Electronic clinical records in primary care for estimating disease burden and management. An example of COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant health problem in developed countries. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of COPD in a single Spanish healthcare area. We also aimed to assess if there are any differences in prevalence and spirometry use among primary care services by utilizing already registered information. We designed a cross-sectional study to determine the prevalence of COPD and the performance of spirometries in each primary care service. A total of 8,444 patients were diagnosed with COPD, with a prevalence of 2.6% for individuals older than 39 years. The prevalence increased with age and was much higher in men. Significant heterogeneity was found in the prevalence of COPD and spirometry use among primary care services. COPD was underdiagnosed and there was wide variability in spirometry use in our area. Greater efforts are needed to diagnose COPD in order to improve its clinical outcomes and to refine registries so that they can be used as reliable sources of information     

Applications of geospatial analyses in health research among homeless people: A systematic scoping review of available evidence

BackgroundUnequal housing access resulted in more than 150 million homeless people worldwide, with millions more expected to be added every year due to the ongoing climate-related crises. Homeless population has a counterproductive effect on the social, psychological integration efforts by the community and exposure to other severe health-related issues. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have long been applied in urban planning and policy, housing and homelessness, and health-related research.MethodsWe used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method to systematically review 24 articles collected from multiple databases (n = 10) that focused on health-related issues among homeless people and used geospatial analysis techniques in their research.ResultsOur findings indicated a geographic clustering of case study locations– 26 out of the 31 case study sites are from the USA and Canada. Studies used spatial analysis techniques to identify hotspots, clusters and patterns of patient location and population distribution. Studies also reported relationships among the location of homeless shelters and substance use, discarded needles, different infectious and non-infectious disease clusters.ConclusionMost studies were restricted in analyzing and visualizing the patterns and disease clusters; however, geospatial analyses techniques are useful and offer diverse techniques for a more sophisticated understanding of the spatial characteristics of the health issues among homeless people. Better integration of GIS in health research among the homeless would help formulate sensible policies to counter health inequities among this vulnerable population group.     

Optimizing access and configuration of trauma centre care in New South Wales

IntroductionGetting the right patient, to the right place, at the right time is dependent on a multitude of modifiable and non-modifiable factors. One potentially modifiable factor is the number and location of trauma centres (TC). Overabundance of TC dilutes volumes and could be associated with worse outcomes. We describe a methodology that evaluates trauma system reconfiguration without reductions in potential access to care. We used the mature trauma system of New South Wales (NSW) as a model given the perceived overabundance of urban major trauma centres (MTC).MethodsWe first evaluated potential access to TC care via ground and air transport through the use of geographic information systems (GIS) network analysis. Potential access was defined as the proportion of the population living within 60-min transport time from a potential scene of injury to a TC by ground or rotary-wing aircraft. Sensitivity analyses were carried out in order to account for potential pre-hospital interventions and/or transport delays; travel times of 15-, 30-, 45-, 60-, and 90-min were also analyzed. We then evaluated if the current configuration of the system (number of urban MTS in the Sydney basin) could be optimized without reductions in potential access to care using two GIS methodologies: location-allocation and individual removal of MTC.Results86% of the NSW population has potential access to a TC within 60 min ground travel time; potential access improves to 99% with rotary-wing transport. The 1% of the population without potential TC access lives in 48% of the land area (>384,000km2). Utilizing two different methodologies we identified that there was no change in potential access by ground transport after removing 1 or 2 MTC in the Sydney basin at the 30-, 45-, and 60-min transport times. However, 0.02% and 0.5% of the population would not have potential access to MTC care at 15 min after removing one and two MTC respectively.DiscussionRedistribution of the number of MTC in the Sydney basin could be achieved without a significant impact on potential access to care. Our approach can be utilized as an initial tool to evaluate a trauma system where overabundance of coverage is present.     

