Characterizing hospital pathways for the care of acquired hemophilia in France using comprehensive national health data

PurposeAcquired hemophilia (AH) is a rare, serious bleeding disorder most often associated with older age and life-threatening complications. The patient care pathway for AH is complex because of the different types of bleeding, the presence of comorbidities, and the heterogeneity of medical specialists who care for these patients.MethodsThis observational study used the French national PMSI (Programme de médicalisation des systèmes d’information) database to characterize patients with AH in real-life practice and analyze their hospital pathway. In total, 180 patients with AH were identified over a 5-year study period (January 2010 to December 2014), based on three criteria: bypassing agent use, International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision code allocation, and aged over 65 years. Comparison of the incidence rate of AH versus registry data validated the PMSI as an epidemiological database.ResultsRituximab was prescribed more often (60/180; 33.3%) than expected following guidelines and was associated in half of cases to early infections (32/60; 53.3%), surgery procedures were frequently performed during the year before AH onset (29/159; 18.2%), which may suggest a triggering effect, extended hospital stays (median: 20 days) and mortality remaining high (66/180; 36.7%) that occurred mainly during the first month after AH diagnosis. Median costs and number of injections were comparable between recombinant activated factor VII and plasma-derived activated prothrombin complex concentrate.ConclusionThese findings could inform future medico-economic approaches in this AH population (duration of stays, bypassing agents, rituximab use, comorbidities, hospitalizations with infections).     

A Legal Approach to Cancer Epidemiology in Public Health

The Public Health Act encompasses scientific research and law enforcement as causes, distributions, and preventive factors for diseases and injuries of a particular population. Today, the Public Health Law is growing into a field that expects to cultivate and utilize lawful practitioners who can apply specialized legal skills in health policy development and public health performance. The multidisciplinary approach of the Public Health Act integrates the legal and scientific elements of the field and the workforce, characterized by a more dynamic understanding of the health impact of legislation and the rapid deployment of effective policies. Thus, legal health interventions that manage and treat diverse populations need to be evaluated more rigorously and quickly. In addition, funding for policy surveillance and other legislation and policy mapping needs to be more sophisticated to maximize utility and avoid duplication. This study investigated legal interventions to manage and treat various groups of populations for health and discussed the necessity of public health laws.     

TOPSIS法和秩和比法模糊联合在基本公共卫生服务质量综合评价中的应用研究

背景国家基本公共卫生服务项目的开展是我国新医改的重要举措，自2009年国家基本公共卫生服务项目开展后，其服务经费与服务项目不断扩增，由于涉及指标较多，覆盖面较广，探寻科学、客观、全面的基本公共卫生服务综合评价方法十分必要。目的探索适宜的基本公共卫生服务质量综合评价方法，通过质量评价为调整相关政策和提高服务质量提供依据。方法2019年2—4月，采用多阶段立意抽样方式从Z省南部、中部和北部地区共选取24家社区卫生服务中心（乡镇卫生院）作为评价对象，记为机构A~X。采用逼近理想解排序法（TOPSIS法）、秩和比法及二者模糊联合的方法对24家社区卫生服务中心（乡镇卫生院）2018年基层医疗卫生机构基本公共卫生服务质量进行综合评价（参考2018年国家基本公共卫生服务项目选取12项评价指标）。结果在TOPSIS法评价中，Ci值排名前三名的为A（0.917 4）、C（0.875 9）和G（0.787 9），Ci值排名后三名的为I（0.414 2）、W（0.413 7）和N（0.407 7）。在秩和比法评价中，RSR值排名前三名的为A（0.890 6）、G（0.765 6）和C（0.711 8），RSR值排名后三名的为V（0.381 9）、W（0.362 8）和K（0.357 6）。根据模糊集理论，将W1Ci+W2RSR值进行排序，依据"择多原则"，排名前三名的分别为A、C和G，排名后三名的分别为I、K和W，这与TOPSIS法和秩和比法的评价结果基本一致。结论TOPSIS法和秩和比法模糊联合得到的评价结果及影响因素与其他研究结果相一致，并且两者联用能克服单一使用TOPSIS法或秩和比法的局限性，适宜在基本公共卫生服务质量评价中推广应用。     

The influence of environmental and health indicators on premature mortality: An empirical analysis of the City of Toronto's 140 neighborhoods

