Daily Automated Telephone Assessment and Intervention Improved 1-Month Outcome in Paroled Offenders.

This randomized trial evaluates whether automated telephony could be used to perform daily assessments in paroled offenders (N = 108) during their first 30 days after leaving prison. All subjects were called daily and answered assessment questions. Based on the content of their daily assessments, subjects in the intervention group received immediate feedback and a recommendation by automated telephony, and their probation officers also received a daily report by email. The outcome variables were analyzed using linear mixed models. The intervention group showed greater improvement than the control group in the summary scores (M = 9.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.5, 18.7], p = .038), in mental symptoms (M = 4.6, CI = [0.2, 9.0], p = .042), in alcohol drinking (M = 0.8, CI = [0.1, 1.4], p = .031), in drug use (M = 1.0, CI = [0.5, 1.6], p = .000), and in most stressful daily event (M = 1.9, CI = [1.1, 2.7], p = .000). In conclusion, automated telephony may be used to follow up and to give interventions, resulting in reduced stress and drug use, in paroled offenders.

Swedish national survey on MR safety compared with CT: a false sense of security?

OBJECTIVES: The objectives were to survey MR safety incidents in Sweden during a 12-month period, to assess severity scores, and to evaluate the confidence of MR personnel in incident-reporting mechanisms. METHOD: Data were collected within a web-based questionnaire on safety in clinical MR environments with CT for comparison. Data reported MR and CT safety incidents (human injury, material damage, and close calls), incident severity, and confidence of participants in incident-reporting systems. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 529 eligible participants. Participants reported 200 MR and 156 CT safety incidents. Among MR incidents, 16% were given the highest potential severity score. More MR workers (73%) than CT workers (50%) were confident in being aware of any incident occurring at their workplace. However, 69% MR workers (83% for CT) were not aware of reported incidents at their hospitals. CONCLUSION: Safety incidents resulting in human injury, material damage, and close calls in clinical MR environments do occur. According to national risk assessment recommendations, risk level is high. Results indicated that MR personnel tend to a false sense of security, as a high proportion of staff members were sure that they would have been aware of any incident occurring in their own department, while in reality, incidents did occur without their knowledge. We conclude that false sense of security exists for MR. KEY POINTS: • Safety incidents in clinical MR environments still result in human injury and material damage. • Severity level of MR incidents-assessed using Swedish national risk assessment recommendations-is high. • Confidence of MR personnel in incident-reporting mechanisms is high, but reflects a false sense of security, as a high proportion of staff is unaware of reported incidents in the same workplace.

Prevalence and treatment of diabetes mellitus and hypertension among older adults with intellectual disability in comparison with the general population.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus and hypertension are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which is the most common cause of death in the world. People with intellectual disability (ID) have been reported to have high rates of both these disorders. The aim of this study was to describe and compare prevalence ratios of diabetes mellitus and hypertension between older adults with ID and their age peers in the general population, and to describe and compare treatment patterns in these two groups. METHODS: This is a Swedish register-based study, in which we established a cohort of people aged 55+ years and who had received support for those with ID in 2012 (n = 7936). We also established a same-sized referent cohort from the general population matched by sex and year of birth. Information on diagnoses of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, and prescription of drugs for these disorders, were collected from national registers for the period 2006-2012. The two cohorts were compared using generalized linear models (GLM). RESULTS: People with ID were 20% more likely than the general population to have a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, and 26% more likely to have prescription of drugs for diabetes mellitus. People in the general population were 81% more likely to have a diagnosis of hypertension, and 9% more likely to have a prescription of drugs for hypertension. Among those with diabetes, ID was associated with higher occurrence of prescription of insulin combination drugs and sulfonylureas, but lower occurrence of prescription of dipeptidyl peptidase (DPP) 4-inhibitors and exenatide/liraglutide. Among those with hypertension, ID was associated with higher occurrence of prescription of diuretics, but lower occurrence of prescription of calcium channel blockers and angiotensin II antagonists. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment regimens among people with ID tended to include older types of medication compared with what was prescribed in the general population. To ensure that this is medically appropriate and not due to failure to update the treatment regimen, it is important to investigate if the people with ID and diabetes mellitus or hypertension are subjected to the same regular drug reviews that are recommended for older adults in general.

