Out of the boxes,out of the silos: The need of interdisciplinary collaboration to reduce poor-quality medical products in the supply chain

In this paper, we argue that understanding and addressing the problem of poor-quality medical products requires a more interdisciplinary approach than has been evident to date. While prospective studies based on rigorous standardized methodologies are the gold standard for measuring the prevalence of poor-quality medical products and understanding their distribution nationally and internationally, they should be complemented by social science research to unpack the complex set of social, economic, and governance factors that underlie these patterns. In the following sections, we discuss specific examples of prospective quality surveys and of social science studies, highlighting the value of cross-sector partnerships in driving high-quality, policy-relevant research in this area.     

Active learning in head and neck trauma: outcomes after an innovative educational course

Excellence in teaching and learning is fundamental to the provision of quality training for doctors and for this a sound knowledge of the principles of adult learning theory is important. We present an educational course in head and neck trauma skills for emergency medicine (EM) registrars, using the pedagogical principle of active learning. Our aim was to provide trainees with skills in the evaluation and management of hard and soft tissue injuries to the head, neck, and mouth. Active learning has been shown to provide a superior experience in classrooms, creating a ‘deep’ understanding of the material. To maximise learning, we used these principles to develop small group seminars led by a diverse range of teachers that allowed trainees to acquire hands-on skills. Questionnaires that were completed before and after the course showed an appreciable educational impact. We conclude that innovative teaching methods facilitate the sharing of knowledge that will benefit patient care.     

Tocilizumab en el tratamiento del rechazo humoral crónico activo resistente a terapia estándar

IntroductionThere is no consensus on the most appropriate treatment for chronic active antibody-mediated rejection (cAMR). Recent studies suggest that treatment with tocilizumab (TCZ) may stabilize graft function, decrease the intensity of donor-specific HLA antibodies (DSAs) and reduce inflammation of microcirculation.Patients and methodsObservational study with renal allograft recipients diagnosed with cAMR (n = 5) who had not submitted a response to traditional treatment based on the combination of plasma replacements, immunoglobulins, and rituximab. Patients were told to be treated with TCZ as compassionate use in six doses per month (8 mg/kg/month). Renal function, proteinuria, and the intensity of DSAs were monitored during follow-up.ResultsFive patients, average age 60 ± 13 years, three male and two retrasplants (cPRA average 55%) with preformed DSAs. Treatment with TCZ was initiated within 47 ± 52 days of biopsy. In two cases treatment was discontinued after the first dose, by severe bicitopenia with cytomegalovirus viremia and by graft failure, respectively. In the three patients who completed treatment, no stability of renal function (serum creatinine from 1.73 ± 0.70 to 2.04 ± 0.52 mg/dL, e-FGR 4 6 ± 15 to 36 ± 16 mL/min), showed increased proteinuria (3.2 ± 4.0 to 6.9 ± 11.0 g/g) and the intensity of DSAs maintain stable. No changes were observed in the degree of inflammation of microcirculation (g + pt 4.2 ± 0.8 vs. 4.3 ± 1.0) or in the degree of transplant glomerulopathy (cg 1.2 ± 0.4 vs. 1.8 ± 1.0).ConclusionsTCZ therapy does not appear to be effective in modifying the natural history of chronic active antibody-mediated rejection, does not improve the degree of inflammation of microcirculation and does not reduces the intensity of DSAs.     

Emergency Care EMTALA Alterations During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

The coronavirus 2019 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of health care delivery in the United States, and the emergency medicine system has been hit particularly hard while dealing with this public health crisis. In an unprecedented time in our history, medical systems and clinicians have been asked to be creative, flexible, and innovative, all while continuing to uphold the important standards in the US health care system. To continue providing quality services to patients during this extraordinary time, care providers, organizations, administrators, and insurers have needed to alter longstanding models and procedures to respond to the dynamics of a pandemic. The Emergency Medicine Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986, or EMTALA, is 1 example of where these alterations have allowed health care facilities and clinicians to continue their work of caring for patients while protecting both the patients and the clinicians themselves from infectious exposures at the same time.     

