Adherence to Chronic Kidney Disease Screening Guidelines Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes in a US Administrative Claims Database

ObjectiveTo examine the screening rates for kidney damage and function among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease stage at diabetes diagnosis using a US administrative claims database.Patients and MethodsThis cohort study used a claims database enriched with laboratory results data. Patients with T2D (defined as 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient claims for diabetes), aged 18 years or older, and with at least 1 year of follow-up enrollment were identified. Patients with type 1 diabetes, kidney disease, or other related conditions at baseline were excluded. We estimated screening rates using laboratory orders for serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) measurement and urine albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR). Chronic kidney disease severity was reported using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes classification based on laboratory results.ResultsA total of 1,881,447 patients with T2D were eligible for analysis. Mean ± SD age was 63.1±13.1 years; 947,150 patients (50.3%) were male. Serum creatinine tests were ordered within 14 days of the index date among 290,722 patients of 622,915 (46.7%) patients with newly-recognized T2D. Overall, 1,595,964 patients (84.8%) had at least one serum creatinine test ordered during the 1-year follow-up period. Fewer patients received a UACR test during follow-up (814,897 [43.3%]). Less than half of all patients with T2D received a laboratory test order for both serum creatinine and urine albumin measurements during the follow-up period.ConclusionPhysicians treating patients with diabetes are selectively adhering to chronic kidney disease screening guidelines, as indicated by high rates of eGFR testing, but less frequent UACR testing. Despite recommendations to monitor both eGFR and UACR, less than half of patients were screened for albuminuria during the 1-year follow-up.     

PARP7 negatively regulates the type I interferon response in cancer cells and its inhibition triggers antitumor immunity

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Surgical treatment of four segment lumbar spondylolysis: A case report

BACKGROUNDFour-level lumbar spondylolysis is extremely rare. So far, only 1 case has been reported in the literature. CASE SUMMARYA 19-year-old man presented with severe back pain irresponsive to conservative therapies for 2 years. Lumbar radiographs and two-dimensional computed tomography scan showed four segment lumbar spondylolysis on both sides of L2-L5. Lumbar magnetic resonance imaging showed normal signal in all lumbar discs. Because daily activities were severely limited, surgery was recommended for the case. The patient underwent four-level bilateral isthmic repair at L2-L5. During surgery, L2-L5 isthmi were curetted bilaterally, freshened, and then grafted with autologous iliac bone that was bridged and compressed with a pedicular screw connected to a sub-laminar hook by a short rod. The symptoms of back pain almost disappeared. He has been followed-up for 96 mo, and his symptoms have never recurred. Fusion was found in all repaired isthmi 14 mo after surgery according to evaluation of lumbar radiography and computed tomography scan.CONCLUSIONWe report here 1 case of four-level lumbar spondylolysis that was treated successfully with direct isthmic repair.     

Phase II Study of Panitumumab Monotherapy in Chemotherapy‐Naïve Frail or Elderly Patients with Unresectable RAS Wild‐Type Colorectal Cancer: OGSG 1602

Lessons Learned

• Panitumumab monotherapy showed favorable efficacy and feasibility in the treatment of frail or elderly patients with RAS wild‐type unresectable colorectal cancer.
• It is especially effective for left‐sided tumors; therefore, panitumumab as first‐line treatment could be an additional therapeutic option for frail elderly patients, particularly in those who are unsuitable for upfront oxaliplatin‐based or irinotecan‐based combination regimens.

BackgroundFirst‐line panitumumab monotherapy is expected to be well tolerated and improve survival in patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. However, its safety and efficacy in chemotherapy‐naïve frail or elderly patients with unresectable RAS wild‐type (WT) colorectal cancer (CRC) have not been studied. The aim of this phase II trial was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of panitumumab as first‐line treatment.MethodsWe conducted a multicenter phase II study on patients aged ≥76 years or ≥65 years considered unsuitable for intensive chemotherapy. Panitumumab 6 mg/kg of intravenous infusion was administered every 2 weeks. The primary endpoint was disease control rate (DCR). Secondary endpoints included progression‐free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), response rate (RR), time to treatment failure (TTF), and incidence of grade 3 or 4 toxicities.ResultsThirty‐six patients (median age: 81 [range, 67–88] years) were enrolled between February 2017 and August 2018. Two patients were excluded from the analysis of efficacy: one from lack of image examination at baseline and the other from lack of a measurable lesion. Thirty‐three (91.6%) patients had a performance status (PS) of 0 or 1, whereas two (5.6%) patients and one (2.8%) patient had a PS of 2 and 3, respectively. Twenty‐eight patients (77.8%) had left‐sided CRC, whereas eight (22.2%) had right‐sided CRC. The RR was 50.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 32.4–67.6), including three patients (8.8%) who had complete responses. A total of 26.5% had stable diseases, resulting in a DCR of 76.5% (90% CI, 61.5–87.7). The RR of patients with left‐ and right‐sided tumors was 65.4% (95% CI, 44.3–82.8) and 0.0% (95% CI, 0.0–36.9), respectively. Major grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic toxicities were rash (n = 6, 16.7%), hypomagnesemia (n = 4, 11.1%), fatigue (n = 3, 8.3%), paronychia (n = 2, 5.6%), and hyponatremia (n = 2, 5.6%). The only grade 3 hematologic toxicity was neutropenia (n = 1, 2.8%).ConclusionPanitumumab monotherapy showed favorable efficacy and feasibility in frail or elderly patients with RAS WT unresectable CRC. Survival analysis including OS, PFS, and TTF is currently in progress.     

