Effect of a Simple Exercise Program on Hospitalization-Associated Disability in Older Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ObjectiveHospitalization-associated disability [HAD, ie, the loss of ability to perform ≥1 basic activities of daily living (ADLs) independently at discharge] is a frequent condition among older patients. The present study assessed whether a simple inpatient exercise program decreases HAD incidence in acutely hospitalized very old patients.DesignIn this randomized controlled trial (Activity in Geriatric Acute Care) participants were assigned to a control or intervention group and were assessed at baseline, admission, discharge, and 3 months thereafter.Setting and ParticipantsIn total, 268 patients (mean age 88 years, range 75–102) admitted to an acute care for older patients unit of a public hospital were randomized to a control (n = 125) or intervention (exercise) group (n = 143).MethodsBoth groups received usual care, and patients in the intervention group also performed simple supervised exercises (walking and rising from a chair, for a total duration of ∼20 minutes/day). We measured ADL function (Katz index) and incident HAD at discharge and after 3 months (primary outcome) and Short Physical Performance Battery, ambulatory capacity, number of falls, rehospitalization, and death during a 3-month follow-up (secondary outcomes).ResultsMedian duration of hospitalization was 7 days (interquartile range 4 days). The intervention group had a lower risk of HAD with reference to both baseline [odds ratio (OR) 0.36; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17–0.76, P = .007] and admission (OR 0.29; 95% CI 0.10–0.89, P = .030). A trend toward an improved ADL function at discharge vs admission was found in the intervention group compared with controls (OR 0.32; 95% CI ‒0.04 to 0.68; P = .083). No between-group differences were noted for the other endpoints (all P > .05).Conclusion and ImplicationsA simple inpatient exercise program decreases risk of HAD in acutely hospitalized, very old patients.     

Bone Metabolism Discrepancy in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients With and Without Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

To explore the distribution of several bone metabolic indicators in type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM) with and without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and to preliminarily evaluate the relationship of bone metabolism with NAFLD in patients with T2DM. The hospitalized patients with T2DM were divided into the group of T2DM complicated with NAFLD and the group of T2DM alone according to the results of ultrasonic diagnosis. The general information and laboratory test data such as bone metabolism indexes of these patients were collected and the differences of the indexes between the 2 groups were compared. Furthermore, the independent influencing factors of NAFLD in patients with T2DM were analyzed. A total of 186 patients were included in the study. Compared with patients with T2DM only, patients with T2DM combined with NAFLD were characterized with younger age (p < 0.001), higher BMI (p = 0.016), ALT (p = 0.001), TG (p = 0.005), HOMA-IR (p = 0.005), and lower HDL-C (p = 0.031). Significant discrepancy of age (OR 1.052, p = 0.001), ALT (OR 0.964, p = 0.047), HOMA-IR (OR 0.801, p = 0.005), and T-PINP (OR 1.022, p = 0.008) was found using multivariate logistic regression model. Significant discrepancy of T-PINP was found in T2DM patients with and without NAFLD. Further studies are needed to explore whether T-PINP could be used as a predictor of fatty liver disease, osteoporosis, and other related complications in patients with T2DM.     

Risk of lymph node metastasis and prognostic outcome in early gastric cancer patients with mixed histologic type

BackgroundWhether early gastric cancer with mixed histologic type should be considered for endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the risk of lymph node metastasis (LNM) and prognostic significance for early gastric cancer with mixed histologic type.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed clinicopathologic and survival data of 302 patients who underwent surgical resection for early gastric cancer. Based on the histologic components, all patients were classified as pure differentiated type, pure undifferentiated type and mixed histologic type. The prognostic differences between different types were compared and predictive factors for LNM were evaluated.ResultsHistopathologically, the proportion of mixed histologic type was 12.3% in early gastric cancer. In terms of LNM, mixed histologic type had a more frequent incidence than pure differentiated type (32.4% vs 11.1%, P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference between mixed type and pure undifferentiated type for LNM (32.4% vs 21.1%, P = 0.139). Multivariate analysis revealed that tumor size >2 cm (odds ratio [OR]: 2.153, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.113-4.164, P < 0.05), submucosal invasion (OR: 3.881, 95%CI: 1.832-8.222, P < 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (OR: 8.797, 95% CI: 2.643-29.277, P < 0.001), undifferentiated type (OR: 3.146, 95% CI: 1.352-7.320, P < 0.01), and mixed histologic type (OR: 3.635, 95% CI: 1.272-10.390, P < 0.05) were independent risk factors for LNM in early gastric cancer patients. However, mixed histologic type did not affect the survival outcome of these patients (hazard ratio: 0.629, 95% CI: 0.074-5.311, P > 0.05).ConclusionMixed histologic type was an independent risk factor for lymph node metastasis in early gastric cancer patients. The decisions regarding endoscopic submucosal dissection for mixed histologic type should be carefully considered.