Daily Assessment of Acute Dynamic Risk in Paroled Offenders: Prediction, Predictive Accuracy and Intervention Effect.

Few studies have assessed acute dynamic risk repeatedly among paroled offenders to investigate the relationship between changes in acute dynamic risk and recidivism in crime. The present study investigates whether one-month changes in ten stress-related acute dynamic risk factors, collected through automated telephony while the participants were still in prison and over 30 consecutive days following parole, predict one-year criminal recidivism, including its predictive accuracy. The study also investigates whether a brief feedback intervention in conjunction with the daily assessments reduces recidivism compared to an assessment-only control group. Changes in five risk factors were found to be associated with increased risk of criminal recidivism after controlling for the results in prison, the initial value after parole, and the intervention. The predictive accuracy is marginally accurate: Summary score (AUC) = .666; Level of stress (AHSS) = .644; Psychiatric symptoms (SCL-8D) = .641; Anxiety symptoms = .673; Severity of most stressful daily event = .690. No differences in one-year recidivism rates were established between the intervention group and the control group. The study shows that daily assessments can usefully be made of dynamic risk factors in paroled offenders.

Orphan drug policies and use in pediatric nephrology.

Orphan drugs designed to treat rare diseases are often overpriced per patient. Novel treatments are sometimes even more expensive for patients with ultra-rare diseases, in part due to the limited number of patients. Pharmaceutical companies that develop a patented life-saving drug are in a position to charge a very high price, which, at best, may enable these companies to further develop drugs for use in rare disease. However, is there a limit to how much a life-saving drug should cost annually per patient? Government interventions and regulations may opt to withhold a life-saving drug solely due to its high price and cost-effectiveness. Processes related to drug pricing, reimbursement, and thereby availability, vary between countries, thus having implications on patient care. These processes are discussed, with specific focus on three drugs used in pediatric nephrology: agalsidase beta (for Fabry disease), eculizumab (for atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome), and cysteamine bitartrate (for cystinosis). Access to and costs of orphan drugs have most profound implications for patients, but also for their physicians, hospitals, insurance policies, and society at large, particularly from financial and ethical standpoints.

Hybrid iterative reconstruction algorithm in brain CT: a radiation dose reduction and image quality assessment study.

BACKGROUND: Iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms improve image quality and allow for radiation dose reduction in CT. Dose reduction is particularly challenging in brain CT where good low-contrast resolution is essential. Ideally, evaluation of image quality combines objective measurements and subjective assessment of clinically relevant quality criteria. Subjective assessment is associated with various pitfalls and biases. PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential of the hybrid IR algorithm iDOSE(4) to preserve image quality in phantom and clinical brain CT acquired with 30% reduced radiation dose, and to discuss the image quality assessment methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty patients underwent two consecutive brain CTs with normal radiation dose (ND) and 30% reduced dose (RD). Both ND and RD were reconstructed with FBP. In addition the reduced dose CTs were reconstructed with two levels of IR (ID2, ID4). Three image quality criteria (grey-white-matter discrimination, basal ganglia delineation, general image quality) were graded and ranked by six neuroradiologists. Noise levels and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were measured in clinical data. Noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), spatial resolution, and noise-power spectrum (NPS) were also assessed in a phantom. RESULTS: Subjective image quality was considered adequate for clinical use for all reconstructions, graded good or excellent in 93% of cases for ND, 83% for ID4, 79% for ID2, and 67% for RD. For all quality parameters, ID4 and ID2 were graded better than RD (P < 0.0055 and P < 0.035), but worse than ND (P < 0.001). In clinical images, objective measurements showed lower noise and significantly higher CNR in ID4 compared with ND and RD (P < 0.001). CNR was similar for ID2 and ND. In the phantom, IR reduced noise while maintaining spatial resolution and NPS. CONCLUSION: The IR algorithm improves image quality of reduced dose CTs and consistently delivers sufficient image quality for clinical purposes. Pitfalls related to subjective assessment can be addressed with careful study design.

