Nigar Sekercioglu

Nigar Sekercioglu
McMaster University | McMaster

About

55
Publications
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Publications

Publications (55)
Article
Full-text available
Globally, healthcare systems are contending with a pronounced health human resource crisis marked by elevated rates of burnout, heightened job transitions, and an escalating demand for the limited supply of the existing health workforce. This crisis detrimentally affects the quality of patient care, contributing to long wait times, decreased patien...
Article
Healthcare administrators steer their organizations' strategic direction with an emphasis on quality, value and efficiency, aiming to improve patient outcomes and ensure operational sustainability. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force in healthcare in the past decade, with Canadian health systems and research institutions...
Article
Background The leaders of health care organizations are grappling with rising expenses and surging demands for health services. In response, they are increasingly embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve patient care delivery, alleviate operational burdens, and efficiently improve health care safety and quality. Objective In...
Preprint
BACKGROUND The leaders of health care organizations are grappling with rising expenses and surging demands for health services. In response, they are increasingly embracing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve patient care delivery, alleviate operational burdens, and efficiently improve health care safety and quality. OBJECTIVE In...
Preprint
Full-text available
Findings In this qualitative study, involving interviews with a diverse group of health care professionals who self-identify as women, participants pinpointed three interconnected factors influencing their choices to exit clinical practice: personal circumstances, professional roles, and the organizational context. They emphasized that fostering an...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Operations research techniques enable health care administrators to optimize resource allocation and to find solutions to staff and patient scheduling problems. We aimed to conduct the first systematic review of the international literature on the use of operations research for allocating deceased-donor kidneys. Methods: We searched...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction The production of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) has grown in the past years. Notwithstanding, the quality of these documents and their recommendations for the treatment of schizophrenia in children and adolescents is still unknown. Objective To assess the quality of the guidelines and recommendations for the treatment of schizop...
Article
Full-text available
Previous primary studies have explored the association between blood pressure (BP) and mortality in ambulatory heart failure (HF) patients reporting varying and contrasting associations. The aim is to determine the pooled BP prognostic value and explore potential reasons for between-study inconsistency. We searched Medline, Cochrane, EMBASE and CIN...
Article
Prognostic models combine several prognostic factors to provide an estimate of the likelihood (or risk) of future events in individual patients, conditional on their prognostic factor values. A fundamental part of evaluating prognostic models is undertaking studies to determine whether their predictive performance, such as calibration and discrimin...
Article
Objectives : Current guidelines mandate organ donation to be financially neutral such that it neither rewards nor exploits donors. This systematic review was conducted to assess the magnitude and type of costs incurred by adult living kidney donors and to identify those at risk of financial hardship. Methods : We searched English-language journal a...
Article
Full-text available
Rationale & objectives: Due to unmeasured confounding, observational studies have limitations when assessing whether dialysis initiation reduces mortality compared with conservative therapy among adults with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). We addressed this issue in this meta-analysis. Study design: Meta-analysis with bias analysis for un...
Article
Background Resting heart rate is a risk factor of adverse heart failure (HF) outcomes; however, studies have shown controversial results. This meta-analysis evaluates the association of resting heart rate with mortality and hospitalization and identifies factors influencing its effect. Methods We systematically searched electronic databases in Feb...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: To propose an approach for developing trustworthy recommendations as part of urgent responses (1-2 weeks) in the clinical, public health, and health systems fields. Study design and setting: We conducted a review of the literature, outlined a draft approach, refined the concept through iterative discussions, a workshop by the GRADE Rapi...
Article
Supervised machine learning (ML) is a class of algorithms that “learn” from existing input–output pairs, which is gaining popularity in pattern recognition for classification and prediction problems. In this scoping review, we examined the use of supervised ML algorithms for the prediction of long-term allograft survival in kidney transplant recipi...
Article
Full-text available
Objective To compare the effects of treatments for coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19). Design Living systematic review and network meta-analysis. Data sources US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Research Articles Downloadable Database, which includes 25 electronic databases and six additional Chinese databases to 20 July 2020....
Article
Full-text available
Deceased-donor renal transplant (DDRT) is an expensive and potentially risky health intervention with the prospect of improved life and lower long-term costs compared with dialysis. Due to the increasing shortage of kidneys and the associated rise of transplantation costs, certain patient groups may not benefit from transplantation in a cost-effect...
Article
Aim: Type 2 diabetes is a major global epidemic affecting over 400 million people worldwide. The objective of this systematic review was to provide an overview of recommendations from clinical practice guidelines (guidelines) addressing non-insulin based pharmacological management of among non-pregnant adults in an outpatient setting, and critical...
Conference Paper
Background: Previously published reviews have highlighted low rates and poor quality of clinical trials in nephrology compared to other specialties. In this review, we assessed temporal trends in the quantity and quality of nephrology trials. Methods: We conducted a systematic review among nephrology trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov from inc...
Article
BACKGROUND The advantage of treating selected ESRD patients with dialysis over non-dialysis, conservative therapy, is unclear. We addressed this gap by providing a comprehensive evidence synthesis on the outcomes of dialysis vs. conservative care in ESRD patients. METHODS MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from January 2009 to April 2019 for prospec...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is an independent predictor of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in type 1 diabetes (T1D). We aimed to explore clinical and biochemical factors, including the achievement of American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommended targets associated with DKD in people living with T1D for ≥50 years. Methods: Thi...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract Health systems guidance (HSG) documents contain systematically developed statements or recommendations intended to address a health system challenge. The concept of HSG is fairly new and considerable effort has been undertaken to build tools to support the contextualization of recommendations. One example is the Appraisal of Guidelines for...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: The objective of the study was to clarify how the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) concept of certainty of evidence applies to certainty ratings of test accuracy. Study design and setting: After initial brainstorming with GRADE Working Group members, we iteratively refined and clarified the app...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction: Coverage decisions in publicly funded healthcare systems require a formal, systematic and transparent assessment process for policies related to distribution of resources. The process is complex and employs multiple types of information, such as clinical effectiveness, costs and health utility scores which are used to produce quality...
