Transitional care programs for trauma patients: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Transitional care programs establish comprehensive outpatient care after hospitalization. This scoping review aimed to define participant characteristics and structure of transitional care programs for injured adults as well as associated readmission rates, cost of care, and follow-up adherence. METHODS: We conducted a scoping review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews standard. Information sources searched were Medline, the Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Scopus Plus with Full Text. Eligibility criteria were systematic reviews, clinical trials, and observational studies of transitional care programs for injured adults in the United States, published in English since 2000. Two independent reviewers screened all full texts. A data charting process extracted patient characteristics, program structure, readmission rates, cost of care, and follow-up adherence for each study. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies described 9 transitional care programs. Most programs (60%) were nurse/social-worker-led post-discharge phone call programs that provided follow-up reminders and inquired regarding patient concerns. The remaining 40% of programs were comprehensive interdisciplinary case-coordination transitional care programs. Readmissions were reduced by 5% and emergency department visits by 13% among participants of both types of programs compared to historic data. Both programs improved follow-up adherence by 75% compared to historic data. CONCLUSION: Transitional care programs targeted at injured patients vary in structure and may reduce overall health care use.

Technical factors and outcomes in pediatric central venous port placement.

Purpose While central venous port placement is common, there remains variation in placement technique and rates of technical complications. The aim of this study was to assess variability in techniques and identify predictors of complications for children undergoing port placement. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all 331 patients who underwent venous port placement at a single tertiary children's hospital from May 2018 to June 2020. The primary outcome was early revision or replacement (R/R) for complications occurring within 30 days. Secondary outcomes included radiation exposure and rate of intraoperative conversion to a secondary site. Results The median age was 7 years (Interquartile Range 3-13 years) and the most common diagnoses were leukemia (30.2%), solid tumors (27.8%), and brain tumors (16.9%). Initial approach for port placement was ultrasound-guided internal jugular (IJV) in 255 (147 by surgery and 108 by interventional radiology [IR]) and landmark subclavian vein (SCV) in 76 (all by surgery). Early R/R occurred in 5.1%, including 9.0% of patients with leukemia but 1.1% with solid tumors. Individual proceduralist volume ranged from 2 to 98 cases and was inversely correlated with early R/R (r = -0.12, p = 0.30). In univariate analysis, ports placed by IR had an increased rate of early R/R (9.3%, n = 10) compared to those placed by surgery (3.2%, n = 7, p = 0.036) but this was not significant in multivariable regression controlling for diagnosis and age (Hazard Ratio 2.04; p = 0.19). Mean fluoroscopy time was significantly longer for ports placed by IR (59.9 s) compared to those placed by surgery (15.1 s, p < 0.001). Initial SCV access was associated with an increased (14.5 vs 0.4%) rate of conversion to a secondary site. Conclusions Though venous port placement is a largely safe procedure in children, a substantial minority of patients, particularly those with leukemia, require early R/R. Proceduralist volume and training may influence early R/R, fluoroscopy exposure, and anatomic site preferences.

DMSO-mediated curing of several yeast prion variants involves Hsp104 expression and protein solubilization, and is decreased in several autophagy related gene (atg) mutants.

Chaperones and autophagy are components of the protein quality control system that contribute to the management of proteins that are misfolded and aggregated. Here, we use yeast prions, which are self-perpetuating aggregating proteins, as a means to understand how these protein quality control systems influence aggregate loss. Chaperones, such as Hsp104, fragment prion aggregates to generate more prion seeds for propagation. While much is known about the role of chaperones, little is known about how other quality control systems contribute to prion propagation. We show that the aprotic solvent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) cures a range of [PSI+] prion variants, which are related to several misfolded aggregated conformations of the Sup35 protein. Our studies show that DMSO-mediated curing is quicker and more efficient than guanidine hydrochloride, a prion curing agent that inactivates the Hsp104 chaperone. Instead, DMSO appears to induce Hsp104 expression. Using the yTRAP system, a recently developed transcriptional reporting system for tracking protein solubility, we found that DMSO also rapidly induces the accumulation of soluble Sup35 protein, suggesting a potential link between Hsp104 expression and disassembly of Sup35 from the prion aggregate. However, DMSO-mediated curing appears to also be associated with other quality control systems. While the induction of autophagy alone does not lead to curing, we found that DMSO-mediated curing is dramatically impaired in autophagy related (atg) gene mutants, suggesting that other factors influence this DMSO mechanism of curing. Our data suggest that DMSO-mediated curing is not simply dependent upon Hsp104 overexpression alone, but may further depend upon other aspects of proteostasis.