Category: Nevin Manimala

J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2022;33(2):580-589. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2022.0048.

ABSTRACT

Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) add legal professionals, trained specifically to tackle health-related social needs (HRSN), to the health care team. We evaluated the impact on health outcomes and health care utilization of a MLP housed in a large federally qualified health center in Colorado (MLP-CO). Clients screened for I-HELP (Income, Housing, Employment, Legal status, Personal stability) needs were surveyed at baseline and six months post-enrollment. Reasons for legal aid were legal immigration status (46.5%), income (30.8%), personal/family stability (14.8%), housing (4.8%), and education (1.2%). Overall, 61.4% attributed great/moderate improvements in their health care experience to the MLP-CO. Statistically significant improvements were noted for days with poor physical/mental health, and feelings of stress/worry. There was a reduction in emergency department visits, hospitalization days, and missed appointments, but only the latter was statistically significant. In conclusion, MLPs are a promising innovation to achieve the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s quadruple aim.

PMID:35574861 | DOI:10.1353/hpu.2022.0048

Stat Med. 2022 May 16. doi: 10.1002/sim.9428. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

In research synthesis, publication bias (PB) refers to the phenomenon that the publication of a study is associated with the direction and statistical significance of its results. Consequently, it may lead to biased (commonly optimistic) estimates of treatment effects. Visualization tools such as funnel plots have been widely used to investigate PB in univariate meta-analyses. The trim and fill procedure is a nonparametric method to identify and adjust for PB. It is popular among applied scientists due to its simplicity. However, most visualization tools and PB correction methods focus on univariate outcomes. For a meta-analysis with multiple outcomes, the conventional univariate trim and fill method can only account for different outcomes separately and thus may lead to inconsistent conclusions. In this article, we propose a bivariate trim and fill procedure to simultaneously account for PB in the presence of two outcomes that are possibly associated. Based on a recently developed galaxy plot for bivariate meta-analysis, the proposed procedure uses a data-driven imputation algorithm to detect and adjust PB. The method relies on the symmetry of the galaxy plot and assumes that some studies are suppressed based on a linear combination of outcomes. The method projects bivariate outcomes along a particular direction, uses the univariate trim and fill method to estimate the number of trimmed and filled studies, and yields consistent conclusions about PB. The proposed approach is validated using simulated data and is applied to a meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of antidepressant drugs.

PMID:35574857 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9428

J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2022;33(2):571-579. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2022.0047.

ABSTRACT

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality among U.S. adults, especially low-income and uninsured adults. Non-Hispanic Black adults, who are overrepresented among low-income and uninsured populations, are disproportionately burdened by CVD mortality compared with non-Hispanic White adults. Medicaid expansion is associated with improved insurance coverage and access to care among low-income adults as well as reduced CVD mortality. It is unclear whether Medicaid expansion has reduced the Black-White disparity in CVD mortality. This study estimated a difference-in-differences model to compare changes in county-level CVD mortality ratios between expansion and non-expansion states. Findings indicate that Medicaid expansion is not associated with a statistically significant reduction in Black-White disparities in CVD mortality (β = -.039; p =.30). In conclusion, Medicaid expansion may be associated with improved health outcomes and access to care overall; however, it is insufficient to overcome other (i.e., social and economic) drivers of racial/ethnic disparities in CVD mortality.

PMID:35574860 | DOI:10.1353/hpu.2022.0047

Hypertension. 2022 May 16:101161HYPERTENSIONAHA12219256. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19256. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Whether the combination of different blood pressure and arterial stiffness (AS) status is independently associated with diabetes has not been fully investigated so far. This study aimed at investigating the status of hypertension and AS in determining diabetes.

METHODS: This prospective cohort study included 11 156 participants from the Kailuan study. AS was measured by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity. We compared the risk of diabetes between individuals with ideal vascular function (defined as normotension with normal AS), normotension with elevated AS, hypertension with normal AS, and hypertension with elevated AS.

RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 6.16 years, diabetes occurred in 768 participants. Compared with ideal vascular function group, the highest risk of diabetes was observed in hypertension with elevated AS group (hazard ratio, 2.42 [95% CI, 1.93-3.03]), followed by normotension with elevated AS group (hazard ratio, 2.11 [95% CI, 1.68-2.66]), hypertension with normal AS group exhibited the lowest risk of diabetes (hazard ratio, 1.48 [95% CI, 1.08-2.02]). Multiple sensitivity and subgroup analyses yielded similar results. Furthermore, the additional of AS to a conventional model including traditional risk factors had a higher incremental effect on the predictive value for diabetes than the addition of hypertension (the C statistics was 0.707 versus 0.695; the integrated discrimination improvement was 0.65% versus 0.28%; net reclassification improvement was 40.48% versus 34.59%).

CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes is associated with not only hypertension but also AS. Additionally, AS shows a better predictive ability than hypertension in predicting diabetes.

PMID:35574838 | DOI:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.122.19256

Dementia (London). 2022 May 14:14713012221096986. doi: 10.1177/14713012221096986. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Poor sleep health is a risk factor for and a common symptom of dementia. Music has been shown to improve sleep across a wide range of clinical and community populations. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent music interventions may also help alleviate sleep problems in people with dementia. This systematic review is the first review examining the effects of music on sleep outcomes among people with dementia. In accordance with PRISMA guidelines, we extracted 187 articles from nine databases (Academic Search Premier, Ageline, APA PsycArticles, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science). Eight studies were eligible for this systematic review (Range sample sizes: 1-59 people with dementia). Results revealed that assessments of sleep in the current literature were limited and mainly focused on sleep duration, subjective sleep quality, or nighttime sleep disturbances. Intervention delivery, music selection, and findings varied. Positive effects of music on sleep outcomes were observed in six out of the eight studies (75%), specifically there were decreases in nighttime sleep disturbances, increases in daytime alertness, and improvements in sleep quality. The remaining two studies found no statistically significant change in sleep outcomes (i.e., daytime sleepiness and quality). Study limitations included small sample sizes and the use of proxy reporters (e.g., caregiver, researcher, blinded clinician) which may reduce the accuracy of the sleep measures. Future research may want to incorporate objectively measured sleep to better understand the role of sleep in dementia care. More research is needed to determine whether music interventions are effective in improving sleep in people with dementia and whether improvements in sleep can slow the progression of dementia.

PMID:35574812 | DOI:10.1177/14713012221096986

Br J Surg. 2022 May 16:znac128. doi: 10.1093/bjs/znac128. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Recent findings support the hypothesis of sex-related differences in inflammatory and immunological responses to trauma. The aim of this study was to address sex-specific aspects in patients who underwent pancreatic surgery.

METHODS: This retrospective study used data from the German StuDoQ registry. Patients who underwent pancreatic surgery between 2010 and 2020 were stratified according to procedure (pancreatic head resection, distal pancreatectomy (DP), total pancreatectomy (TP)). Each cohort underwent propensity score matching (PSM) with the co-variables BMI, ASA, age, coronary heart disease (CHD), diabetes, hypertension with medication, and histology to level the distribution of co-morbidities between men and women. The main outcomes were morbidity and mortality.

RESULTS: The total cohort consisted of 10 224 patients (45.3 per cent women). Men had higher ASA grades, and more often had CHD, diabetes, and hypertension with medication. Women had fewer overall complications (57.3 versus 60.1 per cent; P = 0.005) and a lower mortality rate (3.4 versus 4.9 per cent; P < 0.001). Rates of pancreatic surgery-specific complications, such as clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) (grade B/C: 14 versus 17 per cent; P < 0.001), delayed gastric emptying (grade B/C: 7.8 versus 9.2 per cent; P = 0.014), and postpancreatectomy haemorrhage (grade B/C: 7.1 versus 9.0 per cent; P < 0.001), were also lower in women. After PSM, 8358 patients were analysed. In the pancreatic head resection cohort (5318 patients), women had fewer complications (58.6 versus 61.4 per cent; P = 0.044), a lower in-hospital mortality rate (3.6 versus 6.1 per cent; P < 0.001), and less often had clinically relevant POPF (11.6 versus 16.2 per cent; P < 0.001). After DP, the clinically relevant POPF rate was lower in women (22.5 versus 27.3 per cent; P = 0.012). In the TP cohort, men more often developed intra-abdominal abscess requiring drainage (5.0 versus 2.3 per cent; P = 0.050).

