Improving value delivery in living donor kidney transplant through process improvement.

INTRODUCTION: Living donor kidney evaluation has substantial time variations with significant intercenter variation. One-day donor evaluation has shown to be clinically efficient and improve transplant rates. However, patients' perception of 1-day evaluation is unknown. We hypothesized that 1 day LKD evaluation will improve patient satisfaction and improve living donation rates. METHODS: All interested LD candidates from April 2018 to May 2020 were enrolled in the study. Non-directed donors, donors greater than 60 years old, and recipients with more than three donors underwent multi-day evaluation (control group) while the rest underwent 1-day evaluation (intervention group). An anonymous survey was filled by both groups to assess their perceptions on different areas including time, communication, experience, information provided, and their preferences on living donor evaluation. RESULTS: Donor candidates in the 1-day evaluation group selected that the time from the questionnaire to clinic evaluation took "under 1 month" or "less than 3 months" (62.5% vs. 15.8%, p = .002), with "excellent" for both scheduling process (65% vs. 31.6%, p = .03) and communication (82.5% vs. 57.9%, p = .09) when compared to candidates in the multiple-days evaluation group. One-day candidates felt "very satisfied" with the overall experience (95% vs. 68.4%, p = .02) and felt "extremely well" with the information provided regarding the living donor process (87.5% vs. 47.4%, p = .003) when compared to multiple-day evaluation group. Regardless of the group, 53 (89.8%) patients preferred 1-day evaluation. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate 1-day living donor evaluation is efficient, patient preferred, and adds value through improved communication, and better overall patient satisfaction.

Nivolumab-Associated Acute Demyelinating Encephalitis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Nivolumab is a checkpoint inhibiting immunotherapeutic agent prescribed for the treatment of resistant cancers. Many immune-related adverse effects including neurological effects have been described, but central nervous system (CNS) toxicities are rarely reported. We present a 59-year-old Caucasian woman with a history of treatment-resistant, progressive, laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma. She received nivolumab and presented with gradual weakness, confusion, and progressive dyspnea. Magnetic resonance imaging of the head showed multifocal cerebral demyelination, primarily involving the parietal lobe. The diagnosis of acute demyelinating encephalitis was made. She improved dramatically after stopping nivolumab and receiving treatment with high-dose intravenous steroid and immunoglobin therapy. We conclude, from this case and literature review, that immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment requires more investigation to determine if autoimmune encephalitis with demyelination can occur as a severe form of immune-related adverse events. CNS toxicity appears to be reversible with prompt cessation of immunotherapy followed by treatment with high doses of steroid with or without intravenous immunoglobulin therapy.

Implementation of a Computerized Screening Inventory: Improved Usability Through Iterative Testing and Modification.

BACKGROUND: The administration of health screeners in a hospital setting has traditionally required (1) clinicians to ask questions and log answers, which can be time consuming and susceptible to error, or (2) patients to complete paper-and-pencil surveys, which require third-party entry of information into the electronic health record and can be vulnerable to error and misinterpretation. A highly promising method that avoids these limitations and bypasses third-party interpretation is direct entry via a computerized inventory. OBJECTIVE: To (1) computerize medical and behavioral health screening for use in general medical settings, (2) optimize patient acceptability and feasibility through iterative usability testing and modification cycles, and (3) examine how age relates to usability. METHODS: A computerized version of 15 screeners, including behavioral health screeners recommended by a National Institutes of Health Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research collaborative workgroup, was subjected to systematic usability testing and iterative modification. Consecutive adult, English-speaking patients seeking treatment in an urban emergency department were enrolled. Acceptability was defined as (1) the percentage of eligible patients who agreed to take the assessment (initiation rate) and (2) average satisfaction with the assessment (satisfaction rate). Feasibility was defined as the percentage of the screening items completed by those who initiated the assessment (completion rate). Chi-square tests, analyses of variance, and Pearson correlations were used to detect whether improvements in initiation, satisfaction, and completion rates were seen over time and to examine the relation between age and outcomes. RESULTS: Of 2157 eligible patients approached, 1280 agreed to complete the screening (initiation rate=59.34%). Statistically significant increases were observed over time in satisfaction (F3,1061=3.35, P=.019) and completion rates (F3,1276=25.44, P<.001). Younger age was associated with greater initiation (initiated, mean [SD], 46.6 [18.7] years; declined: 53.0 [19.5] years, t2,155=-7.6, P<.001), higher completion (r=-.20, P<.001), and stronger satisfaction (r=-.23, P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: In a rapid-paced emergency department with a heterogeneous patient population, 59.34% (1280/2157) of all eligible patients initiated the computerized screener with a completion rate reaching over 90%. Usability testing revealed several critical principles for maximizing usability of the computerized medical and behavioral health screeners used in this study. Further work is needed to identify usability issues pertaining to other screeners, racially and ethnically diverse patient groups, and different health care settings.