The perception of shared medical decision making of expert and lay people: Effects of observing a movie clip depicting a medical consultation

Objective

To test for differences between experts and lay people in assessment of the degree to which a doctor engaged in a shared decision making (SDM) with a patient using the OPTION scale and a movie clip as stimulus material.

Methods

A segment of the movie ‘Wit’, depicting the communication of the diagnosis and the therapy proposed of a cancer, was shown to (a) university students with no knowledge about doctor–patient communication; (b) nurses working in medicine departments; (c) advanced medical students; (d) hospital physicians. The participants were asked to complete the OPTION scale which measures the extent to which physicians involve patients in medical decisions. An analysis of variance was used to compare OPTION scores across the four groups and to compare males and females.

Results

Being female [F_(1,190) = 11.9; p < .001] and being familiar with medical issues [F_(3,190) = 11.09; p < .001] were both significantly associated with a negative evaluations of the doctor's ability to involve the patient in the SDM.

Conclusion

Lay people and males (including male experts), are less demanding regarding SDM abilities.

Practice implications

A more systematic use of videos and the OPTION scale as validated outcome measure could be helpful educational strategy for the teaching of SDM.     

Cadherin-catenin adhesion system and mucin expression: a comparison between young and older patients with gastric carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Young patients are thought to develop gastric carcinomas with a molecular genetic profile that is distinct from that of gastric carcinomas occurring at a later age. The aim of this study was to compare the clinicopathological features and expression patterns of the markers E-cadherin and beta-catenin, and mucins (MUC1, MUC2, MUC5AC, and MUC6) in young and older patients. METHODS: The clinicopathological features and overall survival data of 62 young patients (age 40 years). A tissue microarray method and immunohistochemistry were used in order to analyze marker expression in paraffin-embedded tissue blocks obtained from both groups. RESULTS: The young group presented a higher percentage of diffuse-type tumors in comparison to the older group (P<0.01). The rates of positivity for E-cadherin and beta-catenin membranous expression patterns and mucin (MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC6) positivity were higher in the young group (P<0.01). Although young patients showed a lower frequency of alterations in marker expression and had significantly better survival rates than the older patients, neither age nor the marker expression pattern were found to be independent prognostic factors of survival. Only stage, tumor size, and tumor location persisted as prognostic factors for patients with gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: Biological markers of cellular adhesion and gastric differentiation were differently expressed in young and older patients. Our findings support the hypothesis that young patients develop carcinomas with a different genetic pathway compared to the pathway of tumors occurring at a later age, and we suggest further investigations to assess the prognostic relevance of the markers to specific subgroups.     

Topiramate as add-on drug in severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy: an Italian multicenter open trial

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topiramate (TPM) in patients with severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy (SMEI) and refractory seizures. METHODS: We performed a prospective multicentric open label add-on study in 18 patients (age 2-21 years, mean 9 years) with SMEI and refractory seizures of different types. TPM was added to one or two other baseline drugs and the efficacy was rated according to seizure type and frequency. RESULTS: TPM was initiated at a daily dose of 0.5-1 mg/kg, followed by a 2-week titration at increments of 1-3 mg/kg/24 h up to a maximum daily dose of 12 mg/kg. After a mean period of 11.9 months (range 2-24 months), three patients (16.7%) had 100% fewer seizures and ten patients (55.5%) had a more than 50% seizure decrease. In no patient there was a seizure worsening. Mild to moderate adverse events were present in four patients (22.2%), represented by weight loss, hypermenorrhoea, renal microlithiasis, nervousness and dysarthric speech. CONCLUSION: TPM may be a useful drug in patients with SMEI, being particularly effective against generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Further studies are needed to evaluate the early use of this drug in such a severe syndrome.     

