Noncomplex Patients Research Articles

Impacto de la telemonitorización como sistema para una adecuada titulación y adaptación de la CPAP domiciliaria en la apnea obstructiva del sueño (proyecto T-CPAP)

IntroductionContinuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) constitutes the most effective treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Automatic titration systems (ATS) are predominantly used to achieve adaptation to the equipment. Home CPAP devices allow telemonitoring (TM) of the same parameters as those provided by ATS but with access to continuous usage data. Under this premise, we conducted a study on the potential validity of TM for home CPAP devices as a titration system, its direct impact on proper adaptation (AD) to the equipment, and secondarily on the healthcare resources employed to achieve it. Material and methodsAn observational study involving 318 patients with OSA who were titrated using TM to achieve AD to CPAP. Patients with OSA were consecutively recruited and evaluated at 1, 3, and 6 months after initiating treatment. Results were compared with a historical group of 307 patients with OSA who achieved AD to CPAP using ATS. Additionally, we assessed the impact on required healthcare resources. ResultsPatients with OSA who initiated CPAP treatment with TM over the first six months showed a similar AD rate compared to the historical group titrated using ATS, with lower resource usage in the TM group. ConclusionData provided by TM of home CPAP devices allow for titration and achieving similar AD as with ATS in non-complex patients.

Factors affecting polysomnography compliance and delays to surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

To evaluate adherence to polysomnography in pediatric patients and determine if demographics, socioeconomic status, polysomnography indication, or prior otolaryngology intervention are associated with polysomnography adherence and time to definitive surgery. Retrospective review study. Tertiary-care children's hospital. Electronic medical record was queried to identify patients ordered for a sleep study between January and May 2019. Demographic information, time to sleep study, and time to surgery were collected and calculated. 304 patients were recommended to obtain polysomnography, with adherence rate of 65.4%. There was no significant difference in adherence or loss to follow-up rates based on patient sex, age, language, socioeconomic status, state of residence, single-parent status, or polysomnography indication. There was no difference between time to surgery for patients who did or did not obtain polysomnography (181 vs. 161 days, P=.51). Patients with prior otolaryngology intervention were more likely to obtain polysomnography and less likely to be lost to follow-up (P<.05). Median household income demonstrated a significant inverse relationship with time to polysomnography (P<.05) as well as time to surgery (P<.05). Medically complex patients tended to experience longer time to surgery compared with non-complex patients. Families with lower socioeconomic status or medically complex children may require assistance to obtain polysomnography and pursue surgery for sleep-disordered breathing. Patients without prior otolaryngology intervention may be less likely to follow up and may need assistance with navigating the polysomnography process.

Evaluation of a nurse-led glaucoma assessment clinic for non-complex patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess the safety, feasibility and effectiveness of a nurse-led glaucoma assessment clinic service. Glaucoma is a group of serious, irreversible optic neuropathies that progressively damage the optic nerve resulting in blindness. Over 64.3 million people globally are affected by glaucoma with numbers projected to increase to 111.8 million by 2040. Glaucoma is a major public health concern that requires the development of innovative models of care to meet current and future health care demands. A mixed method design was used to evaluate the assessment of non-complex glaucoma patients attending a new nurse-led clinic. Under an ophthalmologist's supervision, the glaucoma nurse completed 100 hof clinical training and assessment to ensure they were competent in completing and interpreting the required glaucoma assessment protocols. Interrater reliability between the glaucoma nurse and ophthalmology doctor was undertaken. Glaucoma patient waitlist appointment data were also compared before and after the introduction of the nurse-led clinics. This study adhered to the SQUIRE checklist for the reporting of excellence with quality improvement projects. Patients contributed to the evaluation of this new nurse-led service by providing follow-up feedback on their experience. Agreement between clinicians for appropriate follow-up appointment times was high with 93% (n= 315) agreement achieved. Furthermore in 297 (87.5%) cases, both clinicians agreed on the patient being referred to the doctor for follow-up review. Glaucoma consultations were shown to increase from 3,115 appointments in 2019/20 to 3,504 appointments in 2020/21 after the introduction of the nurse-led clinic. The nurse-led clinics accounted for 14.5% (n= 512) of clinic appointments. The introduction of the nurse-led glaucoma assessment clinic service allowed patients to be reviewed safely, efficiently and satisfactorily. This new service subsequently allowed for more complex glaucoma patients to be seen bythe ophthalmologists. Findings revealed that suitably trained glaucoma nurses are able to clinically assess and safely monitor stable non-complex glaucoma patients. Highlights the need for appropriate investment in clinical training and supervision to ensure that glaucoma assessment nurses are adequately prepared to undertake this new practice role.

