Defining Textbook Outcome in liver surgery and assessment of hospital variation: A nationwide population-based study

IntroductionTextbook outcome (TO) is a composite outcome measure covering the surgical care process in a single outcome measure. TO has an advantage over single outcome parameters with low event rates, which have less discriminating impact to detect differences between hospitals. This study aimed to assess factors associated with TO, and evaluate hospital and network variation after case-mix correction in TO rates for liver surgery.MethodsThis was a population-based retrospective study of all patients who underwent liver resection for malignancy in the Netherlands in 2019 and 2020. TO was defined as absence of severe postoperative complications, mortality, prolonged length of hospital stay, and readmission, and obtaining adequate resection margins. Multivariable logistic regression was used for case-mix adjustment.Results2376 patients were included. TO was accomplished in 1380 (80%) patients with colorectal liver metastases, in 192 (76%) patients with other liver metastases, in 183 (74%) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and 86 (51%) patients with biliary cancers. Factors associated with lower TO rates for CRLM included ASA score ≥3 (aOR 0.70, CI 0.51–0.95 p = 0.02), extrahepatic disease (aOR 0.64, CI 0.44–0.95, p = 0.02), tumour size >55 mm on preoperative imaging (aOR 0.56, CI 0.34–0.94, p = 0.02), Charlson Comorbidity Index ≥2 (aOR 0.73, CI 0.54–0.98, p = 0.04), and major liver resection (aOR 0.50, CI 0.36–0.69, p < 0.001). After case-mix correction, no significant hospital or oncological network variation was observed.ConclusionTO differs between indications for liver resection and can be used to assess between hospital and network differences.     

Improving knowledge and trust in vaccines: A survey-based assessment of the potential of the European Union Clinical Trial Regulation No 536/2014 plain language summary to increase health literacy

The European Clinical Trial Regulation No 536/2014 is the first mandate for a non-technical, publicly disclosed, plain language summary (PLS) of clinical trial results. This easy-to-understand summary has the potential to inform the public about clinical trial results and thereby improve health literacy in vaccines.To investigate the utility of the PLS, we undertook 2 online surveys (July/October 2020) in the United Kingdom, the United States and India. Participants were selected by quota sampling to ensure representation of gender, age and parental status. Those lacking interest in vaccine clinical research were excluded. In survey 1, participants were questioned about their interest in and expectations of vaccine trial results. In survey 2, the perceptions of participants to a range of written communication styles used in publicly available PLSs were evaluated.A total of 66 (13%) and 122 (29%) individuals were excluded solely due to lack of interest in vaccine clinical research in surveys 1 and 2, respectively; 450 respondents (150/country) completed survey 1 and 300 (100/country) completed survey 2. In survey 1, there was a correlation (p < 0.01) between claimed knowledge of and trust in vaccines. Healthcare professionals were the most trusted source for vaccine information, while vaccine companies were ranked relatively low. In survey 2, infographic PLS formats were considered easiest to understand, most engaging and the strongest communicators. Emphasizing the main points of the infographics in the text did not improve comprehension or recall. Most respondents (86%) indicated that they would like to see this type of communication in the future.Overall, this research suggests that the PLS, by optimizing content and format, has a potential to increase health literacy, and thereby, as part of a wider integrated communication strategy, build vaccine knowledge and confidence.     

张宁教授“固本泻浊法”治疗肾病综合征经验浅谈

肾病综合征是儿童和成人常见的肾脏疾病之一，激素治疗常不能达到满意的效果，并会出现多种不良反应。张宁教授运用中医治疗肾病综合征经验丰富，认为肾病综合征病性虚实夹杂，脾肾亏虚为本，肝失疏泄、湿热内阻、瘀血停滞为标。标实的病理因素由本虚引起及加重。治以“固本泻浊法”，健脾益肾，兼以调肝养血、清热化湿、活血化瘀，提高了临床疗效，减少了不良反应。     

津沽推拿流派学术概要

发源于天津地区的津沽推拿流派,具有历史悠久、底蕴深厚、风格独特、学术特点突出等特点。作为全国具有代表性的推拿流派,津沽推拿流派已有百余年发展历史,现已形成津沽伤科推拿、津沽脏腑推拿、津沽小儿推拿3大稳定的学术分支。津沽推拿流派注重理论传承,强调道术结合,又具有典型的手法特点。津沽推拿流派对近代推拿的发展贡献突出,目前该流派的传承推广应用工作成绩卓著,引起了推拿学界的广泛关注。     

