Primary Care Hospital Research Articles

Knowledge Tensor-Aided Breast Ultrasound Image Assistant Inference Framework.

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in women nowadays, and medical intervention at an early stage of cancer can significantly improve the prognosis of patients. Breast ultrasound (BUS) is a widely used tool for the early screening of breast cancer in primary care hospitals but it relies heavily on the ability and experience of physicians. Accordingly, we propose a knowledge tensor-based Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS)-score-assisted generalized inference model, which uses the BI-RADS score of senior physicians as the gold standard to construct a knowledge tensor model to infer the benignity and malignancy of breast tumors and axes the diagnostic results against those of junior physicians to provide an aid for breast ultrasound diagnosis. The experimental results showed that the diagnostic AUC of the knowledge tensor constructed using the BI-RADS characteristics labeled by senior radiologists achieved 0.983 (95% confidential interval (CI) = 0.975-0.992) for benign and malignant breast cancer, while the diagnostic performance of the knowledge tensor constructed using the BI-RADS characteristics labeled by junior radiologists was only 0.849 (95% CI = 0.823-0.876). With the knowledge tensor fusion, the AUC is improved to 0.887 (95% CI = 0.864-0.909). Therefore, our proposed knowledge tensor can effectively help reduce the misclassification of BI-RADS characteristics by senior radiologists and, thus, improve the diagnostic performance of breast-ultrasound-assisted diagnosis.

Relationships of illness perception, symptoms response and social support with acute myocardial infarction patients’ prehospital delay in rural China: protocol for a cross-sectional study

IntroductionThe timely treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients is of utmost importance, and yet, there remains a significant disparity between urban and rural areas in China due to the...

Economic Burden Associated with the Treatment with a Cardiovascular Polypill in Secondary Prevention in Spain: Cost-Effectiveness Results of the NEPTUNO Study.

The aim of this study was to estimate health-care resources utilization, costs and cost-effectiveness associated with the treatment with CNIC-Polypill as secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) compared to other treatments, in clinical practice in Spain. An observational, retrospective study was performed using medical records (economic results [healthcare perspective], NEPTUNO-study; BIG-PAC-database) of patients who initiated secondary prevention between 2015 and 2018. Patients were followed up to 2 years (maximum). Four cohorts were balanced with a propensity-score-matching (PSM): 1) CNIC-Polypill (aspirin+atorvastatin+ramipril), 2) Monocomponents (same separate drugs), 3) Equipotent (equipotent drugs) and 4) Other therapies ([OT], other cardiovascular drugs). Incidence of cardiovascular events, health-care resources utilization and healthcare and non-healthcare costs (2020 Euros) were compared. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios per cardiovascular event avoided were estimated. After PSM, 1614 patients were recruited in each study cohort. The accumulated incidence of cardiovascular events during the 24-month follow-up was lower in the CNIC-Polypill cohort vs the other cohorts (19.8% vs Monocomponents: 23.3%, Equipotent: 25.5% and OT: 26.8%; p<0.01). During the follow-up period, the CNIC-Polypill cohort also reduced the health-care resources utilization per patient compared to the other cohorts, particularly primary care visits (16.6 vs Monocomponents: 18.7, Equipotent: 18.9 and OT: 21.0; p<0.001) and hospitalization days (2.3 vs Monocomponents: 3.4, Equipotent: 3.7 and OT: 4.0; p<0.001). The treatment cost in the CNIC-Polypill cohort was lower than that in the other cohorts (€4668 vs Monocomponents: €5587; Equipotent: €5682 and OT: €6016; p<0.001) (Difference: -€919, -€1014 and -€1348, respectively). Due to the reduction of cardiovascular events and costs, the CNIC-Polypill is a dominant alternative compared to the other treatments. CNIC-Polypill reduces recurrent major cardiovascular events and costs, being a cost-saving strategy as secondary prevention of ASCVD.