Accuracy and Comprehensiveness in Recording Information of a Web-Based Application for Preoperative Assessment: A Prospective Observational Study

PurposePreanestes@s is a web-based application that includes a smart computer-based self-assessment preoperative questionnaire (PreQuest). Preanestes@s enables remote non-telephonic preoperative assessment via a virtual visit. We aimed to determine if the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status classification assigned by PreQuest and virtual visit is comparable with that assigned by face-to-face assessment, and to determine the accuracy of Preanestes@s in recording complementary preoperative information. DesignProspective, observational, paired study. MethodsThis study was conducted in a tertiary teaching hospital. A total of 510 adult patients scheduled for surgery were consecutively recruited. Of these, 220 patients were included in the analysis of ASA grade agreement. FindingsPreQuest and virtual visit showed higher predictive value than face-to-face assessment in detecting patients with ASA grades 1 to 2. Face-to-face assessment showed the highest rate of false negatives (ASA 3-4 misclassified as ASA 1-2), with a sensitivity of 44.2% versus 69.8% and 50% for PreQuest and virtual visit, respectively. Virtual visit showed the highest agreement with the ASA grade assigned by a panel of experts (kappa index 0.52, 95% confidence interval 0.15-0.89). PreQuest and virtual visit offered a more comprehensive registry of anthropometric data, more detailed record of chronic diseases condition, and more accurate registry of patients’ treatments (virtual visit > PreQuest > face-to-face assessment). ConclusionsThe combined use of PreQuest and virtual visit offers a better performance in assigning the ASA grade for non-complex patients and a more accurate and detailed record of complementary information. This finding suggests the feasibility of Preanestes@ as a tool for preoperative assessment.

Postoperative general medical ward admission following Chiari malformation decompression.

Prior to 2019, the majority of patients at Children's Hospital Colorado were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) following Chiari malformation (CM) decompression surgery. This study sought to identify the safety and efficacy of postoperative general ward management for these patients. After a retrospective baseline assessment of 150 patients, a quality improvement (QI) initiative was implemented, admitting medically noncomplex patients to the general ward postoperatively following CM decompression. Twenty-one medically noncomplex patients were treated during the QI intervention period. All patients were assessed for length of stay, narcotic use, time to ambulation, and postoperative complications. PICU admission rates postoperatively decreased from 92.6% to 9.5% after implementation of the QI initiative. The average hospital length of stay decreased from 3.4 to 2.6 days, total doses of narcotic administration decreased from 12.3 to 8.7, and time to ambulation decreased from 1.8 to 0.9 days. There were no major postoperative complications identified that were unsuitable for management on a conventional pediatric medical/surgical nursing unit. Medically noncomplex patients were safely admitted to the general ward postoperatively at Children's Hospital Colorado after decompression of CM. This approach afforded decreased length of stay, decreased narcotic use, and decreased time to ambulation, with no major postoperative complications.

Identifying complex patients using Adjusted Clinical Groups risk stratification tool.

To produce an efficient and practically implementable method, based on primary care data exclusively, to identify patients with complex care needs who have problems in several health domains and are experiencing a mismatch of care. The Johns Hopkins ACG System was explored as a tool for identification, using its Aggregated Diagnosis Group (ADG) categories. Retrospective cross-sectional study using general practitioners' electronic health records combined with hospital data. A prediction model for patients with complex care needs was developed using a primary care population of 105,345 individuals. Dependent variables in the model included age, sex, and the 32 ADGs. The prediction model was externally validated on 30,793 primary care patients. Discrimination and calibrations were assessed by computing C statistics and by visual inspection of the calibration plot, respectively. Our model was able to discriminate very well between complex and noncomplex patients (C statistic = 0.9; 95% CI, 0.88-0.92), whereas the calibration plot suggests that the model provides overestimates of complex patients. With this study, the ACG System has proven to be a useful tool in the identification of patients with complex care needs in primary care, opening up possibilities for tailored interventions of care management for this complex group of patients. Utilizing ADGs, the prediction model that we developed had a very good discriminatory ability to identify those complex patients. However, the calibrating ability of the model still needs improvement.

