Patient-directed self-management of pain (PaDSMaP) compared to treatment as usual following total knee replacement; a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Self-administration of medicines by patients whilst in hospital is being increasingly promoted despite little evidence to show the risks and benefits. Pain control after total knee replacement (TKR) is known to be poor. The aim of the study was to determine if patients operated on with a TKR who self-medicate their oral analgesics in the immediate post-operative period have better pain control than those who receive their pain control by nurse-led drug rounds (Treatment as Usual (TAU)). METHODS: A prospective, parallel design, open-label, randomised controlled trial comparing pain control in patient-directed self-management of pain (PaDSMaP) with nurse control of oral analgesia (TAU) after a TKR. Between July 2011 and March 2013, 144 self-medicating adults were recruited at a secondary care teaching hospital in the UK. TAU patients (n = 71) were given medications by a nurse after their TKR. PaDSMaP patients (n = 73) took oral medications for analgesia and co-morbidities after two 20 min training sessions reinforced with four booklets. Primary outcome was pain (100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS)) at 3 days following TKR surgery or at discharge (whichever came soonest). Seven patients did not undergo surgery for reasons unrelated to the study and were excluded from the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. RESULTS: ITT analysis did not detect any significant differences between the two groups' pain scores. A per protocol (but underpowered) analysis of the 60% of patients able to self-medicate found reduced pain compared to the TAU group at day 3/discharge, (VAS -9.9 mm, 95% CI -18.7, - 1.1). One patient in the self-medicating group over-medicated but suffered no harm. CONCLUSION: Self-medicating patients did not have better (lower) pain scores compared to the nurse-managed patients following TKR. This cohort of patients were elderly with multiple co-morbidities and may not be the ideal target group for self-medication. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN10868989 . Registered 22 March 2012, retrospectively registered.

A Concept Map of What Helps People with HD Live with their Condition.

BACKGROUND: The complex effects of Huntington's disease (HD) negatively impact on every area of independent living. The perspectives of people impacted by HD on how to best manage the disease are not clearly understood. OBJECTIVE: To identify what is most helpful for living with HD from the perspectives of people with HD, family caregivers and health professionals. METHODS: A cross-sectional, mixed methods concept mapping methodology was used. Participants generated statements during brainstorming in response to the question 'what helps people with HD live with their condition'. Participants then prioritised statements for importance and they grouped together statements that were related into clusters. Concept mapping software ('Ariadne' ®) used multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis to produce a conceptual framework of participants views about what is helpful for people living with HD. RESULTS: Thirty nine people at various stages of HD disease progression, 48 family caregivers and 39 health professionals with experience of HD care (n = 126) participated. The most helpful factors for living with HD were identified as access to expert assessment and treatment for co-morbid mental health problems, integrated specialist multi-disciplinary HD expertise, and the provision of flexible care. CONCLUSIONS: HD requires specialist, expert, multidisciplinary care teams to manage it well. Specialists need to focus on the mental health aspects, and the provision must be flexible and responsive to current needs. Patients may have impaired insight into their abilities (e.g. driving) or the need for interventions, so carers' opinions should also be respected.

The bundle "plus": the effect of a multidisciplinary team approach to eradicate central line-associated bloodstream infections.

BACKGROUND: Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) have decreased significantly over the last decade. Further reductions in CLABSI rates should be possible. We describe a multidisciplinary approach to the reduction of CLABSIs. METHODS: This was an observational study of critically ill patients requiring central venous catheters in 8 intensive care units in a tertiary medical center. We implemented a catheter bundle that included hand hygiene, education of providers, chlorhexidine skin preparation, use of maximum barrier precautions, a dedicated line cart, checklist, avoidance of the femoral vein for catheter insertion, chlorhexidine-impregnated dressings, use of anti-infective catheters, and daily consideration of the need for the catheter. Additional measures included root cause analyses of all CLABSIs, creation of a best practice atlas for internal jugular catheters, and enhanced education on blood culture collection. Data were analyzed using the Poisson test and regression. RESULTS: CLABSI, catheter use, and microbiology were tracked from 2004 to 2012. There was a 92% reduction in CLABSIs (95% lower confidence limit: 67.4% reduction, P < 0.0001). Central venous catheter use decreased significantly from 2008 to 2012 (P = 0.032, -151 catheters per year, 95% confidence limits: -277 to -25), whereas peripherally inserted central catheter use increased (P = 0.005, 89 catheters per year, 95% confidence limits: 50 to 127). There was no apparent association between unit-specific Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation III/IV scores and CLABSI. Three units have not had a CLABSI in more than a year. The most common organism isolated was coagulase-negative staphylococcus. Since the implementation of minocycline/rifampin catheters, no cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus CLABSI have occurred. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of a standard catheter bundle combined with chlorhexidine dressings, minocycline/rifampin catheters, and other behavioral changes was associated with a sustained reduction in CLABSIs.

