The Opportunities and Challenges of the First Three Years of Open Up, an Online Text-Based Counselling Service for Youth and Young Adults.

We present the opportunities and challenges of Open Up, a free, 24/7 online text-based counselling service to support youth in Hong Kong. The number of youths served more than doubled within the first three years since its inception in 2018 in response to increasing youth suicidality and mental health needs. Good practice models are being developed in order to sustain and further scale up the service. We discuss the structure of the operation, usage pattern and its effectiveness, the use of AI to improve users experience, and the role of volunteer in the operation. We also present the challenges in further enhancing the operation, calling for more research, especially on the identification of the optimal number of users that can be concurrently served by a counsellor, the effective approach to respond to a small percentage of repeated users who has taken up a disproportional volume of service, and the way to optimize the use of big data analytics and AI technology to enhance the service. These advancements will benefit not only Open Up but also similar services across the globe.

Lower ocular pulse amplitude with dynamic contour tonometry is associated with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the role of the ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) from Pascal dynamic contour tonometry in predicting the temporal artery biopsy (TABx) result in patients with suspected giant cell arteritis (GCA). DESIGN: Prospective validation study. PARTICIPANTS: Adults aged 50 years or older who underwent TABx from March 2015 to April 2017. METHODS: Subjects on high-dose glucocorticoids more than 14 days or without serology before glucocorticoid initiation were excluded. The OPA from both eyes was obtained and averaged just before TABx of the predominantly symptomatic side. The variables chosen for the a priori prediction model were age, average OPA, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), platelets, jaw claudication, and eye findings were also recorded. In this study, subjects with a negative biopsy were considered not to have GCA, and contralateral biopsy was performed if the clinical suspicion for GCA remained high. An external validation set (XVAL) was obtained. RESULTS: Of 109 TABx, 19 were positive and 90 were negative. On univariate logistic regression, the average OPA had 0.60 odds for positive TABx (p = 0.03), with no statistically significant difference in age, sex, CRP, ESR, or jaw claudication. In suspected GCA, an OPA of 1 mm Hg had positive likelihood ratio 4.74 and negative likelihood ratio 0.87 for positive TABx. Multivariate regression of the prediction model using optimal mathematical transforms (inverse OPA, log CRP, age >65 years) had area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) = 0.85 and AUROCXVAL = 0.81. CONCLUSIONS: OPA is lower in subjects with biopsy-proven GCA and is a statistically significant predictor of GCA.

"Rheum to Improve": Quality Improvement in Outpatient Rheumatology.

The commitment to improve care processes and patient outcomes is a professional mandate for clinicians and is also seen as an operational priority for institutions. Quality improvement now figures in the accreditation of training programs, specialty examinations, and hospital scorecards. Rheumatologists have traditionally focused primarily on quality problems such as guideline adherence; however, improvement goals should also include other aspects of care that are helpful to patients and are professionally rewarding for practitioners. This review makes use of improvement projects in outlining tangible tools rheumatologists can use to resolve quality concerns in their practices.

Impact of health portal enrolment with email reminders at an academic rheumatology clinic.

Missed appointments reduce the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare delivery. 'No-Shows' (NS) have been identified as a problem within the rheumatology clinic at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto, Ontario. NS were studied through a prospective chart review and telephone interviews. Over 6 months, 110 NS took place (rate 2.5-6.8%). From interviews, 85% of NS were attributed to forgetting, being unaware of the appointment, having the wrong date, or another miscommunication. Fifty-seven percent of patients were interested in an appointment reminder, including electronic reminders (46%). Patients were encouraged to enroll in the hospital's electronic patient portal, MyChart, and email reminders were implemented at one clinic for portal users. A detailed follow-up card was also given to patients. Process measures included portal enrolment, email reminder receipt, and call volumes. Outcome measures were NS and patient and staff satisfaction. During the intervention, 120/274 (44%) surveyed patients had MyChart accounts. Of these, 73 (61%) received the e-mail reminder and 72 (99%) found the e-mail helpful. Twenty-two patients knew about their appointment from the e-mail reminder alone. Improvement in attendance was seen after 3.5 months, but it was not sustained thereafter. Prior to this intervention there was no appointment reminder system at this clinic, and the email reminder demonstrated high patient satisfaction. Low portal enrolment, technical difficulties, and the inability of the intervention to reach new patients were possible reasons why the intervention was unsuccessful at reducing NS.

