Frailty in Adults With HIV: Identification,Assessment, and Management

The number of persons living with HIV who are aging is increasing. Frailty, a concept of geriatric medicine that is gaining recognition in HIV care, is associated with decreased quality of life and a greater chance of death. Tools are available for identifying prefrail and frail individuals. Clinicians caring for older persons living with HIV should be familiar with these tools and integrate frailty assessment as part of comprehensive care. This article provides a brief overview of the principles of frailty and discusses strategies to identify prefrail or frail individuals.     

Bio-accumulation and health risk assessment of heavy metals in different edible fish species from Hurghada City,Red Sea,Egypt

BackgroundHeavy metal contamination has become a serious issue in this century especially detected in fish organs. Due to the presence of radioactive compounds in agricultural and sewage effluent, which destroys aquatic ecosystems, threatening human livelihoods. Health hazards associated with low and high consumption consumers assessed in five commercial fish species collected from Hurghada City, Egypt, during winter and summer, 2020. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer technique used for determination heavy meals in different organs and expressed as μg/g wet weight.ResultsHeavy metal concentrations in muscle ranged between:(0.054–0.109), (0.260–1.043), (0.264–0.897), (5.895–11.898), (0.381–0.970), (13.582–29.133) and (0.332–0.589) µg/g for Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn, Cu, Fe and Ni respectively, which were lower than those of gills and liver. These concentrations were within WHO, FAO/WHO, and EU standards. Consumption of edible species was lower than the (TDIs) established by the (JECFA) and Egyptian Standards. Even though THQ and TTHQ values were < 1 while, in children with highly consumer were> 1.ConclusionThis study concluded that intake of Red Sea fish is safe for human health. It is critical for consumers to be aware of the consequences of excessive fish consumption, particularly children with highly consumer, which represent possible health risks.     

Designing and Implementing Deliberative Processes for Health Technology Assessment: A Good Practices Report of a Joint HTAi/ISPOR Task Force

ObjectivesDeliberative processes for health technology assessment (HTA) are intended to facilitate participatory decision making, using discussion and open dialogue between stakeholders. Increasing attention is being given to deliberative processes, but guidance is lacking for those who wish to design or use them. Health Technology Assessment International (HTAi) and ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research initiated a joint Task Force to address this gap.MethodsThe joint Task Force consisted of 15 members with different backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise relevant to the field. It developed guidance and a checklist for deliberative processes for HTA. The guidance builds upon the few, existing initiatives in the field, as well as input from the HTA community following an established consultation plan. In addition, the guidance was subject to 2 rounds of peer review.ResultsA deliberative process for HTA consists of procedures, activities, and events that support the informed and critical examination of an issue and the weighing of arguments and evidence to guide a subsequent decision. Guidance and an accompanying checklist are provided for (i) developing the governance and structure of an HTA program and (ii) informing how the various stages of an HTA process might be managed using deliberation.ConclusionsThe guidance and the checklist contain a series of questions, grouped by 6 phases of a model deliberative process. They are offered as practical tools for those wishing to establish or improve deliberative processes for HTA that are fit for local contexts. The tools can also be used for independent scrutiny of deliberative processes.     

The measurement of neck strength: A guide for sports medicine clinicians

This masterclass aims to provide an overview of the measurement of neck strength and the factors which can increase the ecological validity of the testing protocol within an athletic population. Adopting a ‘gold standard’ method for measuring neck strength is of vital importance when determining strength differences across sports, ages and sexes. Without a ‘gold standard’ method current variations in testing procedure and equipment have created challenges in establishing normative neck strength data. With encouraging evidence that higher neck strength can have a protective effect against sports-related head and neck injuries, including concussion, new injury prevention knowledge may be impeded by a lack of consensus on how to accurately measure neck strength, with a number of different methods available. This masterclass will outline the factors clinicians should consider when selecting a device and measurement protocol when measuring maximal neck strength as well as how to interpret the results.     