Stress levels among healthcare workers and adult population during the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic in a metropolitan city

Introduction: The impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on public health has been widespread with clinically diverse manifestations ranging from asymptomatic presentation to critical illness. COVID-19 might influence different aspects of the stress process on the general population and healthcare workers (HCWs).&#x0D; Objectives: To examine the relationship of demographic variables with depression, anxiety, and stress and to compare stress levels in HCWs and the general population.&#x0D; Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted. A sample of 1,063 participants was collected based on two groups. The first group comprised of HCWs who were directly looking after COVID-19 confirmed or suspected patients and working in any primary, secondary, or tertiary care hospitals. The second group comprised of participants working in public-dealing departments or businesses. Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) was administered to assess depression, anxiety, and stress.&#x0D; Result: Young people, females, and people having less work experience and without civil defense or disaster management training were more depressed, anxious, and stressed. Participants who had no access to scientific journals were more stressed. Average time spent on social media on COVID-19-related information, history of psychological illnesses, and use of sedatives after the COVID-19 pandemic positively predicted anxiety, depression, and stress. There was no significant difference in the scores of depression, anxiety, and stress for HCWs and the general population. &#x0D; Conclusion: The anxiety levels were comparable among HCWs and adults, with vulnerable groups being female gender, young adults, and those who had a previous history of depression or substance abuse. Special consideration must be given to mental health, and protocols must be designed to provide psychological and emotional support to susceptible individuals.

1218-P: All-Cause Mortality in Individuals Aged 65+ Years with Type 2 Diabetes With and Without Frailty—Clinical Utility of Electronic Frailty Index to Individualise HbA1c Targets

Frailty and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is fast becoming a clinical challenge especially in the elderly population. Despite clear guidance on the need to evaluate individualised HbA1c targets in connection with frailty status with mortality risk, there is a lack of formal evidence on these associations. To guide healthcare professionals in setting appropriate HbA1c targets, this study aimed to investigate the association between mortality in connection with electronic frailty index (eFI) and HbA1c, as well as exploring the clinical utility of eFI as a tool to individualise HbA1c targets in frail patients with T2D. Methods: We included patients with T2D aged 65+ within UK primary care electronic database (the Clinical Practice Research Datalink) and Hospital Episode Statistics from 2014-19. All-cause mortality (ACM) risk associated with 4 frailty groups (non-frail; mild; moderate and severe) (defined by electronic frailty index scores, eFI) and seven HbA1c groups at 1.0% intervals were assessed using multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusted for demographic and clinical characteristics. The reference group was defined as “non-frail” individuals with HbA1c 6.5-7.5%. Results: 179,723 individuals (mean±SD; age 74.8±7.6years, diabetes duration 7.3±6.1years, HbA1c 55.7±15.8mmol/mol) were followed for mean 1.7 years. Within all frailty groups, the risk of ACM was greatest at HbA1c&amp;lt;5.5%, with highest risk observed in moderate (HR 3.34; 95%CI 2.80, 3.99) and severe frailty (HR 3.27; 95%CI 2.73, 3.91) groups. In all groups, ACM risk increased with higher HbA1c levels compared to HbA1c 6.5-7.5% (a “U-shaped” curve). Conclusion: Both high and low HbA1c levels increase the risk of ACM for people 65+ with T2D and frailty in a “U-shaped” association between HbA1c and ACM. This study supports eFI as a useful tool to facilitate HbA1c target setting in older patients with T2D and to manage ACM risk. Disclosure T.S.J.Crabtree: Speaker's Bureau; Abbott Diabetes, Novo Nordisk, Lilly, Sanofi, Insulet Corporation. Y.Vinogradova: None. R.Aldafas: None. J.Gordon: Employee; Health Economics and Outcomes Research Ltd. I.R.Idris: None.