Prevalence of and factors contributing to anxiety,depression and cognitive disorders among urban elderly in Odisha – A study through the health systems’ Lens

IntroductionGrowing geriatric mental health needs of urban population in India pose several programmatic challenges. This study aimed to assess anxiety, depression and cognitive disorders among urban elderly, and explore availability of social support mechanisms and of a responsive health system to implement the national mental health programme.Methods244 respondents were randomly selected from Berhampur city. We administered a semi-structured interview schedule to assess substance abuse, chronic morbidity, anxiety, depression and cognitive abilities. Further, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 key informants including district officials, psychiatrists, and programme managers. We used R software and ‘thematic framework’ approach, respectively, for quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Ethical standards were complied with.ResultsAbout half of the respondents were economically dependent; 57.3% had moderate to severe anxiety; 46.7% had moderate to severe depression; while about 25% had severe cognitive impairments. We found association of chewing tobacco (1.34(0.28–2.40)) and depression (0.52(0.37–0.68)) with anxiety; negative perception about elderly-friendly society (1.64(0.75–2.53)) and physical inactivity (2.88(1.60–4.16)) with depression; and age (-0.11(-0.20 – -0.02)) and physical inactivity (-3.44(-5.13 – -1.74)) with cognitive disorders. Qualitative analysis revealed lack of awareness, social stigma, poor availability of trained human resources, and poor political commitment as important systemic barriers to early detection and treatment of mental ailments among the elderly.ConclusionEstablishing tobacco cessation centres, sensitizing community about mental health needs of elderly, incentivizing physical activity of elderly, integrating mental health with primary care, multi-skilling providers and developing a cadre of community counsellors need urgent attention of policy makers and programme implementers.     

外科重症病人脑电双频指数指导靶控输注咪达唑仑的镇静效果

目的评价外科重症监护病房(SICU)病人脑电双频指数(BIS)指导靶控输注(TCI)咪达唑仑的镇静效果。方法SICU病人30例,随机分为3组(n=10):A组采用恒速输注咪达唑仑0．06 mg·kg-1·h-1镇静;B组采用咪达唑仑TCI镇静,初始血浆靶浓度为60 ng/ml;C组在BIS指导下咪达唑仑TCI镇静,初始血浆靶浓度为60 ng／ml。每30 min采用Ramsay镇静评分评估镇静深度,若Ramsay镇静评分小于或大于4分,则A组输注速率增加或减少0．02 mg·kg-1·h-1,B组血浆靶浓度增加或减少20 ng／ml。C组若BIS大于或小于70,则血浆靶浓度增加或减少20 ng／ml。B、C组均随机抽取30份2 ml动脉血样,测定咪达唑仑血药浓度,用偏离性和精密度评价TCI系统的性能。结果咪达唑仑TCI系统的偏离性为12．5％,精密度为22．5％。咪达唑仑实测血药浓度与Ramsay镇静评分的相关系数为0．67(P<0．05)。镇静过程中C组Ramsay镇静评分4分所占比例(54％)高于A组(28％)和B组(40％)(P<0．01)。结论咪达唑仑TCI系统的性能可靠,用于SICU病人以BIS为70调控咪达唑仑TCI,可产生良好的镇静效果。     

多巴胺受体与其他血压调节系统的交互作用在高血压研究中的地位

肾脏是人体负责钠排泄的重要器官,多巴胺由于其强大的抑制肾脏钠重吸收作用而在原发性高血压的发生、发展中发挥重要作用。多巴胺受体的5个亚型均直接或间接通过与其他血压调节系统的交互作用,参与肾脏钠通道或血压的调节。现就多巴胺受体在调节机体血压和肾脏利钠、利尿作用中所发挥的重要作用作一综述。     

Discrete time optimal control of linear time-delay systems

A discrete time optimal control for linear time-delay systems is developed to ensure that all closed-loop eigenvalues will lie inside a circular region centred at (β;, 0) with radius α. It is shown that by suitable manipulations the problem can be reduced to a standard discrete time quadratic regulator problem. An illustrative example is included to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method.