Association of Intrinsic Capacity with Frailty, Physical Fitness and Adverse Health Outcomes in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Intrinsic capacity (IC) and frailty are complementary in advancing disability prevention through maintaining functionality. OBJECTIVES: We examined the relationship between IC and frailty status at baseline and 1-year, and evaluated if IC decline predicts frailty onset among robust older adults. The secondary objectives investigated associations between IC, physical fitness and health-related outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Community-based assessments. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults aged>55 years, who were independent in ambulation (walking aids permitted). MEASUREMENTS: 5 domains of IC were assessed at baseline: locomotion (Short Physical Performance Battery, 6-minute walk test), vitality (nutritional status, muscle mass), sensory (self-reported hearing and vision), cognition (self-reported memory, age- and education adjusted cognitive performance), psychological (Geriatric Depression Scale-15, self-reported anxiety/ depression). Composite IC (0-10) was calculated, with higher scores representing greater IC. Frailty status was based on modified Fried criteria, with frailty progression defined as incremental Fried score at 1-year. RESULTS: 809 participants (67.6+6.8 years) had complete data for all 5 IC domains. 489 (60.4%) participants were robust but only 213 (26.3%) had no decline in any IC domain. Pre-frail and frail participants were more likely to exhibit decline in all 5 IC domains (p<0.05), with decremental composite IC [9 (8-9), 8 (6-9), 5.5 (4-7.5), p<0.001] across robust, prefrail and frail. IC was significantly associated with fitness performance, independent of age and gender. Higher composite IC reduced risk for frailty progression (OR=0.62, 95% CI 0.48-0.80), and reduced frailty onset among robust older adults (OR=0.53, 95% CI 0.37-0.77), independent of age, comorbidities and social vulnerability. Participants with higher IC were less likely to experience health deterioration (OR=0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.83), falls (OR=0.76, 95% CI 0.65-0.90) and functional decline (OR=0.64, 95% CI 0.50-0.83) at 1-year. CONCLUSION: Declining IC may present before frailty becomes clinically manifest, increasing risk for poor outcomes. Monitoring of IC domains potentially facilitates personalized interventions to avoid progressive frailty.

TB contact tracing for young children: an Australian cascade of care review.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate care cascades for programmatic active case finding and latent TB infection (LTBI) management in young child TB contacts (aged <5 years) in Victoria, Australia. DESIGN: This was a retrospective review of public health surveillance data to identify contacts of all pulmonary TB cases notified from 2016 to 2019. RESULTS: Contact tracing identified 574 young child contacts of 251 pulmonary TB cases. Active TB was found in 28 (4.9%) contacts, none of whom had previously received bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination, and 529 were tested for TB infection using the tuberculin skin test (TST). The overall TST positivity was 15.3% (95% CI 0.1-0.2). Among the 574 children, 150 (26.1%) were close contacts of sputum smear-positive cases and 25 (16.7%) of these were not referred to TB clinics. Of the 125 referred, 81 were considered to have LTBI, 79 agreed to commence TB preventive treatment (TPT) and 71 (89.9%) completed TPT. Following completion of TPT, no child was subsequently diagnosed with active TB. CONCLUSION: There was a high yield from active case finding and uptake of TPT. Notable losses in the cascade of care occurred around referral to tertiary clinics, but high treatment completion rates and good outcomes were found in those prescribed treatment.

OBJECTIF: Evaluer les cascades de soins pour la recherche active programmatique des cas et la prise en charge de l'infection tuberculeuse latente (ITL) chez les contacts de jeunes patients atteints de TB âgés de <5 ans dans l'état de Victoria, Australie. SCHÉMA: Revue rétrospective de données de surveillance de santé publique afin d'identifier les contacts de tous les cas de TB pulmonaire notifiés de 2016 à 2019. RÉSULTATS: Le traçage des contacts a identifié 574 jeunes enfants tous contacts de 251 cas de TB pulmonaire. Une TB active a été trouvée chez 28 enfants contacts (4,9%), aucun n'ayant reçu le vaccin bacille Calmette-Guérin, et 529 ont été testés à la recherche d'infection TB avec un test cutané à la tuberculine (TCT). La positivité d'ensemble du TCT a été de 15,3% (IC 95% 0,1­0,2). Parmi les 574 enfants, 150 (26,1%) étaient des contacts étroits de cas à frottis de crachats positifs et 25 (16,7%) d'entre eux n'ont pas été référés dans des structures TB. Sur les 125 enfants référés, 81 ont été considérés comme ayant une ITL, 79 ont accepté de débuter un traitement préventif (TPT) et 71 (89,9%) l'ont terminé. Aucun enfant n'a ensuite eu de diagnostic de TB active. CONCLUSION: La recherche active de cas et la couverture TPT ont eu un rendement élevé. Des pertes notables dans la cascade de soins sont survenues lors de référence aux structures tertiaires, mais ceux qui ont reçu un traitement ont eu un taux élevé d'achèvement et de bons résultats.