#3372 HOST RESPONSE CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH PERSISTENT ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS WITH COVID-19

Abstract Background and Aims In sepsis, the dysregulated host response has been, at least in part, linked to development of acute kidney injury (AKI) and its duration. Data on the host response to COVID-19 and development of persistent-AKI (duration &amp;gt; 48 h) in critically ill patients are scarce. We hypothesized that COVID-19 infected patients who develop persistent-AKI have different host response aberrations. To address this hypothesis, we sequentially measured host immune response biomarkers in critically ill patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). Method We included patients admitted to the ICU from two tertiary hospitals and one primary care hospital between March and July 2020 (first wave). All patients had PCR-confirmed COVID-19. Excluded were readmitted patients, transfers from another ICU, and patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD stage 3 or higher). The presence of AKI was assessed by using hourly urine output and daily serum creatinine levels, and classified into 3 stages according to Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria. In a subset of patients admitted to the two tertiary hospitals (n=113), 41 plasma protein biomarkers were sequentially measured using a Luminex platform or ELISA, and categorized into five pathophysiological domains: systemic inflammation, endothelial cell activation and dysfunction, coagulation activation, kidney dysfunction, and lung dysfunction. Mixed effects models were used to analyse longitudinal data. Results Of 185 ICU admissions enrolled, 8 were excluded because of existing CKD. Of the remaining 177 patients, 106 patients (59.9%) had AKI within the first 48 h of admission; of these, 76 patients (71.7%) had persistent AKI and 30 patients (28.3%) transient AKI. Patients with persistent AKI more often were obese and had a history of hypertension. A higher disease severity – as determined by the sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score - was observed in the persistent AKI group, which was driven by the renal component as the non-renal SOFA score was similar between no-AKI, transient-, and persistent AKI. Sequential protein biomarker analyses revealed that five biomarkers were significantly elevated in persistent-AKI compared to transient-AKI in the first four days, mainly related to inflammation (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 [TREM-1], p=.003; tumour necrosis factor receptor 1 [TNF-RI], p &amp;lt; 0.001); lung dysfunction (clara cell secretory protein [CC16], p &amp;lt; 0.001), and kidney dysfunction (Cystatin C [p &amp;lt; 0.001]; neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin [NGAL], p &amp;lt; 0.001). Plasma protein biomarkers reflective of endothelial cell- and coagulation activation were not different in patients with persistent-AKI as compared to patients with transient-AKI. No differences in plasma biomarkers were observed between transient AKI and no-AKI. Conclusion Transient AKI and no-AKI revealed little to no differences, while the persistent AKI group demonstrated stronger host response anomalies across the pathophysiological domains of inflammation and lung dysfunction. In contrast to what has been observed in non-COVID-19-related sepsis, endothelial injury and coagulation activation markers were not associated with AKI trajectories. These findings suggest that COVID-19 can induce a robust immune response that contributes to persistence of AKI, largely mediated through inflammatory responses.

Analysis of the costs incurred by patients with Chagas disease: The experience in endemic municipalities in Colombia

BackgroundOut-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) are key costs (medical and non-medical) that many individuals incur to receive health services. They have been identified as a key access barrier for vulnerable populations, in particular for populations affected by neglected diseases with a chronic progression, such as Chagas disease. It is important to understand the costs of accessing healthcare services that are borne by patients with T. cruzi infection. MethodologyWe prepared a structured survey for patients with T. cruzi infection/Chagas disease who were all treated by the healthcare system in endemic municipalities in Colombia. The results were analyzed according to three categories: 1. The socioeconomic profiling of the patients; 2. The costs of accommodation, food and transportation, in addition to the time spent commuting; and 3. the income losses (money that was not earned due to absence from work) related to treatment at the local primary care hospital or at the high-complexity reference hospital. Main findingsNinety-one patients answered the survey voluntarily. The data revealed that, when treated at the specialized reference hospital, patients spent 5.5 times more on food and accommodation, transportation costs were five times higher, and the loss of earnings was three times higher than when they were treated at the local primary care hospital. Moreover, the amount of time spent on transportation was 4 times higher at the reference hospital. ConclusionsProviding comprehensive healthcare services for Chagas management at local primary healthcare hospitals would allow the most vulnerable patients to save on expenses related to medical and non-medical costs, in turn leading to higher adhesion to treatment thus benefiting the health system as a whole. These findings are in alignment with the WHO's World Health Assembly 2010 Resolution on the importance of treating Chagas at local primary care hospitals, thereby saving patients time and money, allowing for timely care, and promoting access to healthcare.