EAU-EANM-ESTRO-ESUR-SIOG Guidelines on Prostate Cancer—2020 Update. Part 1: Screening,Diagnosis, and Local Treatment with Curative Intent

ObjectiveTo present a summary of the 2020 version of the European Association of Urology (EAU)-European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM)-European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)-European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR)-International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) guidelines on screening, diagnosis, and local treatment of clinically localised prostate cancer (PCa).Evidence acquisitionThe panel performed a literature review of new data, covering the time frame between 2016 and 2020. The guidelines were updated and a strength rating for each recommendation was added based on a systematic review of the evidence.Evidence synthesisA risk-adapted strategy for identifying men who may develop PCa is advised, generally commencing at 50 yr of age and based on individualised life expectancy. Risk-adapted screening should be offered to men at increased risk from the age of 45 yr and to breast cancer susceptibility gene (BRCA) mutation carriers, who have been confirmed to be at risk of early and aggressive disease (mainly BRAC2), from around 40 yr of age. The use of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging in order to avoid unnecessary biopsies is recommended. When a biopsy is performed, a combination of targeted and systematic biopsies must be offered. There is currently no place for the routine use of tissue-based biomarkers. Whilst prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography computed tomography is the most sensitive staging procedure, the lack of outcome benefit remains a major limitation. Active surveillance (AS) should always be discussed with low-risk patients, as well as with selected intermediate-risk patients with favourable International Society of Urological Pathology (ISUP) 2 lesions. Local therapies are addressed, as well as the AS journey and the management of persistent prostate-specific antigen after surgery. A strong recommendation to consider moderate hypofractionation in intermediate-risk patients is provided. Patients with cN1 PCa should be offered a local treatment combined with long-term hormonal treatment.ConclusionsThe evidence in the field of diagnosis, staging, and treatment of localised PCa is evolving rapidly. The 2020 EAU-EANM-ESTRO-ESUR-SIOG guidelines on PCa summarise the most recent findings and advice for their use in clinical practice. These PCa guidelines reflect the multidisciplinary nature of PCa management.Patient summaryUpdated prostate cancer guidelines are presented, addressing screening, diagnosis, and local treatment with curative intent. These guidelines rely on the available scientific evidence, and new insights will need to be considered and included on a regular basis. In some cases, the supporting evidence for new treatment options is not yet strong enough to provide a recommendation, which is why continuous updating is important. Patients must be fully informed of all relevant options and, together with their treating physicians, decide on the most optimal management for them.     

Staging laparoscopy in patients with advanced gastric cancer: A single center cohort study

BackgroundMost studies exploring the role of staging laparoscopy in gastric cancer are limited by low sample size and are predominantly conducted in Asian countries. This study sets out to determine the value of staging laparoscopy in patients with advanced gastric cancer in a Western population.MethodsAll patients with gastric cancer from a tertiary referral center without definite evidence of non-curable disease after initial staging, and who underwent staging laparoscopy between 2013 and 2020, were identified from a prospectively maintained database. The proportion of patients in whom metastases or locoregional non-resectability was detected during staging laparoscopy was established. Secondary outcomes included the avoidable surgery rate (detection of non-curable disease during gastrectomy with curative intent) and diagnostic accuracy (sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative and positive predictive value).ResultsA total of 216 patients were included. Staging laparoscopy revealed metastatic disease in 46 (21.3 %) patients and a non-resectable tumor in three (1.4 %) patients. During intended gastrectomy, non-curable disease was revealed in 13 (8.6 %) patients. Overall sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy were 76.6 %, 100 % and 92.6 %, respectively. The positive predictive value was 100 % and the negative predictive value was 90.3 %.ConclusionStaging laparoscopy is valuable in the staging process of gastric cancer with a high accuracy in detecting non-curable disease, thereby preventing futile treatment and its associated burden.     

