Preventing Adverse Drug Reactions After Hospital Discharge (PADR-AD): Protocol for a randomised-controlled trial in older people

BackgroundAdverse drug reactions (ADRs) and adverse drug events (ADEs) in older people contribute to a significant proportion of hospital admissions and are common following discharge. Effective interventions are therefore required to combat the growing burden of preventable ADRs. The Prediction of Hospitalisation due to Adverse Drug Reactions in Elderly Community Dwelling Patients (PADR-EC) score is a validated risk score developed to assess the risk of ADRs in people aged 65 years and older and has the potential to be utilised as part of an intervention to reduce ADRs.ObjectivesThis trial was designed to investigate the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce ADR incidence in older people and to obtain further information about ADRs and ADEs in the 12–24 months following hospital discharge.MethodsThe study is an open-label randomised-controlled trial to be conducted at the Royal Hobart Hospital, a 500-bed public hospital in Tasmania, Australia. Community-dwelling patients aged 65 years and older with an unplanned overnight admission to a general medical ward will be recruited. Following admission, the PADR-EC ADR score will be calculated by a research pharmacist, with the risk communicated to clinicians and discussed with participants. Following discharge, nominated general practitioners and community pharmacists will receive the risk score and related medication management advice to guide their ongoing care of the patient. Follow-up with participants will occur at 3 and 12 and 18 and 24 months to identify ADRs and ADEs. The primary outcome is moderate-severe ADRs at 12 months post-discharge, and will be analysed using the cumulative incidence proportion, survival analysis and Poisson regression.SummaryIt is hypothesised that the trial will reduce ADRs and ADEs in the intervention population. The study will also provide valuable data on post-discharge ADRs and ADEs up to 24 months post-discharge.     

Computed tomography reference dimensions for identification of stented surgical mitral bioprostheses valve size

BackgroundSelection of the transcatheter heart valve size for a mitral valve-in-valve procedure is based on the type and manufacturer’s labelled size. However, accurate information of surgical heart valve (SHV) size may not be available in the patient’s medical record. The purpose of this study is to establish reference data for computed tomography (CT) dimensions of commonly used mitral SHV in order to determine the manufacturer’s labelled size from a cardiac CT data set.MethodsCT datasets of 105 patients with surgical mitral bioprosthesis and available manufacturer labeled datasets were included in the analysis. CT derived valve dimensions were assessed by two observers using multiplanar reformats aligned with the basal sewing ring. A circular region of interest was used in a standardized fashion to minimize influence of image acquisition and reconstruction parameters. Interobserver variability was assessed by Bland-Altman analysis.ResultsThe CT-derived dimensions were stratified by valve size and type, and SHV properties were demonstrated for 5 common valve types. Variability of measurements was small and inter-observer limits of agreement were narrow. Stratified by SHV type, no overlap was noted for CT-derived dimensions among different SHV sizes . A reference table of CT characteristics of surgical mitral bioprosthesis types was created.ConclusionThe study provides reference CT data for determining the manufacturers’ labeled SHV size across a range of commonly used mitral SHVs. The findings will be important to help identify types of surgical mitral bioprosthesis utilizing CT characteristics for patients without SHV size documentation.     

凉血通瘀方干预高血压大鼠急性脑出血模型对脑组织中差异miRNA表达的影响＊

目的 研究凉血通瘀方对高血压大鼠急性脑出血模型脑组织miRNA表达的影响，对差异表达的miRNA靶基因进行分析，探索凉血通瘀方可能的药效机制。方法 将自发性高血压大鼠随机分成对照组（B）和实验组（C）。适应性饲养一周后，C组灌胃凉血通瘀方，B组灌胃等体积生理盐水，连续5天，每天1次。构建脑出血模型后收集脑组织，借助全转录组测序技术获得miRNA表达量，与miRBase数据库比对获取已知miRNA，使用miRDeep2预测新miRNA。差异分析软件为DESeq2，筛选阈值为|log₂FC| ≥1 并且P <0.05。对显著差异表达的miRNA进行靶基因预测，对靶基因进行GO功能、KEGG通路富集和PPI网络分析。结果 实验组和对照组对比，共发现21个显著差异表达的miRNA，上调有9个，下调有12个，共预测得到1243个有统计学意义的靶基因。GO富集分析发现，生物过程中突触囊泡分泌的调节、神经递质分泌的调节和神经递质运输的调节占前三位，神经元投射终点、全膜、质膜区域和细胞投射则是主要的细胞成分。分子功能分别为小GTPase绑定、底物特异性跨膜转运蛋白活性和离子跨膜转运体活性。通路分析结果显示，靶基因在癌证通路、pI3K-Akt信号通路、人类乳头瘤病毒感染、神经活性配体-受体相互作用和MAPK通路等分布广泛。采用STRING网站和Cytoscape软件，根据MCC算法筛选出ADRA2C、CASR、CCL28、CCR1、DRD2、GNAT3、GRM2、DYNC1LI1、GABBR1、GNAI1等核心靶基因。结论 凉血通瘀方对脑出血急性期鼠脑组织内miRNA的表达有重要影响；显著差异表达miRNAs可能通过靶向核心基因调控凉血通瘀方干预急性脑出血的病理过程及预后。     

Glycaemic control for patients with severe acute brain injury: Protocol for a systematic review

Background

Hyperglycaemia is common in patients with acute brain injury admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Many studies have found associations between development of hyperglycaemia and increased mortality in hospitalised patients. However, the optimal target for blood glucose control is unknown. We want to conduct a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis to explore the beneficial and harmful effects of restrictive versus liberal glucose control on patient outcomes in adults with severe acute brain injury.

