Barriers and enablers to blood culture sampling in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam: a Theoretical Domains Framework-based survey.

OBJECTIVE: Blood culture (BC) sampling is recommended for all suspected sepsis patients prior to antibiotic administration. We examine barriers and enablers to BC sampling in three Southeast Asian countries. DESIGN: A Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF)-based survey, comprising a case scenario of a patient presenting with community-acquired sepsis and all 14 TDF domains of barriers/enablers to BC sampling. SETTING: Hospitals in Indonesia, Thailand and Viet Nam, December 2021 to 30 April 2022. PARTICIPANTS: 1070 medical doctors and 238 final-year medical students were participated in this study. Half of the respondents were women (n=680, 52%) and most worked in governmental hospitals (n=980, 75.4%). OUTCOME MEASURES: Barriers and enablers to BC sampling. RESULTS: The proportion of respondents who answered that they would definitely take BC in the case scenario was highest at 89.8% (273/304) in Thailand, followed by 50.5% (252/499) in Viet Nam and 31.3% (157/501) in Indonesia (p<0.001). Barriers/enablers in nine TDF domains were considered key in influencing BC sampling, including 'priority of BC (TDF-goals)', 'perception about their role to order or initiate an order for BC (TDF-social professional role and identity)', 'perception that BC is helpful (TDF-beliefs about consequences)', 'intention to follow guidelines (TDF-intention)', 'awareness of guidelines (TDF-knowledge)', 'norms of BC sampling (TDF-social influence)', 'consequences that discourage BC sampling (TDF-reinforcement)', 'perceived cost-effectiveness of BC (TDF-environmental context and resources)' and 'regulation on cost reimbursement (TDF-behavioural regulation)'. There was substantial heterogeneity between the countries. In most domains, the lower (higher) proportion of Thai respondents experienced the barriers (enablers) compared with that of Indonesian and Vietnamese respondents. A range of suggested intervention types and policy options was identified. CONCLUSIONS: Barriers and enablers to BC sampling are varied and heterogenous. Cost-related barriers are more common in more resource-limited countries, while many barriers are not directly related to cost. Context-specific multifaceted interventions at both hospital and policy levels are required to improve diagnostic stewardship practices.

Prognostic prediction models for clinical outcomes in patients diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis: protocol for a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease responsible for many thousands of preventable deaths each year. Symptomatic patients often struggle to access effective treatment, without which death is the norm. Risk prediction tools support clinical teams and policymakers in identifying high-risk patients who could benefit from more intensive management pathways. Investigators interested in using their clinical data for prognostic research should first identify currently available models that are candidates for validation and possible updating. Addressing these needs, we aim to identify, summarise and appraise the available models predicting clinical outcomes in VL patients. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We will include studies that have developed, validated or updated prognostic models predicting future clinical outcomes in patients diagnosed with VL. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses that include eligible studies are also considered for review. Conference abstracts and educational theses are excluded. Data extraction, appraisal and reporting will follow current methodological guidelines. Ovid Embase; Ovid MEDLINE; the Web of Science Core Collection, SciELO and LILACS are searched from database inception to 1 March 2023 using terms developed for the identification of prediction models, and with no language restriction. Screening, data extraction and risk of bias assessment will be performed in duplicate with discordance resolved by a third independent reviewer. Risk of bias will be assessed using the Prediction model Risk Of Bias ASsessment Tool (PROBAST). Tables and figures will compare and contrast key model information, including source data, participants, model development and performance measures, and risk of bias. We will consider the strengths, limitations and clinical applicability of the identified models. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval is not required for this review. The systematic review and all accompanying data will be submitted to an open-access journal. Findings will also be disseminated through the research group's website (www.iddo.org/research-themes/visceral-leishmaniasis) and social media channels. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42023417226.

The Frequency, Risk Factors, and Management of Complications From Pleural Procedures.

