Selecting patients for early interdisciplinary rehabilitation during neurointensive care after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury

Background

Early interdisciplinary rehabilitation (EIR) in neurointensive care is a limited resource reserved for patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) believed to profit from treatment. We evaluated how key parameters related to injury severity and patient characteristics were predictive of receiving EIR, and whether these parameters changed over time.

Methods

Among 1003 adult patients with moderate to severe TBI admitted over 72 h to neurointensive care unit during four time periods between 2005 and 2020, EIR was given to 578 and standard care to 425 patients. Ten selection criteria thought to best represent injury severity and patient benefit were evaluated (Glasgow Coma Scale, Head Abbreviated Injury Scale, New-Injury-Severity-Scale, intracranial pressure monitoring, neurosurgery, age, employment, Charlson Comorbidity Index, severe psychiatric disease, and chronic substance abuse).

Results

In multivariate regression analysis, patients who were employed (adjOR 1.99 [95% CI 1.41, 2.80]), had no/mild comorbidity (adjOR 3.15 [95% CI 1.72, 5.79]), needed neurosurgery, had increasing injury severity and were admitted by increasing time period were more likely to receive EIR, whereas receiving EIR was less likely with increasing age (adjOR 0.97 [95% CI 0.96, 0.98]) and chronic substance abuse. Overall predictive ability of the model was 71%. Median age and comorbidity increased while employment decreased from 2005 to 2020, indicating patient selection became less restrictive with time.

Conclusion

Injury severity and need for neurosurgery remain important predictors for receiving EIR, but the importance of age, employment, and comorbidity have changed over time. Moderate prediction accuracy using current clinical criteria suggest unrecognized factors are important for patient selection.     

Colon and rectal cancer risk after bariatric surgery in a multicountry Nordic cohort study

Obesity is a risk factor for colorectal cancer. Yet, some research indicates that weight-reducing bariatric surgery also increases colorectal cancer risk. Our study was undertaken because current evidence examining bariatric surgery and risk of colorectal cancer is limited and inconsistent. This population-based cohort study included adults with a documented obesity diagnosis in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway or Sweden in 1980–2015. The incidence of colorectal cancer in participants with obesity who had and had not undergone bariatric surgery was compared to the incidence in the corresponding background population by calculating standardized incidence ratios (SIR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Additionally, operated and nonoperated participants with obesity were compared using multivariable Cox regression, providing hazard ratios (HR) with 95% CIs adjusted for confounders. Among 502,772 cohort participants with an obesity diagnosis, 49,931(9.9%) underwent bariatric surgery. The overall SIR of colon cancer was increased after bariatric surgery (SIR 1.56; 95% CI 1.28–1.88), with higher SIRs ≥10 years postsurgery. The overall HR of colon cancer in operated compared to nonoperated participants was 1.13 (95% CI 0.92–1.39) and 1.55 (95% CI 1.04–2.31) 10–14 years after bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgery did not significantly increase the risk of rectal cancer (SIR 1.14, 95% CI 0.83–1.52; HR 1.08, 95% CI 0.79–1.49), but the risk estimates increased with longer follow-up periods. Our study suggests that bariatric surgery is associated with an increased risk of colon cancer, while the support for an increased risk of rectal cancer was weaker.     

Echocardiographic assessment at rest and during stress in patients with intermittent claudication

Objective. Skeletal muscle perfusion during walking relies on complex interactions between cardiac activity and vascular control mechanisms, why cardiac dysfunction may contribute to intermittent claudication (IC) symptoms. The study aims were to describe cardiac function at rest and during stress in consecutive IC patients, to explore the relations between cardiac function parameters and treadmill performance, and to test the hypothesis that clinically silent myocardial ischemia during stress may contribute to IC limb symptomatology. Design. Patients with mild to severe IC (n?=?111, mean age 67 y, 52% females, mean treadmill distance 195 m) underwent standard echocardiography, dobutamine stress echocardiography (SE) and treadmill testing. The patient cohort was separated in two groups based on treadmill performance (HIGH and LOW performance). Results. Ten patients (9%) had regional wall motion abnormalities of which three had left ventricular ejection fraction <50% at standard echocardiography. A majority had lower than expected systolic- and diastolic ventricular volumes. LOW performers had smaller diastolic left ventricular volumes and lower global peak systolic velocity during dobutamine stress. No patient demonstrated significant cardiac dysfunction during dobutamine provocation that was not also evident at standard echocardiography. Conclusions. Most IC patients were without signs of ischemic heart disease or cardiac failure. The majority had small left ventricular volumes. The hypothesis that clinically silent myocardial ischemia impairing left ventricular function during stress may contribute to IC limb symptomatology was not supported.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01219842.     

Increased Intracranial Pressure Attenuates the Pulsating Component of Cerebral Venous Outflow

Neurocritical Care - The underlying physiology of the intracranial pressure (ICP) curve morphology is still poorly understood. If this physiology is explained it could be possible to extract...     

Real-world effectiveness of HPV vaccination against cervical neoplasia among birth cohorts ineligible for routine vaccination

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine effectiveness may differ between settings. Here we present the first real-world effectiveness study of HPV vaccination on high-grade cervical lesions from Norway, among women who received HPV vaccine outside the routine program. We performed an observational study of all Norwegian women born 1975 to 1996 and retrieved individual data from nationwide registries on HPV vaccination status and incidence of histologically verified high-grade cervical neoplasia during 2006 to 2016. We estimated the incidence rate ratio (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for vaccination vs no vaccination by Poisson regression stratified by age at vaccination <20 years and ≥20 years. The cohort consisted of 832 732 women, of which 46 381 (5.6%) received at least one dose of HPV vaccine by the end of 2016. The incidence rate of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) increased with age regardless of vaccination status and was highest at age 25 to 29, at 637/100 000 among unvaccinated women, 487/100 000 among women vaccinated before age 20 and 831/100 000 among women vaccinated at age 20 or older. The adjusted IRR of CIN2+ between vaccinated and unvaccinated women was 0.62 (95% CI: 0.46-0.84) for women vaccinated below age 20, and 1.22 (95% CI: 1.03-1.43) for women vaccinated at age 20 or older. These findings indicate that HPV vaccination among women too old to be eligible for routine HPV vaccination is effective among women who are vaccinated below age 20 but may not have the desired impact among women who are vaccinated at age 20 or older.     

Influence of Prior Psychiatric Disorders on the Treatment Course of Gynaecological Cancer – A Nationwide Cohort Study

Aims

To examine the influence of pre-existing psychiatric disorder on the choice of treatment in patients with gynaecological cancer.

The Danish National Register of assisted reproductive technology: content and research potentials

European Journal of Epidemiology - The Danish National Register of assisted reproductive technology (ART) was initially established in 1994. The register comprises complete information on all ART...