Increased physiotherapy capacity reduces duration of tracheostomy in situ, reduces hospital length of stay and improves functional outcomes for people with an acquired brain injury (ABI): a service review.

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of increased physiotherapy capacity in an acute regional Neurosurgery Centre on outcomes for people with an acquired brain injury (ABI) requiring a tracheostomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A service review of patients undergoing active tracheostomy weaning, admitted over two 15-week time periods; normal physiotherapy staffing with enhanced physiotherapy staffing. RESULTS: With a 50% increase in staffing, physiotherapy rehabilitation sessions increased from 2 to 4 times weekly. A mean improvement was found for patient outcomes; time with a tracheostomy in situ reduced by 11 days and the length of hospital stay reduced by 19 days. Functional status on discharge also improved, with 33% of patients able to mobilise on discharge with normal staffing levels and 77% of patients able to mobilise on discharge with enhanced staffing levels. CONCLUSION: A temporary increase in physiotherapy capacity gave the opportunity to evaluate the impact on physiotherapy rehabilitation frequency and patient outcomes. Results demonstrate the positive impact for this complex patient group on outcomes including rehabilitation frequency, length of stay, time to decannulation, and functional status on discharge. Early access to high-frequency specialist physiotherapy rehabilitation is a critical component of improving functional independence in people with an ABI requiring a tracheostomy.IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATIONIncreasing the capacity of specialist neurological physiotherapy treatment within this healthcare setting for people who have acquired a brain injury and require tracheostomy intervention may have a significant impact for patients and the NHS.Service improvement projects that use rigorous research methodology produce outcomes and evaluations that are robust and reliable.Supporting health and care professionals to use research methods within service improvement projects exposes them to the value of embedding research within their clinical environments.

Fact Boxes: What gets through? A focus group study.

BACKGROUND: The "fact box" format was developed to present the benefits and side effects of medical treatments without distortion and in a comprehensible manner. Few studies were able to show that fact boxes, when compared with other formats, significantly improve risk perception, comprehensibility and readability. The fact boxes available in Germany, however, vary with regard to how tables and accompanying texts are presented. It is unclear to what extent the existing evidence can be applied to these formats. Hardly any fact boxes have been piloted systematically. The aim was to pilot the fact box "Antibiotics for acute bronchitis" as a model for the format in terms of feasibility. METHOD: We used print and online media to recruit adults (> 18 years). The characteristics gender, age and level of education were considered for sampling. The feasibility was explored by means of a semi-structured interview guideline. The focus group interviews were audio-taped and then transcribed. Data analysis was conducted as content analysis according to Mayring. RESULTS: Five focus groups with a total of 28 participants took place between April 2018 and May 2019 (Halle/Saale, Saxony-Anhalt: n=3; St. Ingbert, Saarland: n=1; Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate: n=1). The fact box was piloted in an iterative process; the results were revised accordingly and checked again in focus groups until information saturation was achieved. The analysis identified the following main categories: interpretation of contents, readability, low reliability; credibility, relevance of the information, relevance of the presentation; superfluous information; completeness and layout. Overall, the fact box was hardly understood, especially regarding the numerical presentation given and the technical terms used. Both the objective and the intended addressees of the fact box were not clear. After revision, feasibility was established. DISCUSSION: The iterative revision process resulted in a final version that was well understood and perceived as a decision aid. CONCLUSION: The results support the demand of the guideline "Evidence-based Health Information" for piloting evidence-based health information prior to their dissemination and further evaluation. The next step will be to evaluate the fact box format in a randomised controlled trial.

Ultrastructural, transcriptional, and functional differences between human reticulated and non-reticulated platelets.

