Improvement in Stage of Lung Cancer Diagnosis With Incidental Pulmonary Nodules Followed With a Patient Tracking System and Computerized Registry.

Introduction: Given that an incidental pulmonary nodule (IPN) on chest computed tomography (CT) may represent nascent lung cancer, timely follow-up imaging is critical to assess nodule growth and the need for tissue sampling. We previously reported our institution's systematic process to identify and track patients with an IPN associated with improved CT on follow-up. We hypothesized that this improvement may have led to a higher frequency of early-stage lung cancer. To evaluate this, we performed a study to determine whether cases of early-stage lung cancer were more likely to have had our tracking system applied to suspicious findings. Methods: An observational study was performed by identifying cases of lung cancer that were detected as IPNs on chest CT scans performed at our institution, from 2006 to 2016. A total of 314 cases were dichotomized into early-stage (stage 1) or late-stage (stages II to IV) disease. A multivariant regression analysis with modeling was used to determine factors associated with a diagnosis of early-stage disease. Factors included the use of the tracking system and nodule registry. Results: The following factors were independently associated with early-stage lung cancer: index nodule diameter, (OR = 0.971, confidence interval [CI]: 0.948-0.995], p = 0.016), adenocarcinoma histology (OR = 2.930 [CI: 1.695-5.064], p = 0.0001) and use of tracker phrases on CT reports (OR = 1.939 [CI: 1.126-3.339], p = 0.016). Conclusions: The application of a patient tracking system and computerized lung nodule registry lead to an increased frequency in the diagnosis of stage 1 NSCLC from IPNs. This is a meaningful outcome for patients and should be adapted for IPN management.

Improvement in Follow-up Imaging With a Patient Tracking System and Computerized Registry for Lung Nodule Management.

PURPOSE: Despite established guidelines, radiologists' recommendations and timely follow-up of incidental lung nodules remain variable. To improve follow-up of nodules, a system using standardized language (tracker phrases) recommending time-based follow-up in chest CT reports, coupled with a computerized registry, was created. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were obtained from the electronic health record and a facility-built electronic lung nodule registry. We evaluated two randomly selected patient cohorts with incidental nodules on chest CT reports: before intervention (September 2008 to March 2011) and after intervention (August 2011 to December 2016). Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare the cohorts for the main outcome of timely follow-up, defined as a subsequent report within 13 months of the initial report. RESULTS: In all, 410 patients were included in the pretracker cohort versus 626 in the tracker cohort. Before system inception, 30% of CT reports lacked an explicit time-based recommendation for nodule follow-up. The proportion of patients with timely follow-up increased from 46% to 55%, and the proportion of those with no documented follow-up or follow-up beyond 24 months decreased from 48% to 31%. The likelihood of timely follow-up increased 41%, adjusted for high risk for lung cancer and age 65 years or older. After system inception, reports missing a tracker phrase for nodule recommendation averaged 6%, without significant interyear variation. CONCLUSIONS: Standardized language added to CT reports combined with a computerized registry designed to identify and track patients with incidental lung nodules was associated with improved likelihood of follow-up imaging.

Abdominal catastrophe revisited: the risk and outcome of enteric peritoneal contamination.

OBJECTIVE: Peritonitis from a visceral source is associated with striking morbidity and mortality in patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD). Surgical intervention for both diagnosis and repair is definitive. However, because the antecedents of enteric injury leading to peritonitis are unpredictable, no preventive strategy has been proposed or adopted. The goal of this study was to examine risk factors influencing the occurrence and outcome of anatomically documented peritonitis of enteric origin. DESIGN: Retrospective chart and database review. SETTING: Peritoneal dialysis unit in tertiary-care referral hospital. PATIENTS: 330 patients treated with PD for end-stage renal disease between 1988 and 2000. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of peritonitis of anatomically documented enteric origin over two consecutive time periods within the study interval: period 1, from 1 January 1988 through 30 June 1996; period 2, from 1 July 1996 through 30 June 2000. RESULTS: At least 1 episode of peritonitis occurred in 202 of 330 patients during the entire study period of 12.5 years (600.74 patient-years of care). There were 543 episodes of peritonitis. Anatomically documented visceral Injury caused bacterial peritonitis in 41 patients with a total of 63 discrete episodes, an incidence rate of 0.1048 per patient-year. Peritonitis-free survival was compared between the two periods using Kaplan-Meier analysis. The curve representing risk distribution for anatomically documented visceral peritonitis remained constant over the two periods, in contrast to improvements found in all other types of peritonitis, taken as a group (p= 0.044). Logistic regression modeling showed that the only risk factor associated with development of anatomically documented visceral peritonitis was older age. There was no influence of race, sex, time on PD, and underlying disease etiology. 31 deaths were attributed to peritonitis during the study period. The mortality rate from enteric peritonitis due to visceral injury was 46.3% (19/41 cases), compared to 7.5% for all other peritonitis taken as a group (12/161 cases, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The experience at University Hospitals of Cleveland suggests that abdominal catastrophe occurs in approximately 10% of all patients treated with PD, and is associated with high mortality, which has not changed over time. Therefore, peritonitis due to spontaneous visceral injury presents a great diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. It is important to develop a research strategy to understand this devastating complication.

