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Frontiers in Neurology 2023The impact of COVID-19 on clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving reperfusion therapy remains unclear. We therefore aimed to synthesize the... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
The impact of COVID-19 on clinical outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients receiving reperfusion therapy remains unclear. We therefore aimed to synthesize the available evidence to investigate the safety and short-term efficacy of reperfusion therapy in this patient population.
METHODS
We searched the electronic databases MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Library Reviews for randomized controlled trials and observational studies that investigated the use of intravenous thrombolysis, endovascular therapy, or a combination of both in acute ischemic stroke patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, compared to controls. Our primary safety outcomes included any intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), symptomatic ICH and all-cause in-hospital mortality. Short-term favorable functional outcomes were assessed at discharge and at 3 months. We calculated pooled risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model. Heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran's Q test and statistics.
RESULTS
We included 11 studies with a total of 477 COVID-19 positive and 8,092 COVID-19 negative ischemic stroke patients who underwent reperfusion therapy. COVID-19 positive patients exhibited a significantly higher risk of experiencing any ICH (RR 1.54, 95% CI 1.16-2.05, < 0.001), while the nominally increased risk of symptomatic ICH in these patients did not reach statistical significance (RR 2.04, 95% CI 0.97-4.31; = 0.06). COVID-19 positive stroke patients also had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality compared to COVID-19 negative stroke patients (RR 2.78, 95% CI 2.15-3.59, < 0.001). Moreover, COVID-19 positive stroke patients were less likely to achieve a favorable functional outcome at discharge (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.51-0.86, < 0.001) compared to COVID-19 negative patients, but this difference was not observed at 3-month follow-up (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.14-2.91, = 0.56).
CONCLUSION
COVID-19 appears to have an adverse impact on acute ischemic stroke patients who undergo reperfusion therapy, leading to an elevated risk of any ICH, higher mortality and lower likelihood of favorable functional outcome.
SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION
PROSPERO, identifier CRD42022309785.
PubMed: 37681003
DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1239953 -
Exploratory Research in Clinical and... Sep 2023Clinical pharmacists have been shown to identify and resolve medication related problems post-discharge, however the impact on patient clinical outcomes is unclear.
BACKGROUND
Clinical pharmacists have been shown to identify and resolve medication related problems post-discharge, however the impact on patient clinical outcomes is unclear.
AIMS
To undertake a systematic review to identify, critically appraise and present the evidence on post-discharge hospital clinics that provide clinical pharmacist medication review; report the patient clinical outcomes measured; and describe the activities of the clinical pharmacist.
METHODS
Published studies evaluating a patient clinical outcome following a post-discharge hospital clinic pharmacy service were included. All studies needed a comparative design (intervention vs control or comparator). Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycnINFO, Web of Science, IPA and APAIS-Health databases were searched to identify studies. The type of clinic and the clinical pharmacist activities were linked to patient clinical outcomes.
RESULTS
Fifty-seven studies were included in the final analysis, 14 randomised controlled trials and 43 non-randomised studies. Three key clinic types were identified: post-discharge pharmacist review alone, inpatient care plus post-discharge review and post-discharge collaborative clinics. The three main outcome metrics identified were hospital readmission and/or representation, adverse events and improved disease state metrics. There was often a mix of these outcomes reported as primary and secondary outcomes. High heterogeneity of interventions and clinical pharmacist activities reported meant it was difficult to link clinical pharmacist activities with the outcomes reported.
CONCLUSIONS
A post-discharge clinic pharmacist may improve patient clinical outcomes such as hospital readmission and representation rates. Future research needs to provide a clearer description of the clinical pharmacist activities provided in both arms of comparative studies.
PubMed: 37655116
DOI: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100305 -
Cancers Aug 2023Pelvic radiotherapy can damage surrounding tissue and organs, causing chronic conditions including bowel symptoms. We systematically identified quantitative,... (Review)
Review
Pelvic radiotherapy can damage surrounding tissue and organs, causing chronic conditions including bowel symptoms. We systematically identified quantitative, population-based studies of patient-reported bowel symptoms following pelvic radiotherapy to synthesize evidence of symptom type, prevalence, and severity. Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsychINFO were searched from inception to September 2022. Following independent screening of titles, abstracts, and full-texts, population and study characteristics and symptom findings were extracted, and narrative synthesis was conducted. In total, 45 papers (prostate, = 39; gynecological, = 6) reporting 19 datasets were included. Studies were methodologically heterogeneous. Most frequently assessed was bowel function ('score', 26 papers, 'bother', 19 papers). Also assessed was urgency, diarrhea, bleeding, incontinence, abdominal pain, painful hemorrhoids, rectal wetness, constipation, mucous discharge, frequency, and gas. Prevalence ranged from 1% (bleeding) to 59% (anal bleeding for >12 months at any time since start of treatment). In total, 10 papers compared radiotherapy with non-cancer comparators and 24 with non-radiotherapy cancer patient groups. Symptom prevalence/severity was greater/worse in radiotherapy groups and symptoms more common/worse post-radiotherapy than pre-diagnosis/treatment. Symptom prevalence varied between studies and symptoms. This review confirms that many people experience chronic bowel symptoms following pelvic radiotherapy. Greater methodological consistency, and investigation of less-well-studied survivor populations, could better inform the provision of services and support.
