Utilization of and Outcomes Associated with Intravascular Ultrasound during Deep Venous Stent Placement among Medicare Beneficiaries

PurposeTo evaluate temporal trends, practice variation, and associated outcomes with the use of intravascular ultrasound (US) during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries.Materials and MethodsAll lower extremity deep venous stent placement procedures performed between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019 among Medicare beneficiaries were included. Temporal trends in intravascular US use were stratified by procedural setting and physician specialty. The primary outcome was a composite of 12-month all-cause mortality, all-cause hospitalization, or repeat target vessel intervention. The secondary outcome was a composite of 12-month stent thrombosis, embolization, or restenosis.ResultsAmong the 20,984 deep venous interventions performed during the study period, 15,184 (72.4%) utilized intravascular US. Moderate growth in intravascular US use was observed during the study period in all clinical settings. There was a variation in the use of intravascular US among all operators (median, 77.3% of cases; interquartile range, 20.0%–99.2%). In weighted analyses, intravascular US use during deep venous stent placement was associated with a lower risk of both the primary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69–0.76; P < .001) and secondary (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.27–0.39; P < .001) composite end points.ConclusionsIntravascular US is frequently used during deep venous stent placement among Medicare beneficiaries, with further increase in use from 2017 to 2019. The utilization of intravascular US as part of a procedural strategy was associated with a lower cumulative incidence of adverse outcomes after the procedure, including venous stent thrombosis and embolization.     

Cardiac-type total anomalous pulmonary venous return is not benign

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the association between morphological variation and postsurgical pulmonary vein (PV) stenosis (PPVS) in patients with cardiac total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC).MethodsThis single-center, retrospective study included 168 pediatric patients who underwent surgical repair of cardiac TAPVC from 2013 to 2019 (connection to the coronary sinus [CS], n = 136; connection directly to the right atrium [RA], n = 32). Three-dimensional computed tomography modeling and geometric analysis were performed to investigate the morphological features; their relevance to the PPVS was examined.ResultsThe connection type had no association with PPVS (CS type: 18% vs right atrial type: 19%; P = .89) but there was a higher incidence of PPVS in patients with a single PV orifice than > 1 orifice (P < .001). Confluence-to-total PV area ratio (hazard ratio, 4.78, 95% CI, 1.86-12.32; P = .001) and length of drainage route (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.14-1.31; P < .001) had a 4- and 1-fold increase in the risk for PPVS in the CS type after adjustment for age and preoperative pulmonary venous obstruction. In the right atrial type, those with anomalous PV return to the RA roof were more likely to develop PPVS than to the posterior wall of the RA (P < .001).ConclusionsThe number of inter-junction PV orifice correlated with PPVS development in cardiac TAPVC. The confluence-to-total PV ratio, length of drainage route, and anomalous PV return to the RA roof are important predictors for PPVS. Morphological subcategorization in this clinical setting can potentially assist in surgical decision-making.     

Changes in the National Endovascular Management of Femoropopliteal Arterial Disease: An Analysis of the 2011–2019 Medicare Data

PurposeTo describe national trends in the utilization of endovascular approaches (including balloon angioplasty, atherectomy, and stent placement) for the management of femoropopliteal peripheral arterial disease (PAD).Materials and MethodsThe Medicare Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary dataset containing 100% of Part B claims was interrogated for years 2011–2019. The Current Procedural Terminology codes specific for femoropopliteal angioplasty, stent placement, and atherectomy were used to create summary statistics for utilization by year, place of service (hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, and office-based laboratory), and provider specialty (cardiology, radiology, and surgery).ResultsThe use of atherectomy increased from 34,732 (33%) procedures in 2011 to 75,435 (53%) procedures in 2019, and atherectomy became the dominant treatment strategy for femoropopliteal PAD. The relative utilization of stent placement (36,793 [35%] to 28,899 [20%]) and angioplasty only (34,398 [32%] to 38,228 [27%]) decreased concomitantly from 2011 to 2019. By 2019, the use of atherectomy was twofold higher in office-based laboratories than in the outpatient hospital setting (44,767 and 20,901, respectively). Treatment strategy varied by provider specialty in 2011 when cardiologists used atherectomy most frequently (17,925 [43%]), whereas radiologists used angioplasty alone (5,928 [6%]) and surgeons stented (18,009 [37%]) most frequently. By 2019, all specialties utilized atherectomy most frequently (29,564 [59%] for cardiology, 10,912 [58%] radiology, and 33,649 [47%] surgery).ConclusionsThe national approach to endovascular management of femoropopliteal PAD has changed since 2011 toward an implant-free strategy, including a multifold increase in the use of atherectomy. Discordant rates of atherectomy use between the ambulatory hospital and office-based settings highlight the need for comparative effectiveness studies to guide management.     

