The impact of a patient education program on directed donations

The effect of an informational program in which the benefits and disadvantages of directed donations are discussed directly with the prospective recipient of the blood and/or that patient's family was examined during a 20-month period. Data collected for 27 regional Connecticut hospitals that accept directed donations were compared with similar data for Hartford Hospital, an 885-bed tertiary-care facility. The number of directed-donor units (68) collected by the American Red Cross Blood Services for Hartford Hospital during the study period was comparable to the number (average, 62.3) provided for smaller (301-450 beds) institutions in the state. The percentage that directed-donor units drawn for Hartford Hospital represented of the total number of homologous units provided (0.23%) was less than that for any of the categories of hospitals, by size, in the state. Supplying the patient and/or the patient's family, in a personalized manner, with information concerning the advantages and disadvantages of directed as well as of volunteer donor blood can result in a marked overall reduction in the number of directed donations and also serves to reassure those concerned about blood transfusion.     

MRI-targeted biopsy for detecting prostate cancer: have the guidelines changed our practices and our prostate cancer detection rate?

International Urology and Nephrology - In our center, until 2018, MRI-targeted biopsy was underused. Since January 2018, we systematically performed MRI-targeted biopsy for suspicious...     

DROP-OUT FROM CHRONIC PAIN TREATMENT PROGRAMMES: IS RANDOMIZATION JUSTIFIED IN BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACHES?

ObjectiveTo identify profiles of patients who are at risk of dropping out from biopsychosocial approaches to chronic pain management.PatientsA total of 575 patients were included in the study. Of these, 203 were randomized into 4 treatment groups: self-hypnosis/self-care; music/self-care; self-care; and psychoeducation/cognitive behavioural therapy. The remaining 372 patients were not randomized, as they presented with the demand to learn self-hypnosis/self-care, and therefore were termed a “self-hypnosis/self-care demanders” group.MethodsSocio-demographics and behavioural data were included in the analyses. Univariates analyses, comparing early drop-outs (never attended treatment), late drop-outs (6/9 sessions’ treatment) and continuers were conducted in order to select variables to include in a multivariate logistic regression.ResultsUnivariate analyses yielded 8 variables, out of 18 potential predictors for drop-out, which were eligible for inclusion in the multivariate logistic regression. The model showed that having an intermediate or high educational level protects against dropping out early or late in the pain management process. Having to wait for more than 4 months before starting the treatment increases the risk of never starting it. Being randomized increases the risk of never starting the treatment.ConclusionIn a context in which randomization is considered a “gold standard” in evidence-based practice, these results indicate that this very principle could be deleterious to pain management in patients with chronic pain.LAY ABSTRACTThe aim of this study was to identify profiles of patients who are at risk of dropping out from biopsychosocial approaches to chronic pain management. A total of 575 patients were included in the study. Of these, 203 patients were randomized into 4 treatment groups: self-hypnosis/self-care; music/self-care; self-care; psychoeducation/cognitive behavioural therapy. The remaining 372 patients were not randomized, as they presented with the demand to learn self-hypnosis/self-care, and hence formed a “self-hypnosis/self-care demanders” group. Analyses of socio-demographics and behavioural data were conducted, comparing early drop-outs (never attended treatment), late drop-outs (6/9 sessions’ treatment) and continuers. Results showed that having an intermediate or high educational level protects against dropping out early or late in the management process. Having to wait for more than 4 months before starting the treatment, and being randomized, increases the risk of never starting it. Thus, in a context in which randomization is considered as a “gold standard” in evidence-based practice, these results indicate that this very principle could be deleterious to pain management in patients with chronic pain.Key words: chronic pain, non-pharmacological treatment, randomization, drop-out, loss to follow-up, attrition