BACKGROUND: Reticulated platelets (RP) are the youngest circulating platelets in blood. An increased amount of this subpopulation is associated with higher cardiovascular risk and mortality. OBJECTIVES: It is unknown to what extent intrinsic properties of RP contribute to their hyperreactive features. This study is the first providing a multifactorial approach based on ultrastructural, transcriptional, and functional analysis of RP compared to non-RP sorted by flow cytometry. METHODS: Reticulated platelets and non-RP were sorted after platelet staining with SYTO 13. Employing transmission electron microscopy, 1089 micrographs were analyzed for platelet size, amounts of intracellular structures, and anatomical surrogates indicating activation. Long and small RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) were performed for analyzing differential gene expression. Functional analysis of P-selectin-an upregulated mRNA in RP-was performed in healthy subjects and patients on P2Y12 -inhibitors. RESULTS: Electron micrographs uncovered distinct ultrastructural differences in RP versus non-RP. Cross sections were 1.9-fold larger in RP (P < .0001). Amounts of α-granules, dense granules, open canalicular system-openings, and mitochondria were increased in RP, which persisted after adjustment for platelet size. Long RNA-seq showed 1212 upregulated transcripts that are predominantly associated to platelet shape change, aggregation, and activation; 1264 mRNAs were downregulated in RP. Small RNA-seq did not reveal any differentially expressed transcripts. Functional analysis displayed higher P-selectin expression as compared to non-RP upon ADP- or TRAP-stimulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that altered intrinsic structural and molecular properties contribute to the hyperreactivity of RP. These properties and an increased amount of RP may account for the association with cardiovascular risk.

Antagonizing P2Y12 Receptor Inhibitors: Current and Future Options.

There are clinical scenarios where the balance between the risk of ischemic and bleeding events leads to the clinical decision to reverse the antiplatelet effect of P2Y12 receptor inhibitors. These scenarios comprise emergency situations such as active severe bleeding, urgent procedures with presumed high bleeding risk, or major trauma with (anticipated) bleeding. Supplementation of platelets has been investigated in ex vivo as well as in in vivo studies. These studies indicate that the inhibition of adenosine diphosphate-induced aggregation by the irreversibly binding thienopyridine derivatives clopidogrel and prasugrel can be reversed by administration of platelet concentrates. Supplementation of platelets in patients on prasugrel is more effective if this can be transfused > 6 hours after last dosing. Studies on the reversal effect obtained by administration of platelet concentrates in patients on ticagrelor show conflicting results. Experimental data suggest that administration of serum albumin might increase the reversal effect. A monoclonal antibody fragment (PB2452) for neutralizing ticagrelor is currently in clinical development. A recently published first in man study shows that reversal of platelet inhibition occurs within 5 minutes after start of administration and the effect is maintained for 20 to 24 hours after a 16-hour infusion which is by far the most effective approach for reversal of ticagrelor.

Evaluation of an Alternative Staining Method Using SYTO 13 to Determine Reticulated Platelets.

Reticulated platelets reflect the rate of platelet turnover and represent the youngest circulating platelets in peripheral blood. Reticulated platelets contain residual ribonucleic acid (RNA) from megakaryocytes which is lost in a time-dependent manner and can be transcribed into proteins even in the absence of a nucleus. An increased proportion of reticulated platelets is associated with higher platelet reactivity, cardiovascular events and mortality. At present, a fully automated assay system (SYSMEX haematology analyser) is available for analysis. This method, however, is not suitable for extended laboratory investigations like subsequent cell sorting. Flow cytometry analysis after staining with thiazole orange (TO) is frequently used in such settings despite several limitations. Here, we describe a new assay for determination of reticulated platelets by flow cytometry using the nucleic acid staining dye SYTO 13 and compare it with SYSMEX and TO staining as current standards. A significant correlation between immature platelet fraction (IPF) determined by SYSMEX XE-2100 analyser and results obtained with the SYTO 13-based assay was observed (r = 0.668, p < 0.001) which was stable during a reasonable time period. In contrast, the correlation between TO staining and IPF was weaker (r = 0.478, p = 0.029) and lost after 90 minutes of staining. SYTO 13 staining of platelets enabled sorting of RNAlow and RNArich platelets which was confirmed by RNA quantification of sorted platelets. Except for fixation of platelets, sorting of these platelet sub-populations was stable under various experimental settings. In summary, determination of reticulated platelets with the new SYTO 13 assay offers distinct technical advantages enabling further laboratory processing.