The objective of this paper was to assess the link between premature mortality and a combination of neighbourhood contextual (environmental and health) and compositional (socioeconomic and demographic) characteristics. We statistically and spatially examined six environmental variables (ultrafine particles, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic pollutants, pollution released to air, tree cover, and walkability index), six health service indicators (number health providers, breast, colorectal and cervical cancer screening uptake rates, student nutrition program uptake rates, and healthy food index), and eight socioeconomic indicators (total income, Gini coefficient, two age categories – below and above 40 years, proportion of females to males, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, education, less than grade 9) among 140 neighbourhoods of the City of Toronto in Ontario (Canada). We applied principal component analysis to identify patterns and to reduce the number of explanatory variables into combined component axes that represent unique variation in these confounded and overlapping factors. We then applied regression analysis to model the relationship between the indices of enviro-health and socioeconomics and their potential relationship with premature mortality. Residual spatial analysis was used to investigate any remaining spatial structure (such as neighbourhoods with higher residual premature mortality rates). Neighbourhood Equity Index was correlated with our enviro-health and socioeconomic indices. Premature mortality within neighbourhoods was predicted by poor cancer screenings, pollution, lack of tree canopy, increased uptake of student nutrition programs and high walkability index. A negative association between premature mortality and pollution was associated low walkability index and presence of visible minorities within neighbourhoods. There was some unexplained residual spatial variation in our model of premature mortality - especially along the shores of Lake Ontario and in neighbourhoods with major highways or road corridors: premature mortality in Toronto neighbourhoods was higher than expected along highway-corridor neighbourhoods and shorelines. Our analysis revealed a significant relationship between neighbourhood contextual features – both environmental and health – and premature mortality, suggesting that these contextual components of neighbourhoods can predict rates of urban premature mortality in Toronto.     

Alcance de la implementación en Cataluña de las estrategias de salud reproductiva (2008-2017)

ObjectiveWe analyse how reproductive health strategies have been incorporated into the everyday activities of the services and the resulting transformation of professional and user practices.MethodCartographic research taking a multi-sited ethnographic approach that seeks to reveal the processes of transformation. Data generation techniques featuring participant observation and situated interviews. Discourse analysis of the text corpus using three analytical axes based on three main lines of action promoted by the strategies.ResultsWe identified transformations in: 1) demedicalisation: an increase in midwives’ know-how and autonomy, changes in episiotomy practice and the facilitation of bonding practices; 2) warmth of care: incorporation of women's needs and expectations and improvements in the comfortableness of birth settings, especially in assistance at physiological birth; and 3) participation: actions that foster shared decision-making and the involvement of the persons accompanying women in labour.ConclusionsAbove all, transformation is visible in the incorporation of new attitudes, sensibilities and practices that have developed around the old structures, especially during physiological childbirth. The more technological areas have been less permeable to change. Risk management in decision-making and addressing diversity are identified as areas where transformation is less evident.     

Factors influencing communication of traditional Chinese medicine use between patients and doctors: A multisite cross-sectional study

ObjectiveIn Singapore, the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) alongside Western medicine (WM) is common. There are risks of adverse herb-drug interactions when taken concurrently. Current literature suggests that TCM use is not regularly reported to WM doctors in Singapore, but the underlying reasons are not understood.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted across Singapore by administering questionnaires to TCM-using patients and WM-practising general practitioners (GPs). The questionnaire examined the following themes: (1) demographics and TCM use pattern; (2) respondents’ (patients and GPs) knowledge and beliefs about TCM and the factors influencing the discussion of TCM during the WM consultation; and (3) respondents’ qualitative suggestions to increase disclosure rate.ResultsA total of 484 patients and 334 GPs were surveyed. Factors associated with patients’ initiation of TCM discussion include length of consultation (odds ratio [OR]: 2.1; P < 0.001), comfort level in discussing TCM (OR: 1.6; P < 0.001) and belief in importance of discussion (OR: 1.4; P = 0.017). Doctor’s initiation of discussion (74%) was the top patient-ranked factor influencing their discussion of TCM. For doctors, knowledge of TCM indications (OR: 2.2; P < 0.001), belief in importance of discussion (OR: 2.1; P < 0.001) and comfort level in discussing TCM (OR: 1.9; P = 0.001) were associated with their initiation of TCM use discussion. Possible WM-TCM interactions (58%) was the top doctor-ranked factor influencing their discussion of TCM.ConclusionThe discussion of TCM in a WM setting is multifactorial. Interventions include doctors’ active screening for TCM use in patients and equipping doctors with TCM knowledge. Improving communication between patients and doctors is key to avoiding harmful herb-drug interactions.     

