ABSTRACT
Background The emergence of innovative technology-enabled models of care is an opportunity to support more efficient ways of organizing and delivering healthcare services and improve the patient experience. Pulmonary telerehabilitation started as a promising area of research and became a strategic pandemic response to patients' decreased accessibility to rehabilitation care. Still, in the pre-COVID-19 era, we conducted a participatory study aiming to develop strategies for setting up pulmonary telerehabilitation as a person-centered digitally-enabled model of care. Methods We performed operational participatory research between June 2019 and March 2020 with the engagement of all stakeholders involved in the implementation of pulmonary telerehabilitation, including 14 people with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Patients were assessed subjectively and objectively pre and post a 3-month pulmonary rehabilitation program including exercise and education, which started in a face-to-face hospital setting during the first month and continued as a home-based, remotely supervised exercise training intervention. Results Five major groups of requirements targeted operational strategies for setting up pulmonary telerehabilitation: (1) pulmonary rehabilitation core principles, (2) quality and security standards, (3) technological functionality, (4) home environment appropriateness, and (5) telesetting skills. There was a statistical significance in the median change in the CAT score from 15.5 to 10.5 (p = 0.004) and in the PRAISE score from 49.5 to 53.0 (p = 0.006). Patients' mean levels of satisfaction regarding rehabilitation goals achievements were 88.1 ± 8.6% and the mean levels of satisfaction regarding the telerehabilitation experienced as a model of care were 95.4% ± 6.3%. Conclusions The success of telerehabilitation implementation was grounded on stakeholder engagement and targeted strategies for specific setup requirements, achieving patients' high satisfaction levels. Such operational experiences should be integrated into the redesigning of upgraded telerehabilitation programs as part of the solution to improve the effectiveness, accessibility, and resilience of health systems worldwide.
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BACKGROUND: Incremental step tests (IST) can be used to assess exercise capacity in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The development of a new step test based on the characteristics of the incremental shuttle walk test (ISWT) is an important study to explore. We aimed to develop a new IST based on the ISWT in people with COPD, and assess its validity (construct validity) and reliability, according to Consensus-based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) recommendations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in participants recruited from hospitals/clinics. During the recruitment, the participants who presented a 6-minute walk test (6MWT) report in the previous month were also identified and the respective data was collected. Subsequently, participants attended two sessions at their homes. IST was conducted on the first visit, along with the 1 min sit-to-stand (1MSTS) test. IST was repeated on a second visit, performed 5-7 days after the first one. Spearman's correlations were used for construct validity, by comparing the IST with the 6MWT and the 1MSTS. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), SE of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change at 95% CI (MDC95) were used for reliability. The learning effect was explored with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: 50 participants (70.8±7.5 years) were enrolled. IST was significant and moderate correlated with the 6MWT (ρ=0.50, p=0.020), and with the 1MSTS (ρ=0.46, p=0.001). IST presented an ICC2,1=0.96, SEM=10.1 (16.6%) and MDC95=27.9 (45.8%) for the number of steps. There was a statistically significant difference between the two attempts of the IST (p=0.030). CONCLUSION: Despite the significant and moderate correlations with the 6MWT and 1MSTS, the inability to full compliance with the COSMIN recommendations does not yet allow the IST to be considered valid in people with COPD. On the other hand, the IST is a reliable test based on its high ICC, but a learning effect and an 'indeterminate' measurement error were shown. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT04715659.
Subject(s)
Exercise Test , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive/diagnosis , Reproducibility of Results , Walk TestABSTRACT
New Delhi metallo-ß-lactamase (NDM) carbapenemase has been considered a global threat due to its worldwide widespread in recent years. In Portugal, a very low number of infections with NDM-producing Enterobacterales has been reported. A total of 52 strains from 40 patients and 1 environmental sample isolated during COVID-19 pandemic were included in this study. Wholegenome sequencing (WGS) was performed on 20 carbapenemase-producing strains, including 17 NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ST11-KL105 lineage strains, one NDM-1-producing Escherichia coli ST58 strain and one KPC-3-producing K. pneumoniae ST147 strain, recovered from a total of 19 patients. Of interest, also one NDM-1-producing K. pneumoniae ST11-KL105 was collected from the hospital environment. Genome-wide phylogenetic analysis revealed an ongoing dissemination of NDM-1-producing K. pneumoniae ST11 strains (n = 18) with the same genetic features seen across multiple wards. Furthermore, the ST58 E. coli strain, collected from a patient rectal swab that was also colonised with a K. pneumoniae strain, also showed the IncFIA plasmid replicon and the blaNDM-1 gene (preceded by IS30 and followed by genes bleMBL, trpF, dsbC, cutA, groES and groEL). The blaNDM-1 is part of Tn125-like identical to those reported in Poland, Italy and India. The blaKPC-3 K. pneumoniae ST147-KL64 strain has the genetic environment Tn4401d isoform. In conclusion, herein we report the molecular epidemiology, resistome, virulome and mobilome of the first NDM-1 carbapenemase outbreak caused by K. pneumoniae ST11-KL105 lineage during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal. Moreover, the outbreak strains characterised included seventeen different patients (infected and colonised) and one environmental sample which also emphasises the role of commensal and hospital environment strains in the dissemination of the outbreak.
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Herein, we describe a case report of a critically ill patient, a 48-year-old man without comorbidities admitted to the hospital with a serious type 1 (hypoxemic) respiratory insufficiency and confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19. After 5 days with invasive mechanical ventilation, the patient developed a bacterial co-infection, namely a pneumonia by Hafnia alvei, requiring the last line of respiratory support: extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Subsequently, his clinical situation gradually stabilized, until he was discharged from the hospital on day 61, being accompanied in ambulatory consultation by the physical medicine and pulmonology department during the post-COVID-19 recovery. H. alvei is a Gram-negative bacterium that is rarely isolated from human specimens and is rarely considered to be pathogenic. However, COVID-19 disease can cause substantial organ dysfunction and can be associated with bacterial secondary infections which can favor the emergence of rare infectious diseases by uncommon microorganisms.
ABSTRACT
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is characterized by cognitive, psychological, and functional impairments. Digital interventions typically focus on cognitive deficits, neglecting the difficulties that patients experience in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The global conjecture created by COVID-19 has highlighted the seminal importance of digital interventions for the provision of healthcare services. Here, we investigated the feasibility and rehabilitation potential of a new design approach for creating highly realistic interactive virtual environments for MCI patients' neurorehabilitation. Through a participatory design protocol, a neurorehabilitation digital platform was developed using images captured from a Portuguese supermarket (NeuroVRehab.PT). NeuroVRehab.PT's main features (e.g., medium-sized supermarket, the use of shopping lists) were established according to a shopping behavior questionnaire filled in by 110 older adults. Seven health professionals used the platform and assessed its rehabilitation potential, clinical applicability, and user experience. Interviews were conducted using the think-aloud method and semi-structured scripts, and four main themes were derived from an inductive semantic thematic analysis. Our findings support NeuroVRehab.PT as an ecologically valid instrument with clinical applicability in MCI neurorehabilitation. Our design approach, together with a comprehensive analysis of the patients' past experiences with IADL, is a promising technique to develop effective digital interventions to promote real-world functioning.