Methods

We will systematically search medical databases including CENTRAL, Embase, MEDLINE and trial registries. We will search the following websites for ongoing or unpublished trials: http://www.controlled-trials.com/ , http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ , www.eudraCT.com , http://centerwatch.com/ , The Cochrane Library's CENTRAL, PubMed, EMBASE, Science Citation Index Expanded and CINAHL. Two authors will independently review and select trials and extract data. We will include randomised trials comparing levels of glucose control in our analyses and observational studies will be included to address potential harms. The primary outcomes are defined as all-cause mortality, functional outcome and health-related quality of life. Secondary outcomes include serious adverse events including hypoglycaemia, length of ICU stay and duration of mechanical ventilation, and explorative outcomes including intracranial pressure and infection. Trial Sequential Analysis will be used to investigate the risk of type I error due to repetitive testing and to further explore imprecision. Quality of trials will be evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and quality of evidence will be assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach.

Discussion

The results of the systematic review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication. With the review, we hope to inform future randomised clinical trials and improve clinical practice.     

Process evaluation of implementation strategies to reduce potentially inappropriate medication prescribing in older population: A scoping review

ObjectivesSeveral implementation strategies can reduce potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) prescribing. Although use of PIMs has declined in recent years, it remains prevalent. Various strategies exist to improve the appropriateness of medication use. However, little is known about the processes of these different implementation strategies. This scoping review aims to investigate how the process evaluation of implementation strategies for reducing PIM prescribing in the older population has been studied.MethodsWe searched for process evaluations of implementation strategies for reducing PIM prescribing in PUBMED, SCOPUS and Web of Science published between January 2000 and November 2019 in English. We applied the following inclusion criteria: patients aged ≥65 years, validated PIM criteria, and implementation process evaluated. The review focuses on decision support for health care professionals. We described the findings of the process evaluations, and compared the authors’ concepts of process evaluation of the included publications to those of Proctor et al.( 2010).ResultOf 9131 publications screened, 29 met our inclusion criteria. Different process evaluation conceptualizations were identified. Most process evaluations took place in the initial stages of the process (acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, and feasibility) and sustainability and implementation costs were seldom evaluated. None of the included publications evaluated fidelity.Multifaceted interventions were the most studied implementation strategies. Medication review was more common in acceptability evaluations, multidisciplinary interventions in adoption evaluations, and computerized systems and educational interventions in feasibility evaluations. Process evaluations were studied from the health care professionals’ viewpoint in most of the included publications, but the management viewpoint was missing.DiscussionThe conceptualization of process evaluation in the field of PIM prescribing is indeterminate. There is also a current gap in the knowledge of sustainability and implementation costs. Clarifying the conceptualization of implementation process evaluation is essential in order to effectively translate research knowledge into practice.     

A Mock Telephone Triage Experience for Nurse Practitioner Students

The ability to manage patient telephone calls competently and confidently is an important skill for nurse practitioners (NPs). A curriculum intervention was implemented in a pediatric NP program to promote this skill. Thirty-nine NP students participated in a mock telephone triage experience to determine whether triage, involving student/faculty mock parent telephone calls, would increase the student’s confidence and competence. A Likert scale pre/post questionnaire surveying perceived confidence, competence, and readiness to practice revealed an increase in students’ confidence in decision making, assessing the patient, and making a diagnosis over the phone.     

慢性高原病脑部多体素1H-MRS研究

目的利用多体素氢质子磁共振波谱成像(hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy,¹H-MRS)探讨慢性高原病(chronic mountain sickness,CMS)长期缺氧状态下脑部代谢物的特点,并比较各代谢物与血液指标之间的相关性。材料与方法前瞻性纳入青海大学附属医院经临床确诊为CMS的17例男性患者作为实验组,年龄(53.29±9.03)岁,居住海拔(3989.12±937.45)m,血红蛋白(hemoglobin,HGB)(224.35±11.81)g/mL,并招募与实验组年龄及居住海拔相匹配的18名健康男性志愿者作为对照组,年龄(48.61±8.76)岁,居住海拔(3674.94±634.27)m,HGB(156.67±9.46)g/mL。采用Siemens Prisma 3.0 T MR扫描仪20通道头颅线圈对所有受试者行常规头颅MRI及多体素;H-MRS检查,通过Syngo.via后处理软件获得;H-MRS图,ROI选取双侧额叶及海马区,并获得相应脑区N-乙酰天门冬氨酸/肌酸(NAA/Cr)、胆碱/肌酸CHo/Cr、乙酰天门冬氨酸/胆碱(NAA/CHo)、乳酸/肌酸(Lac/Cr)的比值。结合独立样本t检验及非参数曼-惠特尼U检验以比较两组间代谢物相对浓度差异,然后将CMS组双侧额叶及海马区各代谢物比值与血液生化指标作相关性分析。结果(1)两组受试者年龄、长期居住海拔差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05),而与对照组相比,CMS组HGB、红细胞计数(red blood cell count,RBC)、血细胞比容(hematocrit,HCT)增高,血小板(blood platelet,简称PLT)减低,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.01);(2)与对照组相比,CMS组双侧额叶及海马区NAA/Cr及NAA/CHo均减低(P<0.05),Lac/Cr增高(P<0.05),差异均具有统计学意义;(3)与对照组相比,CMS组双侧额叶及双侧海马区CHo/Cr均增高(P>0.05),差异无统计学意义;(4)CMS组右侧额叶及左侧海马CHo/Cr与RBC明显正相关,左侧额叶CHo/Cr与HCT低度正相关,右侧额叶及左侧海马Lac/Cr与HCT低度正相关。结论CMS长期缺氧状态下脑组织局部代谢物改变,神经元受损,无氧代谢增加,且这些代谢物的改变与血液指标呈一定的相关性,可为临床后续进一步预防或干预CMS患者脑损害提供影像学证据及监测指标。