CODUSA--customize optimal donor using simulated annealing in heart transplantation.

In heart transplantation, selection of an optimal recipient-donor match has been constrained by the lack of individualized prediction models. Here we developed a customized donor-matching model (CODUSA) for patients requiring heart transplantations, by combining simulated annealing and artificial neural networks. Using this approach, by analyzing 59,698 adult heart transplant patients, we found that donor age matching was the variable most strongly associated with long-term survival. Female hearts were given to 21% of the women and 0% of the men, and recipients with blood group B received identical matched blood group in only 18% of best-case match compared with 73% for the original match. By optimizing the donor profile, the survival could be improved with 33 months. These findings strongly suggest that the CODUSA model can improve the ability to select optimal match and avoid worst-case match in the clinical setting. This is an important step towards personalized medicine.

Acceptance and importance of clinical pharmacists' LIMM-based recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of the clinical pharmacy service in a Swedish hospital according to the Lund Integrated Medicine Management (LIMM) model, in terms of the acceptance and clinical significance of the recommendations made by clinical pharmacists. METHOD: The clinical significance of the recommendations made by clinical pharmacists was assessed for a random sample of inpatients receiving the clinical pharmacy service in 2007. Two independent physicians retrospectively ranked the recommendations emerging from errors in the patients' current medication list and actual drug-related problems according to Hatoum, with rankings ranging between 1 (adverse significance) and 6 (extremely significant). RESULTS: The random sample comprised 132 patients (out of 800 receiving the service). The clinical significance of 197 recommendations was assessed. The physicians accepted and implemented 178 (90%) of the clinical pharmacists' recommendations. Most of these recommendations, 170 (83%), were ranked 3 (somewhat significant) or higher. CONCLUSION: This study provides further evidence of the quality of the LIMM model and confirms that the inclusion of clinical pharmacists in a multi-professional team can improve drug therapy for inpatients. The very high level of acceptance by the physicians of the pharmacists' recommendations further demonstrates the effectiveness of the process.

A large-sample assessment of possible association between ischaemic stroke and rs12188950 in the PDE4D gene.

Previous reports have shown ambiguous findings regarding the possible associations between ischaemic stroke (IS) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) gene region. The SNP rs12188950 (or SNP45) has often been studied in this context. We performed a multi-centre study involving a large sample of 2599 IS patients and 2093 control subjects from the south and west regions of Sweden to replicate previous studies regarding IS risk and rs12188950. Subjects from Lund Stroke Register (LSR), Malmö Diet and Cancer Study (MDC) and Sahlgrenska Academy Study on Ischemic Stroke (SAHLSIS) were enroled. Subgroups of participants with hypertension and participants <55 years of age, as well as the TOAST subgroups large vessel disease, small vessel disease and cardioembolism, were also assessed. Univariate odds ratios (ORs) and ORs controlling for hypertension, diabetes and current smoking were calculated. We additionally performed a meta-analysis including 10,500 patients and 10,102 control subjects from 17 publications (including the present study). When assessing pooled data from LSR, MDC and SAHLSIS we obtained no association between IS and rs12188950 for all participants (OR=0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.83-1.05). Significant associations were not found for hypertensive participants or participants with age <55, or when separately evaluating patients from the three different TOAST subgroups. The meta-analysis showed no significant overall estimate (OR=0.96; 95% CI: 0.89-1.04) with significant heterogeneity for random effect (P=0.042). No effect from rs12188950 on IS was found from either our pooled multi-centre data or the performed meta-analysis. We did not find any association between the examined subgroups and rs12188950 either.