Geriatric traumatological rounds in a primary care hospital

Geriatric traumatological rounds (GTR) with representatives of several disciplines are achallenge in the setting of primary care hospitals with limited resources. The GTR were started with only an experienced traumatologist and ageriatrician in 2019. Routine quality control data showed areduction of the frequency of cardiac failure and mortality after the start of the GTR. Therefore, even the minimum variant of GTR with the focus on the differential diagnosis of falls and adequate drug treatment appears to be beneficial for the patient. Special attention is given to the medical treatment of cardiac failure, pulmonary diseases, osteoporosis, psychiatric disorders and anemia. Vitamin B12 and folate deficiency are substituted. When anticoagulants or platelet aggregation inhibitors are indicated, they are resumed early. Potentially inadequate drugs for older patients are avoided. Doses of many drugs used in geriatric patients must be adjusted to areduced renal function often present in old age. Frequent electrolyte abnormalities are diagnosed and adequately treated.

COVID-19 pandemic impact on primary immunization uptake.

Pediatricians across the world are seeing a steep drop in the number of children coming in for appointments due to COVID-19 pandemic. To prevent outbreaks of serious diseases that pose an even greater threat to children than COVID-19, it is important that children not skip their routine vaccines. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on primary immunization activities in Saudi Arabia. Cross-sectional design. The study was conducted at a community pediatric clinic. All parents of preschool-age children who visited the community pediatric clinics were asked to complete a self-administrated questionnaire on primary immunization uptake during the pandemic. The Chi-square and Fisher's exact test were performed to examine the demographic differences between participants who missed vaccination during the pandemic and reasons for missing the vaccination. Three hundred study participants completed our questionnaire. In total, 90.6% of respondents were up to date with their vaccinations prior to the pandemic, and most respondents believed that children should be immunized at an appropriate age, it is essential for children to be fully immunized, vaccination is effective in preventing serious disease, and childhood immunization is essential during the pandemic (98.3%, 98.7%, 97.3%, and 93.7%, respectively). In total, 72.4% of respondents did not miss their vaccinations during the pandemic, while 26.6% missed vaccinations. The most common reason for missing vaccinations during the pandemic was transportation difficulty and curfew, followed by fear of contracting COVID-19 infection (40.9% and 35.5%, respectively). Those who did not believe that childhood immunization was necessary during the pandemic were more likely to miss vaccinations during the pandemic (P < 0.001). In addition, those who did not have a family member with COVID-19 infection were more likely not to miss the vaccine (P < 0.001). Moreover, those who thought taking vaccinations in a primary care setting or hospital is safe were more likely not to miss the vaccination during the pandemic (P < 0.027) and (P < 0.001). Significant portion of the population was affected and missed immunizations during the pandemic. The perceptions on the importance of immunization and having a family member affected with COVID-19 during the pandemic were important factors in missing immunizations. Moreover, transportation and fear of contracting COVID-19 during the curfew were also common reasons for missing immunizations during the pandemic.

British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) United Kingdom national guideline for the management of sexually transmitted enteric infections 2023.

This is the first British Association of Sexual Health and HIV (BASHH) national guideline for the management of sexually transmitted enteric infections (STEI). This guideline is primarily aimed for level 3 sexual health clinics; however, it may also be applicable to other settings such as primary care or other hospital departments where individuals with STEI may present. This guideline makes recommendations on testing, management, partner notification and public health control of STEI.

Pharmacy students' opinion of the routine use of pharmaceutical pictograms on a health care train serving rural limited literacy patients.

