Patient-clinician collaboration in making care fit: A qualitative analysis of clinical consultations in diabetes care.

OBJECTIVE: To confirm described dimensions of making care fit and explore how patients and clinicians collaborate to make care fit in clinical practice. METHODS: As part of an ongoing study, we audiotaped and transcribed patient-clinician consultations in diabetes care. We purposively selected consultations based on participants' demographical, biomedical and biographical characteristics. We analysed transcripts using reflexive thematic analysis. We combined a deductive and inductive approach, using the pre-described dimensions of making care fit and adding new (sub-)dimensions when pertinent. RESULTS: We analysed 24 clinical consultations. Our data confirmed eight previously described dimensions and provided new sub-dimensions of making care fit with examples from clinical practice (problematic situation, influence of devices, sense of options, shared agenda setting, clinician context, adapting to changing organization of care, and possibility to reconsider). CONCLUSION: Our study confirmed, specified and enriched the conceptualization of making care fit through practice examples. We observed patient-clinician collaboration in exploration of patients' context, and by responsively changing, adapting or maintaining care plans. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Our findings support clinicians and researchers with insights in important aspects of patient-clinician collaboration. Ultimately, this would lead to optimal design of care plans that fit well in each patient life.

Participatory Development of an Integrated, eHealth-Supported, Educational Care Pathway (Diabetes Box) for People With Type 2 Diabetes: Development and Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) tremendously affects patient health and health care globally. Changing lifestyle behaviors can help curb the burden of T2D. However, health behavior change is a complex interplay of medical, behavioral, and psychological factors. Personalized lifestyle advice and promotion of self-management can help patients change their health behavior and improve glucose regulation. Digital tools are effective in areas of self-management and have great potential to support patient self-management due to low costs, 24/7 availability, and the option of dynamic automated feedback. To develop successful eHealth solutions, it is important to include stakeholders throughout the development and use a structured approach to guide the development team in planning, coordinating, and executing the development process. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to develop an integrated, eHealth-supported, educational care pathway for patients with T2D. METHODS: The educational care pathway was developed using the first 3 phases of the Center for eHealth and Wellbeing Research roadmap: the contextual inquiry, the value specification, and the design phase. Following this roadmap, we used a scoping review about diabetes self-management education and eHealth, past experiences of eHealth practices in our hospital, focus groups with health care professionals (HCPs), and a patient panel to develop a prototype of an educational care pathway. This care pathway is called the Diabetes Box (Leiden University Medical Center) and consists of personalized education, digital educational material, self-measurements of glucose, blood pressure, activity, and sleep, and a smartphone app to bring it all together. RESULTS: The scoping review highlights the importance of self-management education and the potential of telemonitoring and mobile apps for blood glucose regulation in patients with T2D. Focus groups with HCPs revealed the importance of including all relevant lifestyle factors, using a tailored approach, and using digital consultations. The contextual inquiry led to a set of values that stakeholders found important to include in the educational care pathway. All values were specified in biweekly meetings with key stakeholders, and a prototype was designed. This prototype was evaluated in a patient panel that revealed an overall positive impression of the care pathway but stressed that the number of apps should be restricted to one, that there should be no delay in glucose value visualization, and that insulin use should be incorporated into the app. Both patients and HCPs stressed the importance of direct automated feedback in the Diabetes Box. CONCLUSIONS: After developing the Diabetes Box prototype using the Center for eHealth and Wellbeing Research roadmap, all stakeholders believe that the concept of the Diabetes Box is useful and feasible and that direct automated feedback and education on stress and sleep are essential. A pilot study is planned to assess feasibility, acceptability, and usefulness in more detail.

How to Use Costs in Value-Based Healthcare: Learning from Real-life Examples.

BACKGROUND: Healthcare organizations measure costs for business operations but do not routinely incorporate costs in decision-making on the value of care. AIM: Provide guidance on how to use costs in value-based healthcare (VBHC) delivery at different levels of the healthcare system. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Integrated practice units (IPUs) for diabetes mellitus (DM) and for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) at the Leiden University Medical Center and a collaboration of seven breast cancer IPUs of the Santeon group, all in the Netherlands. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION AND EVALUATION: VBHC aims to optimize care delivery to the patient by understanding how costs relate to outcomes. At the level of shared decision-making between patient and clinician, yearly check-up consultations for DM type I were analyzed for patient-relevant costs. In benchmarking among providers, quantities of cost drivers for breast cancer care were assessed in scorecards. In continuous learning, cost-effectiveness analysis was compared with radar chart analysis to assess the value of telemonitoring in outpatient follow-up. DISCUSSION: Costs vary among providers in healthcare, but also between provider and patient. The joint analysis of outcomes and costs using appropriate methods helps identify and optimize the aspects of care that drive desired outcomes and value.