Spinal Cord Injury–Functional Index/Capacity: Responsiveness to Change Over Time

ObjectiveTo establish responsiveness of 3 Spinal Cord Injury–Functional Index/Capacity (SCI-FI/C) item banks in the first year after spinal cord injury (SCI).DesignLongitudinal patient-reported outcomes assessment replicated through secondary analysis of an independent data set.SettingA total of 8 SCI Model Systems rehabilitation hospitals in the United States.ParticipantsStudy 1 participants included 184 adults with recent (≤4 months) traumatic SCI and 221 community-dwelling adults (>1 year post injury) (N=405). Study 2 participants were 418 individuals with recent SCI (≤4 months) (N=418).InterventionsIn study 1, SCI-FI/C computer adaptive tests were presented in a standardized interview format either in person or by phone call at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Responsiveness was examined by comparing 6-month changes in SCI-FI scores within and across samples (recently injured vs community-dwelling) because only the recent injury sample was expected to exhibit change over time. Effect sizes were also computed. In study 2, the study 1 results were cross-validated in a second sample with recent SCI 1 year after baseline measurement. Study 2 also compared the SCI-FI/C measures’ responsiveness to that of the Self-reported Functional Measure (SRFM) and stratified results by injury diagnosis and completeness.Main Outcome MeasuresThe SCI-FI Basic Mobility/C, Self-care/C and Fine Motor/C item banks (study 1 and study 2); Self-reported Functional Measure SRFM (study 2 only).ResultsIn study 1, changes in SCI-FI/C scores between baseline and 6-month follow-up were statistically significant (P<.01) for recently injured individuals. SCI-FI Basic Mobility/C, Self-care/C, and Fine Motor/C item banks demonstrated small to medium effect sizes in the recently injured sample. In the community-dwelling sample, all SCI-FI/C effects were negligible (ie, effect size<0.08). Study 2 results were similar to study 1. As expected, SCI-FI Basic Mobility/C and Self-care/C were responsive to change for all individuals in study 2, whereas the SCI-FI Fine Motor/C was responsive only for individuals with tetraplegia and incomplete paraplegia. The SRFM demonstrated a medium effect size for responsiveness (effect size=0.65).ConclusionsThe SCI-FI Basic Mobility/C and Self-care/C banks demonstrate adequate sensitivity to change at 6 months and 1 year for all individuals with SCI, while the SCI-FI/C Fine Motor item bank is sensitive to change in individuals with tetraplegia or incomplete paraplegia. All SCI-FI/C banks demonstrate stability in a sample not expected to change. Results provide support for the use of these measures for research or clinical use.     

What do we know about written assessment of health professionals’ communication skills? A scoping review

ObjectiveThe aim of this scoping review was to investigate the published literature on written assessment of communication skills in health professionals’ education.MethodsPubmed, Embase, Cinahl and Psychnfo were screened for the period 1/1995–7/2020. Selection was conducted by four pairs of reviewers. Four reviewers extracted and analyzed the data regarding study, instrument, item, and psychometric characteristics.ResultsFrom 20,456 assessed abstracts, 74 articles were included which described 70 different instruments. Two thirds of the studies used written assessment to measure training effects, the others focused on the development/validation of the instrument. Instruments were usually developed by the authors, often with little mention of the test development criteria. The type of knowledge assessed was rarely specified. Most instruments included clinical vignettes. Instrument properties and psychometric characteristics were seldom reported.ConclusionThere are a number of written assessments available in the literature. However, the reporting of the development and psychometric properties of these instruments is often incomplete. Practice implications written assessment of communication skills is widely used in health professions education. Improvement in the reporting of instrument development, items and psychometrics may help communication skills teachers better identify when, how and for whom written assessment of communication should be used.     

全方位护理干预对ERCP围术期患儿及家属应激及心理状况的影响

目的探讨全方位护理干预对ERCP围术期患儿及家属应激及心理状况的影响。方法选取2018年1月10日至2019年10月10日行ERCP患儿100例,采用抽签法分为观察组及对照组各50例,分别对两组实施全方位护理及常规护理干预,观察ERCP围术期患儿应激情况和并发症发生率,对患儿家属进行焦虑和抑郁评分。结果观察组患儿轻度应激30例(60.00%)、中度应激20例(40.00%),应激程度低于对照组患儿(P<0.05);观察组患儿并发症发生率为4.00%,低于对照组患儿(P<0.05);观察组患儿家属的焦虑评分14.01±0.11、抑郁评分15.23±1.48,低于对照组患儿家属(P<0.05)。结论全方位护理干预能有效减少ERCP围术期患儿应激,降低并发症发生率,改善患儿家属负面情绪,从而促进患儿早期康复。     

