RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Depression, anxiety, and at-risk drinking are highly prevalent in primary care settings. Many jurisdictions experience geographical barriers to accessing mental health services, necessitating the development and validation of alternative models of care delivery. Existing evidence supports the acceptability and effectiveness of providing mental health care by telephone. OBJECTIVE: This analysis assesses patient's acceptability of computer-aided telephone support delivered by lay providers to primary care patients with depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking. METHODS: The Primary care Assessment and Research of a Telephone intervention for Neuropsychiatric conditions with Education and Resources study is a randomized controlled trial comparing a computer-aided telephone-based intervention to usual care enhanced by periodic assessments in adult primary care patients referred for the treatment of depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking; no part of the study involves in-person contact. For this analysis, the following data were obtained: reasons provided for declining consent; reasons provided for withdrawing from the study; study retention rate; and a thematic analysis of a satisfaction survey upon study completion. RESULTS: During the consent process, 17.1% (114/667) patients referred to the study declined to participate and 57.0% of them (65/114) attributed their refusal to research-related factors (ie, randomization and time commitment); a further 16.7% (19/114) declined owing to the telephone delivery of the intervention. Among the 377 participants who were randomized to the 1-year intervention, the overall retention rate was 82.8% (312/377). Almost no participants who withdrew from the study identified the telephone components of the study as their reason for withdrawal. Analysis of a qualitative satisfaction survey revealed that 97% (38/39) of comments related to the telephone components were positive with key reported positive attributes being accessibility, convenience, and privacy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that a computer-aided telephone support is highly acceptable to primary care patients with depression, anxiety, or at-risk drinking. In particular, these patients appreciate its accessibility, flexibility, and privacy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02345122; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02345122 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/73R9Q2cle).
RESUMO
IMPORTANCE: The 4-duct ligation procedure has appeal for its surgical simplicity and limited invasiveness in the management of pediatric sialorrhea. However, more information is required to understand the benefits, risks, success rates, and long-term effects of this intervention. OBJECTIVES: To report the clinical outcomes of the 4-duct ligation procedure in pediatric patients diagnosed as having sialorrhea and the associated complication rates and to characterize patient and caregiver satisfaction in a consecutive series. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This investigation was a retrospective cohort study at an academic tertiary pediatric center and pediatric rehabilitation hospital. Patients included 38 children with neurological impairment who underwent a 4-duct salivary gland ligation (parotid and submandibular glands) between January 1, 2004, and July 31, 2012. The dates of the analysis were August 2013 through February 2015. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Posttreatment assessments included duration of effect, severity and frequency of drooling before and after the procedure, patient complications, caregiver satisfaction, caregiver recommendation of the procedure, and caregiver overall assessment of the child's quality of life. Clinical and outcome measures were collected before the procedure, 1 month after the procedure, 1 year after the procedure, and at the most recent follow-up (range, 3-8 years). RESULTS: The study cohort comprised 38 participants. Their median age was 11 years (age range, 5-17 years), and 37% (14 of 38) were female. The mean (SD) duration of effect was 52.6 (20.4) months. Patients with previous sialorrhea management were more likely to demonstrate an improvement in their drooling frequency score at 1 year. Thirteen complications were documented in 12 patients. The most common complications were persistent facial swelling and aspiration pneumonia. Eighty percent (28 of 35) of caregivers reported an improvement in their child's drooling at 1 month, while 69% (25 of 36) and 71% (24 of 34) stated that there was an improvement at the 1-year follow-up and the most recent follow-up, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The 4-duct ligation procedure offers a simple, effective, and minimally invasive approach to the management of sialorrhea in children.