Impact of the Lund Integrated Medicines Management (LIMM) model on medication appropriateness and drug-related hospital revisits.

PURPOSE: To examine the impact of systematic medication reconciliations upon hospital admission and of a medication review while in hospital on the number of inappropriate medications and unscheduled drug-related hospital revisits in elderly patients. METHODS: This was a prospective, controlled study in 210 patients, aged 65 years or older, who were admitted to one of three internal medicine wards at a University Hospital in Sweden. Intervention patients received the complete Lund Integrated Medicines Management model (medication reconciliation upon admission and discharge, and medication review and monitoring) provided by a multi-professional team, including a clinical pharmacist. Control patients received standard care and medication reconciliation upon discharge. Blinded reviewers evaluated the appropriateness of the prescribing (using the Medication Appropriateness Index) on admission and discharge, and assessed the probability that a drug-related problem was the reason for any patient readmitted to hospital or visiting the emergency department within 3 months of discharge (using World Health Organisation causality criteria). RESULTS: There was a greater decrease in the number of inappropriate drugs in the intervention group than in the control group for both the intention-to-treat population {51% [95% confidence interval (CI) 43-58%] vs. 39% (95% CI 30-48%); p = 0.0446} and the per-protocol population [60% (95% CI 51-67%) vs. 44% (95% CI 34-52%); p = 0.0106)]. There were six revisits to hospital in the intervention group which were judged as 'possibly, probably or certainly drug-related', compared with 12 in the control group (p = 0.0469). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, medication reconciliation and review provided by a clinical pharmacist in a multi-professional team significantly reduced the number of inappropriate drugs and unscheduled drug-related hospital revisits among elderly patients.

Comparison of the effectiveness and safety of a new de-airing technique with a standardized carbon dioxide insufflation technique in open left heart surgery: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: We have compared the effectiveness, time required for de-airing, and safety of a newly developed de-airing technique for open left heart surgery (Lund technique) with a standardized carbon dioxide insufflation technique. METHODS: Twenty patients undergoing elective open aortic valve surgery were randomized prospectively to the Lund technique (Lund group, n = 10) or the carbon dioxide insufflation technique (carbon dioxide group, n = 10). Both groups were monitored intraoperatively during de-airing and for 10 minutes after weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass by transesophageal echocardiography and online transcranial Doppler for the severity and the number of gas emboli, respectively. The systemic arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide and pH were also monitored in both groups before, during, and after cardiopulmonary bypass. RESULTS: The severity of gas emboli observed on transesophageal echocardiography and the number of microembolic signals recorded by transcranial Doppler were significantly lower in the Lund group during the de-airing procedure (P = .00634) and in the first 10 minutes after weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass (P = .000377). Furthermore, the de-airing time was significantly shorter in the Lund group (9 vs 15 minutes, P = .001). The arterial pH during the cooling phase of cardiopulmonary bypass was significantly lower in the carbon dioxide group (P = .00351), corresponding to significantly higher arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P = .005196) despite significantly higher gas flows (P = .0398) in the oxygenator throughout the entire period of cardiopulmonary bypass. CONCLUSIONS: The Lund de-airing technique is safer, simpler, and more effective compared with the carbon dioxide insufflation technique. The technique is also more cost-effective because the de-airing time is shorter and no extra expenses are incurred.

Validation of a modified EuroSCORE risk stratification model for cardiac surgery: the Swedish experience.

