Endurance training may improve exercise capacity,lung function and quality of life in Fontan patients

Children born with univentricular hearts undergo staged surgical procedures to a Fontan circulation. Long-term experience with Fontan palliation has shown dramatically improved survival but also of a life-long burden of an abnormal circulation with significant morbidity. Many Fontan patients have reduced exercise capacity, oxygen uptake, lung function and quality of life. Endurance training may improve submaximal, but not maximal, exercise capacity, lung function and quality of life. Physical activity and endurance training is also positively correlated with sleep quality. Reviewing the literature and from our single-centre experience, we believe there is enough evidence to support structured individualised endurance training in most young Fontan patients.     

尿酸性肾病中医分型与氧化应激指标的相关性研究

目的：探讨尿酸性肾病中医分型与氧化应激相关性。方法：采用回顾性分析方法对2017年12月至2019年9月北京中医药大学第三附属医院收治的尿酸性肾病患者105例进行研究，选择同时期正常健康者105例作为对照，参考《中药新药临床研究指导原则》将105例尿酸性肾病和临床常见证型相结合，分成脾肾气虚18例、气阴两虚证19例、肝肾阴虚16例、阴阳两虚12例、湿热蕴结19例、瘀血阻滞17例、痰浊内阻13例，均在入院次日清晨空腹抽取静脉血，检测氧化应激氧化应激、肾功能损害指标，比较不同组别在氧化应激指标含量水平变化情况，比较中医分型和氧化应激、肾功能损害指标水平变化。结果：1）尿酸性肾病组总抗氧化能力（T-ACO）、晚期蛋白氧化物（AOPP）、血清丙二醇（MDA）、超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）含量水平分别为（19.45±3.42）U/mL、（42.45±3.53）μmol/L、（4.52±1.23）nmol/L、（76.78±5.64）U/mL，正常对照组则分别为（10.76±1.31）U/mL、（20.84±1.28）μmol/L、（2.13±0.76）nmol/L、（130.85±16.75）U/mL，尿酸性肾病组T-ACO、AOPP、MDA较正常对照组显著偏高，SOD显著偏低（P<0.05）。2）虚证中阴阳两虚证SOD含量上较其他证型均偏低，而MDA、T-AOC、AOPP、胱抑素C（CysC）、β2微球蛋白、尿微量白蛋白（UMALB）、蛋白尿发生率则较其他证型均偏高，差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05），实证中瘀血阻滞证SOD含量较其他证型均偏低，而MDA、T-AOC、AOPP则较其他证型均偏高，差异均有统计学意义（P<0.05）。结论：尿酸性肾病中医分型的阴阳两虚证、瘀血阻滞证氧化应激水平、肾损害指标均显著升高，可结合该实验室检查进行临床干预。     

Strategies to improve research capacity across European general practice: The views of members of EGPRN and Wonca Europe

Background: The effectiveness of any national healthcare system is highly correlated with the strength of primary care within that system. A strong research basis is essential for a firm and vibrant primary care system. General practitioners (GPs) are at the centre of most primary care systems.

Objectives: To inform on actions required to increase research capacity in general practice, particularly in low capacity countries, we collected information from the members of the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) and the European World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca).

Methods: A qualitative design including eight semi-structured interviews and two discursive workshops were undertaken with members of EGPRN and Wonca Europe. Appreciative inquiry methods were utilized. Krueger’s (1994) framework analysis approach was used to analyse the data.

Results: Research performance in general practice requires improvements in the following areas: visibility of research; knowledge acquisition; mentoring and exchange; networking and research networks; collaboration with industry, authorities and other stakeholders. Research capacity building (RCB) strategies need to be both flexible and financially supported. Leadership and collaboration are crucial.

Conclusion: Members of the GP research community see the clear need for both national and international primary care research networks to facilitate appropriate RCB interventions. These interventions should be multifaceted, responding to needs at different levels and tailored to the context where they are to be implemented.     

Learning theories and principles in surgical education and technical learning

What is important to think about in surgical education and technical skills training? Technical skills training is grounded in social cognitive theory and the concepts of modeling and self-efficacy. Cognitive and nontechnical learning is critical to supplement the overall proficiency of the surgical learner in performing an operation. Technical learning is cemented by deliberate practice and there is benefit to productive struggle and failure. External cognitive load should be minimized to maximized operative skills advancement.     