To assess pharmacy student opinion of the routine use of pictograms for counselling and communicating medicine-related information. A Google Forms survey was sent to co-ordinators at five Pharmacy Schools who distributed the link to 152 students following their 5-day work placement. The survey included Likert Scale and open questions on prior pictogram exposure, their usefulness in practice and their design. Opinion of pictogram usefulness in facilitating communication with patients was positive, with 104 (95.4%) rating their usefulness as good/excellent. Students noted language and low literacy as communication barriers which pictograms helped to mitigate. Only 24.8% (N = 27) reported that using pictograms required extra time during the dispensing process. Most students reported that patients liked the pictograms and found it easy to teach patients the pictogram meaning to clarify verbal and written medicine-related information. Pictograms were regarded by most students as simple, clear, culturally acceptable and able to communicate their core message clearly. A third agreed that they should have additional detail and be more realistic, some offered suggestions for modification. Many suggested expanding pictogram use to primary care clinics and hospitals. This study presents unique finding relating to the role and value of pictograms in practice. Opinion of routine pictogram use was largely positive, particularly given significant language and literacy barriers in this rural population. The extra time taken using pictograms was generally not regarded as a barrier to their adoption. Pictogram quality and design were considered to be good, with expanded use of pictograms suggested.

Management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Rhineland-Palatinate hospitals of all levels of care : Results of the COVID-19 Registry RLP.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed asignificant burden on the German healthcare system. Based on the experience of severe disease progression of the SARS-CoV‑2 infection from neighboring European countries in the early 2020s, with ICU overload and high mortality rates, efforts were made in Germany to increase the capacity of available ICU beds. Subsequently, all documentation and reporting focused on the ICU capacities for COVID-19patients. It was hypothesized that mainly afew large hospitals provided care for the majority of COVID-19patients. The COVID-19 Registry RLP of Rhineland-Palatinate documented SARS-CoV‑2 inpatients from daily mandatory queries of all hospitals throughout the pandemic from April 2020 to March 2023, distinguishing between patients in ICUs and normal wards. In its 18thCorona Ordinance, the state government required all hospitals to participate in the care of SARS-CoV‑2 inpatients. We investigated the participation of hospitals at different levels of care in Rhineland-Palatinate in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nine pandemic waves were documented during the pandemic and exemplary data on the respective pandemic peaks were evaluated. Adistinction was made between the burden on hospitals at different levels of care: primary care hospitals, standard care hospitals, specialty hospitals, and maximal care hospitals. Analysis of the data showed that all hospital types participated equally in the care of SARS-CoV-2patients. The requirement of the Ministry of Health of Rhineland-Palatinate to provide at least 20% of the available capacity was met by all levels of care and there were no disparities between hospitals of different levels of care in the management of the pandemic.Hospitals at all levels of care participated equally in the care of SARS-CoV‑2 inpatients and thus contributed significantly to the management of the pandemic in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Transfer of Veno-venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patients With COVID-19 Associated Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Interhospital transport of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) patients bears transport-associated risks. It is unknown how interhospital extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) transfer of COVID-19 patients by mobile ECMO units affects ARDS mortality. We compared the outcome of 94 COVID-19 patients cannulated in primary care hospitals and retrieved by mobile ECMO-teams to that of 84 patients cannulated at five German ECMO centers. Patients were recruited from March 2020 to November 2021. Twenty-six transports were airborne, 68 were land-based. Age, sex, body-mass-index, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, days invasively ventilated, and P/F-Ratio before ECMO initiation were similar in both groups. Counting only regional transports (≤250 km), mean transport distance was 139.5 km ± 17.7 km for helicopter (duration 52.5 ± 10.6 minutes) and 69.8 km ± 44.1 km for ambulance or mobile intensive care unit (duration 57.6 ± 29.4 minutes). Overall time of vvECMO support (20.4 ± 15.2 ECMO days for transported patients vs. 21.0 ± 20.5 for control, p = 0.83) and days invasively ventilated (27.9 ± 18.1 days vs. 32.6 ± 25.1 days, p = 0.16) were similar. Overall mortality did not differ between transported patients and controls (57/94 [61%] vs. 51/83 [61%], p = 0.43). COVID-19 patients cannulated and retrieved by mobile ECMO-teams have no excess risk compared with patients receiving vvECMO at experienced ECMO centers. Patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS, limited comorbidities, and no contraindication for ECMO should be referred early to local ECMO centers.