Primary vaccination in adult patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation – A single center retrospective efficacy analysis

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHSCT) results in a loss of humoral immunity and subsequent risk for severe infections. Thus, re-vaccination is required but may fail due to incomplete immune reconstitution. We retrospectively analyzed predictors of immune response to primary vaccination applied according to the EBMT (European Blood and Marrow Transplantation Group) recommendations. Serologic response to vaccination against diphtheria (D), tetanus (T), Bordetella pertussis (aP) and Haemophilus influenzae (Hib) (administrated as combined DTaP-Hib-IPV vaccination) was studied in 84 alloHSCT patients transplanted between 2008 and 2015 (age at alloHSCT: 18.6–70.6 years). All patients with a relapse-free survival of ≥9 months, at least 3 consecutive vaccinations and absence of intravenous immunoglobulin administration within 3 months before and after vaccination met the primary inclusion criteria. Additionally, immunological response to a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was analyzed in a subgroup of 67 patients. Patients’ characteristics at the time of first vaccination were recorded. Responses were measured as vaccine-specific antibody titers. Regarding DTaP-Hib-IPV vaccination, 89.3% (n = 75) of all patients achieved protective titers to at least 3 of the 4 vaccine components and were thus considered responders. 10.7% (n = 9) of the patients were classified as non-responders with positive immune response to less than 3 components. Highest response was observed for Hib (97.4%), tetanus (95.2%) and pneumococcal vaccination (83.6%) while only 68.3% responded to vaccination against Bordetella pertussis. Significant risk factors for failure of vaccination response included low B cell counts (p < 0.001; cut-off: 0.05 B cells/nl) and low IgG levels (p = 0.026; mean IgG of responders 816 mg/dl vs. 475 mg/dl of non-responders). Further, a trend was observed that prior cGvHD impairs vaccination response as 88.9% of the non-responders but only 54.7% of the responders had prior cGvHD (p = 0.073). The results demonstrate, that the currently proposed vaccination strategy leads to seroprotection in the majority of alloHSCT patients.     

基于《医学六要》补肝汤辨证加味治疗腰椎间盘突出症回顾分析

目的:分析基于明代医家张三锡《医学六要》补肝汤辨证加味在腰椎间盘突出症中的治疗价值,以此对《医学六要》补肝思想进行继承创新。方法:对湖南省中医药研究院附属医院、湘潭市中医医院、北京中医药大学深圳医院2008年8月—2019年12月采取张三锡补肝汤辨证加味治疗的9741例腰椎间盘突出症患者,进行回顾性分析。结果:优3791例,良3740例,可1228例,差982例,总有效率达89.92%。各疾病分型及中医证型疗效情况如下。①膨出型腰椎间盘突出症的临床疗效最好,其次为中央突出型,脱出游离型疗效相对最差;②突出物在a域以内者临床疗效最好、其次为在b域以内者,突出物达到d域者疗效相对最差;③以寒湿型和血瘀型的临床疗效最好,不在《中医病证诊断疗效标准》中列出的其他型疗效相对最差;④以单纯L5~S1为责任节段的临床疗效最好,双节段或多节段椎间盘突出者疗效相对最差;⑤以单纯出现下肢症状和(或)体征者临床疗效最好、其次为单纯腰部出现症状和(或)体征,腰部和腿部同时出现症状和(或)体征者疗效相对最差;⑥病程以≤7天者疗效最好,≥3年者疗效相对最差。基于《医学六要》补肝汤辨证加味在腰椎间盘突出症的治疗应用上安全有效。结论:基于《医学六要》补肝汤辨证加味可用于指导腰椎间盘突出症的临床治疗,应对该补肝思想进行深入研究和继承创新。     

放松功辅助治疗腰椎间盘突出症的临床疗效观察

目的:观察放松功辅助治疗腰椎间盘突出症(LDH)的临床疗效。方法:2018年5月至11月于上海市气功研究所医疗门诊部收集63例LDH患者,将其随机分为治疗组(32例)与对照组(31例)。治疗组予以电针结合放松功治疗,对照组仅给予电针治疗,两组电针治疗频率均为每周2次,治疗组放松功习练频率为每天1次,每次约20min,两种治疗方法均连续治疗3个月。治疗前后,利用VAS评分、CODI指数、表面肌电指标进行临床疗效评定。结果:治疗组有效率为90.3%(28/31),对照组有效率为83.3%(25/30)。治疗后,治疗组VAS评分显著低于同期对照组(P<0.05),治疗组患侧与健侧多裂肌MF值均高于对照组同侧(P<0.05)。结论:放松功在改善LDH患者疼痛与腰部肌肉疲劳度方面疗效明显,值得进行临床推广应用。