A Non-Controlled Study of a Multi-Factorial Exercise and Nutritional Intervention to Improve Functional Performance and Prevent Frailty Progression in Community-Dwelling Pre-Frail Older Adults.

Background: Preventing frailty is important to avoid adverse health outcomes. Intervention studies have largely focused on frail elderly, although the intermediate pre-frail state may be more amenable to improvement. Objectives: This study aims to assess how physical performance may change among pre-frail elderly enrolled in a pragmatic non-controlled exercise and nutritional intervention programme. Methods: This is a non-controlled study involving a 4-month exercise and nutritional intervention for community dwelling pre-frail older adults. Pre-frailty was defined as the presence of 1 or 2 positive responses on the FRAIL questionnaire, or evidence of weak grip strength (<26kg for males; <18kg for females) or slow gait speed (<0.8m/s) amongst participants who were asymptomatic on FRAIL. Physical performance in flexibility, grip and lower limb strength, endurance, balance, and Short Physical Performance Battery were measured at 3 time-points: baseline, 3-month from recruitment (without intervention), and immediate post-intervention. Repeated measures mixed model analysis was performed to compare physical performance measures across the 3 time-points. Results: 94 pre-frail participants were eligible for intervention, of whom 59 (mean age = 70.9±7.2 years) were ready for the post-intervention review. 21 (35.6%) transitioned to robust phenotype while 32 (54.2%) remained as pre-frail. Significant improvement post-intervention was observed in lower limb strength and power, evident on reduction in time taken for 5 sit-to-stand repetitions (0.46±0.20s, p=0.03). There was no significant change to the other physical performance measures examined. Conclusion: We observed reversibility of pre-frailty, and the benefit of multi-component intervention in improving physical performance of pre-frail older adults. The findings in this non-controlled study will need to be corroborated with future controlled trials.

Comparison of two different optical coherence tomography angiography devices in detecting healthy versus glaucomatous eyes - an observational cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: To understand the differences between two different optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) devices in detecting glaucomatous from healthy eyes by comparing their vascular parameters, diagnostic accuracy and test-retest reliability. METHODS: A cross-sectional observational study was performed on healthy and glaucoma subjects, on whom two sets of OCTA images of optic disc and macula were acquired using both AngioVue (Optovue, USA) and Swept Source (Topcon, Japan) OCTA devices during one visit. A novel in-house software was used to calculate the vessel densities. Diagnostic accuracy of the machines in differentiating healthy versus glaucomatous eyes was determined using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and test-retest repeatability of the machines was also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 80 healthy and 38 glaucomatous eyes were evaluated. Glaucomatous eyes had reduced mean vessel density compared to healthy controls in all segmented layers of the optic disc and macula using AngioVue (p ≤ 0.001). However, glaucomatous eyes had higher mean vessel density on optic disc scans using Swept Source, with lack of statistically significant difference between healthy and glaucomatous eyes. The AUROC showed better diagnostic accuracy of AngioVue (0.761-1.000) compared to Swept Source (0.113-0.644). The test-retest reliability indices were generally better using AngioVue than Swept Source. CONCLUSIONS: AngioVue showed better diagnostic capability and test-retest reliability compared to Swept Source. Further studies need to be undertaken to evaluate if there is any significant difference between the various machines in diagnosing and monitoring glaucoma.

Frailty Assessment in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Comparison of 3 Diagnostic Instruments.