Claims-Based Network Analysis of Disease Progressions in Complex and Non-Complex Older Adults

Older adults are the fastest growing subset of complex patients with high medical, behavioral, and social needs. Understanding differences in disease progression patterns between complex and non-complex older adults is critical for understanding disease risk and tailoring patient-centered interventions. We identified complex patients as those having frequent medical encounters and multiple chronic conditions within the first year of the study period and non-complex patients as the converse. This study compares the disease progression patterns of (a) complex and (b) non-complex older adults by creating disease progression networks (DPN) from claims data of 762,362 patients (mean age = 73) from 2016 to 2020. We characterized the network size and density between the complex patient DPN (C-DPN) and non-complex patient DPN (NC-DPN), and compared disease progression incidence, time-to-progression, and age- and gender-related risk. Results show that the C-DPN was denser and had a wider range of values for risk of progression compared to the NC-DPN. This implies more varied disease progression patterns occurring in the complex adults. We were also able to compare (median) time-to-progressions of diseases relative to each subpopulation and found variation in disease progression time. Furthermore, k-means clustering on the network allowed us to identify highly connected diseases involved in many disease pathways that are prevalent among older adults. (e.g., lipoprotein disorders, hypertension, major depressive disorder). Our results suggest that DPNs can be used to identify important conditions and time-points for tailoring care to the complex and non-complex older adults.

Clinical outcomes according to lesion complexity in high bleeding risk patients treated with 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy following PCI: Analysis from the Onyx ONE clear study.

To compare clinical outcomes in high bleeding risk (HBR) patients with and without complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) treated with Resolute Onyx zotarolimus-eluting stents (ZES) after 1-month dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). PCI with 1-month DAPT has been demonstrated to be safe in HBR patients treated with Resolute Onyx ZES. Whether these outcomes are consistent in patients with complex lesions is uncertain. Among HBR patients who were event-free 1month after PCI with ZES and treated thereafter with single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT), the clinical outcomes between 1 month and 1 year were compared after complex PCI (3 vessels treated, ≥ 3 lesions treated, total stent length > 60 mm, bifurcation with ≥ 2 stents implanted, atherectomy, or left main, surgical bypass graft or chronic total occlusion PCI) versus noncomplex PCI. Propensity score adjustment was performed to adjust for baseline differences among complex and noncomplex patients. Complex patients (N=401, 26.6% of total) had a higher prevalence of hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus and previous myocardial infarction (MI). Between 1 month and 1 year, rates of MI (7.1% vs. 4.0%, p=0.02) and cardiac death/MI (9.3% vs. 6.1%, p=0.04) were higher among complex versus noncomplex patients, although stent thrombosis rates were similar. After adjustment for baseline characteristics, differences in outcomes were no longer significant between groups. Higher rates of ischemic outcomes in complex PCI patients were largely explained by baseline clinical differences, rather than lesion complexity, among HBR patients treated with 1-month DAPT following PCI with Resolute Onyx ZES.

Two decades of aortic coarctation treatment in children; evaluating techniques.

ObjectiveThis study focuses on the evolution of treatment techniques for aortic coarctation in children and assesses long-term morbidity.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study evaluates patients treated for native aortic coarctation, with at least 7 years of follow-up. To assess time-related changes, three time periods were distinguished according to year of primary intervention (era 1, 2 and 3). Operative and long-term follow-up data were collected by patient record reviews.ResultsThe study population consisted of 206 patients (177 surgical and 29 catheter-based interventions), with a median follow-up of 151 months. Anterior approach with simultaneous repair of aortic arch and associated cardiac lesions was more common in the most recent era. Median age at intervention did not change over time. Reintervention was necessary in one third of the cohort with an event-free survival of 74% at 5‑year and 68% at 10-year follow-up. Reintervention rates were significantly higher after catheter-based interventions compared with surgical interventions (hazard ratio [HR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–3.00, p = 0.04) and in patients treated before 3 months of age (HR 2.1, 95% CI 1.27–3.55, p = 0.003). Hypertension was present in one out of five patients.ConclusionNowadays, complex patients with associated cardiac defects and arch hypoplasia are being treated surgically on bypass, whereas catheter-based intervention is introduced for non-complex patients. Reintervention is common and more frequent after catheter-based intervention and in surgery under 3 months of age. One fifth of the 206 patients remained hypertensive.

