Development and protocol for a nurse-led telephonic palliative care program.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a profound transformation of health care delivery toward telemedicine models. PURPOSE: We present the structure of a nurse-led telephonic palliative program and operational metrics to influence further development of tele-palliative programs. METHODS: The nurses engage with seriously ill patients for 6 months with the goal of discussing advance care planning (ACP) and addressing self-identified issues related to their illness. FINDINGS: Of the first 100 program graduates, 78% were actively engaged and 51% named a health care agent and/or engaged in ACP. Of the 18 patients who died during the study, 13 (72%) were enrolled in hospice services. DISCUSSION: Our preliminary results indicate that seriously ill patients are willing to engage with nurses and to participate with discussions on ACP. CONCLUSION: Given the gaps in health care exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, this innovative program serves as an important model for bringing palliative care directly to patients.

Effectiveness and Reach of the Primary Palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (PRIM-ER) Pilot Study: a Qualitative Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Palliative care interventions in the ED capture high-risk patients at a time of crisis and can dramatically improve patient-centered outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To understand the facilitators that contributed to the success of the Primary Palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (PRIM-ER) quality improvement pilot intervention. DESIGN: Effectiveness was evaluated through semi-structured interviews. Reach outcomes were measured by percent of all full-time emergency providers (physicians, physician assistants, nurses) who completed the intervention education components and baseline survey assessing attitudes and knowledge on end-of-life care. PARTICIPANTS: Emergency medicine providers affiliated with two medical centers (N = 197). Interviews conducted with six key informants at both institutions. APPROACH: Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using deductive and inductive approaches. Descriptive statistics include reach outcomes and baseline survey results. KEY RESULTS: Both sites successfully implemented all components of the intervention and achieved a high level (> 75%) of intervention reach. Two themes emerged as facilitators to successful effectiveness facilitators of PRIM-ER: (1) institutional leadership support and (2) leveraging established quality improvement (QI) processes. Institutional support included leveraging leadership with authority to (a) mandate trainings; (b) substitute PRIM-ER education for normally scheduled education; and (c) provide protected time to implement intervention components. Effectiveness was also enhanced by capitalizing on existing QI processes which included (a) leveraging interdisciplinary partnerships and communication plans and (b) monitoring performance improvement data. CONCLUSIONS: Capitalizing on strong institutional leadership support and established QI processes enhanced the reach and effectiveness of the PRIM-ER pilot. These findings will guide the PRIM-ER researchers in scaling up the intervention in the remaining 33 sites, as well as enhance the planning of other complex quality improvement interventions in clinical settings. REGISTRATION DETAILS: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03424109; Grant Number: AT009844-01.

Design and implementation of a clinical decision support tool for primary palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (PRIM-ER).

BACKGROUND: The emergency department is a critical juncture in the trajectory of care of patients with serious, life-limiting illness. Implementation of a clinical decision support (CDS) tool automates identification of older adults who may benefit from palliative care instead of relying upon providers to identify such patients, thus improving quality of care by assisting providers with adhering to guidelines. The Primary Palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (PRIM-ER) study aims to optimize the use of the electronic health record by creating a CDS tool to identify high risk patients most likely to benefit from primary palliative care and provide point-of-care clinical recommendations. METHODS: A clinical decision support tool entitled Emergency Department Supportive Care Clinical Decision Support (Support-ED) was developed as part of an institutionally-sponsored value based medicine initiative at the Ronald O. Perelman Department of Emergency Medicine at NYU Langone Health. A multidisciplinary approach was used to develop Support-ED including: a scoping review of ED palliative care screening tools; launch of a workgroup to identify patient screening criteria and appropriate referral services; initial design and usability testing via the standard System Usability Scale questionnaire, education of the ED workforce on the Support-ED background, purpose and use, and; creation of a dashboard for monitoring and feedback. RESULTS: The scoping review identified the Palliative Care and Rapid Emergency Screening (P-CaRES) survey as a validated instrument in which to adapt and apply for the creation of the CDS tool. The multidisciplinary workshops identified two primary objectives of the CDS: to identify patients with indicators of serious life limiting illness, and to assist with referrals to services such as palliative care or social work. Additionally, the iterative design process yielded three specific patient scenarios that trigger a clinical alert to fire, including: 1) when an advance care planning document was present, 2) when a patient had a previous disposition to hospice, and 3) when historical and/or current clinical data points identify a serious life-limiting illness without an advance care planning document present. Monitoring and feedback indicated a need for several modifications to improve CDS functionality. CONCLUSIONS: CDS can be an effective tool in the implementation of primary palliative care quality improvement best practices. Health systems should thoughtfully consider tailoring their CDSs in order to adapt to their unique workflows and environments. The findings of this research can assist health systems in effectively integrating a primary palliative care CDS system seamlessly into their processes of care. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03424109. Registered 6 February 2018, Grant Number: AT009844-01.

