Bench to bedside: recent advances in lung cancer pathological research with implications for diagnostic clinical practice

After decades of relative stagnation lung cancer is emerging as a disease type where rapid progress is being made in diagnosis and therapy, as well as in our understanding of disease biology. Much of this progress is of immediate impact to diagnosticians, and more is likely to affect diagnostic practice in the near future. In this review we seek to briefly summarize several key areas of active research of immediate or probable imminent value to trainee and consultant pulmonary pathologists alike. We cover some major changes in tumour classification, grading, and patient stratification, as well as considering the state of the art in machine-assisted interpretation of lung cancer histology, and the use of genetically modified lung cancer models.     

Utilization of and Outcomes Associated with Intravascular Ultrasound during Deep Venous Stent Placement among Medicare Beneficiaries

PurposeTo evaluate temporal trends, practice variation, and associated outcomes with the use of intravascular ultrasound (US) during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries.Materials and MethodsAll lower extremity deep venous stent placement procedures performed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019 among Medicare beneficiaries were included. Temporal trends in intravascular US use were stratified by procedural setting and physician specialty. The primary outcome was a composite of 12-month all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, or repeat target vessel intervention. The secondary outcome was a composite of 12-month stent thrombosis, embolization, or restenosis.ResultsAmong the 20,984 deep venous interventions performed during the study period, 15,184 (72.4%) utilized intravascular US. Moderate growth in intravascular US use was observed during the study period in all clinical settings. There was a variation in the use of intravascular US among all operators (median, 77.3% of cases; interquartile range, 20.0%–99.2%). In weighted analyses, intravascular US use during deep venous stent placement was associated with a lower risk of both the primary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69–0.76; P < .001) and secondary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.27–0.39; P < .001) composite end points.ConclusionsIntravascular US is frequently used during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries, with further increase in use from 2017 to 2019. The utilization of intravascular US as part of a procedural strategy was associated with a lower cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes after the procedure, including venous stent thrombosis and embolization.     

Adherence to and persistence with antidiabetic medications and associations with clinical and economic outcomes in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic literature review

We designed a systematic literature review to identify available evidence on adherence to and persistence with antidiabetic medication in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Electronic screening and congress searches identified real-world noninterventional studies (published between 2010 and October 2020) reporting estimates of adherence to and persistence with antidiabetic medication in adults with T2D, and associations with glycaemic control, microvascular and/or macrovascular complications, hospitalizations and healthcare costs. Ninety-two relevant studies were identified, the majority of which were retrospective and reported US data. The proportions of patients considered adherent (median [range] 51.2% [9.4%-84.3%]) or persistent (median [range] 47.7% [16.9%-94.0%]) varied widely across studies. Multiple studies reported an association between greater adherence/persistence and greater reductions in glycated haemoglobin levels. Better adherence/persistence was associated with fewer microvascular and/or macrovascular outcomes, although there was little consistency across studies in terms of which outcomes were improved. More adherent and more persistent patients were typically less likely to be hospitalized or to have emergency department visits/admissions and spent fewer days in hospital annually than less adherent/persistent patients. Greater adherence and persistence were generally associated with lower hospitalization costs, higher pharmacy costs and lower or budget-neutral total healthcare costs compared with lower adherence/persistence. In conclusion, better adherence and persistence in people with T2D is associated with lower rates of microvascular and/or macrovascular outcomes and inpatient hospitalization, and lower or budget-neutral total healthcare expenditure. Education and treatment strategies to address suboptimal adherence and persistence are needed to improve clinical and economic outcomes.     

Changes in the National Endovascular Management of Femoropopliteal Arterial Disease: An Analysis of the 2011–2019 Medicare Data