基于网络药理学研究黄连解毒汤抗幽门螺杆菌感染作用机制

目的运用网络药理学方法预测黄连解毒汤抗Hp感染的主要有效成分、靶点及信号通路,挖掘其潜在作用机制,为后续实验研究提供依据。方法应用TCMSP筛选黄连解毒汤中黄连、黄芩、黄柏、栀子4味中药的主要有效成分及其潜在作用靶点。通过GeneCards数据库和人类孟德尔遗传数据库(OMIM)筛选Hp感染相关靶点,并取药物和疾病的交集靶点。将交集靶点导入Cytoscape 3.7.2构建有效成分和Hp感染相关靶点网络,并进行拓扑学分析。应用STRING在线分析平台构建靶蛋白相互作用(PPI)网络并进行分析。运用R语言在线检索Bioconductor平台对靶点进行GO功能富集;通过DAVID数据库对靶点进行KEGG通路富集分析。结果黄连解毒汤中共筛选出85个有效成分,主要包括槲皮素、小檗碱、山柰酚、汉黄芩素、黄芩素等。对应靶点112个,疾病相关靶点1960个,药物疾病共同靶点71个。网络中度值最高的有效成分为槲皮素,度值最高的靶点为环加氧酶1(PTGS1)。PPI网络中69个节点中度值较高的靶蛋白包括半胱氨酸蛋白酶3(CASP3)、IL6、MAPK8、原癌基因(MYC)、VEGFA、表皮生长因子受体(EGFR)等。GO功能富集分析共获得89个条目,KEGG通路富集分析共筛选12条存在显著差异的信号通路,其中发挥主要作用的有癌症通路、ErbB信号通路、p53信号通路、凋亡、黏附斑等。结论黄连解毒汤可通过多成分、多靶点、多通路发挥对Hp的治疗作用,可通过抗肿瘤机制调控胃癌进程,本研究可为其有效成分研究和抗Hp机制研究提供依据。     

Sentinel lymph node localization and staging with a low-dose of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) enhanced MRI and magnetometer in patients with cutaneous melanoma of the extremity - The MAGMEN feasibility study

BackgroundIn patients with melanoma, sentinel lymph node (SLN) status is pivotal for treatment decisions. Current routine for SLN detection combines Technetium^99m (Tc⁹⁹) lymphoscintigraphy and blue dye (BD). The primary aim of this study was to examine the feasibility of using a low dose of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) injected intracutaneously to detect and identify the SLN, and the secondary aim was to investigate if a low dose of SPIO would enable a preoperative MRI-evaluation of SLN status.MethodsPatients with melanoma of the extremities were eligible. Before surgery, a baseline MRI of the nodal basin was followed by an injection of a low dose (0.02–0.5 mL) of SPIO and then a second MRI (SPIO-MRI). Tc⁹⁹ and BD was used in parallel and all nodes with a superparamagnetic and/or radioactive signal were harvested and analyzed.ResultsFifteen patients were included and the SLNB procedure was successful in all patients (27 SLNs removed). All superparamagnetic SLNs were visualized by MRI corresponding to the same nodes on scintigraphy. Micrometastatic deposits were identified in four SLNs taken from three patients, and SPIO-MRI correctly predicted two of the metastases. There was an association between MRI artefacts in the lymph node and the dose SPIO given.DiscussionIt is feasible to detect SLN in patients with melanoma using a low dose of SPIO injected intracutaneously compared with the standard dual technique. A low dose of SPIO reduces the lymph node MRI artefacts, opening up for a non-invasive assessment of SLN status in patients with cancer.     

Successful use of the two-tube approach for the treatment of phenobarbital poisoning without hemodialysis

Half-life of the antipsychotic vegetamin is very long, partially due to the presence of phenobarbital, and mortality due to phenobarbital poisoning is high. Here, we present the case of a 22-year-old female admitted to the emergency department with disturbed consciousness due to vegetamin overdose. Her blood phenobarbital level was elevated to 123 μg/ml. Phenobarbital undergoes enterohepatic circulation, and its retention in the intestine causes its blood levels to remain sustained. The utility of hemodialysis for drug poisoning has been previously reported; however, its efficiency is not yet established and its efficacy is low for drugs with long half-lives such as phenobarbital. Therefore, we performed a two-tube approach to adsorb phenobarbital in the intestines with activated charcoal delivered via a gastric tube and to remove the phenobarbital-adsorbed activated charcoal using whole bowel irrigation via an ileus tube 2 h later. The patient successfully eliminated the charcoal via stool, the blood phenobarbital level decreased drastically without hemodialysis, and the clinical course improved. We propose that this two-tube approach is suitable for treatment of poisoning with drugs that undergo enterohepatic circulation and have long half-lives.