Pleural disease is a common presentation and spans a heterogeneous population across broad disease entities; a common feature is the requirement for interventional procedures. Despite the frequency of such procedures, there is little consensus on rates of complications and risk factors associated with such complications. This narrative review was based on a structured search of the literature. Searches were limited to 2010 onward, in recognition of the transformation in procedural complications following the mainstream use of thoracic ultrasound. Procedures of interest were limited to thoracocentesis, intercostal drains, indwelling pleural catheters (IPCs), and local anesthetic thoracoscopy. A total of 4,308 studies were screened, and 48 studies were identified for inclusion. Iatrogenic pneumothorax remains the most common complication following thoracocentesis (3.3%; 95% CI, 3.2-3.4), although pneumothorax requiring intervention was rare (0.3%; 95% CI, 0.2-0.4) when the procedure was ultrasound guided. Drain blockage and displacement were the most common complications following intercostal drain insertion (6.3% and 6.8%, respectively). IPC-related infections can be a significant problem (5.8%; 95% CI, 5.1-6.7). However, most cases can be managed without removal of the IPC. Local anesthetic thoracoscopy has an overall mortality of 0.1% (95% CI, 0.03-0.3). Data on safety and complication rates in procedural interventions are limited by methodologic problems, and novel methods to study this topic should be considered. Although complications remain rare events, once encountered, they have the potential to rapidly escalate. It is of paramount importance for operators to prepare and have in place plans for such events to ensure high quality and, above all, safe care.

The Relationship Between Baseball Participation and Health: A Systematic Scoping Review.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between baseball participation and health (musculoskeletal, general, and psychological health) and to identify research gaps in the existing literature. DESIGN: Systematic scoping review. LITERATURE SEARCH: Medical databases and gray literature were systematically searched from inception to November 2018. STUDY SELECTION CRITERIA: All studies that investigated constructs related to the health of current or former baseball players were included. DATA SYNTHESIS: Data were extracted for thematic summaries. RESULTS: Ten thousand five hundred seventy-four titles/abstracts were screened, and 678 studies were included. Ninety percent of articles included only baseball players playing in the United States, 34% of articles investigated professional baseball players, and 11% studied college baseball players. Five hundred eighty-three (86%) studies investigated musculoskeletal health, 77 (11%) general health, and 18 (3%) psychological health. Injury incidence (injuries per 1000 athlete exposures) ranged from 0.7 to 3.6 in professional, 4.7 to 5.8 in college, and 0.8 to 4.0 in high school baseball. Among baseball players, 31% to 50% reported regular tobacco use. There was limited research investigating psychological health in current or former baseball players at all competition levels. CONCLUSION: Almost 90% of all articles investigated musculoskeletal health, with few articles studying general or psychological health. Baseball players have high tobacco, alcohol, and drug use compared to the general population, which may have negative health outcomes. Little is understood about the long-term musculoskeletal, general, and psychological health of baseball players. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2020;50(2):55-66. doi:10.2519/jospt.2020.9281.

Management of solitary fibrous tumours of the pleura: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Solitary fibrous tumours of the pleura (SFTP), or pleural fibromas, are rare tumours that generally, but not universally, follow a benign course. Surgical resection is the standard treatment, but there are no evidence-based guidelines regarding the management of these tumours. METHODS: Five databases were searched from inception to April 1, 2019 for studies reporting on SFTP management. RESULTS: Twenty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria (1542 patients, all non-comparative case series); 98% of these patients underwent resection and all SFTP included were pathologically diagnosed. 394 out of 1299 cases (30.5%, 95% CI 27.8-32.8%) were malignant with recurrence rates of between 0% and 42.9%. A pleural effusion was always associated with a negative outcome, but no other features were consistently reported to have negative associations. Preoperative biopsies incorrectly reported malignant histology in two studies. Over 25% of cases of recurrence occurred when a complete (R0) resection had been achieved. The first recurrence occurred >5 years after the initial resection in at least 23% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: There is strong evidence to support long-term surveillance after surgical resection of SFTP, even where a complete (R0) resection has been achieved; however, there is no clear evidence to inform clinicians regarding the selection of patients who should undergo resection. The rates of malignant SFTP and SFTP recurrence are higher than previously reported. Only those that were pathologically diagnosed or resected were included, which may bias the data towards more aggressive tumours. Data collection on radiologically diagnosed SFTP is required to draw conclusions regarding the timing and need for intervention.

