Effects of tamoxifen on normal breast tissue histological composition: Results from a randomised six-arm placebo-controlled trial in healthy women

Tamoxifen prevents recurrence of breast cancer and is suggested for preventive risk-reducing therapy. Tamoxifen reduces mammographic density, a proxy for therapy response, but little is known about its effects in remodelling normal breast tissue. Our study, a substudy within the double-blinded dose-determination trial KARISMA, investigated tamoxifen-specific changes in breast tissue composition and histological markers in healthy women. We included 83 healthy women randomised to 6 months daily intake of 20, 10, 5, 2.5, 1 mg of tamoxifen or placebo. The groups were combined to “no dose” (0-1 mg), “low-dose” (2.5-5 mg) or “high-dose” (10-20 mg) of tamoxifen. Ultrasound-guided biopsies were collected before and after tamoxifen exposure. In each biopsy, epithelial, stromal and adipose tissues was quantified, and expression of epithelial and stromal Ki67, oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) analysed. Mammographic density using STRATUS was measured at baseline and end-of-tamoxifen-exposure. We found that different doses of tamoxifen reduced mammographic density and glandular-epithelial area in premenopausal women and associated with reduced epithelium and increased adipose tissue. High-dose tamoxifen also decreased epithelial ER and PR expressions in premenopausal women. Premenopausal women with the greatest reduction in proliferation also had the greatest epithelial reduction. In postmenopausal women, high-dose tamoxifen decreased the epithelial area with no measurable density decrease. Tamoxifen at both low and high doses influences breast tissue composition and expression of histological markers in the normal breast. Our findings connect epithelial proliferation with tissue remodelling in premenopausal women and provide novel insights to understanding biological mechanisms of primary prevention with tamoxifen.     

The Optimal Primary Treatment for Pediatric Perianal Abscess and Anal Fistula: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

BackgroundPerianal abscesses and anal fistulas are common. The principle of intention-to-treat has not been considered in previous systemic reviews. Thus, the comparison between primary and post-recurrence management was confused, and the recommendation of primary treatment is obscure. The current study aims to identify the optimal initial treatment for pediatric patients.MethodsUsing PRISMA guidelines, studies were identified from MEDLINE, EMBASE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar without any language or study design restriction. The inclusion criteria include original articles or articles with original data, studies of management for a perianal abscess with or without anal fistula, and patient age of <18 years. Patients with local malignancy, Crohn's disease, or other underlying predisposing conditions were excluded. Studies without analyzing recurrence, case series of <5, and irrelevant articles were excluded in the screening stage. Of the 124 screened articles, 14 articles had no full texts or detailed information. Articles written in a language other than English or Mandarin were translated by Google Translation first and confirmed with native speakers. After the eligibility process, studies that compared identified primary managements were then included in the qualitative synthesis.ResultsThirty-one studies involving 2507 pediatric patients met the inclusion criteria. The study design consisted of two prospective case series of 47 patients and retrospective cohort studies. No randomized control trials were identified. Meta-analyses for recurrence after initial management were performed with a random-effects model. Conservative treatment and drainage revealed no difference (Odds ratio [OR], 1.222; 95% Confidential interval [CI]: 0.615–2.427, p = 0.567). Conservative management had a higher risk of recurrence than surgery without statistical significance (OR 0.278, 95% CI: 0.109–0.707, p = 0.007). Compared with incision/drainage, surgery can prevent recurrence remarkably (OR 4.360, 95% CI: 1.761–10.792, p = 0.001). Subgroup analysis of different approaches within conservative treatment and operation was not performed for lacking information.ConclusionStrong recommendations cannot be made due to the lack of prospective or randomized controlled studies. However, the current study based on real primary management supports initial surgical intervention for pediatric patients with perianal abscesses and anal fistula to prevent recurrence.Level of evidenceType of study: Systemic review; Evidence level: Level II.     

医院信息化平台住院陪护人员管理功能的开发与应用

目的 探讨医院信息系统中增加住院陪护管理功能的应用效果。方法 基于互联网医院、智慧医院等信息系统，开发信息化住院陪护管理功能，包括流行病学史调查、免费核酸申请、电子陪护证办理、体温监测登记及上报和统计查询。该功能与医院智慧护理链接后全院应用。比较功能应用前和应用后的遵医嘱一患一陪达标率、有效陪护证达标率、体温监测并登记日上报达标率和陪护证使用追溯率，评价护士和管理者疫情防控管理的人均耗时以及对该管理功能的满意度。结果 应用信息化陪护管理功能后，一患一陪达标率、有效陪护证达标率、体温监测并登记日上报达标率和陪护证使用追溯率显著高于应用前（均P＜0.05）；护士陪护管理人均耗时从（554.13±30.77）s降至（311.67±21.54）s（P＜0.05）；护士和管理者对该信息化陪护管理功能的满意度显著提高（均P＜0.05）。结论 信息化住院陪护管理功能的应用有效提升了疫情期间陪护的管理质量和管理效率，提高了一线护士和管理者的满意度。     