PubMed: 37627064
DOI: 10.3390/cancers15164037 -
BMC Infectious Diseases Aug 2023In 2019, the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) virus was identified, also defined as novel coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The Corona VIrus...
In 2019, the Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) virus was identified, also defined as novel coronavirus or severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The Corona VIrus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic generated several changes in society in 2020 as a result of its rapid spread in humans. The main symptoms are high fever (≥ 37.8 °C), dry cough, dyspnea, upper respiratory symptoms, myalgia, fatigue and diarrhea in the most uncommon cases. Considering the emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects attributed to it, rehabilitation professionals have a fundamental role in the functional recovery of patients, independence and improvement of quality of life. This is a systematic review of the literature, with the aim of discussing the main findings on physical therapy management in functional changes in post-COVID-19 patients. Pubmed, Scielo, Sciencedirect, BVS and PEDro databases were used. The terms MESH/DECs used for the searches were: Rehabilitation, Physical Therapy Modalities, Covid-19, Post-acute Syndromes COVID-19 and Physical Fitness, the keywords were also used: rehabilitation, physiotherapy, Covid-19, post- acute syndrome COVID-19 and functional capacity. To cross the terms, Boolean operators (AND and OR) were used. Randomized trials, recommendations, quasi-randomized or prospective controlled trials, reports, guidelines, and field updates were included. As for the selected population, studies were included in individuals of both sexes, with no age restriction, that evaluated physiotherapeutic interventions in patients who had COVID-19. Literature reviews, case studies, conferences, abstracts of articles published in conference proceedings and letters to the editor were excluded from the research. To measure methodological quality, the PEDro scale was used.Searches for articles were performed restricting the period of publication between the years 2019 to 2022. The electronic search strategy identified a total of 364 records from the selected databases. After screening for duplicates, 14 articles were excluded, followed by screening by titles and abstracts, another 298 articles were excluded, of these 47 potentially relevant records were submitted to full text review and of these 5 randomized clinical trials were included in this review. In view of the findings of this study, it can be concluded that physical therapy rehabilitation should continue after hospital discharge, with the aim of improving physical performance and activities of daily living (ADL) in post-COVID-19 patients.
Topics: Female; Male; Humans; Patient Discharge; COVID-19; Activities of Daily Living; Pandemics; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; SARS-CoV-2; Virus Diseases; Hospitals
PubMed: 37587411
DOI: 10.1186/s12879-023-08313-w -
International Journal of Health Policy... 2023Avoidable hospital readmission is a major problem among health systems. Although there are effective peri-discharge interventions for reducing avoidable hospital...
BACKGROUND
Avoidable hospital readmission is a major problem among health systems. Although there are effective peri-discharge interventions for reducing avoidable hospital readmission, successful implementation is challenging. This systematic review of qualitative studies aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to implementing peri-discharge interventions from providers' and service users' perspectives.
METHODS
We searched four databases for potentially eligible qualitative studies from databases' inception to March 2020, and updated literature search for studies published between January 2020 to October 2021. Barriers and facilitators to implementing peri-discharge interventions were identified and mapped onto the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) constructs. Inductive analysis of the CFIR constructs was performed to yield thematic areas that illustrated the relationship between various facilitators and barriers, generating practical insights to key implementation issues.
RESULTS
Thirteen qualitative studies were included in this systematic review. Key issues were clustered in the CFIR constructs of of the intervention, strength of , being responsive to with sufficient support, and . The three thematic areas were rationality of the interventions, readiness and effort of multidisciplinary implementation teams, and influence of external stakeholders. Common barriers included () limited resources, () poor communication among team members, () incompatibility between the new intervention and existing work routine, () complicated implementation process, () low practicality of supporting instruments, and () lack of understanding about the content and effectiveness of the new interventions. Common facilitators were () information sharing via regular meetings on implementation issues, () organizational culture that values quality and accountability, () financial penalties for hospitals with high avoidable readmissions rates, () external support offered via quality improvement programs and community resources, and () senior leadership support.
CONCLUSION
This study synthesized commonly-presenting barriers and facilitators to implementing peri-discharge interventions among different healthcare organizations. Findings may inform development of implementation strategies in different health systems after appropriate tailoring, based on a consensus-based formative research process.
