Hydroxychloroquine and visual screening in a rheumatology outpatient clinic

OBJECTIVE—To review 10 years' data relating to visual screening of patients taking hydroxychloroquine.
METHODS—Following baseline visual assessment, ophthalmic monitoring was carried out at six monthly intervals on 758 patients while on hydroxychloroquine. This consisted of corrected visual acuity, central field screening with a red Amsler grid, slit lamp examination, and retinoscopy.
RESULTS—None of the patients suffered visual impairment from retinal toxicity, though 12 reported visual disturbance. This was related to ocular muscle imbalance in four. In the remainder, none of the ocular findings was directly attributable to hydroxychloroquine. Ten patients reported defects when tested with a red Amsler grid. None was related to retinal toxicity. Seven patients developed corneal drug deposits which cleared on stopping or reducing the dose of hydroxy-chloroquine.
CONCLUSIONS—The findings support the view that following baseline ophthalmic examination for patients receiving hydroxychloroquine, regular ophthalmic screening is not required if the daily dose is less than 6.5 mg kg^-1 and the cumulative dose is less than 200 g.

     

简易认知功能筛查工具及其应用

神经系统疾病在发生和发展过程中常伴有认知功能障碍,严重降低了患者的生存质量,因此有必要对神经系统疾病患者进行快速的认知功能筛查.文章对临床上常用的简易认知筛查工具的研究进展做了综述.     

Supervision in the outpatient clinic

Two levels of faculty supervision in a resident teaching clinic were compared. Attending physicians recorded their impressions of diagnoses, treatment, severity of illness, and resident performance from case presentation alone and again after personally evaluating the patient. After direct evaluation, the attendings judged patients to be more seriously ill and rated resident performance lower. Changes in diagnosis and management were frequent. The attendings considered seeing the patient in person valuable for teaching in 18% of the cases, and for management in 27% of the cases. Faculty-patient interaction doubled supervisory time. Outpatient teaching and patient management are significantly affected when faculty see patients in person.     

Acceptance of flexible sigmoidoscopy as a screening examination for colorectal cancer in an outpatient clinic

Background and study aim Flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) is a feasible examination technique and a suitable tool for population-based screening, but very little is known about determinants of endoscopic screening participation. The aim of this study was to determine the acceptance rate and the factors influencing the decision of participating in a screening program for patients in an outpatient clinic. Materials and methods In this prospective study, a colorectal cancer screening by FS was offered to 631 patients older than 40 years. Three strategies were available, (1) to have the endoscopy on the same day, (2) to make an appointment for another day, or (3) to take time to think about if they wanted the procedure. The reasons for refusal of the FS were documented. Results 419 of the 631 (66.4%) patients had no interest to take part in the screening program during their outpatient visit. Two hundred twelve (33.6%) patients were primarily interested on FS, but only 110 of them were finally examined. In total, 102 patients did not make an appointment for FS or did not appear for the endoscopy. The participation rate was therefore 17.4% (110/631) of all patients. Of the patients who agreed to receive an on-site examination, 78.3% were examined compared to 18.8% of patients who fixed the appointment for another day or after taking time to reflect upon the FS procedure. More male than female patients accepted the FS screening. Recommended colonoscopy was finally performed in 76%. Thirty-three polyps were found during the screening program of which 18 were larger than 0.5 cm. No CRC was detected. All patients agreed to repeat the FS every 5 years. Conclusions This study demonstrates that a screening examination will be most likely performed if it is done as an on-site examination. In contrast, the participation rate is low if the patient has to make an appointment by himself. Acceptance of FS screening is also dependent on the patient’s gender and family history of cancer. Additional strategies are needed to further improve participation.     

Screening for diabetes in an outpatient clinic population

BACKGROUND: Opportunistic disease screening is the routine, asymptomatic disease screening of patients at the time of a physician encounter for other reasons. While the prevalence of unrecognized diabetes in community populations is well known, the prevalence in clinical populations is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence, predictors, and clinical severity of unrecognized diabetes among outpatients at a major medical center. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional observational study at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. SUBJECTS: Outpatients without recognized diabetes (N=1,253). METHODS: We screened patients for diabetes by using an initial random Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurement, and then obtaining follow-up fasting plasma glucose (FPG) for all subjects with HbA1c > or =6.0%. A case of unrecognized diabetes was defined as either HbA1c > or =7.0% or FPG > or =7 mmol/L (126 mg/dL). Height and weight were obtained for all subjects. We also obtained resting blood pressure, fasting lipids, and urine protein in subjects with HbA1c > or =6.0%. RESULTS: The prevalence of unrecognized diabetes was 4.5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 3.4 to 5.7). Factors associated with unrecognized diabetes were the diagnosis of hypertension (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.5; P=.004), weight >120% of ideal (adjusted OR, 2.2; P=.02), and history of a parent or sibling with diabetes (adjusted OR, 1.7; P=.06). Having a primary care provider did not raise or lower the risk for unrecognized diabetes (P=.73). Based on the new diagnosis, most patients (61%) found to have diabetes required a change in treatment either of their blood sugar or comorbid hypertension or hyperlipidemia in order to achieve targets recommended in published treatment guidelines. Patients reporting a primary care provider were no less likely to require a change in treatment (P=.20). CONCLUSIONS: If diabetes screening is an effective intervention, opportunistic screening for diabetes may be the preferred method for screening, because there is substantial potential for case-finding in a medical center outpatient setting. A majority of patients with diabetes diagnosed at opportunistic screening will require a change in treatment of blood sugar, blood pressure, or lipids to receive optimal care.     