PurposeTo describe national trends in the utilization of endovascular approaches (including balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, and stent placement) for the management of femoropopliteal peripheral arterial disease (PAD).Materials and MethodsThe Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary dataset containing 100% of Part B claims was interrogated for years 2011–2019. The Current Procedural Terminology codes specific for femoropopliteal angioplasty, stent placement, and atherectomy were used to create summary statistics for utilization by year, place of service (hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, and office-based laboratory), and provider specialty (cardiology, radiology, and surgery).ResultsThe use of atherectomy increased from 34,732 (33%) procedures in 2011 to 75,435 (53%) procedures in 2019, and atherectomy became the dominant treatment strategy for femoropopliteal PAD. The relative utilization of stent placement (36,793 [35%] to 28,899 [20%]) and angioplasty only (34,398 [32%] to 38,228 [27%]) decreased concomitantly from 2011 to 2019. By 2019, the use of atherectomy was twofold higher in office-based laboratories than in the outpatient hospital setting (44,767 and 20,901, respectively). Treatment strategy varied by provider specialty in 2011 when cardiologists used atherectomy most frequently (17,925 [43%]), whereas radiologists used angioplasty alone (5,928 [6%]) and surgeons stented (18,009 [37%]) most frequently. By 2019, all specialties utilized atherectomy most frequently (29,564 [59%] for cardiology, 10,912 [58%] radiology, and 33,649 [47%] surgery).ConclusionsThe national approach to endovascular management of femoropopliteal PAD has changed since 2011 toward an implant-free strategy, including a multifold increase in the use of atherectomy. Discordant rates of atherectomy use between the ambulatory hospital and office-based settings highlight the need for comparative effectiveness studies to guide management.     

傣族药产地生态适宜性分析与产业发展策略

适宜性产区能够保障傣族药的品质,然而有关植物类傣族药适宜生态因子及适宜产区的研究目前较为匮乏。本研究利用中药材产地适宜性分析地理信息系统(GMPGIS)对植物类傣族药进行全国产地生态适宜性分析,首次提出了植物类傣族药主要分布区域的生态因子范围和主要土壤类型,如年均温8. 6～23. 7℃,年均降水量1 212～1 881 mm,年均日照149. 7～157. 4 W·m-2,主要土壤类型为强淋溶土、冲积土、高活性强酸土等。以179个采样点为基础,通过生态相似性分析得到植物类傣族药在全球范围内的最大生态相似度区域,主要包括中国、巴西、美国、缅甸、老挝等国家。在中国主要集中在云南的西部和南部,包括西双版纳傣族自治州、德宏傣族景颇族自治州普洱市、保山市、临沧市具有较大的适宜栽培区域。除此之外,本文通过分析傣族药人才匮乏、傣族药资源日益减少、文化传承具有局限性、科学研究薄弱等问题,并提出了通过傣族医药高素质人才培养、傣族药资源调研和保护工作、推进傣族药资料古籍的搜集整理、加强傣族药基础研究和应用研究等策略促进傣族医药发展。本研究为指导植物类傣族药生产基地合理布局、引种繁育等提供依据,为高品质傣族药的科学规范化生产奠定基础。     

WHO药品预认证微生物实验室质量管理的要求与思考

目的:介绍世界卫生组织(WHO)对药品微生物检测实验室的预认证要求,推动我国药品检测质量管理体系的完善和发展。方法:从预认证实验室应遵循的质量管理原则出发,对照我国实验室ISO/IEC 17025体系要求,分析药品微生物检测实验室在质量管理中的不足。结果:预认证实验室更多地采纳了《药品生产质量管理规范》(GMP)的质量管理理念,而我国药品微生物检测实验室在记录与数据可靠性、基于风险的变更控制和偏差调查等方面的应用与实施还存在较大差距。结论:我国药品微生物检测实验室应学习和借鉴国内外GMP的质量管理经验,不断更新理念,改进质量管理体系,更多地以风险评估方式保障检测数据的可靠性。     

岗位价值评估在A医院人力资源管理过程的应用

探讨岗位价值评估方法在医院人力资源的管理过程中的应用和意义。采用国际岗位价值评估系统(IPE)对A医院现有140个岗位进行岗位价值评估,并利用岗位评分对人力资源管理问题进行剖析。A医院岗位评估分数的总趋势和总分布结果显示,岗位评估分值曲线现呈较平滑的递减趋势,这表明A医院职能处室内部各类岗位的岗位价值不存在明显差异。从各个职能处室内部来看,内部岗位评价结果分布比较均匀,说明部门内部分工相对合理。岗位价值评价有助于增强医院薪酬分配的公平性,提高薪酬的激励性,也有利于优化医院管理制度,推动医院可持续发展。