Topics: Humans; Patient Readmission; Qualitative Research; Communication
PubMed: 37579466
DOI: 10.34172/ijhpm.2023.7089 -
Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery Oct 2023Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a disabling condition that imposes significant burden upon patients. Microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery is the most effective and... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
OBJECTIVES AND BACKGROUND
Hemifacial spasm (HFS) is a disabling condition that imposes significant burden upon patients. Microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery is the most effective and long-lasting treatment for HFS, but outcomes following this surgery may vary based on a variety of clinical and operative factors. A more thorough understanding of the variables that impact patient outcome after MVD surgery is needed.
METHODS
A systematic review and meta-analysis of Medline, Embase, and Central was conducted (n = 2108 screened; n = 86 included) with the goal of determining the impact of the following variables on outcome: duration of disease, geographic location, intraoperative use of an endoscope, and intraoperative finding of single versus multi-vessel neurovascular compression.
RESULTS
Most cases of hemifacial spasm occur on the left side (53.9%, p < 0.001) and are more common in women than men (66.5% versus 33.5%, p < 0.0001). The offending vessel frequencies were: 40.8% anterior inferior cerebellar artery [AICA], 24.9% posterior inferior cerebellar artery [PICA], 17.2% multiple vessels, and 4.7% vertebral artery [VA]. Multiple vessel combinations involved: 26.5% PICA + AICA, 24.6% PICA + VA, 23.1% AICA + VA, and 4.7% AICA + PICA + VA. Relative to the Americas, AICA was less frequent in Europe (p = 0.005), while PICA more frequent in Europe (p = 0.009) and Asia (p < 0.0001). With endoscope assistance, frequency of multiple vessels identified was 31.7% (versus 14.7% with non-endoscopic, p = 0.005), and 27.4% for AICA (43.5% with non-endoscopic, p = 0.003). Spasm improvement was 94.1% near discharge and 96.0% at maximum follow-up. Complications occurred in 16.5% of cases, with spasm recurrence in 2.4%. Greatest frequency of spasm improvement (p < 0.0001) and lowest spasm recurrence rates (p = 0.0005) were reported in series from Asia. For every additional month of pre-operative spasm, the effect size of post-operative improvement decreased (p = 0.04). With every subsequent postoperative month, the effect size of spasm improvement increased (p = 0.0497). The frequency of spasm improvement was significantly higher in series published after 2005 (94.4% versus 97.4%, p = 0.005).
CONCLUSION
Clinical outcomes following MVD for HFS have improved since 2005. Consideration should be given to earlier operation (shorter disease duration) and use of an endoscope may increase detection of multiple offending vessels. Further studies are needed to understand regional differences in culprit vessel incidence and surgical outcomes in the Americas, Europe, and Asia.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Hemifacial Spasm; Treatment Outcome; Microvascular Decompression Surgery; Retrospective Studies; Vertebral Artery; Vascular Diseases
PubMed: 37544024
DOI: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2023.107841 -
Pain Physician Jul 2023Intrathecal opioids have long been used as analgesia for intractable cancer pain or as part of spinal anesthesia during obstetric operations. More recently, they have... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Intrathecal opioids have long been used as analgesia for intractable cancer pain or as part of spinal anesthesia during obstetric operations. More recently, they have been used preoperatively as a pain management adjuvant for open cardiac and thoracic procedures.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to analyze the impact of administering intrathecal opioids before cardiac and thoracic surgeries on postoperative pain and mechanical ventilation.
STUDY DESIGN
Systematic review and meta-analysis.
SETTING
University, School of Medicine, and several university-affiliated hospitals.
METHODS
Five outcomes were studied, including the primary outcome of time to extubation, secondary outcomes of analgesia requirements at 24 and 48 hours, resting pain scores at 1 and 24 hours post-extubation, ICU length of stay in hours, and hospital length of stay in days. A search of multiple databases provided 28 studies reporting 4,000 total patients. Outcomes were measured using continuous mean difference with a 95% confidence interval, and the studies were examined for heterogeneity and sensitivity analysis.
RESULTS
The primary outcome analysis suggested that time to extubation was 42 minutes shorter in the intrathecal opioid group (ranging from 82 to 1 minute, P = 0.04). There was also a decrease in postoperative analgesia requirements at both 24 hours (mean difference (MD) = -8.95 mg morphine equivalent doses (MED) [-9.4, -8.5], P < 0.001) and 48 hours (MD = -17.7 mg MED [-23.1, -12.4], P < 0.001) with I2 of 94% and 85% respectively, an improvement of pain scores at both 1 hour (MD = -2.24 [-3.16, -1.32], P < 0.001) and 24-hours (MD = -1.64 [-2.48, -0.80], P =< 0.001) I2 of 94% and 85%, no change in both ICU length of stay (MD = -0.27 hours [-0.55, 0.01], P = 0.06) I2 = 77% and hospital length of stay (MD = -0.30 days [-0.66, 0.06], P = 0.11) I2 = 32%.