Policy Analysis for Prevention and Control of Influenza in Aged Care

ObjectiveThis study aimed to analyze national influenza infection control policy documents within aged care settings by identifying the consistencies, inconsistencies, and gaps with the current evidence and by evaluating methodological quality. Aged care providers can use these findings to identify their policy documents' strengths and weaknesses.DesignA quality and content analysis of national level policy documents.Setting and ParticipantsAged care settings rely on national agencies' policy recommendations to control and prevent outbreaks. There is limited research on the effectiveness of control measures to prevent and treat influenza within aged care settings. Because of the complexities around aged care governance, the primary responsibility in developing a comprehensive facility-level, infection-prevention policy, falls to the providers.MethodsThe analysis was conducted using the (1) International Appraisal of Guidelines, Research and Evaluation assessment tool, containing 23 items across 6 domains; and the (2) Influenza Related Control Measures in Aged Care settings checklist, developed by the authors, with 82 recommendations covering: medical interventions, nonmedical interventions, and physical layout.ResultsThere were 19 documents from 9 different high-income countries, with a moderately high methodological quality in general. The quality assessment's average score was 40.2% (95% CI 31.9%–44.7%). “Stakeholder involvement” ranked third, and “Editorial independence” and “Rigor of development” had the lowest average scores across all domains. The content analysis' average score was 37.2% (95% CI 10.5%–21.5%). The highest scoring document (59.1%) included term definitions, cited evidence for recommendations, and clear measurable instructions. “Physical Layout” had the least coverage and averaged 21.9% (95% CI 4.2%–37.5%), which shows a substantial gap in built environment recommendations.Conclusions and ImplicationsExisting policy documents vary in their comprehensiveness. The higher scoring documents provide an ideal model for providers. The checklist tools can be used to assess and enhance documents. Further research on document end-user evaluation would be useful, as there is room for improvement in methodological quality and coverage of recommendation coverage, especially related to physical layout.     

Effects of anteriorly-loaded treadmill walking on dynamic gait stability in young adults

BackgroundAnteriorly-loaded walking is common in many occupations and may increase fall risk. Dynamic gait stability, defined by the Feasible Stability Region (FSR) theory, quantifies the kinematic relationship between the body’s center of mass (COM) and base of support (BOS). FSR-based dynamic gait stability has been used to evaluate the fall risk.Research questionHow does front load carriage affect dynamic gait stability, step length, and trunk angle among young adults during treadmill walking?MethodsIn this between-subject design study, 30 healthy young adults were evenly randomized into three load groups (0%, 10%, or 20% of body weight). Participants carried their assigned load while walking on a treadmill at a speed of 1.2 m/s. Body kinematics were collected during treadmill walking. Dynamic gait stability (the primary variable) was calculated for two gait events: touchdown and liftoff. Step length and trunk angle were measured as secondary variables. One-way analysis of variance was conducted to detect any group-related differences for all variables. Post-hoc analysis with Bonferroni correction was performed when main group differences were found.ResultsNo significant differences but medium to large effect sizes were found between groups for dynamic gait stability at touchdown (p = 0.194, η² = 0.114) and liftoff (p = 0.122, η² = 0.139). Trunk angle significantly increased (indicating backward lean) with the front load at touchdown (p < 0.001, η² = 0.648) and liftoff (p < 0.001, η² = 0.543). No significant between-group difference was found related to the step length (p = 0.344, η² = 0.076).SignificanceCarrying a front load during walking significantly alters the trunk orientation and may change the COM-BOS kinematic relationship and, therefore, fall risk. The findings could inform the design of future studies focusing on the impact of anterior load carriage on fall risk during different locomotion.     

基层医疗卫生机构居家护理服务的安全支持和医务人员服务意愿调查研究

背景 人口老龄化趋势下，罹患多种慢性病的失能或半失能老年人对居家医疗护理服务需求迫切，但基层医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务存在较大的医疗风险和安全隐患，加强居家医疗护理服务的安全管理，有利于提高基层医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务的意愿。 目的 调查基层医疗卫生机构对居家护理服务的安全支持情况和医务人员的服务意愿，为进一步推动居家医疗护理服务发展提供参考依据。 方法 2021年8—10月，采用便利抽样法在四川省五大经济区抽取49所基层医疗卫生机构的1 131例医务人员。自行设计调查问卷，以"问卷星"电子问卷的形式收集资料。问卷内容包括医务人员的一般情况（8个条目）、提供居家医疗护理服务的经历（2个条目）、医疗机构对医务人员的安全支持（7个条目）、医务人员的居家医疗护理服务意愿（1个条目）。比较不同特征医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务的意愿，采用二元Logistic回归分析医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务意愿的影响因素。 结果 1 131例基层医务人员中，692例（61.18%）报告有过居家医疗护理服务的经历，193例（17.06%）报告在服务过程中发生过不良事件/安全事件，531例（46.95%）报告其所在医疗机构未评估过患者接受居家医疗护理服务的安全风险，199例（17.60%）表示所在机构评估了医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务的安全风险，299例（26.44%）在居家医疗护理服务过程中使用APP定位系统，273例（24.14%）由机构配备报警、延迟预警等设备，807例（71.35%）表示居家医疗护理服务过程中没有获得所在机构内其他医务人员的支持措施，303例（26.79%）表示机构曾组织居家医疗护理服务的专项研讨活动，352例（31.12%）表示接受过有关居家医疗护理服务专项培训，853例（75.42%）表示愿意提供居家医疗护理服务。二元Logistic回归分析结果显示，就职的基层医疗卫生机构类型，目前受聘的专业技术职称，医疗机构是否评估过患者接受居家医疗护理服务的安全风险，在居家医疗护理服务过程中是否配备报警、延迟预警等设备，是否参加过有关居家医疗护理服务的专项培训，对医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务意愿有影响（P<0.05）。 结论 现阶段居家医疗护理服务的安全支持不足，多种因素影响基层医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务的意愿。基层医疗卫生机构应加强对患者接受居家医疗护理服务安全风险的评估，为提供居家医疗护理服务的医务人员配备报警、延迟预警等设备，积极举办居家医疗护理服务相关的专项培训并鼓励医务人员参加，以降低医务人员提供居家医疗护理服务的风险，保障其人身安全。