Chronic pain is a complex disorder in which pain appears persistent and prolonged (> 3 months) and includes biological, psychological and socio-professional factors that undermine patients’ everyday life. Patients and healthcare providers are increasingly turning to non-pharmacological treatments, such as hypnosis and music therapy, combined with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (1). The efficacy of these treatment in managing chronic pain has been demonstrated (2–4).A major problem in clinical research is drop-out, which ranges from 5% to 46%, in chronic pain management, depending on the study (5). The first issue concerns the definition of drop-out, since this varies between authors: some regard drop-out as patients ending therapy before the agreed-end-of-treatment (6), others consider it as not attending therapy sessions even though patients have agreed to attend (7). The second issue is that few clinical studies in the field of chronic pain take drop-out into account, thus generating a bias in the overall results of clinical trials investigating the efficacy of such treatments (8). The lack of studies and the disagreement regarding definitions lead to a range of results in the study of drop-out predictors in chronic pain. Some authors have highlighted that a low educational level increases the risk of dropping out from therapy (cohort study (9)), while others have shown the contrary (randomized trial (10)). The same controversy can be seen when considering age, sex and personality (systematic review (5); randomized trial (10); retrospective study (11); non-randomized trial (12)). Predictors outside of patient-related factors have mostly been studied in the mental health literature. As the management of chronic pain and mental health is relatively similar, consideration of these factors seems relevant. A meta-analysis showed that, in psychotherapy settings, the therapist expertise had an influence on drop-out. The results demonstrated that when trainees (pre-degree attainment) lead the group therapy, patients tended to be more likely to drop-out (13). Another meta-analysis showed that patients’ motivational level predicted drop-out from psychotherapy (14). A further barrier to completing treatments is the waiting period between initial contact and the effective start of the treatment (retrospective study (15)). Another retrospective study highlighted that the longer the patients in a substance abuse treatment programme had to wait until the onset of treatment (≥8 days), the more likely they were not to attend the first session of the programme (16).Given the lack of consensus, a better understanding of the profile of drop-outs and contextual risk factors, is essential in order to prevent this phenomenon, enhance treatment adherence and, consequently, ameliorate the study of treatment efficacy in chronic pain.The aim of this study was to retrospectively identify patient- and context-related factors to explain drop-out from randomized biopsychosocial-based treatment programmes.     

Endogenous surfactant metabolism in critically ill infants measured with stable isotope labeled fatty acids

Little is known about endogenous surfactant metabolism in infants, because radioactive isotopes used for this purpose in animals cannot be used in humans. We developed a novel and safe method to measure the endogenous surfactant kinetics in vivo in humans by using stable isotope labeled fatty acids. We infused albumin-bound [U-13C]palmitic acid (PA) and [U-13C]linoleic acid (LLA) for 24 h in eight critically ill infants (mean+/-SD: weight: 3.7+/-1.3 kg: age: 51.3+/-61.6 d) who required mechanical ventilation. The 13C enrichment of PA and LLA in surfactant phosphatidylcholine (PC), obtained from tracheal aspirates, was measured by gas chromatography combustion interface-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. We measured a significant incorporation of both 13C-PA and 13C-LLA into surfactant PC. PC-PA and PC-LLA became enriched after 8.7+/-4.9 h (range: 3.4-17.3) and 10.0+/-7.2 h (range: 3.0-22.4), respectively; the times at maximum enrichment were 49.2+/-8.9 and 45.6+/-19.3 h, respectively. The fractional synthesis rate of surfactant PC-PA ranged from 0.4 to 3.4% per h, whereas the fractional synthesis rate of PC-LLA ranged from 0.5 to 3.8% per h. The surfactant PC-PA and PC-LLA half-lives ranged from 16.8 to 177.7 and 23.8 to 144.4 h, respectively. This method provides new data on surfactant metabolism in infants requiring mechanical ventilation. We found that synthesis of surfactant from plasma PA and LLA is a slow process and that there were marked differences in PC kinetics among infants. This variability could be related to differences in lung disease and could affect the clinical course of the respiratory failure.     

The opening lectures in chemistry of the French pharmacists

The opening lectures, which formerly marked the beginning of a professor's duties in an academic institution, are important documents for science historians. Several opening lectures in chemistry (organic, inorganic, analytical, biological or medicinal chemistry), which were given by French pharmacists in the Ecole or the Faculté de pharmacie de Paris, in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris, or in the Collège de France are analyzed. First, these lectures reveal formal aspects, such as the history of the chair or a eulogy of the works and personal qualities of the predecessor. Then, the educational aspects contained in the opening lectures provide information, as well as the opinions of the new professor about teaching and research, history of the subject and its interest for the pharmaceutical students. The final aspects cited concerned the education of the new professor, the birth of his vocation and the help provided by his mentors during his university studies, his periods of instruction and his first experimental works. The opening lecture reveals sociological aspects of how knowledge was built.