Background: Gastrointestinal cancer is one of the most common malignancies and imposes heavy burdens on both individual health and social economy. We sought to survey the effect of a self-care education program on quality of life and fatigue in gastrointestinal cancer patients who received chemotherapy. Methods: Ninety-one eligible gastrointestinal cancer patients were enrolled in this study and 86 valid samples were analyzed. Data were acquired with a demographics questionnaire, endpoint multidimensional questionnaire and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality of life questionnaire QLQ-C30. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: The self-care education intervention significantly improved the quality of life with respect to emotional function (p = 0.018), role function (p = 0.041), cognitive function (p = 0.038) and alleviated side effects such as nausea/vomiting (p = 0.028) and fatigue (p = 0.029). Further analysis demonstrated that the self-care education benefited total fatigue, affective fatigue and cognitive fatigue in gastrointestinal cancer patients regardless of baseline depression. Conclusion: Our results suggested the beneficial effects of the self-care education in both quality of life and antifatigue in gastrointestinal cancer patients under chemotherapy. The self-care education could be considered as a complementary approach during combination chemotherapy in gastrointestinal cancer patients.

Recent studies have shown that preterm delivery is a risk factor for the development of postpartum depression, which not only impairs maternal-infant interactions, leading to infant developmental delay and social interaction difficulties in affected children, but also increases the risk of depression in the mother. Hence, this article aims to study the effects of parental engagement and early interactions with preterm infants on subsequent infant development and behavior, maternal adjustment, and mother-infant relationship. A total of 151 infants/mothers were enrolled in our study. Infants were randomized either to receive early parent interaction or standard care. The early parent interaction program was performed in addition to routine standard of care, Kangaroo Mother Care, during the neonatal intensive care unit stay based on PremieStart Protocol. The behavioral competencies of preterm infants were assessed, as were their mothers' adjustment (depression and coping) and competencies (knowledge of child development). At 12 months of postnatal age, child competencies (development and behavior) were assessed, together with maternal adjustment (parenting stress and depression). Mother-infant interaction was also observed. Early parent interaction did not alter early or later infant development. Furthermore, early parent interaction did not alter early maternal adjustment or late mother-infant relationship, but it reduced the risk of late postpartum depression. Taken together, these studies provide a strong basis for interventions that support parents in the parenting role and guide parents in developmentally appropriate interactions with their preterm babies. These interventions have the potential to lessen the adverse impact of preterm birth on babies and mothers. In addition, the positive benefits of reduced stress can improve parent mental health outcomes and ultimately may further improve parents' relationships with their babies.

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Resistance to anti-fungal drugs has become the main cause for increasing incidence rate of Candida infections in pediatric intensive care units (PICU). Zinc supplementation has been shown to exhibit beneficial effects on many pediatric illnesses. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of zinc supplementation on prevalence of candidemia and candiduria infections in PICU. 724 eligible children between 1 to 5 years old admitted in PICU were randomly assigned into either zinc supplementation group or placebo group. Primary endpoints were the number of Candida infections, length of PICU stay and cases of patient death 14 days after enrollment. Secondary endpoints were the incidence rates of candidemia and candiduria. The incidences of candiduria and candidemia were significantly lower in the zinc group than the placebo group. The length of PICU stay and cases of patient death were obviously lowered in the zinc group compared to the placebo group. In conclusion, zinc supplementation shows beneficial clinical efficacy in reducing Candida infections among PICU patients on broad-spectrum antibiotics with critical illnesses.

Background The prevalence of Candida infections in paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) has dramatically increased as a result of resistance to conventional anti‐fungal treatments. Because vitamin D has been shown to exhibit fungicidal activity against Candida infection in an in vitro antimicrobial screening, we aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D on Candida infections in the PICU. Methods Four hundred sixteen eligible children aged between 12 months to 5 years old admitted to the PICU, who were on broad‐spectrum antibiotic therapy, participated in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to two study groups, receiving a plain yogurt drink (placebo group) or supplemented with 300 IU day−1 vitamin D (VD group). Primary outcome was defined as the incidences of Candida colonisation (Candida isolated from rectal swab) 14 days after enrollment. Secondary outcome measures were Candida growth in blood (candidaemia) and urine (candiduria). Results The prevalence of candiduria as well as candidaemia was significantly lower in the VD‐treated group (26 cases) than in the placebo group (62 cases). The mean (SD) length of PICU stay was obviously lowered in the VD group [11.8 (1.2) days] compared to the placebo group [15.2 (2.3 days)], whereas cases of patient death were similar between the two groups. Conclusions Supplementation of vitamin D effectively reduces infections of Candida in children who were critically ill and on broad‐spectrum antibiotic treatment.