LIMITATIONS
The major limitation of this meta-analysis was the inconsistent dosages of intrathecal opioids utilized. Some used the same dose for each patient, while other studies used weight-based doses. The differences in the outcomes observed may then be a result of the different amounts of opioids administered rather than the technique itself. Another limitation was the inconsistent timing of reports for pain scores and postoperative analgesic requirements. Further studies were analyzed at the 2 time periods for both secondary outcomes, making it difficult to attribute the 2 effects solely to the intervention.
CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that preoperative injection of intrathecal opioids is significantly associated with decreased time to extubation, decreased postoperative analgesia requirement, and improved pain scores. In controlled conditions with adequate staff education, this method of analgesia may make it possible to extubate the patients after the surgery in the operating room and fast-track their discharge from the hospital.
Topics: Humans; Analgesics, Opioid; Injections, Spinal; Morphine; Coronary Artery Bypass; Pain, Postoperative; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 37535770
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Personalized Medicine Jun 2023Forty percent of women will experience prolapse in their lifetime. Vaginal pessaries are considered the first line of treatment in selected patients. Major complications... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Forty percent of women will experience prolapse in their lifetime. Vaginal pessaries are considered the first line of treatment in selected patients. Major complications of vaginal pessaries rarely occur.
METHODS
PubMed and Embase were searched from 1961 to 2022 for major complications of vaginal pessaries using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and free-text terms. The keywords were pessary or pessaries and: vaginal discharge, incontinence, entrapment, urinary infections, fistula, complications, and vaginal infection. The exclusion criteria were other languages than English, pregnancy, complications without a prior history of pessary placement, pessaries unregistered for clinical practice (herbal pessaries), or male patients. The extracted data included symptoms, findings upon examination, infection, type of complication, extragenital symptoms, and treatment.
RESULTS
We identified 1874 abstracts and full text articles; 54 were assessed for eligibility and 49 met the inclusion criteria. These 49 studies included data from 66 patients with pessary complications amenable to surgical correction. Clavien-Dindo classification was used to grade the complications. Most patients presented with vaginal symptoms such as bleeding, discharge, or ulceration. The most frequent complications were pessary incarceration and fistulas. Surgical treatment included removal of the pessary under local or general anesthesia, fistula repair, hysterectomy and vaginal repair, and the management of bleeding.
CONCLUSIONS
Pessaries are a reasonable and durable treatment for pelvic organ prolapse. Complications are rare. Routine follow-ups are necessary. The ideal patient candidate must be able to remove and reintroduce their pessary on a regular basis; if not, this must be performed by a healthcare worker at regular intervals.
PubMed: 37511669
DOI: 10.3390/jpm13071056 -
Vaccine Aug 2023Hospital settings represent an opportunity to offer and/or promote childhood vaccination. The purpose of the systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Hospital settings represent an opportunity to offer and/or promote childhood vaccination. The purpose of the systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of different hospital-based strategies for improving childhood vaccination coverage.
METHODS
A systematic search of multiple bibliographic databases, thesis databases, and relevant websites was conducted to identify peer-reviewed articles published up to September 20, 2021. Articles were included if they evaluated the impact of a hospital (inpatient or emergency department)-based intervention on childhood vaccination coverage, were published in English or French, and were conducted in high-income countries. High quality studies were included in a narrative synthesis.
RESULTS
We included 25 high quality studies out of 7,845 unique citations. Studies focused on routine, outbreak, and influenza vaccines, and interventions included opportunistic vaccination (i.e. vaccination during hospital visit) (n = 7), patient education (n = 2), community connection (n = 2), patient reminders (n = 2), and opportunistic vaccination combined with patient education and/or reminders (n = 12). Opportunistic vaccination interventions were generally successful at improving vaccine coverage, though results ranged from no impact to vaccinating 71 % of eligible children with routine vaccines and 9-61 % of eligible children with influenza vaccines. Interventions that aimed to increase vaccination after hospital discharge (community connection, patient education, reminders) were less successful.
CONCLUSIONS
Some interventions that provide vaccination to children accessing hospitals improved vaccine coverage; however, the baseline coverage level of the population, as well as implementation strategies used impact success. There is limited evidence that interventions promoting vaccination after hospital discharge are more successful if they are tailored to the individual.
Topics: Child; Humans; Vaccination Coverage; Influenza Vaccines; Vaccination; Income; Data Management; Immunization
PubMed: 37500415
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.07.036