OBJECTIVE: The European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE) is used to identify patients at high risk for aortic valve replacement (AVR) in whom alternative procedures, such as trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), may be appropriate. The aim of the present study was to calibrate and validate the EuroSCORE for different cardiac surgery procedures to improve patient selection for valve surgery. METHODS: The study included 46516 patients undergoing open cardiac surgery during 2001-2007. A fivefold cross-validation technique was used to calibrate four different models. Model discrimination was determined by the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and model calibration by the Hosmer-Lemeshow (H-L) test. RESULTS: The actual and predicted 30-day mortality was 3.2%. The discrimination (ROC area) of the calibrated 30-day mortality prediction models was 0.79 for coronary bypass surgery, 0.77 for mitral valve surgery (MVS), and 0.75 for miscellaneous procedures, compared with 0.78 (p = 0.199), 0.74 (p = 0.077), and 0.72 (p = 0.001), respectively, for the original EuroSCORE. The discrimination for AVR was the same for the calibrated and the original EuroSCORE model (0.70). The H-L test gave a p-value of 0.104 for the calibrated and <0.001 for the original EuroSCORE model. CONCLUSIONS: A calibration of EuroSCORE resulted in an acceptable predictive capacity for 30-day mortality, and improved discrimination and calibration for MVS and miscellaneous procedures. However, the poor discriminatory for the AVR procedure suggests that the EuroSCORE may not be satisfying for assessing risk prior to TAVI and that more optimized risk stratification models may be needed.

Gastrointestinal complications after cardiac surgery - improved risk stratification using a new scoring model.

Gastrointestinal (GI) complications are serious consequences of cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to develop, evaluate and validate a new risk score model for GI complications after cardiac surgery. The risk score model, named gastrointestinal complication score (GICS), was developed using prospectively collected data from 5593 patients who underwent 5636 cardiac surgical procedures between 1996 and 2001. The model was validated on 1031 cardiac surgery patients between 2005 and 2006. The scoring system's ability to predict GI complications was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC)-curves and Hosmer-Lemeshow test. Fifty GI complications were identified in 47 patients (0.8%) in the developmental data set and eight (0.8%) in the validation data set. The ROC area in the developmental data set was 0.81 with a good calibration estimated by Hosmer-Lemeshow test (P=0.89). In the validation data set, the area under the curve was 0.83. The estimated probability for the patient to develop a GI complication after cardiac surgery at a GICS >or=15 is >20% and at a GICS

A multi-intervention approach on drug therapy can lead to a more appropriate drug use in the elderly. LIMM-Landskrona Integrated Medicines Management.

RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate if an integrated medicines management can lead to a more appropriate drug use in elderly inpatients. METHOD: The study was an intervention study at a department of internal medicine in southern Sweden. During the intervention period pharmacists took part in the daily work at the wards. Systematic interventions aiming to identify, solve and prevent drug-related problems (DRPs) were performed during the patient's hospital stay by multidisciplinary teams consisting of physicians, nurses and pharmacists. DRPs identified by the pharmacist were put forward to the care team and discussed. Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI) was used to evaluate the appropriateness in the patients' drug treatment at admission, discharge and 2 weeks after discharge. In total 43 patients were included, 28 patients in the intervention group and 25 patients in the group which was used as control. RESULTS: For the intervention group there was a significant decrease in the number of inappropriate drugs compared with the control group (P = 0.049). Indication, duration and expenses were the MAI-dimensions with most inappropriate ratings, and the drugs with most inappropriate ratings were anxiolytics, hypnotics and sedatives. CONCLUSION: This kind of systematic approach on drug therapy can result in a more appropriate drug use in the elderly.

Risk factor identification and mortality prediction in cardiac surgery using artificial neural networks.

