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Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) used for clinical applications require in vitro expansion to achieve therapeutically relevant numbers. However, conventional planar cell expansion approaches using tissue culture vessels are inefficient, costly, and can trigger MSC phenotypic and functional decline. Here we present a one-step dry plasma process to modify the internal surfaces of three-dimensional (3D) printed, high surface area to volume ratio (high-SA:V) porous scaffolds as platforms for stem cell expansion. To address the long-lasting challenge of uniform plasma treatment within the micrometre-sized pores of scaffolds, we developed a packed bed plasma immersion ion implantation (PBPI3) technology by which plasma is ignited inside porous materials for homogeneous surface activation. COMSOL Multiphysics simulations support our experimental data and provide insights into the role of electrical field and pressure distribution in plasma ignition. Spatial surface characterisation inside scaffolds demonstrates the homogeneity of PBPI3 activation. The PBPI3 treatment induces radical-containing chemical structures that enable the covalent attachment of biomolecules via a simple, non-toxic, single-step incubation process. We showed that PBPI3-treated scaffolds biofunctionalised with fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) significantly promoted the expansion of MSCs, preserved cell phenotypic expression, and multipotency, while reducing the usage of costly growth factor supplements. This breakthrough PBPI3 technology can be applied to a wide range of 3D polymeric porous scaffolds, paving the way towards developing new biomimetic interfaces for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.
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This cross-sectional study quantifies trends in discarded drug spending since the onset of mandated reporting.
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Medicare Part B , Idoso , Humanos , Estados UnidosRESUMO
Significant racial and ethnic differences exist in the receipt of psychiatric care and help-seeking. We examined the relationship between race/ethnicity and psychological well-being and functioning in psychiatric outpatients. We analyzed intake data for 8,697 adult patients in psychiatry clinics in New England between 2008 and 2010. Patients rated psychological wellbeing using the Schwartz Outcome Scale (SOS-10); clinicians rated the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). In an analysis of variance with covariates, race/ethnicity exhibited a small but statistically significant association with GAF (F(4,8481)=17.902, p<.001) and SOS-10 scores (F(4,8165)=7.271, p<.001). However, after adjustment for physical health and socioeconomic variables, these differences became insignificant or were reversed. Our findings suggest that the relationship between race/ethnicity and mental health may be confounded by other socioeconomic or health differences and may be small compared with the effect of those variables. Future studies on race and psychological well-being should take social determinants of health into consideration.
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Etnicidade , Saúde Mental , Grupos Raciais , Determinantes Sociais da Saúde , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , New England , Ambulatório Hospitalar , Escalas de Graduação PsiquiátricaRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study examined differences in disposition decisions among mental health professionals using a standardized Web-based simulation. METHODS: Using a Web-based simulation that described, across users, the same complex psychiatric patient, credentialed clinicians in a psychiatry department conducted a violence risk assessment and selected a level of follow-up care. RESULTS: Of 410 clinicians who completed the simulation, 60% of psychiatrists were more likely than other types of clinicians to select higher levels of care (inpatient or emergency services) for the standardized virtual patient (odds ratio=2.67, 95% confidence interval=1.67-4.25), even after adjustment for other factors. Virtual actions taken, such as contracting with the patient for safety and discussing hospitalization, elucidated these training differences. CONCLUSIONS: Training backgrounds were important determinants of clinicians' actions and the dispositions they recommended for a psychiatric patient at high risk of self-harm and harm to others in the educational setting and may suggest the need for further training to standardize and optimize care.
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Simulação por Computador/estatística & dados numéricos , Tomada de Decisões , Corpo Clínico Hospitalar/normas , Unidade Hospitalar de Psiquiatria/normas , Medição de Risco/normas , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Internet/estatística & dados numéricos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-IdadeRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Ongoing professional practice evaluation (OPPE) activities consist of a quantitative, competency-based evaluation of clinical performance. Hospitals must design assessments that measure clinical competencies, are scalable, and minimize impact on the clinician's daily routines. A psychiatry department at a large academic medical center designed and implemented an interactive Web-based psychiatric simulation focusing on violence risk assessment as a tool for a departmentwide OPPE. METHODS: Of 412 invited clinicians in a large psychiatry department, 410 completed an online simulation in April-May 2012. Participants received scheduled e-mail reminders with instructions describing how to access the simulation. Using the Computer Simulation Assessment Tool, participants viewed an introductory video and were then asked to conduct a risk assessment, acting as a clinician in the encounter by selecting actions from a series of drop-down menus. Each action was paired with a corresponding video segment of a clinical encounter with a standardized patient. Participants were scored on the basis of their actions within the simulation (Measure 1) and by their responses to the open-ended questions in which they were asked to integrate the information from the simulation in a summative manner (Measure 2). RESULTS: Of the 410 clinicians, 381 (92.9%) passed Measure 1,359 (87.6%) passed Measure 2, and 5 (1.2%) failed both measures. Seventy-five (18.3%) participants were referred for focused professional practice evaluation (FPPE) after failing either Measure 1, Measure 2, or both. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, Web-based simulation and e-mail engagement tools were a scalable and efficient way to assess a large number of clinicians in OPPE and to identify those who required FPPE.