The association of glucose metabolism and kidney function in middle-aged adults.

BACKGROUND: Previous clinical studies have shown that various measures of glucose metabolism are associated with a risk of chronic kidney disease in different populations, but results were not consistent. In this study we assessed measures of glucose metabolism and their association with kidney function in a population-based study. METHODS: The Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study is a population-based cohort study of middle-aged men and women. We categorized the study population according to glycaemic levels into normoglycaemia (reference group), pre-diabetes mellitus (pre-DM), known DM and newly diagnosed DM. Outcome variables were serum creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), glomerular hyperfiltration (defined as an eGFR >90th percentile; >102 mL/min/1.73 m2) and micro-albuminuria. We examined the association between measures of glucose metabolism [fasting glucose, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), fasting insulin, glucose area under the curve (AUC), insulin AUC, Homoeostatic Model Assessment of Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR), HOMA of ß-cell function (HOMA-B) and disposition index] and measures of kidney function. RESULTS: Of the total population (N = 6338), 55% of participants were classified as normoglycaemic (reference), 35% as pre-DM, 7% as DM and 4% as newly diagnosed DM. Compared with the reference group, diagnosed and newly diagnosed DMs were associated with a slightly higher trend in eGFR {+2.1 mL/min/1.73 m2 [95% confidence interval (CI) -0.2-4.4] and +2.7 mL/min/1.73 m2 [95% CI -0.3-5.7], respectively}. A 1% higher HbA1c was associated with increased odds of hyperfiltration [odds ratio (OR) 1.41 (95% CI 1.06-1.88)]. Higher levels of fasting plasma glucose, AUC glucose and HOMA-B were associated with hyperfiltration. Fasting insulin, AUC insulin and HOMA-IR were not associated with hyperfiltration. The OR of microalbuminuria was 1.21 (95% CI 1.04-1.42) per mmol/L higher fasting glucose concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Both fasting and post-prandial glucose and HOMA-B, but not measures of insulin resistance, were associated with glomerular hyperfiltration, while fasting glucose was also associated with microalbuminuria.

Chronic Nonbacterial Osteomyelitis of the Sternocostoclavicular Region in Adults: A Single-Center Dutch Cohort Study.

Sternocostoclavicular hyperostosis (SCCH) is a rare autoinflammatory bone disorder caused by chronic nonbacterial osteomyelitis (CNO), which is associated with sclerosis and hyperostosis primarily affecting the sternum, the medial end of the clavicles, and the first ribs. Other areas of the axial skeleton may also be affected. The more severe synovitis-acne-pustulosis-hyperostosis-osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome is additionally associated with dermatoses and joint manifestations. This Dutch retrospective cross-sectional single-center cohort study characterizes the spectrum of clinical features in adult CNO/SCCH patients at the time of diagnosis. The only inclusion criteria was the availability of complete sets of clinical and imaging data systematically collected over three decades using in-house protocols. Data from 213 predominantly female patients (88%) with a median age of 36 years at presentation were studied. The mean diagnostic delay was 5 ± 5 years. The main symptoms were chronic pain (92%), bony swelling (61%), and restricted shoulder girdle function (46%); 32% had palmoplantar pustulosis and 22% had autoimmune disease. The majority (73%) had isolated SCCH; 59 (27%) had additional localizations in vertebrae (19%), the mandible (9%), or both (2%); 4 had SAPHO. The prevalence of current or past smoking was high (58%), particularly for patients with palmoplantar pustulosis (76%). There was a significant relationship between delay in diagnosis and both the extent of affected skeletal sites (p = 0.036) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate levels (p = 0.023). Adult-onset CNO is characterized by distinctive clinical and radiological features, but diverse aspects of its spectrum are currently not fully captured by a comprehensive classification. Delayed diagnosis is still common and potentially associated with irreversible structural changes and debilitating chronic symptoms, increasing the burden of illness and negatively impacting on quality of life. It is hoped that findings from this study will dispel confusion about nomenclature and classification of adult-onset CNO and increase awareness of its distinctive clinical and radiological features, and thus facilitate early diagnosis and referral for treatment, which should positively impact prognosis by preventing disease progression, although this remains to be established. © 2021 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.

