The pandemic’s effect on a patient cohort with painful polyneuropathy in 2020: A longitudinal study on pain,mood, and everyday life

In the early phase of the COVID pandemic 2020, we demonstrated how patients with painful polyneuropathy, against our expectations, did not experience a deterioration of their neuropathic pain. We hypothesized that our assessed measures, that is, pain intensity and characteristics, emotional wellbeing, and everyday life, would deteriorate in the further course of the pandemic according to the phases of disaster management. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate patients repeatedly under varying pandemic conditions from March until December 2020. Sixty-three patients were investigated with validated questionnaires (brief pain inventory [BPI], neuropathic pain symptom inventory [NPSI], pain catastrophizing scale [PCS], patient-reported outcomes measurement information system [PROMIS] pain interference/sleep disturbance/fatigue/ depression/anxiety, EuroQol 5 dimensions 5 level version [EQ-5D-5L]) and a pandemic-specific, self-designed questionnaire. The data from the beginning of the pandemic with severe restrictions, during summer with loosened regulations and from December 2020 with reinstalled, severe restrictions were compared with an observational design. Patients reported higher pain severity when restrictions were lower. Sleep, mood, and quality of life did not change in the course of the pandemic in the validated measures. Pain interference significantly decreased during the study independent from restrictions. Patients who reported medical disadvantages had a lower quality of life upon EuroQol 5 dimension (EQ-5D) and were significantly more worried about their health. The perception of pain intensity was dependent on pandemic severity. Sleep, mood, and quality of life did not change significantly in validated measures. Continued medical care seems decisive to prevent worsening of pain and quality of life.     

Relationship between weather parameters and risk of exertional heat injuries during military training

Introduction:The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) collaborated with the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) to study the relationship between weather parameters and the incidents of exertional heat injury (EHI) to mitigate the risk of EHI in a practical manner.Methods:Data from the SAF''s heat injury registry and MSS’ meteorological data from 2012 to 2018 were used to establish a consolidated dataset of EHI incidents and same-day weather parameters rank-ordered in deciles. Poisson regression modelling was used to determine the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of the EHI, referencing the first decile of weather parameters. Two frames of analysis were performed - the first described the relationship between the weather parameters and the adjusted IRR for the same day (D), and the second described the relationship between the weather parameters and the adjusted IRR on the following day (D + 1).Results:For wet-bulb temperature, the IRR on D + 1 approximated unity for the first nine deciles but rose to 3.09 at the tenth decile. For dew-point temperature, the IRR on D + 1 approximated unity for the first nine deciles but rose to 3.48 at the tenth decile. By designating a single dew-point temperature cut-off at ≥25.1°C (transition between the ninth and tenth decile), the adjusted IRR on D + 1 was 2.26 on days with dew-point temperature ≥25.1°C.Conclusion:Integrating the data from the SAF and MSS demonstrated that a dew-point temperature ≥25.1°C on D correlates statistically with the risk of EHI on D + 1 and could be used to supplement the risk mitigation system.     

Treatment Refractory Internalizing Behaviour Across Disorders: An Aetiological Model for Severe Emotion Dysregulation in Adolescence

Child Psychiatry & Human Development - Auto-aggressive behaviour, especially treatment refractory suicidality in adolescents with psychiatric disorders, may be challenging to clinicians. In...     

Cost-effectiveness of pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy and pembrolizumab monotherapy in the first-line treatment of squamous non-small-cell lung cancer in the US

Objective: To describe the cost-effectiveness of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel; P?+?C) in metastatic, squamous, non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in the US.

Methods: A model comparing P?+?C versus C alone is developed utilizing partitioned survival analysis. Primary clinical efficacy, treatment utilization, health utility and safety data are derived from the KEYNOTE-407 trial and projected over 20?years. Costs for drugs and non-drug disease management are also incorporated. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of P?+?C vs. pembrolizumab monotherapy (P) is evaluated via an indirect treatment comparison, for patient subgroups with PD-L1 Tumor Proportion Score (TPS)?≥?50% and 1–49%.

Results: Overall, P?+?C is projected to increase life expectancy by 1.95?years vs. C (3.86 versus 1.91). The resultant ICER is $86,293/QALY. In patients with PD-L1?≥?50%, 1–49% and <1 the corresponding incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) are $99,777/QALY, $85,986/QALY and $87,507/QALY, respectively. Versus P, in the PD-L1?≥?50% subgroup, P?+?C appears cost saving; however, this result should be interpreted with caution as there is considerable uncertainty in the relative efficacy of these comparators.

Conclusions: Across all eligible patients, the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy is projected to approximately double life expectancy, yielding an extension to a point not previously seen in metastatic squamous NSCLC. Overall, and within all relevant PD-L1 subgroups, use of P?+?C yields an ICER below $100,000/QALY, and can be a cost-effective first-line treatment for eligible metastatic squamous NSCLC patients for whom chemotherapy is currently administered. In the PD-L1?≥?50% subgroup, additional follow-up within trials of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy and pembrolizumab monotherapy are needed to better define cost-effectiveness between these comparators.