Choosing wisely: the Canadian Rheumatology Association's list of 5 items physicians and patients should question.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a list of 5 tests or treatments used in rheumatology that have evidence indicating that they may be unnecessary and thus should be reevaluated by rheumatology healthcare providers and patients. METHODS: Using the Delphi method, a committee of 16 rheumatologists from across Canada and an allied health professional generated a list of tests, procedures, or treatments in rheumatology that may be unnecessary, nonspecific, or insensitive. Items with high content agreement and perceived relevance advanced to a survey of Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) members. CRA members ranked these top items based on content agreement, effect, and item ranking. A methodology subcommittee discussed the items in light of their relevance to rheumatology, potential effect on patients, and the member survey results. Five candidate items selected were then subjected to a literature review. A group of patient collaborators with rheumatic diseases also reviewed these items. RESULTS: Sixty-four unique items were proposed and after 3 Delphi rounds, this list was narrowed down to 13 items. In the member-wide survey, 172 rheumatologists responded (36% of those contacted). The respondent characteristics were similar to the membership at large in terms of sex and geographical distribution. Five topics (antinuclear antibodies testing, HLA-B27 testing, bone density testing, bone scans, and bisphosphonate use) with high ratings on agreement and effect were chosen for literature review. CONCLUSION: The list of 5 items has identified starting points to promote discussion about practices that should be questioned to assist rheumatology healthcare providers in delivering high-quality care.

Immunology for rheumatology residents: working toward a Canadian national curriculum consensus.

BACKGROUND: Immunologic mechanisms play an integral role in understanding the pathogenesis and management of rheumatic conditions. Currently, there is limited access to formal instruction in immunology for rheumatology trainees across Canada. AIM: The aims of this study were (1) to describe current immunology curricula among adult rheumatology training programs across Canada and (2) to compare the perceived learning needs of rheumatology trainees from the perspective of program directors and trainees to help develop a focused nationwide immunology curriculum. METHODS: Rheumatology trainees and program directors from adult rheumatology programs across Canada completed an online questionnaire and were asked to rank a comprehensive list of immunology topics. A modified Delphi approach was implemented to obtain consensus on immunology topics. RESULTS: Only 42% of program directors and 31% of trainees felt the current method of teaching immunology was effective. Results illustrate concordance between program directors and trainees for the highest-ranked immunology topics including innate immunity, adaptive immunity, and cells and tissues of the immune system. However, there was discordance among other topics, such as diagnostic laboratory immunology and therapeutics. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to improve immunology teaching in rheumatology training programs. Results show high concordance between the basic immunology topics. This study provides the groundwork for development of future immunology curricula.

Treating children's cyclic vomiting.

QUESTION: One of my pediatric patients was diagnosed with cyclic vomiting syndrome, and the parents are understandably frustrated with the recurrent yet unpredictable episodes that control and disrupt their family life. Are there any effective treatments for this condition? ANSWER: There is currently no evidence-based treatment regimen for cyclic vomiting syndrome. Pharmacologic remedies, according to anecdotal cases, retrospective reports, and open-label trials, have found that some antimigraine, antiemetic, prokinetic, and anticonvulsant agents have been effective. Management focuses on correct diagnosis of the syndrome, avoidance of potential triggers, prophylactic pharmacotherapy, and supportive care for children and their families during episodes.

Diagnostic and Therapeutic Foot and Ankle Injections.

For patients with disabling foot or ankle pain, medical or surgical treatment decisions can be difficult to make when multiple joints show changes of osteoarthritis or if the patient's pain clinically is related to a joint or tendon that is normal by other imaging studies. For these patients, injection of anesthetic, steroid, or both, into joints or tendon sheaths of the foot and ankle provides important diagnostic information and therapeutic relief. Diagnostic injections may show that the joints noted by other imaging studies have osteoarthritis that are not responsible for a patient's pain or that a normal joint is responsible. When multiple joints show changes of arthritis, anesthetic injections can help decide which and how many joints could benefit from surgical arthrodesis. Relief of pain after anesthetic joint injection correlates well with postoperative pain relief subsequent to arthrodesis. This article discusses the indications and the contraindications for performing diagnostic and therapeutic joint injections, and also presents the techniques for performing these studies.