Optical coherence tomography-guided vs. intravascular ultrasound-guided percutaneous coronary intervention: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) are superior to coronary angiography for guiding percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, whether one technique is superior to the other is inconclusive. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to November 2023 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing OCT and IVUS in patients undergoing PCI. RevMan 5.4 was used to pool outcomes with risk ratio (RR) as the effect measure. Results: Six RCTs (4,402 patients) were included in this meta-analysis. There was no significant difference between the OCT- and IVUS-guided PCI groups in the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (RR 0.87, 95% CI: 0.65, 1.16; I2 = 0%) and cardiac mortality (RR 0.73, 95% CI: 0.24, 2.21; I2 = 0%). The results were consistent across the subgroups of the presence or absence of left main disease (P interaction >0.1). There were no significant differences between OCT and IVUS in the risk of target lesion revascularization (RR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.47, 1.30; I2 = 0%), target vessel revascularization (RR 1.06, 95% CI: 0.69, 1.62; I2 = 0%), target-vessel myocardial infarction (RR 0.79, 95% CI: 0.40, 1.53; I2 = 0%), stent thrombosis (RR 0.59, 95% CI: 0.12, 2.97; I2 = 0%), and all-cause mortality (RR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.53, 1.90; I2 = 0%). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis demonstrated similar clinical outcomes in OCT- and IVUS-guided PCI. New large-scale multicenter RCTs with long-term follow-up are required to confirm or refute our findings and provide more reliable results. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier, CRD42023486933.

Assessing the Impact of Prenatal Medication for Opioid Use Disorder on Discharge Home With Parents Among Infants With Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: The number of women with opioid-related diagnoses in the United States has significantly increased in recent decades, resulting in concomitantly higher rates of infants born with neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). Addressing prenatal opioid exposure is a priority for Alaska health systems. The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify maternal and neonatal factors associated with receipt of Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) and (2) determine the impact of prenatal MOUD on discharge to parents among infants with NOWS in 3 Alaska hospitals. METHODS: A retrospective chart review using a standard abstraction form was conducted to collect data on neonatal and maternal characteristics, neonatal treatment, and infant discharge disposition for infants with NOWS born at the 3 hospitals between July 2016 and December 2019. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to determine factors associated with discharge to parents. RESULTS: There were 10,719 births at the 3 hospitals during the study period, including 193 infants (1.8%) with NOWS. Among the 193 mothers, 91 (47.2%) received MOUD during pregnancy. Among infants with NOWS, 136 (70.5%) were discharged to parents, 51 (26.4%) were discharged to a relative or foster care. Infants were significantly (odds ratio 3.9) more likely to be discharged to parents if the mother had received prenatal MOUD. CONCLUSIONS: MOUD among pregnant women with opioid use disorder furthers the goal of keeping families together and is a critical step towards reducing the impact of the ongoing opioid epidemic on Alaska families, communities, and the child welfare system.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Caregiver Needs Screen in Neuro-Oncology Family Caregivers.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The informal care demands of primary malignant brain tumor (PMBT) patients include unique issues associated with neurological and cognitive symptoms. Existing caregiver needs questionnaires do not include these disease-specific symptoms, which are particularly distressing. Therefore, we have developed the neuro-oncology Caregiver Needs Screen (CNS) and evaluated its psychometric properties. METHODS: The 32-item instrument was developed based on PMBT caregiver interviews (N = 109) and expert review. The CNS was tested along measures of depression, anxiety, burden, and mastery in 122 PMBT caregivers. Principal components analysis was used to examine item properties and internal structure. Internal consistency reliability and construct validity were assessed. RESULTS: Six subscales were identified with internal consistency ranging between alpha = .653 and .857. Convergent validity was verified by moderate/high correlations between measures of caregiver well-being and CNS scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide preliminary evidence of reliability and validity for the CNS. This instrument can be useful when assessing caregivers' needs for supportive care.

Evaluation of a Clinical Protocol to Assess and Diagnose Neuropathic Pain During Acute Hospital Admission: Results From Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.

OBJECTIVES: A clinical protocol was developed for clinicians to routinely assess and initiate treatment for patients with neuropathic pain (NP) in an acute care setting. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the incidence and onset of NP in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury during acute care and (2) describe how the implementation of a clinical protocol impacts the assessment and diagnosis of NP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a cohort analysis with a pre-post-test utilizing a historical control. Data were retrospectively collected from a patient registry and charts. Participants were randomly selected in cohort 1 (control) and cohort 2 (NP clinical protocol). RESULTS: The incidence of NP was 56% without significant difference between the cohorts (P=0.3). Onset of NP was 8 days (SD=14) across the study and >85% of the participants with NP were diagnosed within 2 weeks. Participants with incomplete injuries had a significant earlier onset than participants with complete injuries (6.2±12.8, 10.9±15.8 d; P=0.003). The mean number of days from hospital admission to initial assessment decreased with use of the NP clinical protocol (3.7±5.7 d; P=0.02). DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates a high incidence and early onset of NP in traumatic spinal cord injury during acute hospital care, with an earlier emergence in participants with incomplete injury. The NP clinical protocol ensured continuous assessment and documentation of NP while decreasing the time to an initial screen, but did not impact diagnosis.

Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with increased readmission in heart failure patients.

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) readmission rates have become an increasingly important quality metric since the advent of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. Despite many well-intentioned efforts to reduce readmissions, clinicians continue to struggle with the problem of high HF readmission rates. HYPOTHESIS: HF patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) will have higher burden of rehospitalization and mortality than HF patients without OSA. METHODS: Our study included 344 patient encounters (among 271 unique patients) with a diagnosis of HF from September 2014 through September 2015. Our primary endpoints were all-cause readmission within 30 and 90 days. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between OSA and readmission when accounting for potential confounders. RESULTS: The patients' were 72 ± 10 years old, and predominantly white (76.2%) and male (99.4%). Among the 344 patient encounters, 247 (71.8%) had diagnosed coronary artery disease, 159 (46.2%) had atrial fibrillation, and 99 (28%) had obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Notably, patients with OSA had an elevated rate of readmission within 30 days (OSA: 30.3% vs no OSA: 19.6%, P = 0.037) and within 90 days (OSA: 57.6% vs no OSA: 36.3P < 0.01). Patients with OSA had increased risk of readmission within 90 days (odds ratio: 2.38, 95% confidence interval: 1.47-3.83, P < 0.01) even after adjustment for potential confounders of age, race, obesity, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. CONCLUSIONS: HF patients with OSA have an elevated rate of readmission compared to the general HF population, particularly within the first 90 days after discharge.

Neuro-oncology family caregivers are at risk for systemic inflammation.

Prolonged periods of family caregiving can induce stress levels that may negatively influence caregiver health. However, the physiologic effect of psychological distress in oncology family caregivers has received little attention. Therefore we aimed to determine longitudinal profiles of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-1ra) in neuro-oncology caregivers and identify associations between psychological distress and cytokine levels. Depressive symptoms, anxiety, caregiver burden and blood were collected from 108 adult caregivers at adult patients' diagnosis, 4-, 8-, and 12-months. Trajectory analyses of log transformed cytokine levels were performed. Multiple logistic regression analyses evaluated the impact of psychological distress on cytokine levels. For both cytokines, two distinct populations were identified, neither of which changed over time. High IL-1ra was associated with male caregivers with anxiety (OR = 1.7; 95 %CI 1.06-2.83) and obese caregivers (BMI = 40) who felt burdened due to disrupted schedules (OR = 1.3; 95 %CI 1.02-1.77). Conversely, caregivers with a healthy weight (BMI = 25) who felt burdened due to disrupted schedules were less likely to have high IL-1ra (OR = 0.71; 95 %CI 0.54-0.92). Caregivers ≤30 years old with lower self-esteem from caregiving were 1.16 times (95 %CI 1.04-1.30) more likely to have high IL-6. Analysis demonstrated groups of family caregivers with high and low levels of systemic inflammation and these levels did not change longitudinally over the care trajectory. Poor physical health in family caregivers may have a negative impact on the burden placed on the healthcare system in general and on the well-being of neuro-oncology patients in particular.

Acute Neuropathic Pain Assessment in Burn Injured Patients: A Retrospective Review.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to measure the prevalence of acute neuropathic pain in patients with acute burn injuries and the demographic and clinical characteristics of neuropathic pain in this population. We also evaluated the proportion of patients who received twice-daily evaluation of nurses' documentation of neuropathic pain following introduction of a validated neuropathic pain assessment tool embedded within the pain chart. DESIGN: Retrospective, descriptive study. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: The sample comprised 86 patients with second- and third-degree burn injuries. The research setting was a burn injury unit in a provincial center in British Columbia, Canada. METHODS: Medical records over a 1-year prior following introduction of assessment of neuropathic pain into pain charts were retrospectively reviewed, and data collection focused on evidence of nurses undertaking acute neuropathic pain assessment as well as prevalence of report of acute neuropathic pain signs among this patient group. Neuropathic pain was evaluated twice daily using the Douleur Neuropathique 4, a previously validated neuropathic pain assessment tool. RESULTS: Eighty percent of patients cared for received twice-daily neuropathic pain assessment. The prevalence of patients with neuropathic pain based on the Douleur Neuropathique instrument scores was 42%. Males reported neuropathic signs more than female patients, and patients with a greater than 10% body surface burn had a higher prevalence of neuropathic pain. CONCLUSION: Study findings suggest that patients with acute burn injury are at risk of neuropathic pain. We recommend that nurse assessment of neuropathic pain becomes routine during the acute injury phase.

Nurse screening for neuropathic pain in postoperative patients.