CONCLUSION: Women had favourable outcomes after pancreatic surgery.

PMID:35574811 | DOI:10.1093/bjs/znac128

Zhonghua Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue. 2022 Mar;34(3):294-300. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20220112-00050.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the static and dynamic trends of scientific research efficiency of the critical care medicine in hospitals affiliated S university during the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

METHODS: Based on the scientific research data of 16 hospitals affiliated to Beijing S University from 2014 to 2020, the scientific research investment funds and the number of physicians involved in scientific research were selected as input evaluation indexes, and the number of science citation index (SCI) papers, Chinese science citation database (CSCD) papers, and the number of masters and doctors trained were selected as output evaluation indexes, and the evaluation index system of scientific research efficiency of critical care medicine was constructed. SPSS version 23.0 software was used for descriptive data statistics, and data envelopment analysis (DEA)-BCC model and DEA-Malmquist index model of DEAP 2.1 software were used for static and dynamic evaluation of its scientific research efficiency from 2016 to 2020, respectively.

RESULTS: (1) The scientific research technical efficiency (TE) of critical care medicine in 16 hospitals affiliated with S universities varied greatly from 2016 to 2020, but pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) were at a good level, and 6-11 affiliated hospitals in critical care medicine kept DEA effective for 5 consecutive years. (2) Dynamic analysis of their total factor productivity (TFP) of scientific research from 2016 to 2020 showed a trend of rising and then falling and then rising again. The mean value was 0.985. The technical efficiency change (TEC) showed a decreasing and then increasing trend, and the technical progress change (TC) showed a slow increasing and then decreasing trend, with a mean value of 0.953. While the mean values of TEC, pure technical efficiency change (PTEC) and scale efficiency change (SEC) were above 1, which showed that the growth of total factor productivity index of research and innovation depended more on the technical efficiency index.

CONCLUSIONS: The “gain effect” and “catch-up effect” of scientific research efficiency in the specialty of critical care medicine in hospitals affiliated S universities are obvious, but the “growth effect” is not obvious. “Although the research efficiency of the 13th Five-Year Plan period has been significantly improved, there is still much room for improvement in scientific and technological innovation and international academic influence.

PMID:35574749 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20220112-00050

Zhonghua Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue. 2022 Mar;34(3):265-268. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20211022-01545.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of positive and negative pressure extubation on mechanical ventilation patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).

METHODS: A prospective randomized controlled study was performed, 105 ICU patients who successfully passed the spontaneous breathing test (SBT) after mechanical ventilation of Nanjing Jiangbei Hospital Affiliated to Nantong University from January 2019 to March 2021 were enrolled. According to random number table method, they were randomly divided into positive pressure extubation group (53 cases) and negative pressure extubation group (52 cases). During extubation, all patients were placed in semi-decubitus position (raising the head of bed at an angle range from 30 degree angle- 45 degree angle), the secretions from mouth, nose, throat and trachea were removed. In the negative pressure extubation group, the sputum suction tube was inserted into the tracheal tube and passed over the distal opening to carry out continuous negative pressure suction in the tracheal tube after disconnecting the ventilator. Meanwhile, after the tracheal tube balloon was evacuated, the sputum suction tube was pulled out together with the tracheal tube. In the positive pressure extubation group, the patients were guided to inspiratory forcibly under the original SBT mode. When the patients reached the inspiratory peak, the ballon was evacuated and the tracheal tube was removed. After extubation, all patients were given nasal catheter oxygen inhalation (oxygen flow 5 L/min). Arterial blood gas analysis indexes [pH value, arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂) and arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO₂)] were recorded 5 minutes and 1 hour after extubation in both groups. Vital signs (including tachypnea, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure and decreased oxygen saturation) and complications (including severe cough, airway hyperresponsiveness and pneumonia) were observed 30 minutes after extubation in both groups.