The Role of the Medical Expert in the Retrospective Assessment of Testamentary Capacity

Objectives:Physicians and other mental health experts are increasingly called on to assist the courts with the determination of testamentary capacity. We aim to improve the understanding of the retrospective assessment of testamentary capacity for medical experts in order to provide more useful reports for the court’s determinations and to provide a methodology for the retrospective assessment of testamentary capacity.Method:Medical experts with experience in the retrospective assessment of testamentary capacity collaborated with lawyers who practice estate litigation. The medical literature on the assessment of testamentary capacity was reviewed and integrated. The medical experts provided a clinical perspective, while the lawyers ensured that the case law and legal perspective were integrated into this review.Results:The focus and limitations of the medical expert are outlined including the need to be objective, nonpartisan, and fair. For the benefit of the court, the medical expert should describe the nature and severity of relevant medical, psychiatric, and cognitive disorders, and how they may impact on the specific criteria for testamentary capacity as defined by the leading case of Banks v Goodfellow. Medical experts should opine only on the issue of vulnerability to influence and defer to the court to determine the facts of the case regarding any influence that may have been exerted.Conclusions:Although the ultimate determination of testamentary capacity is a legal one, medical experts can help the court achieve the most informed legal decision by providing relevant information on clinical issues that may impact the criteria for testamentary capacity.     

A Biomechanical Foot-Worn Device Improves Total Knee Arthroplasty Outcomes

Background

Biomechanics after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) often remain abnormal and may lead to prolonged postoperative recovery. The purpose of this study is to assess a biomechanical therapy after TKA.

The effects of locomotor training in children with spinal cord injury: a systematic review

Purpose: Discuss the effectiveness of locomotor training (LT) in children following spinal cord injury (SCI). This intervention was assessed following an exhaustive search of the literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta- Analyses: The PRISMA Statement as a guideline.

Method: Six databases were searched including PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycINFO, and Web of Knowledge in January 2016 and November 2016, without date restrictions. Inclusion criteria were: studies in English and peer-reviewed and journal articles with a primary intervention of LT in children following SCI.

Results: Twelve articles, reporting eleven studies, were included. A systematic review assessing locomotor training in children with SCI published in April 2016 was also included. Participants were ages 15 months to 18 years old. Forms of LT included body-weight supported treadmill or over ground training, functional electrical stimulation, robotics, and virtual reality. Protocols differed in set-up and delivery mode, with improvements seen in ambulation for all 41 participants following LT.

Conclusion: Children might benefit from LT to develop or restore ambulation following SCI. Age, completeness, and level of injury remain the most important prognostic factors to consider with this intervention. Additional benefits include improved bowel/ bladder management and control, bone density, cardiovascular endurance, and overall quality of life. Looking beyond the effects LT has just on ambulation is crucial because it can offer benefits to all children sustaining a SCI, even if restoration or development of walking is not the primary goal. Further rigorous research is required to determine the overall effectiveness of LT.     

Walking speed as a predictor of community mobility and quality of life after stroke

Background: Community mobility (CM) is considered a part of community reintegration that enhances Quality of Life (QoL). Achieving an appropriate gait speed is essential in attaining an independent outdoor ambulation and satisfactory CM.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify whether gait speed is a predictor of CM and QoL in patients with stroke following a multimodal rehabilitation program (MRP).

Methods: This was a baseline control trial with 6-months follow-up in an outpatient rehabilitation setting at a university hospital. Twenty-six stroke survivors completed the MRP (24 sessions, 2 days/wk, 1 hr/session). The MRP consisted of aerobic exercise, task-oriented exercises, balance exercises and stretching. Participants also performed an ambulation program at home. Outcome variables were: walking speed (10-m walking test) and QoL (physical and psychosocial domains of Euroquol and Sickness Impact Profile).

Results: At the end of the intervention, comfortable and fast walking speed increased by an average of 0.16 (SD 0.21) (*p < .05) and 0.40 (SD 0.51) (**p < .001) m/s, respectively. After the intervention, all participants achieved independent outdoor ambulation with an increase of 34.14 of walking minutes/day in the community and a decrease of sitting time of 95.45 minutes/day. Regarding QoL there were increased mean scores on the physical and psychosocial dimensions of Euroquol and the Sickness Impact Profile, respectively (**p < .001).

Conclusions: The results suggest that improved walking speed after the MRP is associated with CM and higher scores in QoL. These findings support the need to implement rehabilitation programs to promote increased speed.     

Exercise Intolerance in Patients With Heart Failure: JACC State-of-the-Art Review

Exercise intolerance is the cardinal symptom of heart failure (HF) and is of crucial relevance, because it is associated with a poor quality of life and increased mortality. While impaired cardiac reserve is considered to be central in HF, reduced exercise and functional capacity are the result of key patient characteristics and multisystem dysfunction, including aging, impaired pulmonary reserve, as well as peripheral and respiratory skeletal muscle dysfunction. We herein review the different modalities to quantify exercise intolerance, the pathophysiology of HF, and comorbid conditions as they lead to reductions in exercise and functional capacity, highlighting the fact that distinct causes may coexist and variably contribute to exercise intolerance in patients with HF.