OBJECTIVES: Compare the diagnostic performance of FRAIL against Fried Phenotype and Frailty Index (FI), and identify clinical factors associated with pre-frailty/frailty. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis. SETTING: Community-based screenings in Senior Activity Centres, Residents' Corners and Community Centres in northeast Singapore. PARTICIPANTS: 517 community dwelling participants aged >55 years and ambulant independently (with/ without walking aids) were included in this study. Residents of sheltered or nursing homes, and seniors unable to ambulate at least four meters independently were excluded. MEASUREMENTS: The multidomain geriatric screen included assessments for social vulnerability, mood, cognition, sarcopenia and nutrition. Participants completed a battery of physical fitness tests for grip strength, gait speed, lower limb strength and power, flexibility, balance and endurance, with overall physical performance represented by Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Frailty status was assigned on FRAIL, Fried and 35-item FI. RESULTS: Prevalence of frailty was 1.3% (FRAIL) to 3.1% (FI). Pre-frailty prevalence ranged from 17.0% (FRAIL) to 51.2% (FI). FRAIL demonstrated poor agreement with FI (kappa=0.171, p<0.0001), and Fried (kappa=0.194, p<0.0001). A lower FRAIL cut-off ≥1 yielded significantly improved AUC of 0.70 (95%CI 0.55 to 0.86, p=0.009) against Fried, and 0.71 (95%CI 0.55 to 0.86, p=0.008) against FI. All 3 frailty measures were diagnostic of impaired physical performance on SPPB, with AUCs ranging from 0.69 on FRAIL to 0.77 on Fried (all p values <0.01). Prevalence of low socio-economic status, depression, malnutrition and sarcopenia increased significantly, while fitness measures of gait speed, balance, and endurance declined progressively across robust, pre-frail and frail on all 3 frailty instruments (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that different frailty instruments may capture over-lapping albeit distinct constructs, and thus may not be used interchangeably. FRAIL has utility for quick screening, and any positive response should trigger further assessment, including evaluation for depression, social vulnerability and malnutrition.

Recurrence of tuberculosis in a low-incidence setting without directly observed treatment: Victoria, Australia, 2002-2014.

SETTING: Victoria, Australia, is an industrialised setting with low tuberculosis (TB) incidence and universal health care. Individually tailored adherence support for self-administered daily anti-tuberculosis treatment is provided. Directly observed treatment (DOT) is very rarely used. OBJECTIVE: To review the rate of recurrent TB in Victoria between 2002 and 2014. DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study. All recurrent episodes of TB were reviewed and 24-locus MIRU-VNTR (mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number of tandem repeats) molecular typing was used where possible to determine the likelihood of relapse or reinfection. RESULTS: Of 4766 notifications, 32 (0.7%) were recurrent episodes. Of 20 episodes that occurred in patients who had previously completed treatment, 11 were culture-positive (0.4% of 3012 culture-positive episodes): 9 were likely relapses (distinguishable at no more than one of 24 loci) and two were likely reinfections, giving a TB relapse rate among culture-positive episodes of 52.5/100 000 person-years (mean time to study end per patient of 5.7 years). The median time until relapse was 18 months (interquartile range 12-30). CONCLUSIONS: The low rate of relapse in our setting demonstrates that individually tailored adherence support for self-administered anti-tuberculosis treatment can achieve excellent treatment outcomes.

Evaluation of tuberculin skin testing in tuberculosis contacts in Victoria, Australia, 2005-2013.

AIM: To review the programmatic use of the tuberculin skin test (TST) following tuberculosis (TB) exposure in Victoria, Australia. METHODS: A retrospective review of data collected for public health surveillance was performed to identify contact demographic factors, including bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) status and age and outcomes of TST. RESULTS: Contact tracing was performed for 15 094 people, of whom 13 427 (89.0%) had a TST performed. The TST was positive in 31.4% (95%CI 30.6-32.2) of all contacts, and 48.8% of contacts born outside of Australia. Amongst contacts who were TST-negative at baseline, the conversion rate following exposure was 14.8%. Conversion was most common in those aged 45-54 years, with <12% positivity in both the youngest (<5 years) and oldest (⩾65 years) age groups. Active TB developed in 1.1% of all contacts. Contacts aged <5 years had the highest risk of developing active TB following exposure (3.8%), while low risk was seen in those aged ⩾65 years (0.3%). CONCLUSION: Overall, contact tracing and TST in this setting appear to yield a high proportion of people at risk for the development of active TB. The yield of testing in some groups, particularly those aged ⩾65 years, was low, and investigation of alternative strategies should be considered.

Objectif : Revoir l'utilisation par les programmes du test cutané à la tuberculine (TST) après exposition à la tuberculose (TB) dans l'état de Victoria, en Australie.Méthode : Une revue rétrospective des données recueillies pour la surveillance en matière de santé publique a été réalisée afin d'identifier les caractéristiques démographiques des contacts, notamment le statut en matière du vaccin bacille Calmette-Guérin et l'âge et le résultat du TST.Résultats : La recherche des contacts a été réalisée auprès de 15 094 personnes dont 13 427 (89.0%) ont eu un TST. Le TST a été positif chez 31,4% (95%IC 30,6­32,2) de tous les contacts et chez 48,8% des contacts nés hors d'Australie. Parmi les contacts qui ont été TST négatifs au départ, le taux de conversion après exposition a été de 14,8%. La conversion a été plus fréquente chez les personnes âgées de 45­54 ans, avec <12% de positivité à la fois dans les tranches d'âge les plus jeunes (<5 ans) et les plus âgées (⩾65 ans). Une TB active s'est développée chez 1,1% de tous les contacts. Cependant, les contacts âgés de <5 ans ont eu le risque le plus élevé de développer une TB active après exposition (3,8%), tandis que le risque a été le plus faible chez les personnes âgées de ⩾65 ans (0,3%).Conclusion : Dans l'ensemble, la recherche de contacts et le TST réalisés dans ce contexte semblent aboutir à une proportion élevée de personnes à risque de développer une TB active. Le rendement du dépistage dans certains groupes, en particulier ceux âgés de ⩾65 ans, a été faible, et il faudrait envisager des stratégies alternatives d'investigation.