Faecal microRNAs as a non-invasive tool in the diagnosis of colonic adenomas and colorectal cancer: A meta-analysis.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are proposed as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of numerous diseases. Here, we performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the utility of faecal miRNAs as a non-invasive tool in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. A systematic literature search, according to predetermined criteria, in five databases identified 17 research articles including 6475, 783 and 5569 faecal-based miRNA tests in CRC, adenoma patients and healthy individuals, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative likelihood and diagnostic odds ratios, area under curve (AUC), summary receiver operator characteristic (sROC) curves, association of individual or combinations of miRNAs to cancer stage and location, subgroup, meta-regression and Deeks' funnel plot asymmetry analyses were employed. Pooled miRNAs for CRC had an AUC of 0.811, with a sensitivity of 58.8% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 51.7-65.5%) and specificity of 84.8% (95% CI: 81.1-87.8%), whilst for colonic adenoma, it was 0.747, 57.3% (95% CI: 40.8-72.3%) and 76.1% (95% CI: 66.1-89.4%), respectively. The most reliable individual miRNA was miR-21, with an AUC of 0.843, sensitivity of 59.3% (95% CI: 26.3-85.6%) and specificity of 85.6% (95% CI: 72.2-93.2%). Paired stage analysis showed a better diagnostic accuracy in late stage CRC and sensitivity higher in distal than proximal CRC. In conclusion, faecal miR-21, miR-92a and their combination are promising non-invasive biomarkers for faecal-based CRC screening.

The diagnostic accuracy of chest ultrasound for CT-detected radiographic consolidation in hospitalised adults with acute respiratory failure: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: (1) Summarise chest ultrasound accuracy to diagnose radiological consolidation, referenced to chest CT in patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF). (2) Directly compared ultrasound with chest X-ray. SETTING: Hospitalised patients. PARTICIPANTS: Studies were eligible if adult participants in respiratory failure underwent chest ultrasound to diagnose consolidation referenced to CT. Exclusion: (1) not primary study, (2) not respiratory failure, (3) not chest ultrasound, (4) not consolidation, (5) translation unobtainable, (6) unable to extract data, (7) unable to obtain paper. 4 studies comprising 224 participants met inclusion. OUTCOME MEASURES: As planned, paired forest plots display 95% CIs of sensitivity and specificity for ultrasound and chest X-ray. Sensitivity and specificity from each study are plotted in receiver operator characteristics space. Meta-analysis was planned if studies were sufficiently homogeneous and numerous (≥4). Although this numerical requirement was met, meta-analysis was prevented by heterogeneous units of analysis between studies. RESULTS: All studies were in intensive care, with either a high risk of selection bias or high applicability concerns. Studies had unclear or high risk of bias related to use of ultrasound. Only 1 study clearly performed ultrasound within 24 h of respiratory failure diagnosis. Ultrasound sensitivity ranged from 0.91 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.97) to 1.00 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.00). Specificity ranged from 0.78 (95% CI 0.52 to 0.94) to 1.00 (0.99 to 1.00). In two studies, chest X-ray had lower sensitivity than ultrasound, but there were insufficient patients to compare specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Four small studies suggest ultrasound is highly sensitive and specific for consolidation in ARF, but high risk of bias and concerns about applicability in all studies may have inflated diagnostic accuracy. Further robustly designed studies are needed to define the role of ultrasound in this setting. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ (CRD42013006472).