Priority setting partnership to identify the top 10 research priorities for the management of Parkinson's disease.

OBJECTIVES: This priority setting partnership was commissioned by Parkinson's UK to encourage people with direct and personal experience of the condition to work together to identify and prioritise the top 10 evidential uncertainties that impact on everyday clinical practice for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD). SETTING: The UK. PARTICIPANTS: Anyone with experience of PD including: people with Parkinson's (PwP), carers, family and friends, healthcare and social care professionals. Non-clinical researchers and employees of pharmaceutical or medical devices companies were excluded. 1000 participants (60% PwP) provided ideas on research uncertainties, 475 (72% PwP) initially prioritised them and 27 (37% PwP) stakeholders agreed a final top 10. METHODS: Using a modified nominal group technique, participants were surveyed to identify what issues for the management of PD needed research. Unique research questions unanswered by current evidence were identified and participants were asked to identify their top 10 research priorities from this list. The top 26 uncertainties were presented to a consensus meeting with key stakeholders to agree the top 10 research priorities. RESULTS: 1000 participants provided 4100 responses, which contained 94 unique unanswered research questions that were initially prioritised by 475 participants. A consensus meeting with 27 stakeholders agreed the top 10 research priorities. The overarching research aspiration was an effective cure for PD. The top 10 research priorities for PD management included the need to address motor symptoms (balance and falls, and fine motor control), non-motor symptoms (sleep and urinary dysfunction), mental health issues (stress and anxiety, dementia and mild cognitive impairments), side effects of medications (dyskinesia) and the need to develop interventions specific to the phenotypes of PD and better monitoring methods. CONCLUSIONS: These research priorities identify crucial gaps in the existing evidence to address everyday practicalities in the management of the complexities of PD.

Interdisciplinary collaboration: the slogan that must be achieved for models of delivering critical care to be successful.

There is wide acceptance of the concept that interdisciplinary collaboration is an essential building block for successful health-care teams. This belief is grounded in our understanding of how teams function to address complex care needs that change with acute illness or injury. This general agreement has been validated in studies that have reported favorable outcomes associated with successfully implementing interdisciplinary models of health-care delivery in non-critical care settings. The very short time frames over which the care needs of critically ill or injured adults change and the team approach taken by nearly all ICUs strongly suggest that interdisciplinary collaboration is also beneficial in this setting. In this commentary, we define interdisciplinary collaboration and share the story of how we successfully redesigned and transformed our system-wide, interdisciplinary collaborative model for delivering critical care in order to share the lessons we learned as the process evolved with those who are about to embark on a similar challenge. We anticipate that those health-care systems that successfully implement interdisciplinary collaboration will be ahead of the curve in providing high-quality care at as low a cost as possible. Such institutions will also potentially be better positioned for improving teaching and providing a better foundation for critical care research in their institutions.

Best practice guidelines on informed consent for weight loss surgery patients.

OBJECTIVE: To provide evidence-based guidelines on informed consent and the education that underlies it for legally competent, severely obese weight loss surgery (WLS) patients. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature published on MEDLINE between 1984 and 2004. Three articles focused on informed consent for WLS; none was based on empirical studies. We summarized each paper and assigned evidence categories according to a grading system derived from established evidence-based models. We also relied on informed consent and educational materials from six WLS programs in Massachusetts. All evidence is Category D. Recommendations were based on a review of the available literature, informed consent materials from WLS programs, and expert opinion. RESULTS: This Task Group found that the informed consent process contributes to long-term outcome in multiple ways but is governed by limited legal requirements. We focused our report on the legal and ethical issues related to informed consent, i.e., disclosure vs. comprehension. Recommendations centered on the importance of assessing patient comprehension of informed consent materials, the content of those materials, and the use of active teaching/learning techniques to promote understanding. DISCUSSION: Although demonstrated comprehension is not a legal requirement for informed consent in Massachusetts or other states, the members of this Task Group found that the best interests of WLS patients, providers, and facilities are served when clinicians engage patients in active learning and collaborative decision making.