Outcomes of Robotic Hysterectomy for Treatment of Benign Conditions: Influence of Patient Complexity.

Robotic hysterectomy may offer advantages for complex cases over the conventional laparoscopic approach. To assess the association of surgical approach (robotic vs conventional) with blood loss, risks of readmission, reoperation, complications, and average operative time. In a retrospective cohort study, we used the electronic medical records of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, 2011 to 2015, to estimate outcomes of robotic and conventional laparoscopic hysterectomy among women with complex or noncomplex benign disease. Mixed-effects regression models accounted for patient characteristics and surgeon volume. The study included 560 robotic and 6785 conventional laparoscopic cases. Overall, 1836 patients (25%) met criteria for being complex. The average operative time was 152 minutes for robotic hysterectomy and 157 minutes for conventional laparoscopic hysterectomy (p < 0.0001). Complex surgical cases averaged 190 minutes and noncomplex cases averaged 144 minutes. The difference in operative time for high-volume surgeons treating complex patients with robotic hysterectomy vs conventional hysterectomy was 21 minutes faster (p < 0.05). After adjustment, the risk of blood loss at least 51 mL was lower for robotic surgery than for conventional surgery for complex and noncomplex patients. Other than risk of urinary tract complications, we observed no differences in the risks of complications or risk of reoperation between robotic and conventional laparoscopy for complex and noncomplex patients. For women with complex disease, the robotic approach, when used by a higher-volume surgeon, may be associated with shorter operative time and slightly less blood loss, but not with lower risk of complications.

Medium-Term Bioresorbable Scaffold Outcomes Utilising Data From an Australian Clinical Quality Registry

Bioresorbable scaffolds (BRS) are a novel technology in coronary intervention. However, recent trials demonstrate higher rates of device failure compared to contemporary drug-eluting stents. This study sought to utilise a clinical quality registry to assess the medium-term safety of the Abbott Absorb BRS (Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA), in an Australian context. A prospective, observational study of 192 BRS percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) compared to 31,773 non-BRS PCIs entered in the Victorian Cardiac Outcomes Registry from 2013 to 2017. The main outcome measure was patient-oriented composite endpoint (POCE) events comprising all-cause mortality, any myocardial infarction (MI), and any revascularisation. Bioresorbable scaffolds patients (mean age 61.6±10.5 years, 79% male) were younger, had less comorbidity, less prior PCI, fewer ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) presentations, lower rates of multi-lesion disease and more adjuvant devices compared to non-BRS PCI (all p<0.01). All-cause mortality was 2.1%, myocardial infarction (MI) 2.1%, scaffold thrombosis 3.1% and any revascularisation 14.1% (mean follow-up 27.4±8.9 months). POCE events occurred in 11.5% at 1 year and 16.9% at 2 years, comparable to pooled-trial data. Multivariate predictors of POCE were >1 scaffold used (odds ratio [OR] 4.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.9-11.4, p<0.01) and scaffold diameter ≤2.5 mm (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-7.6, p=0.02). Over 95% guideline adherence was achieved in six of eight patient selection criteria and four of six device deployment criteria. In an Australian setting, BRS were used in non-complex patients. Most guidelines for use were adhered to and outcomes were comparable to pooled trial data. Clinical quality registries are effective in assessing novel treatments and technologies when potential safety concerns develop.

Demographics, Complications and Resource Utilization for Patients Hospitalized for Measles Across Us Children's Hospitals.

Our objective was to retrospectively describe measles hospitalizations in 52 US children's hospitals. We identified 136 patients hospitalized for measles in 2004-2018; 17% (23/136) had complex chronic conditions, 2 of whom died or were in hospice. Among noncomplex patients only 39% received vitamin A, median length of stay was 3 days and median adjusted estimated costs were $5896.