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Competência Clínica , Simulação por Computador , Avaliação de Desempenho Profissional/métodos , Internet , Psiquiatria , Centros Médicos Acadêmicos , Humanos , Massachusetts , Medição de Risco/métodos , ViolênciaRESUMO
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To identify patient and clinical management factors related to emergency department (ED) length of stay for psychiatric patients. METHODS: This was a prospective study of 1,092 adults treated at one of 5 EDs between June 2008 and May 2009. Regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with ED length of stay and its 4 subcomponents. Secondary analyses considered patients discharged to home and those who were admitted or transferred separately. RESULTS: The overall mean ED length of stay was 11.5 hours (median 8.2 hours). ED length of stay varied by discharge disposition, with patients discharged to home staying 8.6 hours (95% confidence interval 7.7 to 9.5 hours) and patients transferred to a hospital outside the system of care staying 15 hours (95% confidence interval 12.7 to 17.6 hours) on average. Older age and being uninsured were associated with increased ED length of stay, whereas race, sex, and homelessness had no association. Patients with a positive toxicology screen result for alcohol stayed an average of 6.2 hours longer than patients without toxicology screens, an effect observed primarily in the periods before disposition decision. Diagnostic imaging was associated with an average 3.2-hour greater length of stay, prolonging both early and late components of the ED stay. Restraint use had a similar effect, leading to a length of stay 4.2 hours longer than that of patients not requiring restraints. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric patients spent more than 11 hours in the ED on average when seeking care. The need for hospitalization, restraint use, and the completion of diagnostic imaging had the greatest effect on postassessment boarding time, whereas the presence of alcohol on toxicology screening led to delays earlier in the ED stay. Identification and sharing of best practices associated with each of these factors would provide an opportunity for improvement in ED care for this population.
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Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência , Tempo de Internação , Transtornos Mentais/terapia , Adulto , Fatores Etários , Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Cobertura do Seguro , Masculino , Transtornos Mentais/psicologia , Admissão do Paciente/estatística & dados numéricos , Estudos Prospectivos , Análise de Regressão , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study identified characteristics of adult psychiatric patients who remained for 24 or more hours in the emergency departments of general hospitals in Massachusetts. METHODS: Data were collected starting in June 2008 on a prospective cohort of 1,076 patients who presented for emergency psychiatric evaluation at one of five hospitals. RESULTS: A total of 90 patients (8%) stayed 24 or more hours (median=31 hours). More than 90% (N=1,018) of all patients had health insurance. Characteristics associated with extended stays included homelessness, transfer to another hospital, public insurance, and use of restraints or sitters (p<.05). The two academic medical centers had higher proportions of extended-stay patients than the three community hospitals (12% and 15% versus 1%, 7%, and 7%, respectively; p<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite overall high rates of health insurance coverage, publicly insured patients waited longer than those with private insurance. Future reforms of Massachusetts' mandatory health insurance program should consider treatment capacity as well.
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Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência/estatística & dados numéricos , Acessibilidade aos Serviços de Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Tempo de Internação/estatística & dados numéricos , Transtornos Mentais/epidemiologia , Adulto , Agressão , Estudos de Coortes , Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência/organização & administração , Feminino , Pessoas Mal Alojadas/estatística & dados numéricos , Humanos , Seguro Saúde , Masculino , Massachusetts , Transtornos Mentais/terapia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Transferência de Pacientes , Ideação Suicida , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
Billions of dollars are spent every year to support medical research, with a substantial percentage coming from charitable foundations. To justify these expenditures, some measure of the return on investment would be useful, particularly one aligned with the intended ultimate outcome of this scientific effort: the amelioration of disease. The current mode of reporting on the success of medical research is output based, with an emphasis on measurable productivity. This approach falls short in many respects and may be contributing to the well-described efficacy-effectiveness gap in clinical care. The author argues for an outcomes-based approach and describes the steps involved, using an adaptation of the logic model. A shift in focus to the outcomes of our work would provide our founders with clearer mission-central return-on-investment feedback, would make explicit the benefits of science to an increasingly skeptical public, and would serve as a compass to guide the scientific community in playing a more prominent role in reducing the efficacy-effectiveness gap. While acknowledging the enormous complexity involved with the implementation of this approach on a large scale, the author hopes that this essay will encourage some initial steps toward this aim and stimulate further discussion of this concept.