Diabetes knowledge and training needs among non-endocrinology nurses

BackgroundIt is necessary to determine the diabetes knowledge level among non-endocrinology nurses in primary care hospitals to develop continuing education strategies. MethodA questionnaire survey was conducted among 6819 non-endocrinology nurses in 70 primary hospitals in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to assess their diabetes knowledge level and training needs. Factors affecting knowledge level were analyzed using multiple linear regression models. ResultsDiabetes knowledge was low, particularly for diabetes monitoring. Knowledge was higher in nurses who had in-service education and training in diabetes; most believed that training was necessary and hoped to improve their ability to care for diabetic patients. The most suitable training method was considered to be each nurse was taught by an assigned person after centralized specialized education and training. ConclusionNon-endocrinology nurses in primary care hospitals lack knowledge of diabetes and have a strong need for training. Systematic training is required to ensure that patients receive high-quality and comprehensive care.

Telemedical Consultations in Palliative Care: Benefits through Knowledge Exchange and Intercollegiate Collaboration-Findings from the German oVID Project.

(1) Background: As the number of people receiving specialized palliative care (PC) continues to rise, there is a need to ensure the transfer of this expertise from university-based PC departments to primary care hospitals without such in-house access. The present study examines the potential of telemedicine to bridge these gaps. (2) Methods: This is a prospective multi-center feasibility trial. All physicians were appropriately pre-equipped and instructed to conduct telemedical consultations (TCs), which took place within fixed meetings or on-call appointments either related or unrelated to individual patients (allowing TCs also for educational and knowledge exchange purposes). (3) Results: An inquiry for participation was submitted to 11 hospitals, with 5 external hospitals actively cooperating. In the first study section, a total of 57 patient cases were included within 95 patient-related TCs during 80 meetings. Other university disciplines were involved in 21 meetings (26.2%). Therapy adjustments resulted following 25 of 71 affected TCs (35.2%). In 20 cases (21.1%), an on-site consultation at the university hospital was avoided, and in 12 cases (12.6%), a transfer was avoided. Overall, TCs were considered helpful in resolving issues for 97.9% of the cases (n = 93). Yet, technical problems arose in about one-third of all meetings for at least one physician (36.2%; n = 29). Besides, in the second study section, we also conducted 43 meetings between physicians for education and knowledge exchange only. (4) Conclusions: Telemedicine has the potential to transfer university expertise to external hospitals through simple means. It improves collaboration among physicians, may prevent unnecessary transfers or outpatient presentations, and is thus likely to lower costs.

Healthcare resource utilisation and cost of pneumococcal disease from 2003 to 2019 in children ≤17 years in England.