This study was designed to audit nurse assessment and documentation for neuropathic pain in postoperative patients. The audit focused on recorded signs of neuropathic pain in the immediate postoperative period. Nurses were educated on how to screen patients for neuropathic signs using the validated and reliable 7-item DN4. Data were obtained from 450 patient charts from the thoracic, orthopaedic and spinal units. Of the 450 patient charts reviewed, 423 included a record of nurse screening of neuropathic pain signs. Screening by nurses found 24% (n=102) of the patients reported between one and four signs of neuropathic pain within the first 3 days following their surgery. This study demonstrated that the incorporation of the 7-item DN4 neuropathic pain assessment tool within the generic pain chart enabled nurses to regularly screen postoperative patients for signs of neuropathic pain in the immediate postoperative period.

The impact of a problem-solving intervention on increasing caregiver assistance and improving caregiver health.

PURPOSE: There is a paucity of research evaluating the impact of symptom management interventions on increasing family caregiver involvement in symptom management and on caregivers' emotional health. In addition, most caregiver interventions are delivered by a health care professional, which can be costly to implement in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to determine whether, in patients with solid tumors, a nurse-delivered symptom management intervention was more effective than a coach-led intervention in increasing caregiver involvement in symptom management and improving caregivers' emotional health. METHODS: Both caregivers and care recipients were recruited for the study. Inclusion criteria for patients were ≥40 years of age, English speaking, cognitively intact, and having a diagnosis of stage III or IV tumor. Dyads were randomized to a nurse-delivered symptom management intervention (N = 88) versus the coach-led group (N = 81). Data were collected via telephone interviews at baseline, 10, and 16 weeks. RESULTS: There was no significant main effect of the problem-solving intervention on symptom assistance at 10 weeks, but there were two significant interactions, between trial arm and depressive symptoms and between baseline assistance with symptoms and relationship to the patient. Caregivers with lower depressive symptoms were more likely (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.45-2.76) to provide assistance at 10 weeks if they received the nurse-delivered intervention. Spousal (versus non-spouses) caregivers who provided assistance at baseline were less likely to provide assistance at 10 weeks (OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.36-0.94). No significant trial arm effects were found on caregiver emotional health, but assistance with greater number of symptoms was associated with worse caregiver depressive symptoms (p < 0.01) and burden (impact on schedule, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that a nurse-delivered problem-solving intervention increases family caregivers' level of assistance in symptom management for caregivers with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Data also suggest interventions focused solely on care recipient symptom management may not be effective in improving caregivers' emotional health.

Impact of a mobile van on prenatal care utilization and birth outcomes in Miami-Dade County.

The study aimed to determine if there was a difference in prenatal care utilization and birth outcomes among demographically similar women who used or did not use a mobile van for prenatal care. Mothers who utilized the mobile van at least one time for their prenatal care and delivered between August 2007 through September 2008 were considered the Mobile group (n = 182) and a Comparison group of the same size who delivered within the same time period was randomly matched by sociodemographic characteristics. Birth data was obtained from Florida Department of Health Office of Vital Statistics and from the mobile clinic's Health Management System (HMS) database. Nearly 95% of mothers in both groups were foreign born, with the majority from Mexico. The evaluation of prenatal care showed that there was a significant difference (P = 0.0006) in the trimester in which mothers began care. Both the Kessner (P = 0.0003) and Kotelchuck (<0.0001) Indices demonstrated a statistically significant difference in that more mothers in the Mobile group had adequate care. Birth weight distribution did not reveal a statistically significant difference (P = 0.0911) however the Mobile group did have a lower percentage of low birth weight infants (4.4% vs. 8.8%). There was a statistically significant difference in the amount of pre-term births (P = 0.0492) between the groups. The results suggest that a mobile van can be used to improve both early access to adequate prenatal care as well as birth outcomes such as prematurity.

Prospective evaluation of an emergency medical services-administered alternative transport protocol.

BACKGROUND: The ability of emergency medical services (EMS) providers to offer an alternative means of nonemergent transport for patients with minor medical complaints is a rarely sanctioned concept in U.S. EMS systems. OBJECTIVE: To prospectively determine if paramedics using transport guidelines can identify patients with minor medical problems who can be safely transported by a nonmedical alternative transport mechanism (taxi). METHODS: Paramedics in the city of Norfolk, Virginia, who had more than one year of experience and who had completed the study orientation course were eligible to enroll subjects in the study. Predetermined alternative transport exclusion criteria as well as inclusion guidelines were provided to paramedics. After on-scene evaluation, paramedics identified subjects who met the enrollment criteria and were deemed safe for emergent ambulance transport. Enrolled subjects were provided a prepaid taxi voucher, which allowed for transport to the closest emergency department (ED). Patients who refused study participation were transported to the ED by ambulance. RESULTS: Ninety-three subjects were enrolled and transported to the ED via taxi. Eleven patients identified by EMS as meeting enrollment criteria refused study participation. The average time from taxi dispatch to ED triage was 43 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI] = 38 to 48). Nine (10%) subjects transported by taxi were ultimately admitted to the hospital. None of the study participants required ED blood transfusions or emergent procedures or suffered an adverse event that could be directly attributed to the delay in ED arrival by taxi. CONCLUSIONS: The ability of EMS to safely triage patients who activate the 9-1-1 system to an alternative transport mechanism remains an unproven concept. Our study adds to the concerns of other published literature that EMS providers underestimate the potential severity of illness.