Intergenerational photovoice perspectives of place and health in public housing: Participatory coding,theming, and mapping in/of the “structure struggle”

This paper details an intergenerational photovoice project exploring spatial and perceptual differences of “place” and health among adult and youth public housing residents in a small urban rustbelt city in the Midwestern United States. It specifically highlights the value of fully participatory photovoice processes—participatory narrative-coding and digital web-based photo-mapping—in furthering conceptual and analytical understanding of “place” and health. Results indicate the critical import of accounting for non-residential locations (i.e. activity spaces), and the significance of engaging the generationally- and spatially-specific social and physical landscapes of residents’ lived “place” to improve health opportunities within place-based strategies involving public housing.     

Slower Skeletal Muscle Oxygenation Kinetics in Adults With Complex Congenital Heart Disease

BackgroundAdults with complex congenital heart disease (CHD) show reduced aerobic exercise capacity and impaired skeletal muscle function compared with healthy peers. Peripheral muscle factors are presumed to be important contributors to the aerobic capacity, but the mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate differences between adults with CHD and controls in muscle oxygenation kinetics at rest, and during and after exercise.MethodsSeventy-four patients with complex CHD (mean age 35.6 ± 14.3 years, female n = 22) were recruited. Seventy-four age- and sex-matched subjects were recruited as controls. Muscle oxygenation was successfully determined on the anterior portion of the deltoid muscle using near-infrared spectroscopy in 65 patients and 71 controls. Measurements were made at rest, during isotonic shoulder flexions (0-90°) to exhaustion, and during recovery.ResultsThe patients with CHD performed fewer shoulder flexions (40 ± 17 vs 69 ± 40; P < 0.001), had lower muscle oxygen saturation (StO₂) at rest (58 ± 18% vs 69 ± 18%; P < 0.001), slower desaturation rate at exercise onset (?9.7 ± 5.9 vs ?15.1 ± 6.5% StO₂ × 3.5 s^?1, P <0.001), and slower resaturation rate post exercise (4.0 ± 2.7 vs 5.4 ± 3.6% StO₂ × 3.5 s^?1; P = 0.009) compared with the controls.ConclusionsIn comparison with age- and sex-matched controls, adults with complex CHD had slower oxygenation kinetics. This altered skeletal muscle metabolism might contribute to the impaired skeletal muscle endurance capacity shown and thereby also to the reduced aerobic capacity in this population.     

Prevalence of Stroke in Fayoum Governorate,Egypt: A Community-Based Study

Background: Stroke is a highly prevalent disease with consequent mortality and morbidity. Few community based studies have been conducted only in upper Egypt to estimate prevalence of stroke. Objectives: This study was designed to find out the prevalence of stroke in Fayoum Governorate & to study some associated risk factors. Methods: through this community based cross-sectional study 4784 participants aged more than or equal to 18 years old were enrolled. A multi-stage random sample technique was followed to choose the study sample. A predesigned interviewer-administered structured questionnaire was used. Suspected stroke case by screening questionnaire was referred to the neurologist. Results: The Crude prevalence of stroke was 16 out of 1000 with confidence interval of proportion (12.6%-19.7%). The age adjusted local (Fayoum 2017 census) prevalence rate was 7.97 out of 1000, age adjusted prevalence rate (Egypt population 2017) was 1.05 out of 1000. Age-adjusted World Health Organization standard world population prevalence rate was 1.69 out of 1000. The crude prevalence of ischemic stroke was significantly higher than hemorrhagic stroke 11.9 versus 3.9 out of 1000 population. The most prevalent risk factor was smoking among males, followed by obesity then hypertension. The prevalence of stroke was significantly higher among participants affected with hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, and smoking. Logistic regression analysis showed that having hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, atrial fibrillation, obesity, and smoking were reported risk factors of stroke. Conclusions: The prevalence of stroke in Fayoum governorate was 1.6%. Hypertension, diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, and smoking were reported risk factors of stroke.