基于COSMIN指南对癌症患者支持性照护需求量表的系统评价

背景国内外用于评估癌症患者支持性照护需求的量表较多，但有关此类量表质量的标准化评价研究及不同量表间的横向比较研究较为缺乏，也少有研究者对此类量表的测量特性进行系统的整合与评价。目的评价中文版癌症患者支持性照护需求量表的测量学性能及研究的方法学质量。方法2021年4月检索中国知网、万方数据知识服务平台、维普中文科技期刊全文数据库、中国生物医学文献数据库、PubMed、EmBase、Web of Science、CINAHL Complete数据库，获取有关中文版癌症患者支持性照护需求量表测量学性能评价的研究，检索时限均为建库至2021年3月30日。由两位研究者独立筛选文献、提取资料后，采用健康测量工具遴选标准（COSMIN）系统综述指南，在对量表的测量特性及研究的方法学质量进行评价的基础上，综合评定中文版癌症患者支持性照护需求评估量表各测量特性的证据等级，并形成对于量表的最终推荐意见。采用描述分析法对评价结果进行汇总、分析。结果共纳入15项研究，涉及8个中文版癌症患者支持性照护需求评估量表〔癌症患者支持性照护需求简明问卷中文版（SCNS-SF34）、中文版支持性照护需求筛查工具（SCNS-ST9-C）、癌症患者综合需求评估量表（CNAT）、癌症需求简明问卷（CNQ-SF）、中文版癌症患者未满足需求量表（CaSUN-C）、癌症患者未满足需求简明量表（SF-SUNS）、晚期癌症患者需求评估问卷（ACNQ-41）、晚期癌症患者需求评估表简表（ACNQ-29）〕。就量表的测量特性质量而言，除ACNQ-29的内容效度为"未提及"外，其余7个量表的内容效度均为"不确定"；除CaSUN-C、SF-SUNS的结构效度为"充分"外，其余6个量表的结构效度均为"不确定"；SCNS-SF34、CNQ-SF、CaSUN-C、SF-SUNS的内部一致性为"充分"，ACNQ-41的内部一致性为"不充分"，其余3个量表的内部一致性为"不确定"；CNAT、CNQ-SF、ACNQ-29的假设检验为"未提及"，CaSUN-C、SF-SUNS、ACNQ-41的假设检验为"不确定"，SCNS-SF34、SCNS-ST9-C的假设检验为"充分"；除ACNQ-41的稳定性为"不充分"，SCNS-ST9-C、ACNQ-29的稳定性为"未提及"外，其余5个量表的稳定性均为"充分"；仅SCNS-SF34的跨文化效度为"充分"，其余7个量表的跨文化效度均为"未提及"。8个量表的推荐等级均为B级。结论SCNS-SF34的测量特性得到了最为全面的评价，其具有较好的信效度，且临床应用可行性高，可暂时被推荐使用，但上述结论仍有待更多高质量证据加以支撑。     

基于全球视角的中国骨关节炎疾病负担分析

目的 掌握我国30岁以上人群骨关节炎的疾病负担现状与趋势，发现重点人群，为制定骨关节炎综合防制策略提供科学依据。方法 利用全球疾病负担数据库2019（GBD 2019），对中国30岁以上人群按照性别、年龄分组描述骨关节炎的发病率、患病率、伤残损失健康生命年（Years lived with disability, YLD），并与全球和日本、印度进行比较，分析1990—2019年骨关节炎的疾病负担与其变化趋势。作图使用GraphPad Prism 8软件。结果 2019年，中国骨关节炎患病人数约1.33亿，所致YLD约472.49万人年，占中国全因YLD的3.07%，占全球骨关节炎导致YLD的24.93%；其发病率高峰在50～54岁年龄组，各年龄段女性发病率均约为男性的1.5倍。1990—2019年，中国骨关节炎发病率、患病率、YLD率均呈逐年上升趋势，2019年依次为750.96/10万、9337.15/10万、224.78/10万，较1990年分别增加93.62%、113.53%、116.13%，均远超同期日本、印度及全球的增幅；年龄标准化后的以上指标显示，中国骨关节炎疾病负担低于日本、高于印度、接近全球平均水平。结论 随着人口老龄化程度的加深，1990—2019年我国30岁以上人群骨关节炎疾病负担越来越重，一级预防重点人群为35岁以下和未患病人群，尤其是女性，可见制定科学有效的骨关节炎综合防制方案已迫在眉睫。