RESULTS: Five minutes after extubation, blood gas analysis showed that the PaO₂ of positive pressure extubation group was significantly higher than that of negative pressure extubation group [mmHg (1 mmHg ≈ 0.133 kPa): 123.4±30.2 vs. 111.0±21.1, P < 0.05], the pH value and PaCO₂ in positive pressure extubation group were slightly lower than that of negative pressure extubation group [pH value: 7.411±0.042 vs. 7.419±0.040, PaCO₂ (mmHg): 39.7±4.7 vs. 40.5±5.6], but the differences were not statistically significant (both P > 0.05). One hour after extubation, the pH value, PaO₂ and PaCO₂ in positive pressure extubation group were slightly lower than those in negative pressure extubation group, but the differences were not statistically significant. Within 30 minutes after extubation, the incedences of tachypnea, tachycardia, elevated blood pressure and oxygen desaturationin in positive pressure extubation group were significantly lower than those in negative pressure extubation group [tachypnea: 9.4% (5/53) vs. 28.8% (15/52), tachycardia: 15.1% (8/53) vs. 32.7% (17/52), elevated blood pressure: 11.3% (6/53) vs. 30.8% (16/52), oxygen desaturation: 7.5% (4/53) vs. 34.6% (18/52), all P < 0.05], the incidence of severe cough in positive pressure extubation group was significantly lower than that in negative pressure extubation group [9.4% (5/53) vs. 30.8% (16/52), P < 0.05], but there was no significant difference in the incidence of complications of airway hyperresponsiveness between the two groups [1.9% (1/53) vs. 5.8% (3/52), P > 0.05]. No pneumonia occurred in both groups within 48 hours after extubation.

CONCLUSIONS: The positive pressure extubation method can ensure full oxygenation of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in ICU, avoid hypoxia, and reduce the occurrence of hypoxia and severe cough, which is more conducive to the stability of vital signs.

PMID:35574743 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20211022-01545

Zhonghua Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue. 2022 Mar;34(3):274-279. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20211008-01441.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) combined with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (LDL-C/HDL-C) and severity of coronary lesions in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

METHODS: Patients who were diagnosed with ACS due to chest pain and received emergency coronary angiography in the First Affiliated Hospital of University of Science and Technology of China and the Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University from January 2017 to June 2020 were enrolled in the final analysis. The data of gender, age, body mass index (BMI), past history, emergency blood routine indicators [neutrophil (NEU), lymphocyte (LYM), monocyte (MON), eosinophil (EOS), basophil (BAS), red blood cell (RBC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), blood red cell distribution width (RDW), mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet volume distribution width (PDW)], blood lipid index [triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), HDL-C, LDL-C, very low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C)], and coronary angiography were collected. The results of coronary angiography were evaluated by the Gensini score. According to the Gensini score, the patients were divided into the control group (Gensini score = 0, 55 cases) and the study group (Gensini score > 0, 889 cases), and then the patients in the study group were divided into the low-Gensini-score group (Gensini score < 66, 419 cases) and the high-Gensini-score group (Gensini score ≥ 66, 470 cases). The differences in the general baseline data of the four groups were compared, and the correlation between the statistically significant data and the Gensini score was linearly analyzed, and then the combined diagnostic factors (NLR combined with LDL-C/HDL-C ratio) were obtained by Logistic regression analysis. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to evaluate the predictive value of NLR combined with LDL-C/HDL-C ratio in predicting the severity of coronary artery lesions in patients with ACS. Finally, multivariate linear regression analysis was used to establish the predictive model between NLR combined with LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and Gensini score.

RESULTS: A total of 944 patients were finally included. The differences in gender, age, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, smoking history, NEU, LYM, MON, EOS, RDW, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, NLR, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio between the control group and the study group were statistically significant. The differences in BMI, hypertension, diabetes, smoking history, NEU, LYM, MON, EOS, TG, TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, NLR and LDL-C/HDL-C ratio between the low-Gensini-score group and the high-Gensini-score group were statistically significant. Linear regression analysis showed that compared with other indicators, the correlation between NLR, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and Gensini score was stronger in the study group (r values were 0.634 and 0.663, respectively, both P < 0.05). Binary Logistic regression analysis of the indicators related to Gensini score showed that NEU, LYM, HDL-C and LDL-C were independent risk factors for coronary stenosis in patients with ACS [odds ratio (OR) were 0.189, 10.309, 13.993, 0.251, 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were 0.114-0.313, 4.679-22.714, 3.402-57.559, 0.121-0.519, respectively, all P < 0.05]. ROC curve analysis showed that NLR combined with LDL-C/HDL-C ratio had higher predictive value in predicting the severity of coronary lesions in ACS patients [area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.952, 95%CI was 0.93-0.969], when the cutoff value was -3.152, the sensitivity was 98.20%, and the specificity was 81.60%. According to the results of multivariate linear regression analysis, the prediction model between NLR, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and Gensini score was established, and the formula was Gensini score = -7.772+15.675×LDL-C/HDL-C ratio+8.288×NLR (R² = 0.862).

CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant correlation between emergency NLR combined with LDL-C/HDL-C ratio and Gensini score in patients with ACS at admission, which has a certain predictive value for the severity of coronary artery stenosis in patients with ACS, and can be used as a predictor for evaluating the severity of coronary artery disease.

PMID:35574745 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20211008-01441

Zhonghua Wei Zhong Bing Ji Jiu Yi Xue. 2022 Mar;34(3):245-249. doi: 10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20211019-01525.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of nutritional indexes including body mass index (BMI), albumin (ALB), nutrition risk screening 2002 (NRS 2002) and the nutrition risk in critically ill score (NUTRIC) in 28-day prognosis of patients with sepsis related acute kidney injury (AKI).

METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted. Patients with sepsis treated in the emergency intensive care unit (EICU) of China Rehabilitation Research Center from December 1, 2018 to December 1, 2020 were observed for 7 days. Patients with sepsis related AKI were enrolled in this study. The gender, age, BMI, basic diseases, shock, number of affected organs, length of hospital stay, ALB, mechanical ventilation (MV) and vasoactive drug use, sequential organ failure score (SOFA), rapid sequential organ failure score (qSOFA) and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) were recorded. The NRS 2002 score and NUTRIC score were calculated. Cox regression model was used to analyze the risk factors of 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis related AKI. The receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC curves) were drawn and the areas under the ROC curves (AUC) were calculated, and the value of BMI, ALB, NRS 2002 score and NUTRIC score was analyzed to predict 28-day mortality in patients with sepsis related AKI. Kaplan Meier survival curves were used to analyze the effects of NRS 2002 score and NUTRIC score stratification on the 28 day prognosis of patients with sepsis related AKI.

RESULTS: A total of 140 patients with sepsis related AKI were enrolled, including 73 survival patients and 67 died patients within 28 days. The 28-day mortality was 47.9% (67/140). BMI in the survival group was significantly higher than that in the death group [kg/m²: 22.0 (19.5, 25.6) vs. 20.7 (17.3, 23.9), P < 0.05], and NRS 2002 score and NUTRIC score were significantly lower than those in the death group [NRS 2002 score: 5 (4, 6) vs. 7 (6, 7), NUTRIC score: 6 (5, 7) vs. 7 (6, 9), both P < 0.05]. The ALB of the survival group was slightly higher than that of the death group, but the difference was not statistically significant. Cox regression analysis showed that NRS 2002 score and NUTRIC score were independent risk factors for 28-day death in patients with sepsis related AKI. ROC curve analysis showed that NUTRIC score had the strongest predictive ability for 28-day death [AUC = 0.785, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.708-0.850], followed by NRS 2002 score (AUC = 0.728, 95%CI was 0.647-0.800), but there was no significant difference between them. Compared with NRS 2002 score, the predictive ability of BMI and ALB was poor. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis showed that the prognosis of patients with NRS 2002 score≥5 was significantly worse than that of patients with NRS 2002 score < 5 (28-day cumulative survival rate: 42.1% vs. 75.6%, Log-Rank test: χ² = 11.884, P = 0.001), and the prognosis of patients with NUTRIC score ≥ 6 was significantly worse than that of patients with NUTRIC score < 6 (28-day cumulative survival rate: 40.4% vs. 86.1%, Log-Rank test: χ² = 19.026, P = 0.000).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with sepsis related AKI have high nutritional risk. Both NRS 2002 score and NUTRIC score have good predictive value for the prognosis of patients with sepsis related AKI, while BMI and ALB have low predictive value. Due to the complex calculation of NUTRIC score, NRS 2002 score may be more suitable for emergency department.

PMID:35574739 | DOI:10.3760/cma.j.cn121430-20211019-01525