Medication Reconciliation Across Care Transitions in the Pediatric Medical Home

To characterize medication discrepancies for patients with chronic illnesses seen at outside facilities. This was a retrospective evaluation of a medication reconciliation across care transitions (MRAT) program developed and piloted for one year in an academic pediatric primary care medical home. The MRAT involved chart review and contacting caregivers upon receiving external specialist notes or hospital discharge summaries. Data obtained from the program were used to determine the frequency and types of medication discrepancies for children with complex and noncomplex chronic conditions. MRATs for 124 encounters were evaluated, 74.0% in response to specialist appointments. Chart review revealed a mean of 3.64 discrepancies per patient, and telephone calls revealed 1.39 additional discrepancies per patient. The number of medication discrepancies from both chart review and telephone calls between complex and noncomplex patients was statistically significant, with a mean of 5.63 vs. 3.77 per patient (p = 0.005). Therapy delays occurred in 16.1% of patients due to insurance rejections, family not starting a new medicine, or confusion about the medication change. Mean time required for reconciliation was 24 minutes. In addition to medication reconciliation, 107 interventions completed during MRATs included patient education, adjusting drug therapy, coordinating care between providers, recommending laboratory monitoring, and facilitating patient appointments. Children with chronic illness often experience medication changes and delays in therapy when seen in the hospital or by specialists. Timely identification of these changes improves communication and offers the opportunity to identify and prevent problems with medication therapy.

Case conferences for infective endocarditis: A quality improvement initiative.

BackgroundA multidisciplinary approach has been recommended for the management of patients with infective endocarditis. We evaluated the impact of multidisciplinary case conferences on morbidity, mortality, and quality of care for these patients.MethodsWe conducted a quasi-experimental study of consecutive patients admitted for infective endocarditis before (2013/10/1–2015/10/12, n = 97) and after (2015/10/13–2017/11/30, n = 80) implementation of case conferences to discuss medical and surgical management. These occurred as face-to-face discussions or electronically (for non-complex patients), and included physicians from cardiac surgery, cardiology, critical care, infectious diseases and neurology. We assessed process-of-care and clinical outcomes, with the primary outcome being complications up to 90 days after hospital discharge.ResultsA case conference was held for 80/80 (100%) of patients in the post-intervention group. After the intervention, more patients received inpatient cardiology assessment (81.3% [post-intervention] vs. 63.9% [pre-intervention], p = 0.01), and more patients with definite infective endocarditis underwent cardiac surgery treatment (44.6% vs. 21.7%, p = 0.007). All pre-intervention and post-intervention patients received guideline-concordant antimicrobial therapy. There was no difference in rates of complications (40.0% vs. 51.5%, p = 0.13) or mortality up to 90 days after hospital discharge (26.3% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.20). In multivariable analyses, the intervention was not associated with differences in mortality (odds ratio 1.87, 95% confidence interval 0.88–3.99) or a composite measure of complications and mortality (odds ratio 0.86, 95% confidence interval 0.46–1.58).ConclusionWe successfully implemented a standardized multidisciplinary case conference protocol for patients with infective endocarditis. This intervention had no detectable effect on complications or mortality.

Instituting a Standardized Mobility Aid in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.

The complexity of ambulation increases when patients are challenged with acute illness in the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU). The difficulties in this setting entailed limited ancillary assistance, proper equipment, and complex medical devices. It was imperative that mobility was made a priority in the CVICU despite multiple barriers. To improve mobility functionality, mobility aids were obtained. To evaluate the effectiveness of the mobility aids, data were collected, including staff surveys, time studies, and chart audits. The outcomes from implementing the mobility aids revealed a reduction in the number of staff required to ambulate medically complex patients from an average of 2.3 to 1.9 staff members and in medically noncomplex patients remained unchanged from 1.4 to 1.6 staff members. Preparation time for ambulation was reduced from 12.8 to 8.3 minutes on average for medically noncomplex patients and from 14 to 9.7 minutes for the medically complex patients. Ambulation sessions for medically noncomplex patients increased on average from 1.5 to 2.8 sessions per day and for medically complex patients decreased from 1.2 to 0.5 sessions per day. Overall, clinically significant improvements were noted with both preparation time for ambulation and the number of mobility sessions that support the use of a standardized mobility aid.

