length is of great concern to many patients, and there have been a myriad of ways to try to combat this fear from both patients and the surgeons themselves. In this review, we evaluate the current literature of these various approaches to improve penile length in penile prosthesis surgery.

To review novel techniques in penile prosthesis implantation surgery.

A literature search using PubMed was conducted to identify relevant peer-reviewed studies to penile prosthesis surgery. Search terms included penile prosthesis, penile shortening, sliding technique, Peyronie's Disease, erectile dysfunction, nondegloving, penile length, and Multiple Slice Technique.

Novel techniques included preoperative techniques such as use of vacuum-assisted erection device, intraoperative techniques of aggressive dilatation and maximal sizing, ventral phalloplasty and/or scrotoplasty, suprapubic fat pad excision, relaxing tunica albuginea incisions, a sliding or slicing technique, or the postoperative use of penile rehabilitation. In addition, recognizing recall bias or inconsistencies in measurement techniques is important when evaluating men with possible penile shortening after penile prosthesis surgery.

Advancements in surgical techniques and managing patient expectations can be crucial in the success of penile prosthesis surgery. Panuganti S, Kannady C, Wang R, Expanding the Limits-Improving Penile Length With Inflatable Penile Prosthesis Implantation A Review. Sex Med Rev 2020;XXXXX-XXX.

Advancements in surgical techniques and managing patient expectations can be crucial in the success of penile prosthesis surgery. Panuganti S, Kannady C, Wang R, Expanding the Limits-Improving Penile Length With Inflatable Penile Prosthesis Implantation A Review. Sex Med Rev 2020;XXXXX-XXX.

To investigate the effects of mitoxantrone and daunorubicin in induced chemotherapy on complete remission (CR), death during induction therapy, overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), and relapse in patients of all ages with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

We searched published reports at the Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Databases as well as other databases from inception through July 2019. There was no restriction on date of publication or language (PROSPERO registration CRD42018095843).

We enrolled 12 randomized controlled trials that included data of 4583 AML patients whose disease was untreated or relapsed/refractory, and compared the CR, death during induction therapy, DFS, and OS between mitoxantrone and daunorubicin. Mitoxantrone significantly increased the CR rate (relative risk= 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01, 1.14; P= .03) and DFS (hazard ratio= 0.87; 95% CI, 0.79, 0.96; P= .005) compared to daunorubicin. However, there was no significant difference in death during induction therapy (relative risk= 1.00; 95% CI, 0.81, 1.24; P= .99) and OS (hazard ratio= 0.94; 95% CI, 0.87, 1.01; P= .077) between the two drugs.

Although more studies are needed to compare mitoxantrone with higher-dose daunorubicin, the results showed that compared to daunorubicin, mitoxantrone can significantly improve CR and DFS in patients of all ages. These findings suggest that mitoxantrone may be a better choice than daunorubicin as an induction chemotherapy agent for AML patients, especially in developing countries.

Although more studies are needed to compare mitoxantrone with higher-dose daunorubicin, the results showed that compared to daunorubicin, mitoxantrone can significantly improve CR and DFS in patients of all ages. These findings suggest that mitoxantrone may be a better choice than daunorubicin as an induction chemotherapy agent for AML patients, especially in developing countries.Since its publication in 2001 the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) has attracted debate about the content and the model presented. After almost 20 years use, regular updating since 2008 and with the prospect of a new edition in 2020 there is increasing interest in the ICF as a tool to meet contemporary information requirements. Information on functioning is important across not only health systems, but all areas where change in functioning is important education, employment, and social welfare for example. This commentary responds to the issues raised in a commentary by Mitra & Shakespeare in 2019 and supports review of the ICF in the current context by informing users and providers of data on human functioning how they might engage in the maintenance, updating, and modernisation of the ICF.