Attitudes Toward the Adoption of Remote Patient Monitoring and Artificial Intelligence in Parkinson's Disease Management: Perspectives of Patients and Neurologists.

OBJECTIVE: Early detection of Parkinson's Disease (PD) progression remains a challenge. As remote patient monitoring solutions (RMS) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies emerge as potential aids for PD management, there's a gap in understanding how end users view these technologies. This research explores patient and neurologist perspectives on AI-assisted RMS. METHODS: Qualitative interviews and focus-groups were conducted with 27 persons with PD (PwPD) and six neurologists from Finland and Italy. The discussions covered traditional disease progression detection and the prospects of integrating AI and RMS. Sessions were recorded, transcribed, and underwent thematic analysis. RESULTS: The study involved five individual interviews (four Italian participants and one Finnish) and six focus-groups (four Finnish and two Italian) with PwPD. Additionally, six neurologists (three from each country) were interviewed. Both cohorts voiced frustration with current monitoring methods due to their limited real-time detection capabilities. However, there was enthusiasm for AI-assisted RMS, contingent upon its value addition, user-friendliness, and preservation of the doctor-patient bond. While some PwPD had privacy and trust concerns, the anticipated advantages in symptom regulation seemed to outweigh these apprehensions. DISCUSSION: The study reveals a willingness among PwPD and neurologists to integrate RMS and AI into PD management. Widespread adoption requires these technologies to provide tangible clinical benefits, remain user-friendly, and uphold trust within the physician-patient relationship. CONCLUSION: This study offers insights into the potential drivers and barriers for adopting AI-assisted RMS in PD care. Recognizing these factors is pivotal for the successful integration of these digital health tools in PD management.

Variation in care for patients presenting with hip fracture in six high-income countries: A cross-sectional cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Hip fractures are costly and common in older adults, but there is limited understanding of how treatment patterns and outcomes might differ between countries. METHODS: We performed a retrospective serial cross-sectional cohort study of adults aged ≥66 years hospitalized with hip fracture between 2011 and 2018 in the US, Canada, England, the Netherlands, Taiwan, and Israel using population-representative administrative data. We examined mortality, hip fracture treatment approaches (total hip arthroplasty [THA], hemiarthroplasty [HA], internal fixation [IF], and nonoperative), and health system performance measures, including hospital length of stay (LOS), 30-day readmission rates, and time-to-surgery. RESULTS: The total number of hip fracture admissions between 2011 and 2018 ranged from 23,941 in Israel to 1,219,696 in the US. In 2018, 30-day mortality varied from 3% (16% at 1 year) in Taiwan to 10% (27%) in the Netherlands. With regards to processes of care, the proportion of hip fractures treated with HA (range 23%-45%) and THA (0.2%-10%) differed widely across countries. For example, in 2018, THA was used to treat approximately 9% of patients in England and Israel but less than 1% in Taiwan. Overall, IF was the most common surgery performed in all countries (40%-60% of patients). IF was used in approximately 60% of patients in the US and Israel, but only 40% in England. In 2018, rates of nonoperative management ranged from 5% of patients in Taiwan to nearly 10% in England. Mean hospital LOS in 2018 ranged from 6.4 days (US) to 18.7 days (England). The 30-day readmission rate in 2018 ranged from 8% (in Canada and the Netherlands) to nearly 18% in England. The mean days to surgery in 2018 ranged from 0.5 days (Israel) to 1.6 days (Canada). CONCLUSIONS: We observed substantial between-country variation in mortality, surgical approaches, and health system performance measures. These findings underscore the need for further research to inform evidence-based surgical approaches.

Accuracy of sonography and hysteroscopy in the diagnosis of premalignant and malignant polyps in postmenopausal women / Acurácia da ultrassonografia e da histeroscopia no diagnóstico de pólipos endometriais pré-malignos e malignos na pós-menopausa

PURPOSE: To evaluate the accuracy of sonographic endometrial thickness and hysteroscopic characteristics in predicting malignancy in postmenopausal women undergoing surgical resection of endometrial polyps. METHODS: Five hundred twenty-one (521) postmenopausal women undergoing hysteroscopic resection of endometrial polyps between January 1998 and December 2008 were studied. For each value of sonographic endometrial thickness and polyp size on hysteroscopy, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated in relation to the histologic diagnosis of malignancy. The best values of sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of malignancy were determined by the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. RESULTS: Histologic diagnosis identified the presence of premalignancy or malignancy in 4.1% of cases. Sonographic measurement revealed a greater endometrial thickness in cases of malignant polyps when compared to benign and premalignant polyps. On surgical hysteroscopy, malignant endometrial polyps were also larger. An endometrial thickness of 13 mm showed a sensitivity of 69.6%, specificity of 68.5%, PPV of 9.3%, and NPV of 98% in predicting malignancy in endometrial polyps. Polyp measurement by hysteroscopy showed that for polyps 30 mm in size, the sensitivity was 47.8%, specificity was 66.1%, PPV was 6.1%, and NPV was 96.5% for predicting cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Sonographic endometrial thickness showed a higher level of accuracy than hysteroscopic measurement in predicting malignancy in endometrial polyps. Despite this, both techniques showed low accuracy for predicting malignancy in endometrial polyps in postmenopausal women. In suspected cases, histologic evaluation is necessary to exclude malignancy.

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a acurácia da espessura endometrial ecográfica e características histeroscópicas em predizer malignidade em mulheres na pós-menopausa submetidas à ressecção cirúrgica de pólipos endometriais. MÉTODOS: Quinhentos e vinte e uma (521) mulheres na pós-menopausa submetidas à ressecção histeroscópica de pólipo endometrial entre janeiro de 1998 e dezembro de 2008 foram incluídas no estudo. Para cada valor de espessura endometrial ecográfica e tamanho dos pólipos na histeroscopia, a sensibilidade, a especificidade, valor preditivo positivo (VPP) e valor preditivo negativo (VPN) foram calculados em relação ao diagnóstico histológico de malignidade. Os melhores valores de sensibilidade e especificidade para o diagnóstico de malignidade foram determinados pela curva Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC). RESULTADOS: O diagnóstico histológico identificou a presença de pré-malignidade ou malignidade em 4,1% dos casos. A espessura endometrial medida por ultrassonografia em casos de pólipos malignos foi maior quando comparado com pólipos benignos e pré-malignos. Na histeroscopia os pólipos malignos também foram maiores. A espessura endometrial de 13 mm mostrou uma sensibilidade de 69,6%, especificidade de 68,5%, VPP de 9,3% e VPN de 98% para predizer malignidade em pólipo endometrial. A medida do pólipo por histeroscopia mostrou que para pólipos de 30 mm de tamanho, a sensibilidade foi de 47,8%, a especificidade foi de 66,1%, VPP foi de 6,1% e VPN foi de 96,5% para predizer o câncer. CONCLUSÕES: A espessura endometrial ultrassonográfica mostrou uma maior acurácia que a avaliação histeroscópica do tamanho do pólipo para predizer malignidade nessas lesões endometriais. Apesar disso, ambas as técnicas não mostraram boa acurácia para excluir a necessidade de fazer a avaliação histológica dos casos suspeitos.