Comorbid Diagnosis of Psychotic Disorders in Borderline Personality Disorder: Prevalence and Influence on Outcome.

A diagnosis of psychotic disorder is traditionally considered incompatible with borderline personality disorder (BPD), even though patients sometimes fulfill the diagnostic criteria for both disorders. How often this happens is barely known, as is the influence of comorbid psychotic disorders on the outcome of BPD. Since studies on isolated auditory verbal hallucinations in patients with BPD indicate that these perceptual symptoms have severe consequences and are associated with suicidal behavior and hospitalization, patients with comorbid psychotic disorders are unlikely to fare better. To examine the point prevalence of psychotic disorders in patients with BPD, their association with the outcome of BPD, and their predictive value for outcome. In a cross-sectional design, 84 female outpatients diagnosed with BPD were interviewed with the aid of the MINI-International Neuropsychiatric Interview to establish the point prevalence of comorbid psychotic and other comorbid disorders. After termination of their treatment at a specialized outpatient clinic, the type of referral was considered to be a "good" outcome when they were referred to their general practitioner or to basic psychiatric care for noncomplex patients, and a "poor" outcome when referred to a specialized psychiatric department or to a psychiatric district team for patients with severe psychiatric disorders. Psychotic disorders were present in 38% of the patients with BPD. With a prevalence of 20%, psychotic disorder not otherwise specified (NOS) was the most common subtype; the least common types were schizophrenia (2%), substance-induced psychotic disorder (2%), and brief psychotic disorder (1%). Among six types of comorbid disorders, only psychotic disorders were associated with a poor outcome; they were also predictors for a poor outcome, along with comorbid mood disorders, eating disorders, and somatoform disorders, as well as the severity of BPD, and, counterintuitively, more years of education. Psychotic disorders, notably of the psychotic disorder NOS subtype, are common among patients with BPD, and their presence is associated with a poor outcome. This implies that adequate diagnosis and treatment of both disorders is warranted in this subgroup with a dual diagnosis.

Effectiveness of Psychosocial Interventions in Complex Palliative Care Patients: A Quasi-Experimental, Prospective, Multicenter Study.

To determine whether specific psychosocial interventions can ease discomfort in palliative care (PC) patients, particularly in those with high levels of pain or emotional distress. Changes in the psychological parameters of 8333 patients were assessed in a quasi-experimental, prospective, multicenter, single group pretest/post-test study. Psychosocial care was delivered by 29 psychosocial care teams (PSTs; 137 professionals). Pre- and post-intervention changes in these variables were assessed: mood, anxiety, and emotional distress. Patients were classified as complex, when presented with high levels of anxiety, mood, suffering (or perception of time as slow), and distress (or unease, or discomfort), or noncomplex. These groups were compared to assess changes in suffering-related parameters from baseline. Psychosocial interventions reduced patients' suffering. These interventions were more effective in complex patients. After successive psychosocial interventions, the level of suffering in complex patients decreased until close to parity with noncomplex patients, suggesting that patients with major complexity could benefit most from specific psychosocial treatment. These findings support the importance of assessing and treating patients' psychosocial needs.

Moving anticoagulation initiation and monitoring services into the community: evaluation of the Brighton and hove community pharmacy service

BackgroundAs part of the NHS desire to move services closer to where people live, and provide greater accessibility and convenience to patients, Brighton and Hove Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) underwent a review of their anticoagulation services during 2008. The outcome was to shift the initiation and monitoring service in secondary care for non-complex patients, including domiciliary patients, into the community. This was achieved via a procurement process in 2008 resulting in the Community Pharmacy Anticoagulation Management Service (CPAMs) managed by Boots UK (a large chain of community pharmacies across the United Kingdom).MethodsThis evaluation aims to review the outcomes (International Normalised Ratio [INR] readings) and experiences of those patients attending the anticoagulation monitoring service provided by community pharmacists in Brighton and Hove. All patients on warfarin are given a target INR range they need to achieve; dosing of and frequency of appointment are dependent on the INR result. Outcome measures for patients on the CPAM service included percentage INR readings that were within target range and the percentage time the patient was within therapeutic range. Data collected from 2009 to 2016 were analysed and results compared to the service targets. Patient experience of the service was evaluated via a locally developed questionnaire that was issued to patients annually in the pharmacy.ResultsThe evaluation shows that community pharmacy managed anticoagulation services can achieve outcomes at a level consistently exceeding national and local targets for both percentage INR readings in therapeutic target range (65.4%) compared to the recommended minimum therapeutic target range of 60.0% and percentage time in therapeutic range (72.5%, CI 71.9–73.1%) compared to the national target of 70.0%. Patients also indicated they were satisfied with the service, with over 98.6% patients rating the service as good, very good or excellent.ConclusionThe Brighton and Hove CPAM service achieved above average national target management of INR and positive patient feedback, demonstrating that community pharmacy is ideally placed to provide this service safely and deliver enhanced clinical outcomes and positive patient experience.