Objetivo: Analizar el uso programático de la prueba cutánea de la tuberculina (TST) tras la exposición a la tuberculosis (TB) en el estado de Victoria en Australia.Método: Fue este un estudio retrospectivo de los datos recogidos en la vigilancia de salud pública, con el propósito de determinar los factores demográficos incluidos el antecedente de vacunación antituberculosa y la edad y evaluar los resultados de la TST.Resultados: Se investigaron 15 094 contactos y en 13 427 de ellos se había practicado la TST (89,0%). La reacción TST fue positiva en el 31,4% de todos los contactos (IC95% 30,6­32,2) y en el 48,8% de los contactos nacidos en el extranjero. De los contactos con una TST inicial negativa, la tasa de conversión después de la exposición fue 14,8%. La conversión fue más frecuente en el grupo de edad de 45­54 años y los grupos extremos, es decir, de <5 años y de ⩾65 años de edad, obtuvieron una positividad de <12%. Se observó evolución hacia la enfermedad tuberculosa activa en el 1,1% de todos los contactos. Sin embargo, los contactos de edad <5 años presentaron una mayor probabilidad de sufrir TB activa tras la exposición (3,8%) y a partir de los 65 años el riesgo fue bajo (0,3%).Conclusión: En general, la investigación de los contactos y la práctica de la TST en este entorno pusieron de manifiesto una alta proporción de personas vulnerables a la enfermedad activa. El rendimiento diagnóstico de la prueba en algunos grupos, en especial a partir de los 65 años de edad, fue bajo y es preciso considerar la posibilidad de usar otras estrategias diagnósticas.

An unusual case of anomalous origin of the right coronary artery and hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery (ARCA) and focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) are frequently reported in association with congenital heart abnormalities but not with each other. We propose that both conditions may share common origins in a maladative hyperplastic response to differential vascular flow due to developmental arterial malformations or aberrant Notch signalling during simultaneous gut and cardiac vasculorigenesis.

Electrocardiography Series. ECGs of structural heart disease: Part 1.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a useful but imperfect investigation in the diagnosis and possible follow-up of structural heart disease such as ventricular hypertrophy. Different ECG criteria with different sensitivity and specificity are available to aid the detection of left or right ventricular hypertrophy. Subsequent echocardiography can help in the quantification of ventricular mass and identification of the aetiology.

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation: durability of clinical and hemodynamic outcomes beyond 3 years in a large patient cohort.

BACKGROUND: Although short- and medium-term outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation are encouraging, long-term data on valve function and clinical outcomes are limited. METHODS AND RESULTS: Consecutive high-risk patients who had been declined as surgical candidates because of comorbidities but who underwent successful transcatheter aortic valve implantation with a balloon-expandable valve between January 2005 and December 2006 and survived past 30 days were assessed. Clinical, echocardiographic, and computed tomographic follow-up examinations were performed. Seventy patients who underwent successful procedures and survived longer than 30 days were evaluated at a minimum follow-up of 3 years. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years (interquartile range 3.4 to 4.3 years), survival was 57%. Survival at 1, 2, and 3 years was 81%, 74%, and 61%, respectively. Freedom from reoperation was 98.5% (1 patient with endocarditis). During this early procedural experience, 11 patients died within 30 days, and 8 procedures were unsuccessful. When these patients were included, overall survival was 51%. Transaortic pressure gradients increased from 10.0 mm Hg (interquartile range 8.0 to 12.0 mm Hg) immediately after the procedure to 12.1 mm Hg (interquartile range 8.6 to 16.0 mm Hg) after 3 years (P=0.03). Bioprosthetic valve area decreased from a mean of 1.7±0.4 cm(2) after the procedure to 1.4±0.3 cm(2) after 3 years (P<0.01). Aortic incompetence after implantation was trivial or mild in 84% of cases and remained unchanged or improved over time. There were no cases of structural valvular deterioration, stent fracture, deformation, or valve migration. CONCLUSIONS: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation demonstrates good medium- to long-term durability and preserved hemodynamic function, with no evidence of structural failure. The procedure appears to offer an adequate and lasting resolution of aortic stenosis in selected patients.