Article
Full-text available
Aim: Major Depressive Disorder is associated with decreased productivity, and is a common cause of disability. We used administrative data from a private Canadian disability insurer, SSQ Life Insurance Company Inc. (SSQ), to develop a prognostic model for disability resolution. Material and Method: We used parametric survival models (Royston-Parmar...
Article
Full-text available
Aim: Procalcitonin (PCT) is known as an infection marker. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is considered as a marker of oxidative stress. Both have been found to be elevated in peritoneal dialysis patients. In this study, we measured procalcitonin, malondialdehyde, and traditional inflammation markers, including albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte...
Article
Full-text available
Background Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD), a complication of chronic kidney disease, has been linked to reduced quality and length of life. High serum phosphate levels that result from CKD-MBD require phosphate-lowering agents, also known as phosphate binders. The objective of this systematic review is to compare the eff...
Data
File A. The PRISMA NMA checklist. The PRISMA NMA checklist. File B. Search strategies. Search strategies for MEDLINE OVID, EMBASE OVID and EBM Reviews—Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases. Fig A. Assessment of publication bias by funnel plots for phosphate outcome. Funnel plot of effectiveness outcome for mean phosphate reductio...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease mineral and bone disorders (CKD-MBD) suffer high rates of morbidity and mortality, in particular related to bone and cardiovascular outcomes. The management of CKD-MBD remains challenging. The objective of this systematic survey is to critically appraise clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) addressin...
Article
Objectives: To explore the responsiveness of patient reported outcomes (PROs) in interventional studies involving patients with rare lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs). Study design and setting: We searched eight databases for experimental and non-experimental studies. Pairs of trained reviewers independently screened articles and subsequently ex...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder (CKD-MBD) has been linked to poor health outcomes, including diminished quality and length of life. This condition is characterized by high phosphate levels and requires phosphate-lowering agents-phosphate binders. The objective of this systematic review is to compare the effects of avai...
Data
GRADE quality assessments of direct evidence per pairwise treatment comparison for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and hospitalization due to any reason. (DOCX)
Data
Risk of bias assessment; outcome: all-cause mortality. Low risk of bias for missing data and selective reporting in about 75% of the trials. (TIF)
Data
Forest plot, calcium based vs. non-calcium based phosphate binders; outcome: hospitalization. (TIF)
Data
Contribution plot of phosphate binders for CKD-MBD; outcome: all-cause mortality. (TIF)
Data
Forest plot, calcium based vs. non-calcium based phosphate binders; outcome: cardiovascular mortality. (TIF)
Data
The comparison-adjusted funnel plot for the phosphate binder network; outcome: all-cause mortality. (TIF)
Data
Forest plot, calcium-based versus non-calcium-based phosphate binders; outcome: all-cause mortality. (TIF)
Article
Background: Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorders (CKD-MBD) have been associated with poor health outcomes, including diminished quality and length of life. Standard management for CKD-MBD includes phosphate restricted diet, vitamin D and phosphate binders. Persistently elevated parathyroid hormone levels may require the addition of ci...
Article
Full-text available
Background Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorders (CKD-MBD) have been associated with poor health outcomes, including diminished quality and length of life. Standard management for CKD-MBD includes phosphate-restricted diet, active vitamin D, vitamin D analogs, and phosphate binders. Persistently elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels...
Article
Since sympathovagal imbalance influences clinical phenomena, such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and sleeping problems, there should be correlations between these conditions. We hypothesized that sleep quality would be correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), blood pressure and the presence of d...
Article
Although multivessel coronary artery disease has been associated with poor health outcomes in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the optimal approach to revascularization remains uncertain. The objective of this review was to determine the benefits and harms of culprit vessel only vs immediate complete percutane...
Article
Purpose: The primary objective of this cross-sectional study was to test factors associated with sleep apnea in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The prevalence of sleep apnea was also assessed. Methods: We recruited patients with CKD Stage 3-5 who lived in the St. John's area from September 2012 to December 2012. The Berlin Questionna...
Article
Full-text available
The incidence of obesity is increasing both in the general population and in incident dialysis patients. While there is evidence that being overweight is associated with good outcomes in hemodialysis, the evidence in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients is not very clear. We studied a modern cohort of PD patients to examine outcomes in large patients....
Article
Full-text available
Background: Hyponatremia in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients has previously been associated with water overload and weight gain, or with malnutrition and intracellular potassium depletion. Although there is a sizable literature about transmembrane sodium and water removal in PD, there are few reports about the incidence and characteristics of hyp...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose The optimal target for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has not been well defined in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods The objective of our study was to examine the predictive value of predialysis and time-averaged follow-up HbA1c values on technique and patient survival in diabetic PD patients treated in the Toro...
Article
Full-text available
IntroductionVitamin D deficiency is common and may be a riskfactor for nearly all major diseases, including cancer,infections, autoimmune and cardiovascular disease[1]. Vitamin D (VitD) stores decline with age, duringwinter, after menopause and in chronic kidney disease(CKD) [2]. VitD supplementation is advocated for thetreatment of musculoskeletal...
Article
Despite significant improvements in renal management the mortality associated with dialysis care remains high. Many renal registries report mortality statistics on an annual basis. The objectives of this study were (1) to establish the accuracy of the registered cause of death (CoD) against that determined by a panel of physicians; and (2) to test...

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