Increased stress, weight gain and less exercise in relation to glycemic control in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

INTRODUCTION: Lockdown measures have a profound effect on many aspects of daily life relevant for diabetes self-management. We assessed whether lockdown measures, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, differentially affect perceived stress, body weight, exercise and related this to glycemic control in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We performed a short-term observational cohort study at the Leiden University Medical Center. People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes ≥18 years were eligible to participate. Participants filled out online questionnaires, sent in blood for hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) analysis and shared data of their flash or continuous glucose sensors. HbA1c during the lockdown was compared with the last known HbA1c before the lockdown. RESULTS: In total, 435 people were included (type 1 diabetes n=280, type 2 diabetes n=155). An increase in perceived stress and anxiety, weight gain and less exercise was observed in both groups. There was improvement in glycemic control in the group with the highest HbA1c tertile (type 1 diabetes: -0.39% (-4.3 mmol/mol) (p<0.0001 and type 2 diabetes: -0.62% (-6.8 mmol/mol) (p=0.0036). Perceived stress was associated with difficulty with glycemic control (p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: An increase in perceived stress and anxiety, weight gain and less exercise but no deterioration of glycemic control occurs in both people with relatively well-controlled type 1 and type 2 diabetes during short-term lockdown measures. As perceived stress showed to be associated with glycemic control, this provides opportunities for healthcare professionals to put more emphasis on psychological aspects during diabetes care consultations.

Sex differences in cardiometabolic risk factors, pharmacological treatment and risk factor control in type 2 diabetes: findings from the Dutch Diabetes Pearl cohort.

INTRODUCTION: Sex differences in cardiometabolic risk factors and their management in type 2 diabetes (T2D) have not been fully identified. Therefore, we aimed to examine differences in cardiometabolic risk factor levels, pharmacological treatment and achievement of risk factor control between women and men with T2D. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional data from the Dutch Diabetes Pearl cohort were used (n=6637, 40% women). Linear and Poisson regression analyses were used to examine sex differences in cardiometabolic risk factor levels, treatment, and control. RESULTS: Compared with men, women had a significantly higher body mass index (BMI) (mean difference 1.79 kg/m2 (95% CI 1.49 to 2.08)), while no differences were found in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and systolic blood pressure (SBP). Women had lower diastolic blood pressure (-1.94 mm Hg (95% CI -2.44 to -1.43)), higher total cholesterol (TC) (0.44 mmol/L (95% CI 0.38 to 0.51)), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) (0.26 mmol/L (95% CI 0.22 to 0.31)), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) sex-standardized (0.02 mmol/L (95% CI 0.00 to 0.04)), and lower TC:HDL ratio (-0.29 (95% CI -0.36 to -0.23)) and triglycerides (geometric mean ratio 0.91 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.98)). Women had a 16% higher probability of being treated with antihypertensive medication in the presence of high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and elevated SBP than men (relative risk 0.84 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.98)), whereas no sex differences were found for glucose-lowering medication and lipid-modifying medication. Among those treated, women were less likely to achieve treatment targets of HbA1c (0.92 (95% CI 0.87 to 0.98)) and LDL-c (0.89 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.92)) than men, while no differences for SBP were found. CONCLUSIONS: In this Dutch T2D population, women had a slightly different cardiometabolic risk profile compared with men and a substantially higher BMI. Women had a higher probability of being treated with antihypertensive medication in the presence of high CVD risk and elevated SBP than men, and were less likely than men to achieve treatment targets for HbA1c and LDL levels.

Mortality after amputation in dialysis patients is high but not modified by diabetes status.

BACKGROUND: Survival among dialysis patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is inferior to survival of non-diabetic dialysis patients, probably due to the higher prevalence of diabetes-related comorbid conditions. One could hypothesize that these comorbid conditions also contribute to a decreased survival after amputation in diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic patients on dialysis. METHODS: Data were collected from the Netherlands Cooperative Study on the Adequacy of Dialysis, a multicentre, prospective cohort study in which new patients with end-stage renal disease were monitored until transplantation or death. Amputation rates (incident cases) were calculated in patients with and without DM. The primary endpoint was all-cause survival after first amputation during dialysis therapy in diabetic patients compared with non-diabetic dialysis patients with an amputation. This was formally assessed using interaction analysis (Poisson regression). RESULTS: During follow-up (mean duration 2.9 years), 50 of the 413 diabetic patients had a new amputation (12.1%), compared with 20 of 1553 non-diabetic patients (1.2%). Amputation rates/1000 person-years were 47.9 [95% confidence interval (CI) 36.3-63.2] and 4.1 (95% CI 2.7-6.4), respectively, for diabetic patients and non-diabetic patients. Amputation increased mortality risk more than 4-fold in patients without diabetes [hazard ratio (HR) 4.6 (95% CI 2.8-7.6)] as well as in patients with diabetes [HR 4.6 (95% CI 3.3-6.4)]. No formal interaction between diabetes and amputation was found (P = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: Amputation in dialysis patients is associated with a 4-fold increased mortality risk; this mortality risk was similar for diabetes and non-diabetes patients. Importantly, the risk for amputation is 10-fold higher in DM compared with non-diabetic dialysis patients.

Peripheral Neuropathy, Episodic Rhabdomyolysis, and Hypoparathyroidism in a Patient with Mitochondrial Trifunctional Protein Deficiency.