To estimate healthcare resource utilisation (HCRU) and costs associated with pneumococcal disease (PD) in children aged ≤17 years in England from 2003-2019. A retrospective study in children aged ≤17 years was conducted using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Gold primary care database and Hospital Episodes Statistics Admitted Patient Care database from 2003-2019. Episodes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) were identified in hospital, pneumococcal pneumonia (PP) and all-cause pneumonia (ACP) episodes in primary care and in hospital, and acute otitis media (AOM) episodes in primary care. General practitioner (GP) visits and inpatient admission yearly rates were calculated per 1,000 persons. The average inpatient and primary care cost per episode were calculated. The Mann-Kendall test was used to assess monotonic time trends. 1,500,686 children were followed from 2003-2019. The highest average inpatient cost per episode [£34,255 (95%CI 27,222-41,288)] was in IPD, followed by ACP [£3,549 (95%CI 3,405-3,693)] and PP [£1,498 (95%CI 1,153-1,843)]. The highest primary care costs per episode were in AOM [£48.7 (95%CI 48.7-48.7)], followed by PP [£38.4 (95%CI 37.0-39.7)] and ACP [£28.6 (95%CI 28.2-29.1)]. The highest inpatient admission and GP visits yearly rates were observed in children aged <2 years. Across years, a significant decrease in GP visits yearly rates was observed for PP, ACP and AOM in children overall (p-value<0.001). A decrease in primary care costs was observed for ACP (p-value<0.001). There was an increasing trend in AOM primary care costs (p-value<0.001). No significant trends were observed in inpatient admission yearly rates in PP, ACP or IPD and inpatient costs per episode in PP, ACP and IPD. From 2003-2019, primary care HCRU and costs decreased (except for PP cost), but no trends in inpatient HCRU and costs were observed. The economic burden of pneumonia, IPD and AOM remains substantial in children aged ≤17 years in England.

Integrated case management between primary care clinics and hospitals for people with complex needs who frequently use healthcare services in Canada: A multiple-case embedded study

IntroductionCase management (CM) is recognized to improve care integration and outcomes of people with complex needs who frequently use healthcare services, but challenges remain regarding interaction between primary care clinics and hospitals. This study aimed to implement and evaluate an integrated CM program for this population where nurses in primary care clinics worked with a hospital case manager. MethodsA multiple embedded case study was conducted in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region (Québec, Canada), in four dyads including a clinic and a hospital. Mixed data collection included, at baseline and 6 months, interviews and focus groups with stakeholders, patient questionnaires (patient experience of integrated care and self-management), and emergency department (ED) visits in the previous 6 months. ResultsIntegrated CM implementation was optimal when all stakeholders provided collective leadership, and were supportive of the program, particularly the physicians. The 6-month program enabled the observation of positive qualitative outcomes in most clinic-hospital dyads where implementation occurred. Full implementation was associated with improved care integration. Discussion and conclusionIntegrated CM between primary care clinics and hospitals is a promising innovation to improve care integration for people with complex needs who frequently use healthcare services. Collective leadership and physicians’ buy-in to integrated CM are important to foster the implementation.

Natural Course of Solar and Laser-Associated Retinal and Macular Injuries at a Primary Care Hospital in Switzerland

Solar and laser-associated retinopathies are rare occurrences. The two retinopathies are both photo-induced but differ in the involved intensity and duration of exposure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical features and natural course of these two entities, with a focus on the changes in the outer retina over time. This retrospective analysis assessed patients with solar or laser maculopathy seen at the Department of Ophthalmology of the University Hospital Zurich in Switzerland over the last 10 years. Visual acuity (VA; Snellen) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings were reviewed and analyzed at baseline and last follow-up visit. Areas of damaged outer retina, identified on en face OCT images as hyporeflective areas, were tagged and compared between visits. Descriptive analysis was performed by calculating mean values ± standard deviation (SD). Statistical evaluation was done using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. A p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Five patients with solar retinopathy and six patients with laser-associated retinopathy were identified. In the solar retinopathy group, mean VA at baseline was 0.80 (SD ± 0.37) and improved to 0.90 (SD ± 0.36). This was not statistically significant (p = 0.066). In the laser-associated retinopathy group, mean VA at baseline was 0.89 (SD ± 0.18) and improved to 1.03 (SD ± 0.09), which was not statistically significant either (p = 0.063). At baseline, in OCT cross-sections, initial changes were observed in the interdigitation, myoid, and ellipsoid zone, as well as the outer nuclear layer and the Henle fiber layer. At follow-up, most cases presented an alteration in the residual ellipsoid zone, with the degree of the aforementioned alterations depending on the size of the initial defect. A decrease of the hyporeflective alterations measured in en face OCT scans was observed in both groups but was only statistically significant in the laser-associated retinopathy group (p = 0.018 versus p = 0.172). OCT can help to detect and monitor solar and laser-associated retinal injuries. Most injuries are minor, with good functional restitution. Minor changes in the ellipsoid zone often persist, even in cases with full visual recovery.