Assessing 24-hour blood glucose patterns in diabetic paitents treated by peritoneal dialysis.

The minute-to-minute effect on blood glucose levels of high-dextrose peritoneal dialysate is not known. We arranged for 7 patients with diabetes, treated by peritoneal dialysis (PD), to wear a continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS: Medtronic MiniMed, Northridge, CA, U.S.A.). A sensor was inserted subcutaneously into the skin of the patient's abdomen or back to measure glucose in the interstitial fluid. Readings were recorded every 5 minutes for up to 72 hours. The portion of the day during which the patient's blood glucose levels were greater than 180 mg/dL (calculated as a percentage of time) was recorded. Most of the patients participating in the study had elevated levels of glycohemoglobin and hemoglobin A1c, and, for a large percentage of the day, showed blood glucose tracings well above the recommended standards of control. Representative CGMS tracings from patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes are shown.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess carbohydrate and insulin-dosing knowledge in youth with type 1 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE The American Diabetes Association advocates insulin regimens for youth with type 1 diabetes that involve adjusting insulin dose based on carbohydrate intake and blood glucose level. Implementing these regimens requires knowledge about carbohydrate content of foods and subsequent calculations of insulin dose, skills that may be difficult to gauge in practice. Therefore, we sought to develop and validate a questionnaire, the PedCarbQuiz (PCQ), to assess carbohydrate and insulin-dosing knowledge in youth with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS After development by an expert panel, the PCQ was administered to 75 youth with type 1 diabetes or their parents. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach alpha and split-half testing. To assess validity, scores were correlated with A1C, expert assessments, parent educational level, and complexity of insulin regimen. RESULTS PCQ mean score was 87 +/- 9.7% (range 42-98%). Cronbach alpha was 0.88, and correlation of split halves was 0.59 (P < 0.0001). Higher PCQ scores correlated significantly with lower A1C (r = -0.29, P = 0.01) and expert assessments (r = 0.56, P < 0.001). Scores were significantly higher in parents with college degrees than in those without (P = 0.01) and in participants with more complex insulin regimens (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS The PCQ is a novel, easily administered instrument to assess knowledge about carbohydrates and insulin dosing calculations. Initial analyses support the reliability and validity of the PCQ.

Shared medical appointments based on the chronic care model: a quality improvement project to address the challenges of patients with diabetes with high cardiovascular risk.

OBJECTIVE: The epidemic proportions and management complexity of diabetes have prompted efforts to improve clinic throughput and efficiency. One method of system redesign based on the chronic care model is the Shared Medical Appointment (SMA) in which groups of patients (8-20) are seen by a multi-disciplinary team in a 1-2 h appointment. Evaluation of the impact of SMAs on quality of care has been limited. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve intermediate outcome measures for diabetes (A1c, SBP, LDL-cholesterol) focusing on those patients at highest cardiovascular risk. SETTING: Primary care clinic at a tertiary care academic medical center. SUBJECTS: Patients with diabetes with one or more of the following: A1c >9%, SBP blood pressure >160 mm Hg and LDL-c >130 mg/dl were targeted for potential participation; other patients were referred by their primary care providers. Patients participated in at least one SMA from 4/05 to 9/05. STUDY DESIGN: Quasi-experimental with concurrent, but non-randomised controls (patients who participated in SMAs from 5/06 through 8/06; a retrospective period of observation prior to their SMA participation was used). INTERVENTION: SMA system redesign. ANALYTICAL METHODS: Paired and independent t tests, chi(2) tests and Fisher Exact tests. RESULTS: Each group had up to 8 patients. Patients participated in 1-7 visits. At the initial visit, 83.3% had A1c levels >9%, 30.6% had LDL-cholesterol levels >130 mg/dl, and 34.1% had SBP >or=160 mm Hg. Levels of A1c, LDL-c and SBP all fell significantly postintervention with a mean (95% CI) decrease of A1c 1.4 (0.8, 2.1) (p<0.001), LDL-c 14.8 (2.3, 27.4) (p = 0.022) and SBP 16.0 (9.7, 22.3) (p<0.001). There were no significant differences at baseline between control and intervention groups in terms of age, baseline intermediate outcomes, or medication use. The reductions in A1c in % and SBP were greater in the intervention group relative to the control group: 1.44 vs -0.30 (p = 0.002) for A1c and 14.83 vs 2.54 mm Hg (p = 0.04) for SBP. LDL-c reduction was also greater in the intervention group, 16.0 vs 5.37 mg/dl, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.29). CONCLUSIONS: We were able to initiate a programme of group visits in which participants achieved benefits in terms of cardiovascular risk reduction. Some barriers needed to be addressed, and the operations of SMAs evolved over time. Shared medical appointments for diabetes constitute a practical system redesign that may help to improve quality of care.