Alternative technique of laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy for advanced pancreatic head cancer

Only 20% of patients with pancreatic cancer can undergo curative resection. Therefore, palliative treatment of pancreatic cancer assumes the utmost clinical importance. The aim of the palliative treatment of pancreatic head carcinoma is to relieve the jaundice and/or duodenal obstruction. Endoscopic or transparietal decompression of the obstructed bile duct can be accomplished in most cases, but the durability of these techniques is not as great as that of a surgically created bypass. On the other hand, hepaticojejunostomy carries higher morbidity and mortality rates than the former nonsurgical methods. In order to promote long lasting palliation with low morbidity and mortality rates, minimally invasive techniques of biliary and gastric bypass have been described. However, laparoscopic Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy seems to be a complex surgical procedure. With an aim to simplify the construction of a laparoscopic hepaticojejunostomy, the authors suggest an alternative technique.     

Molecular classifiers for gastric cancer and nonmalignant diseases of the gastric mucosa

High incidence of gastric cancer-related death is mainly due to diagnosis at an advanced stage in addition to the lack of adequate neoadjuvant therapy. Hence, new tools aimed at early diagnosis would have a positive impact in the outcome of the disease. Using cDNA arrays having 376 genes either identified previously as altered in gastric tumors or known to be altered in human cancer, we determined expression signature of 99 tissue fragments representing normal gastric mucosa, gastritis, intestinal metaplasia, and adenocarcinomas. We first validated the array by identifying molecular markers that are associated with intestinal metaplasia, considered as a transition stage of gastric adenocarcinomas of the intestinal type as well as markers that are associated with diffuse type of gastric adenocarcinomas. Next, we applied Fisher's linear discriminant analysis in an exhaustive search of trios of genes that could be used to build classifiers for class distinction. Many classifiers could distinguish between normal and tumor samples, whereas, for the distinction of gastritis from tumor and for metaplasia from tumor, fewer classifiers were identified. Statistical validations showed that trios that discriminate between normal and tumor samples are powerful classifiers to distinguish between tumor and nontumor samples. More relevant, it was possible to identify samples of intestinal metaplasia that have expression signature resembling that of an adenocarcinoma and can now be used for follow-up of patients to determine their potential as a prognostic test for malignant transformation.     

Palliative care education integrated into a geriatrics rotation for resident physicians

The authors present the curricular elements of a palliative care experience for internal medicine residents at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center (ZVAMC), Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To improve resident physicians' knowledge and skills in palliative care, a structured clinical/educational experience was integrated into an existing required geriatrics rotation for senior medicine residents. Each month, two residents rotate simultaneously in the palliative care and the geriatrics evaluation and management units at the ZVAMC. The curricular elements of palliative care include prognostication, assessment and management of pain and nonpain symptoms in end-of-life care. The geriatrics component emphasizes mechanisms of aging, pathophysiology of common geriatric diseases, clinical pharmacology and psychosocial aspects of geriatric care. Teaching methods include direct patient care, bedside teaching rounds, lectures, and multidisciplinary and family meetings. Rotation design avoided conflicting time demands on the residents. In a prerotation/postrotation knowledge self-assessment questionnaire, residents (n = 28) indicated significant knowledge improvement in all palliative care domains taught during the experience. The rotation was well integrated into the existing curricular elements in geriatrics and palliative medicine at MCW. This combined rotation can serve as a reference for educators interested in developing new or enhancing existing palliative care training programs.     

Recognizing depression in palliative care patients

Clinically significant depression is a common psychiatric disorder in patients with advanced and terminal diseases. Depression is often unrecognized and untreated and it causes major suffering to patients and families. Having adequate knowledge and skills to properly recognize depression in patients with advanced illnesses is essential for providing comprehensive end-of-life care. The objective of this paper is to review the key elements of the assessment of depression in palliative care patients. We also discuss the challenges of making the diagnosis, review the risk factors associated with depression and describe the features of the most common assessment tools that have been studied in this population. Finally, we highlight how to differentiate depression from normal grief, as the overlap between these conditions imposes a diagnostic challenge.