Implementing a 48 h EWTD-compliant rota for junior doctors in the UK does not compromise patients' safety: assessor-blind pilot comparison.

BACKGROUND: There are currently no field data about the effect of implementing European Working Time Directive (EWTD)-compliant rotas in a medical setting. Surveys of doctors' subjective opinions on shift work have not provided reliable objective data with which to evaluate its efficacy. AIM: We therefore studied the effects on patient's safety and doctors' work-sleep patterns of implementing an EWTD-compliant 48 h work week in a single-blind intervention study carried out over a 12-week period at the University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire NHS Trust. We hypothesized that medical error rates would be reduced following the new rota. METHODS: Nineteen junior doctors, nine studied while working an intervention schedule of <48 h per week and 10 studied while working traditional weeks of <56 h scheduled hours in medical wards. Work hours and sleep duration were recorded daily. Rate of medical errors (per 1000 patient-days), identified using an established active surveillance methodology, were compared for the Intervention and Traditional wards. Two senior physicians blinded to rota independently rated all suspected errors. RESULTS: Average scheduled work hours were significantly lower on the intervention schedule [43.2 (SD 7.7) (range 26.0-60.0) vs. 52.4 (11.2) (30.0-77.0) h/week; P < 0.001], and there was a non-significant trend for increased total sleep time per day [7.26 (0.36) vs. 6.75 (0.40) h; P = 0.095]. During a total of 4782 patient-days involving 481 admissions, 32.7% fewer total medical errors occurred during the intervention than during the traditional rota (27.6 vs. 41.0 per 1000 patient-days, P = 0.006), including 82.6% fewer intercepted potential adverse events (1.2 vs. 6.9 per 1000 patient-days, P = 0.002) and 31.4% fewer non-intercepted potential adverse events (16.6 vs. 24.2 per 1000 patient-days, P = 0.067). Doctors reported worse educational opportunities on the intervention rota. CONCLUSIONS: Whilst concerns remain regarding reduced educational opportunities, our study supports the hypothesis that a 48 h work week coupled with targeted efforts to improve sleep hygiene improves patient safety.

Nutrition, adequacy of dialysis, and clinical outcome in Indo-Asian and White European patients on peritoneal dialysis.

BACKGROUND: There is a high incidence of end-stage renal disease in Asians originating from the Indian subcontinent living in the UK. Research to date has focused on the cause of renal disease in Indo-Asians, and their outcome on peritoneal dialysis (PD) is less well studied. AIM: To determine whether nutrition, adequacy of dialysis, and outcome of Indo-Asian patients on PD were similar to those of White European patients. DESIGN: Prospective longitudinal observational study over 2 years. METHODS: We enrolled 35 Indo-Asians and 35 White Europeans on peritoneal dialysis, closely matched for age, gender, diabetes and duration of renal replacement therapy. At enrolment (>3 months on PD), demographic data was recorded. From enrolment, and at 6-month intervals, dialysis adequacy, nutritional status, hospitalizations, PD infections, and treatment modality changes were recorded. RESULTS: Dietary protein intake, which was significantly worse in Indo-Asians (particularly vegetarians), declined in all patients over time, along with other measures of nutritional status. Adequacy of dialysis, peritoneal characteristics, and PD infections were similar in Indo-Asian and White patients. Technique failure, and death rate were similar in both groups, but the transplant rate was lower in Indo-Asians. DISCUSSION: Interventions are needed to improve nutritional status in these patients, particularly the Indo-Asian patients. The long-term impact of worse social deprivation and lower transplant rates in Indo-Asians needs to be investigated further.

Does ethnicity influence perceived quality of life of patients on dialysis and following renal transplant?

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) as perceived by patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is an important measure of patient outcome. There is a high incidence of ESRD in the Indo-Asian population in the UK and a lower rate of transplantation compared with white Europeans. The aim of this study was to determine whether perceived quality of life was influenced by treatment modality and ethnicity. METHODS: Sixty Indo-Asians treated with either peritoneal dialysis (n=20), hospital haemodialysis (n=20) or with a renal transplant (n=20) for >3 months were compared with 60 age-matched white Europeans closely matched for gender, diabetes and duration of renal replacement therapy. QoL was measured using the Kidney Disease and Quality of Life questionnaire (KDQOL-SF). The KDQOL-SF measures four QoL dimensions: physical health (PH), mental health (MH), kidney disease-targeted issues (KDI) and patient satisfaction (PS). Adequacy of treatment was measured by biochemistry, 24 h urine collection and dialysis kinetics. The number of comorbid conditions was scored. Social deprivation was calculated from the patient's postal address using Townsend scoring. RESULTS: QoL was significantly lower in Indo-Asians than white Europeans for PH, MH and KDI. This was not related to treatment adequacy, which was similar in both for each modality. Indo-Asians had a worse index of social deprivation than white Europeans (P=0.008). PH and KDI were related to social deprivation (P=0.007 and P=0.005, respectively). QoL (except PS) was inversely correlated with comorbidity. Dialysis patients had higher comorbidity than transplant patients (P<0.02). Comparing only those dialysis patients considered fit for transplantation (n=51) with transplant patients, comorbidity was similar, but differences in QoL persisted. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates a lower perceived QoL in Asians compared with white Europeans with ESRD. Analysis of QoL indicates that Asian patients in particular perceive kidney disease as a social burden, even if successfully transplanted.