Réadaptation vasculaire de l’artériopathie oblitérante des membres inférieurs en 2018

The vascular rehabilitation is an effective treatment for patients with an intermittent claudication linked to lower-extremity artery disease. This treatment increases the claudication distance of 180% with the Gardner's protocol (30 to 60 minutes of walking at least 3 times a week, walking until appearance of a mild pain) and allows also to control the vascular risk factors. This treatment is not enough prescribed for many reasons and often requires a hospitalization in a rehabilitation centre. Walking rehabilitation remains the base of the treatment of lower-extremity artery disease. Many walking protocols can be proposed. For a similar efficiency, patients are not obliged to walk until appearance of a pain but only until appearance of a discomfort. Exercises other than walking have been tested and can be used. Heart Rehabilitation Centres will propose more often vascular rehabilitation including hospitalisations for complex patients or out-management for non-complex patients. With a lower cost, the walking rehabilitation could be also realised at home by the patient himself with a certain degree of supervision with good results. Supervision means the use of a podometer, weekly advices given by phone by a Vascular Physician or a Physiotherapist, one walking session once a week in a rehabilitation centre. Connected devices could be also helpful allowing increasing of the patients' motivation. Simultaneously, it is necessary that the patients observe the recommendations of the World Health Organisation by performing weekly 150 minutes of mild-intensity endurance's activity in order to minimise their long-term vascular risk. Finally, the respective place of the revascularisations and walking rehabilitation remains to be clarify in case of intermittent claudication due to a superficial femoral artery lesion.

Associations Between Complex PCI and Prasugrel or Clopidogrel Use in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome Who Undergo PCI: From the PROMETHEUS Study

BackgroundPotent P2Y12 inhibitors might offer enhanced benefit against thrombotic events in complex percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We examined prasugrel use and outcomes according to PCI complexity, as well as analyzing treatment effects according to thienopyridine type. MethodsPROMETHEUS was a multicentre observational study that compared clopidogrel vs prasugrel in acute coronary syndrome patients who underwent PCI (n = 19,914). Complex PCI was defined as PCI of the left main, bifurcation lesion, moderate-severely calcified lesion, or total stent length ≥ 30 mm. Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, or unplanned revascularization. Outcomes were adjusted using multivariable Cox regression for effect of PCI complexity and propensity-stratified analysis for effect of thienopyridine type. ResultsThe study cohort included 48.9% (n = 9735) complex and 51.1% (n = 10,179) noncomplex patients. Second generation drug-eluting stents were used in 70.1% complex and 66.2% noncomplex PCI patients (P < 0.0001). Complex PCI was associated with greater adjusted risk of 1-year MACE (hazard ratio [HR], 1.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20-1.39; P < 0.001). Prasugrel was prescribed in 20.7% of complex and 20.1% of noncomplex PCI patients (P = 0.30). Compared with clopidogrel, prasugrel significantly decreased adjusted risk for 1-year MACE in complex PCI (HR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.68-0.92) but not noncomplex PCI (HR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.77-1.08), albeit there was no evidence of interaction (P interaction = 0.281). ConclusionsDespite the use of contemporary techniques, acute coronary syndrome patients who undergo complex PCI had significantly higher rates of 1-year MACE. Adjusted magnitude of treatment effects with prasugrel vs clopidogrel were consistent in complex and noncomplex PCI without evidence of interaction.