A Tool to Assess Patient and Surrogate Knowledge About the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Program

ContextIt is especially important that patients are well informed when making high-stakes, preference-sensitive decisions like those on the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form. However, there is currently no way to easily evaluate whether patients understand key concepts when making these important decisions.ObjectivesTo develop a POLST knowledge survey.MethodsExpert (n = 62) ratings of key POLST facts were used to select items for a POLST knowledge survey. The survey was administered to nursing facility residents (n = 97) and surrogate decision-makers (n = 112). A subset (n = 135) were re-administered the survey after a standardized advance care planning discussion to assess the scale's responsiveness to change.ResultsThe 19-item survey demonstrated adequate reliability (α = 0.72.). Residents' scores (x = 11.4, standard deviation 3.3) were significantly lower than surrogate scores (x = 14.7, standard deviation 2.5) (P < 0.001). Scores for both groups increased significantly after administration of a standardized advance care planning discussion (P < 0.001). Although being a surrogate, age, race, education, cognitive functioning, and health literacy were significantly associated with higher POLST Knowledge Survey scores in univariate analyses, only being a surrogate (P < 0.001) and being white (P = 0.028) remained significantly associated with higher scores in multivariate analyses.ConclusionThe 19-item POLST Knowledge Survey demonstrated adequate reliability and responsiveness to change. Findings suggest the survey could be used to identify knowledge deficits and provide targeted education to ensure adequate understanding of key clinical decisions when completing POLST.     

Epilepsy in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes and relation to glutamic acid decarboxylase 65

Objectives:To report if the association of epilepsy in pediatric patients (below the age of 15 years) with Insulin-dependent Diabetes (IDDM) at King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) is higher than the prevalence of epilepsy in the same age group (who have no IDDM) in our community. Consequently, we would determine if there is a relationship between the presence of epilepsy in diabetic children and the presence of positive antiGAD65 antibodies.Methods:This cohort study included 305 pediatric patients below the age of 15 years with Insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM). They were randomly recruited at the Pediatric Endocrinology Clinic in KFMC. The patients’ caregivers were given a questionnaire between December 2015 till March 2019 to determine the seizure disorder history. There was also a retrospective review of 214 patients’ files for anti-GAD 65 positivity.Results:Our study found a significant relation between the presence of epilepsy in children with IDDM. Therefore, we could confirm the relationship between the existence of epilepsy in children with IDDM and having positive GAD65 antibodies.Conclusion:Our study supports the presence of consistent relation between having IDDM and having epilepsy in children and between the latter and the presence of positive GAD65 antibodies.

Insulin dependent diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) is a common condition in children and adolescents worldwide and so is epilepsy.1,2 Recently, there were increasing reports suggesting a potential association between having IDDM and the occurrence of epilepsy.3 Their association might represent simply a chance to relate their underlying mechanisms. However, the cause-effect relationship is not fully well defined. Literature from other countries have shown the increased prevalence of seizure disorders in this group of patients.4,5 There are scarce studies in the literature investigating IDDM characteristics contributing to having epilepsy, including positive GAD 65 antibodies. In this study that ran in King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) we are aiming to determine if the prevalence of epilepsy among 1DDM children under the age of 15 years (in our center) is higher than controls (same age without IDDM), and to check the positivity of anti-GAD 65 amongst those patients in order to find if there is a relationship between epilepsy in children with diabetes and the presence of positive GAD65 Antibodies.     

eTEP inferior access with tailored retromuscular dissection for small to mid-sized umbilical hernia repair with or without inguinal hernia: early experience

Hernia - The minimally invasive surgical repair of combined inguinal and ventral hernias often requires shifting from one approach or plane to another. The traditional enhanced-view totally...     

Effects of second-hand smoking on lung functions in athlete and non-athlete school-aged children – observational study

BackgroundSecond-hand smoking or environmental tobacco smoke is a critical health risk. Children are the most vulnerable to second-hand smoking because of their small bronchial ducts, less developed immunity, and low-physical activity.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to ascertain the effects of second-hand smoking on lung functions in athlete and non-athlete school-aged children.MethodsThis observational study included forty-six school-aged children, their age was 8–15 years, assigned to three groups; 2 study groups and 1 control group (n=15). The study groups comprised of 16 football players, and of 15 cyclists. Lung functions were evaluated recording forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and peak expiratory flow using digital spirometer.ResultsAll measures were recorded in definite values and the children were also classified into second-hand smoking (SH), or non-exposed to tobacco smoking (NE). The findings presented a significant increase (p<0.05) of the study groups in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 sec and peak expiratory flow solely for the non-exposed children. However, there were non-significant differences between the cyclists and football players or between the passive smoking children and non-exposed children in any of the two study groups (p>0.05).ConclusionThe outcomes of this study suggest beneficial influences of the sports activity on the lung functions, without different influences of the cyclists and football players on the lung functions.