Development of an Outpatient Palliative Care Protocol to Monitor Fidelity in the Emergency Medicine Palliative Care Access Trial.

Introduction: Palliative care is recommended for patients with life-limiting illnesses; however, there are few standardized protocols for outpatient palliative care visits. To address the paucity of data, this article aims to: (1) describe the elements of outpatient palliative care that are generalizable across clinical sites; (2) achieve consensus about standardized instruments used to assess domains within outpatient palliative care; and (3) develop a protocol and intervention checklist for palliative care clinicians to document outpatient visit elements that might not normally be recorded in the electronic heath record. Methods: As part of a randomized control trial of nurse-led telephonic case management versus specialty, outpatient palliative care in older adults with serious life-limiting illnesses in the Emergency Department, we assessed the structural characteristics of outpatient care clinics across nine participating health care systems. In addition, direct observation of outpatient palliative care visits, consultation from content experts, and survey data were used to develop an outpatient palliative care protocol and intervention checklist. Implementation: The protocol and checklist are being used to document the contents of each outpatient palliative care visit conducted as a part of the Emergency Medicine Palliative Care Access (EMPallA) trial. Variation across palliative care team staffing, clinic session capacity, and physical clinic model presents a challenge to standardizing the delivery of outpatient palliative care.

Primary Palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (PRIM-ER): Protocol for a Pragmatic, Cluster-Randomised, Stepped Wedge Design to Test the Effectiveness of Primary Palliative Care Education, Training and Technical Support for Emergency Medicine.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency departments (ED) care for society's most vulnerable older adults who present with exacerbations of chronic disease at the end of life, yet the clinical paradigm focuses on treatment of acute pathologies. Palliative care interventions in the ED capture high-risk patients at a time of crisis and can dramatically improve patient-centred outcomes. This study aims to implement and evaluate Primary Palliative Care for Emergency Medicine (PRIM-ER) on ED disposition, healthcare utilisation and survival in older adults with serious illness. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is the protocol for a pragmatic, cluster-randomised stepped wedge trial to test the effectiveness of PRIM-ER in 35 EDs across the USA. The intervention includes four core components: (1) evidence-based, multidisciplinary primary palliative care education; (2) simulation-based workshops; (3) clinical decision support; and (4) audit and feedback. The study is divided into two phases: a pilot phase, to ensure feasibility in two sites, and an implementation and evaluation phase, where we implement the intervention and test the effectiveness in 33 EDs over 2 years. Using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) data, we will assess the primary outcomes in approximately 300 000 patients: ED disposition to an acute care setting, healthcare utilisation in the 6 months following the ED visit and survival following the index ED visit. Analysis will also determine the site, provider and patient-level characteristics that are associated with variation in impact of PRIM-ER. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained at New York University School of Medicine to evaluate the CMS data. Oversight will also be provided by the National Institutes of Health, an Independent Monitoring Committee and a Clinical Informatics Advisory Board. Trial results will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03424109; Pre-results.