OBJECTIVE: The artificial neural network model is a nonlinear technology useful for complex pattern recognition problems. This study aimed to develop a method to select risk variables and predict mortality after cardiac surgery by using artificial neural networks. METHODS: Prospectively collected data from 18,362 patients undergoing cardiac surgery at 128 European institutions in 1995 (the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation database) were used. Models to predict the operative mortality were constructed using artificial neural networks. For calibration a sixfold cross-validation technique was used, and for testing a fourfold cross-testing was performed. Risk variables were ranked and minimized in number by calibrated artificial neural networks. Mortality prediction with 95% confidence limits for each patient was obtained by the bootstrap technique. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was used as a quantitative measure of the ability to distinguish between survivors and nonsurvivors. Subgroup analysis of surgical operation categories was performed. The results were compared with those from logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation analysis. RESULTS: The operative mortality was 4.9%. Artificial neural networks selected 34 of the total 72 risk variables as relevant for mortality prediction. The receiver operating characteristics area for artificial neural networks (0.81) was larger than the logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation model (0.79; P = .0001). For different surgical operation categories, there were no differences in the discriminatory power for the artificial neural networks (P = .15) but significant differences were found for the logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (P = .0072). CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors in a ranked order contributing to the mortality prediction were identified. A minimal set of risk variables achieving a superior mortality prediction was defined. The artificial neural network model is applicable independent of the cardiac surgical procedure.

EuroSCORE predicts intensive care unit stay and costs of open heart surgery.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine whether the preoperative risk stratification model EuroSCORE predicts the different components of resource utilization in open heart surgery. METHODS: Data for all adult patients undergoing heart surgery at the University Hospital of Lund, Sweden, between 1999 and 2002 were prospectively collected. Costs were calculated for the surgery and intensive care and ward stay for each patient (excluding transplant cases and patients who died intraoperatively). Regression analysis was applied to evaluate the correlation between EuroSCORE and costs. The predictive accuracy for prolonged postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) stay was assessed by the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. The discriminatory power was evaluated by calculating the areas under receiver operating characteristics curves. RESULTS: The study included 3,404 patients. The mean cost for the surgery was 7,300 dollars, in the ICU 3,746 dollars, and in the ward 3,500 dollars. Total cost was significantly correlated with EuroSCORE, with a correlation coefficient of 0.47 (p < 0.0001); the correlation coefficient was 0.31 for the surgery cost, 0.46 for the ICU cost, and 0.11 for the ward cost. The Hosmer-Lemeshow p value for EuroSCORE prediction of more than 2 days' stay in the ICU was 0.40, indicating good accuracy. The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve was 0.78. The probability of an ICU stay exceeding 2 days was more than 50% at a EuroSCORE of 14 or more. CONCLUSIONS: In this single-institution study, the additive EuroSCORE algorithm could be used to predict ICU cost and also an ICU stay of more than 2 days after open heart surgery.

Psychotropic drugs in nursing- and old-age homes: relationships between needs of care and mental health status.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to map out what kind of psychotropic drugs are prescribed for elderly residents in assisted-living homes and how they relate to age, sex, form of living, psychiatric diagnosis, care needs and mental health status, and to identify factors of importance for their use; and to study the indication for treatment and the evaluation of the effects of treatment. METHOD: The study had a cross-sectional design and included one-third of all patients ( n=175) living in old-age homes or in nursing homes in a municipality in southern Sweden. Data concerning medication was obtained from medical records and included all psychotropic drugs prescribed the day the study started and the previous month. Need of care was assessed using Katz index, and mental health status was assessed using the Organic Brain Syndrome scale. RESULTS: Of the study population, 128 (73%) used one or more psychoactive drug. Prescribed drugs were neuroleptics (16%), anxiolytics (32%), hypnotics, (45%), and anti-depressants (33%). A greater prescription of neuroleptics than anti-depressants was seen for those showing signs of depression, and caution with prescription of benzodiazepines was seen for those showing signs of dementia. An indication and evaluation of treatment was lacking in half of the cases. Treatment with psychiatric drugs existed for approximately 50% of those without a determined psychiatric diagnosis. CONCLUSION: We have found a frequent use of neuroleptics, anxiolytics and hypnotics in the elderly, but an underprescription of anti-depressants appears to exist. There is a lack of documentation of indications and evaluations of psychotropic medication.