A combination of unexplained peripheral neuropathy, hypoparathyroidism, and the inability to cope with metabolic stress could point to a rare inborn error of metabolism, such as mitochondrial trifunctional protein (MTP) deficiency.Here, we describe a 20-year-old woman who was known since childhood with axonal motor sensory polyneuropathy of unknown origin. She presented with progressive dyspnoea, and increased muscle weakness, preceded by 6 days of fever, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Laboratory testing showed rhabdomyolysis, and hypocalcaemia with low parathyroid levels. The patient was intubated because of respiratory insufficiency and a viral and bacterial pneumonia was diagnosed. She was discharged after 16 days of admission. Metabolic screening, performed at the time of rhabdomyolysis, showed increased concentrations of long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl carnitine species, together with elevated urinary excretion of 3-hydroxy dicarboxylic acids. Decreased activity of long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and long-chain 3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase in peripheral lymphocytes and fibroblasts confirmed a MTP deficiency. Sequence analysis of the HADHB gene showed two heterozygous variants: c.209+1G>C (splicing defect) and c.980T>C (p.Leu327Leu). When the acylcarnitine profile was repeated after the episode of rhabdomyolysis had resolved it showed no abnormalities.Our case illustrates a cluster of peripheral neuropathy, episodic rhabdomyolysis, and hypoparathyroidism in a patient with MTP deficiency caused by mutations in the HADHB gene. It stresses the importance of performing metabolic screening when patients are most symptomatic, as normal results can be found at times when no metabolic stress is present. Screening is relatively easy and timely diagnosis has important implications for treatment.

Predicting mortality in patients with diabetes starting dialysis.

BACKGROUND: While some prediction models have been developed for diabetic populations, prediction rules for mortality in diabetic dialysis patients are still lacking. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify predictors for 1-year mortality in diabetic dialysis patients and use these results to develop a prediction model. METHODS: Data were used from the Netherlands Cooperative Study on the Adequacy of Dialysis (NECOSAD), a multicenter, prospective cohort study in which incident patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) were monitored until transplantation or death. For the present analysis, patients with DM at baseline were included. A prediction algorithm for 1-year all-cause mortality was developed through multivariate logistic regression. Candidate predictors were selected based on literature and clinical expertise. The final model was constructed through backward selection. The model's predictive performance, measured by calibration and discrimination, was assessed and internally validated through bootstrapping. RESULTS: A total of 394 patients were available for statistical analysis; 82 (21%) patients died within one year after baseline (3 months after starting dialysis therapy). The final prediction model contained seven predictors; age, smoking, history of macrovascular complications, duration of diabetes mellitus, Karnofsky scale, serum albumin and hemoglobin level. Predictive performance was good, as shown by the c-statistic of 0.810. Internal validation showed a slightly lower, but still adequate performance. Sensitivity analyses showed stability of results. CONCLUSIONS: A prediction model containing seven predictors has been identified in order to predict 1-year mortality for diabetic incident dialysis patients. Predictive performance of the model was good. Before implementing the model in clinical practice, for example for counseling patients regarding their prognosis, external validation is necessary.

Survival in dialysis patients is not different between patients with diabetes as primary renal disease and patients with diabetes as a co-morbid condition.

BACKGROUND: On dialysis, survival among patients with diabetes mellitus is inferior to survival of non-diabetic patients. We hypothesized that patients with diabetes as primary renal disease have worse survival compared to patients with diabetes as a co-morbid condition and aimed to compare all-cause mortality between these patient groups. METHODS: Data were collected from the Netherlands Cooperative Study on the Adequacy of Dialysis (NECOSAD), a multicenter, prospective cohort study in which new patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD) were monitored until transplantation or death. Patients with diabetes as primary cause of ESRD were compared with patients with diabetes as co-morbid condition and both of these patient groups were compared to patients without diabetes. Analysis was performed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. RESULTS: Fifteen % of the patients had diabetic nephropathy as primary renal disease (N = 281); 6% had diabetes as co-morbid condition (N = 107) and 79% had no diabetes (N = 1465). During follow-up 42% of patients (N = 787) died. Compared to non-diabetic patients, mortality risk was increased for both patients with diabetes as primary renal disease HR: 1.9 (95% CI 1.6, 2.3) and for patients with diabetes as co-morbid condition HR: 1.7 (95% CI 1.3, 2.2). Mortality was not significantly higher in patients with diabetes as primary renal disease compared to patients with diabetes as co-morbid condition (HR 1.06; 95% CI 0.79, 1.43). CONCLUSIONS: This study in patients with ESRD showed no survival difference between patients with diabetes as primary renal disease and patients with diabetes as a co-morbid condition. Both conditions were associated with increased mortality risk compared to non-diabetic patients.