舌象仪临床应用研究的方法学及报告质量评价

目的 评价舌象仪临床应用研究的随机对照试验（RCT）、病例系列研究的方法学及报告质量。方法 检索PubMed、中国期刊全文数据库（CNKI）、维普数据库（VIP）和万方数据库（Wanfang database），从建库截至2018年12月开始检索，收集应用舌象仪观察临床疾病的RCT、病例系列研究和病例对照研究，分别参考Cochrane手册5.1.0版的偏倚风险评估工具和CONSORT 2010版的声明，对纳入的RCT研究进行方法学和报告质量进行评价；根据NICE和STROBE声明第四版进行方法学的报告质量评价研究。结果 初检出相关文献567篇，最终纳入59篇文献，包括2个RCT，57个病例系列研究。50%的RCT应用Cochrane偏倚风险工具评价后显示采用的随机分配方法比较合理，没有采用分配隐藏和盲法；均采用了意向性分析，遗憾的是并没有报告失访的情况；研究也缺乏选择性报告。NICE病例系列研究质量评价结果 病例系列研究中仅14.04%符合多中心研究；59.64%的研究纳入排除标准均不明确；数据未达到预期设定目标，未进行分层分析结局。CONSORT声明2010版评价结果显示：纳入的文献均不能从题目辨别出是否是随机临床试验，多项条目报告率为0；应用STROBE声明评价后结果显示：纳入的病例系列研究均未在题目中明确标明是病例系列研究，多项条目报告率为0。结论 舌象仪临床应用的RCT和病例系列研究报告质量不高，建议在设计和报告临床病例对照和随机对照试验时分别参考CONSORT声明、STROBE声明，纠正目前研究存在的方法学问题，进一步提高临床研究质量，增强舌象仪临床应用于疾病效用证据的强度，推进中医的客观化和现代化。     

WHO药品预认证微生物实验室质量管理的要求与思考

目的:介绍世界卫生组织(WHO)对药品微生物检测实验室的预认证要求,推动我国药品检测质量管理体系的完善和发展。方法:从预认证实验室应遵循的质量管理原则出发,对照我国实验室ISO/IEC 17025体系要求,分析药品微生物检测实验室在质量管理中的不足。结果:预认证实验室更多地采纳了《药品生产质量管理规范》(GMP)的质量管理理念,而我国药品微生物检测实验室在记录与数据可靠性、基于风险的变更控制和偏差调查等方面的应用与实施还存在较大差距。结论:我国药品微生物检测实验室应学习和借鉴国内外GMP的质量管理经验,不断更新理念,改进质量管理体系,更多地以风险评估方式保障检测数据的可靠性。     

The place of therapy: between lab and field in the psychoanalytic office

This article builds on recent scholarship in medicine, science and technology illuminating the role of place and materiality in medical work. Drawing on ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews with US psychiatrists, psychologists and clinical social workers, I examine how the therapy office shapes psychoanalytic psychotherapists’ efforts to understand their patients’ unconscious conflicts. The concepts of ‘laboratory’ and ‘field’ frame my discussion of the material set up of the clinical room and the relational practices it fosters. I show that psychoanalytic practitioners try to approximate ‘laboratory conditions’ that insulate patients’ problems from their everyday contexts and ensure a sense of stability. I also demonstrate that these clinicians’ work depends on revealing personal preferences in the therapy room and fostering therapeutic relationships that resemble those in patients’ everyday lives, making the office akin to the ‘field’. The office thus becomes epistemically productive through therapists’ management of the paradoxical relationship between laboratory and field.     

仪器设备全生命周期管理软件的研究与实践

目的:本文分析仪器设备全生命周期管理系统,分享仪器设备管理系统基于药监系统日常管理工作的特色选型。方法:围绕设备全生命周期管理的理念,设计实施电子化设备采购管理、设备台账管理、设备维护维修管理等一系列流程。结果与结论:仪器设备全生命周期管理系统实现全资产、全业务和全过程的信息化管理覆盖。具有良好示范作用,可在药检系统推广使用。