Drug Hypersensitivity due to Azathioprine with Elevated Procalcitonin.

We present a case of azathioprine hypersensitivity presenting as sepsis with elevated procalcitonin in a 68-year-old man with myasthenia gravis. The patient presented with fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, and headache. He developed numerous 1 cm erythematous papules over his upper torso. Infectious workup including bacteriological tests and microbial cultures was negative and a skin biopsy was performed which revealed suppurative folliculitis with eosinophils, consistent with drug hypersensitivity. Notably, acute phase reactants including C-reactive protein and procalcitonin were elevated upon presentation, likely secondary to drug hypersensitivity.

Mesoscale elastic properties of marine sponge spicules.

Marine sponge spicules are silicate fibers with an unusual combination of fracture toughness and optical light propagation properties due to their micro- and nano-scale hierarchical structure. We present optical measurements of the elastic properties of Tethya aurantia and Euplectella aspergillum marine sponge spicules using non-invasive Brillouin and Raman laser light scattering, thus probing the hierarchical structure on two very different scales. On the scale of single bonds, as probed by Raman scattering, the spicules resemble a combination of pure silica and mixed organic content. On the mesoscopic scale probed by Brillouin scattering, we show that while some properties (Young's moduli, shear moduli, one of the anisotropic Poisson ratios and refractive index) are nearly the same as those of artificial optical fiber, other properties (uniaxial moduli, bulk modulus and a distinctive anisotropic Poisson ratio) are significantly smaller. Thus this natural composite of largely isotropic materials yields anisotropic elastic properties on the mesoscale. We show that the spicules' optical waveguide properties lead to pronounced spontaneous Brillouin backscattering, a process related to the stimulated Brillouin backscattering process well known in artificial glass fibers. These measurements provide a clearer picture of the interplay of flexibility, strength, and material microstructure for future functional biomimicry.

Dual Element Intercalation into 2D Layered Bi2Se3 Nanoribbons.

We demonstrate the intercalation of multiple zero-valent atomic species into two-dimensional (2D) layered Bi2Se3 nanoribbons. Intercalation is performed chemically through a stepwise combination of disproportionation redox reactions, hydrazine reduction, or carbonyl decomposition. Traditional intercalation is electrochemical thus limiting intercalant guests to a single atomic species. We show that multiple zero-valent atoms can be intercalated through this chemical route into the host lattice of a 2D crystal. Intermetallic species exhibit unique structural ordering demonstrated in a variety of superlattice diffraction patterns. We believe this method is general and can be used to achieve a wide variety of new 2D materials previously inaccessible.

A silicon-based two-dimensional chalcogenide: growth of Si2Te3 nanoribbons and nanoplates.

We report the synthesis of high-quality single-crystal two-dimensional, layered nanostructures of silicon telluride, Si2Te3, in multiple morphologies controlled by substrate temperature and Te seeding. Morphologies include nanoribbons formed by VLS growth from Te droplets, vertical hexagonal nanoplates through vapor-solid crystallographically oriented growth on amorphous oxide substrates, and flat hexagonal nanoplates formed through large-area VLS growth in liquid Te pools. We show the potential for doping through the choice of substrate and growth conditions. Vertical nanoplates grown on sapphire substrates, for example, can incorporate a uniform density of Al atoms from the substrate. We also show that the material may be modified after synthesis, including both mechanical exfoliation (reducing the thickness to as few as five layers) and intercalation of metal ions including Li(+) and Mg(2+), which suggests applications in energy storage materials. The material exhibits an intense red color corresponding to its strong and broad interband absorption extending from the red into the infrared. Si2Te3 enjoys chemical and processing compatibility with other silicon-based material including amorphous SiO2 but is very chemically sensitive to its environment, which suggests applications in silicon-based devices ranging from fully integrated thermoelectrics to optoelectronics to chemical sensors.