Moving CAR-Ts to the outpatient clinic

As centres obtain more experience with commercial CARs, there has been increasing interest in trying to move as much as the procedure as possible to the outpatient clinic to reduce costs, maximize reimbursement and increase patient satisfaction. The report by Ly et al. details how their centre implemented outpatient CAR therapy and were able to reduce admission time without affecting outcomes. Commentary on: Ly et al. Outpatient CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy is feasible in patients of all ages. Br J Haematol 2023;203:688-692.     

Specialist interventions at the rheumatology outpatient clinic

SIR, As rheumatologists we are under significant pressure toreduce the waiting times for new patients in the outpatientclinic. As there is restricted clinic time available for newand review patients, it has been suggested that ‘stable’review patients should be discharged to primary care. We believethere exists a perception that review patients with rheumaticdisease require little intervention or adjustment to treatmentand do not need to     

Osler's maneuver in an outpatient clinic setting

Osler's maneuver was performed on 912 consecutive outpatients aged 60 years of older in a 2-month period by 12 physicians. The incidence of an Osler-positive finding was 7.1% (65/912). The number of positive findings increased with age, ranging from 3.4% in the 60- to 70-year age group to 43.8% in the 86- to 90-year age group. A history of hypertension was present in 58.4% of patients with Osler-positive findings and in 59.6% of patients with Osler-negative findings. In a group of 48 previously screened patients who were independently examined, concordance was poor when the kappa test of reliability was used. Positive Osler findings were common in patients older than 70 years, in patients who smoked, and in patients with a high systolic blood pressure. These correlations may be related to a decrease in blood vessel compressibility, which may cause pseudo-hypertension. However, the findings on Osler's maneuver, are poorly reproducible, making the procedure an inadequate test.     

Brief screening questionnaires to identify problem drinking during pregnancy: a systematic review

Aims Although prenatal screening for problem drinking during pregnancy has been recommended, guidance on screening instruments is lacking. We investigated the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of brief alcohol screening questionnaires to identify problem drinking in pregnant women. Methods Electronic databases from their inception to June 2008 were searched, as well as reference lists of eligible papers and related review papers. We sought cohort or cross‐sectional studies that compared one or more brief alcohol screening questionnaire(s) with reference criteria obtained using structured interviews to detect ‘at‐risk’ drinking, alcohol abuse or dependency in pregnant women receiving prenatal care. Results Five studies (6724 participants) were included. In total, seven instruments were evaluated: TWEAK (Tolerance, Worried, Eye‐opener, Amnesia, Kut down), T‐ACE [Take (number of drinks), Annoyed, Cut down, Eye‐opener], CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye‐opener], NET (Normal drinker, Eye‐opener, Tolerance), AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test), AUDIT‐C (AUDIT‐consumption) and SMAST (Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test). Study quality was generally good, but lack of blinding was a common weakness. For risk drinking sensitivity was highest for T‐ACE (69‐88%), TWEAK (71–91%) and AUDIT‐C (95%), with high specificity (71–89%, 73–83% and 85%, respectively). CAGE and SMAST performed poorly. Sensitivity of AUDIT‐C at score ≥3 was high for past year alcohol dependence (100%) or alcohol use disorder (96%) with moderate specificity (71% each). For life‐time alcohol dependency the AUDIT at score ≥8 performed poorly. Conclusion T‐ACE, TWEAK and AUDIT‐C show promise for screening for risk drinking, and AUDIT‐C may also be useful for identifying alcohol dependency or abuse. However, their performance as stand‐alone tools is uncertain, and further evaluation of questionnaires for prenatal alcohol use is warranted.     

Comparing behavioral health models for reducing risky drinking among older male veterans

Background: Screening older veterans in Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) primary care clinics for risky drinking facilitates early identification and referral to treatment. Objective: This study compared two behavioral health models, integrated care (a standardized brief alcohol intervention co-located in primary care clinics) and enhanced referral care (referral to specialty mental health or substance abuse clinics), for reducing risky drinking among older male VAMC primary care patients. VAMC variation was also examined. Method: A secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Primary Care Research in Substance Abuse and Mental Health for Elderly (PRISM-E) study, a multisite randomized controlled trial, was conducted with a sample of older male veterans (n = 438) who screened positive for risky drinking and were randomly assigned to integrated or enhanced referral care at five VAMCs. Results: Generalized estimating equations revealed no differences in either behavioral health model for reducing risky drinking at a 6-month follow-up (AOR: 1.46; 95% CI: 0.42–5.07). Older veterans seen at a VAMC providing geriatric primary care and geriatric evaluation and management teams had lower odds of risky drinking (AOR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.07–0.81) than those seen at a VAMC without geriatric primary care services. Conclusions: Both integrated and enhanced referral care reduced risky drinking among older male veterans. However, VAMCs providing integrated behavioral health and geriatric specialty care may be more effective in reducing risky drinking than those without these services. Integrating behavioral health into geriatric primary care may be an effective public health approach for reducing risky drinking among older veterans.