Deep learning for real-time detection of breast cancer presenting pathological nipple discharge by ductoscopy.

As a common breast cancer-related complaint, pathological nipple discharge (PND) detected by ductoscopy is often missed diagnosed. Deep learning techniques have enabled great advances in clinical imaging but are rarely applied in breast cancer with PND. This study aimed to design and validate an Intelligent Ductoscopy for Breast Cancer Diagnostic System (IDBCS) for breast cancer diagnosis by analyzing real-time imaging data acquired by ductoscopy. The present multicenter, case-control trial was carried out in 6 hospitals in China. Images for consecutive patients, aged ≥18 years, with no previous ductoscopy, were obtained from the involved hospitals. All individuals with PND confirmed from breast lesions by ductoscopy were eligible. Images from Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital were randomly assigned (8:2) to the training (IDBCS development) and internal validation (performance evaluation of the IDBCS) datasets. Diagnostic performance was further assessed with internal and prospective validation datasets from Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital; further external validation was carried out with datasets from 5 primary care hospitals. Diagnostic accuracies, sensitivities, specificities, and positive and negative predictive values for IDBCS and endoscopists (expert, competent, or trainee) in the detection of malignant lesions were obtained by the Clopper-Pearson method. Totally 11305 ductoscopy images in 1072 patients were utilized for developing and testing the IDBCS. Area under the curves (AUCs) in breast cancer detection were 0·975 (95%CI 0·899-0·998) and 0·954 (95%CI 0·925-0·975) in the internal validation and prospective datasets, respectively, and ranged between 0·922 (95%CI 0·866-0·960) and 0·965 (95%CI 0·892-0·994) in the 5 external validation datasets. The IDBCS had superior diagnostic accuracy compared with expert (0.912 [95%CI 0.839-0.959] vs 0.726 [0.672-0.775]; p<0.001), competent (0.699 [95%CI 0.645-0.750], p<0.001), and trainee (0.703 [95%CI 0.648-0.753], p<0.001) endoscopists. IDBCS outperforms clinical oncologists, achieving high accuracy in diagnosing breast cancer with PND. The novel system could help endoscopists improve their diagnostic efficacy in breast cancer diagnosis.

Early Triage of Critically Ill Adult Patients With Mushroom Poisoning: Machine Learning Approach.

Early triage of patients with mushroom poisoning is essential for administering precise treatment and reducing mortality. To our knowledge, there has been no established method to triage patients with mushroom poisoning based on clinical data. The purpose of this work was to construct a triage system to identify patients with mushroom poisoning based on clinical indicators using several machine learning approaches and to assess the prediction accuracy of these strategies. In all, 567 patients were collected from 5 primary care hospitals and facilities in Enshi, Hubei Province, China, and divided into 2 groups; 322 patients from 2 hospitals were used as the training cohort, and 245 patients from 3 hospitals were used as the test cohort. Four machine learning algorithms were used to construct the triage model for patients with mushroom poisoning. Performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), decision curve, sensitivity, specificity, and other representative statistics. Feature contributions were evaluated using Shapley additive explanations. Among several machine learning algorithms, extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) showed the best discriminative ability in 5-fold cross-validation (AUC=0.83, 95% CI 0.77-0.90) and the test set (AUC=0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.96). In the test set, the XGBoost model had a sensitivity of 0.93 (95% CI 0.81-0.99) and a specificity of 0.79 (95% CI 0.73-0.85), whereas the physicians' assessment had a sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI 0.72-0.95) and a specificity of 0.66 (95% CI 0.59-0.73). The 14-factor XGBoost model for the early triage of mushroom poisoning can rapidly and accurately identify critically ill patients and will possibly serve as an important basis for the selection of treatment options and referral of patients, potentially reducing patient mortality and improving clinical outcomes.