王晓燕教授分时间论治内伤杂病经验总结

文章总结王晓燕教授分时间论治失眠、头痛、发热的临床经验，从理论总结到典型病案举例，充分阐明王晓燕教授对分时间论治内伤杂病的认识，说明分时间论治疾病的有效性，扩展临床辨证思维，以进一步学习与研究。     

Troubled-Cell Indicator Based on Mean Value Property for Hybrid WENO Schemes

In this paper, we introduce a new type of troubled-cell indicator to improve hybrid weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) schemes for solving the hyperbolic conservation laws. The hybrid WENO schemes selectively adopt the high-order linear upwind scheme or the WENO scheme to avoid the local characteristic decompositions and calculations of the nonlinear weights in smooth regions. Therefore, they can reduce computational cost while maintaining non-oscillatory properties in non-smooth regions. Reliable troubled-cell indicators are essential for efficient hybrid WENO methods. Most of troubled-cell indicators require proper parameters to detect discontinuities precisely, but it is very difficult to determine the parameters automatically. We develop a new troubled-cell indicator derived from the mean value theorem that does not require any variable parameters. Additionally, we investigate the characteristics of indicator variable; one of the conserved properties or the entropy is considered as indicator variable. Detailed numerical tests for 1D and 2D Euler equations are conducted to demonstrate the performance of the proposed indicator. The results with the proposed troubled-cell indicator are in good agreement with pure WENO schemes. Also the new indicator has advantages in the computational cost compared with the other indicators.     

Appropriateness of End-of-Life Care in People Dying With Dementia: Applying Quality Indicators on Linked Administrative Databases

ObjectivesDementia is a progressive incurable life-limiting illness. Previous research suggests end-of-life care for people with dementia should have a symptomatic focus with an effort to avoid burdensome interventions that would not improve quality of life. This study aims to assess the appropriateness of end-of-life care in people who died with dementia in Belgium and to establish relative performance standards by measuring validated population-level quality indicators.DesignWe conducted a retrospective observational study.Setting and ParticipantsWe included all persons deceased with dementia in 2015 in Belgium. Data from 8 administratively collected population-level databases was linked.MeasuresWe used a validated set of 28 quality indicators for end-of-life dementia care. We compared quality indicator scores across 14 healthcare regions to establish relative benchmarks.ResultsIn Belgium in 2015, 10,629 people died with dementia. For indicators of appropriate end-of-life care, people who died with dementia had on average 1.83 contacts with their family physician in the last week before death, whereas 68.4% died at home or in their nursing home of residence. For indicators of inappropriate end-of-life care, 32.4% were admitted to the hospital and 36.3% underwent diagnostic testing in the last 30 days before death, whereas 25.1% died in the hospital. In the last 30 days, emergency department admission varied between 19% and 31%, dispensing of gastric protectors between 18% and 42%, and antihypertensives between 40% and 53% between healthcare regions, with at least 25% of health regions below 46%.Conclusions and ImplicationsOur study found indications of appropriate as well as inappropriate end-of-life care in people with dementia, including high rates of family physician contact, as well as high percentages of diagnostic testing, and emergency department and hospital admissions. We also found high risk-adjusted variation for multiple quality indicators, indicating opportunity for quality improvement in end-of-life dementia care.     

The Transformation of Diabetes Care Through the Use of Person-Centered Data

The health care industry is undergoing a major transformation. Despite spending more on health care than any other country, the United States has not seen a commensurate improvement in the quality of care. Chronic disease management puts the greatest burden on the health care system with estimates suggesting that 3 of 4 health care dollars are spent on managing chronic disease. Moreover, the number of older patients with chronic conditions, like diabetes, is rising as expected, which only serves to worsen the physician shortage problem we are currently experiencing, and further increase health care costs. Unless new models of health care are established for these patients, they simply will not be served. Consistent with the message above, there are generally 3 universal health care needs, (1) improved outcomes, (2) expanded access, and (3) optimized cost and efficiency. It is likely the future state will involve value-based health care, with payment based on outcomes, not services rendered, and incentives tied more directly to the value delivered. Medical device providers will be held more accountable for positive outcomes, and to ensure success, they will need to create better solutions with their therapies. Instead of the touch point with patients being solely at the time of a procedure or sale of the device, it is likely companies will need to drive toward a more comprehensive partnership with patients, providers, and payers, extending the scope of services and interactions to provide a continuum of care. In general, companies will need to start to think of their most important customers as people living with a condition, as opposed to patients needing immediate medical devices. In this article, I discuss the challenges of health care today and present some of the opportunities to revamp health care delivery in diabetes by leveraging the pervasive use of mobile technologies and digital data.