Lowering levels of bed occupancy is associated with decreased inhospital mortality and improved performance on the 4-hour target in a UK District General Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether there is an association between an intervention to reduce medical bed occupancy and performance on the 4-hour target and hospital mortality. METHODS: This before-and-after study was undertaken in a large UK District General Hospital over a 32 month period. A range of interventions were undertaken to reduce medical bed occupancy within the Trust. Performance on the 4-hour target and hospital mortality (hospital standardised mortality ratio (HSMR), summary hospital-level mortality indicator (SHMI) and crude mortality) were compared before, and after, intervention. Daily data on medical bed occupancy and percentage of patients meeting the 4-hour target was collected from hospital records. Segmented regression analysis of interrupted time-series method was used to estimate the changes in levels and trends in average medical bed occupancy, monthly performance on the target and monthly mortality measures (HSMR, SHMI and crude mortality) that followed the intervention. RESULTS: Mean medical bed occupancy decreased significantly from 93.7% to 90.2% (p=0.02). The trend change in target performance, when comparing preintervention and postintervention, revealed a significant improvement (p=0.019). The intervention was associated with a mean reduction in all markers of mortality (range 4.5-4.8%). SHMI (p=0.02) and crude mortality (p=0.018) showed significant trend changes after intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Lowering medical bed occupancy is associated with reduced patient mortality and improved ability of the acute Trust to achieve the 95% 4-hour target. Whole system transformation is required to create lower average medical bed occupancy.

Pulmonary hypertension in pregnancy: two cases and review of the literature.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in pregnancy carries a mortality of 30-56%. There are few published data to guide clinicians in its management. Two pregnant women with severe PAH have been treated at Royal Perth Hospital with a successful result in both. Their presentation and management are described. We review the physiological changes in pregnancy, pathophysiology in PAH, and review the literature describing treatment of PAH in pregnancy.

Possible involvement of Ca2+ mobilization and protein kinase C activation in the induction of spontaneous metastasis by mouse mammary adenocarcinoma cells.

Evidence is provided to show that two secondary cell-signaling pathways, Ca2+ mobilization and the activation of protein kinase C (PKC), are involved in the induction of spontaneous metastasis in mouse adenocarcinoma cell line SP1. Unlike the parental cells, which were found to be tumorigenic but unable to metastasize from a s.c. site, SP1 cells treated with ionophore A23187 (to mobilize Ca2+) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (to activate PKC) were able to metastasize spontaneously. Analysis of SP1 cells treated with either agent separately or with both agents simultaneously revealed that both pathways contributed to the final response in a separate and nonsynergistic way. The induced metastatic phenotype in most cases appeared to be heritable. Examination of Ca2+ sources during cell activation by ionophore A23187 suggested that internal Ca2+ was sufficient for the process of induction. Examination of PKC activity and its intracellular distribution during and after treatment of SP1 cells with ionophore A23187 and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate were also evaluated. The results suggested that the basal levels of PKC and the activation of the enzyme appear to be involved in the induction of spontaneous metastasis. Taken together, these observations are consistent with the hypothesis that cell-signaling pathways exist which can induce the metastatic phenotype and that this may be related to phosphatidylinositol turnover.

Pharmacokinetics and systemic effects of inhaled fluticasone propionate in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

AIMS: We have previously shown that the systemic exposure to inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP) is reduced in asthmatics compared with healthy subjects. We have now compared its pharmacokinetics in patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, n = 10) and matched healthy subjects (n = 13). METHODS: A double-blind, randomized, cross-over study design was used. Plasma FP and serum cortisol were measured for 12 h after subjects received hydrofluoroalkane FP 1000 microg day-1 inhaled (via an MDI and spacer) for 7 days and following a single 1000- microg intravenous dose. RESULTS: The pharmacokinetics differed in the two groups. After inhalation, geometric least square means were significantly lower in the COPD group for the plasma AUC (1961 vs 2996 pg ml-1 h-1 for COPD and controls, respectively; P = 0.03) and the Cmax (235 vs 421 pg ml-1 for COPD and controls, respectively; P = 0.03). Suppression of serum cortisol concentration over 12 h was greater in healthy controls. Weighted mean serum cortisol concentration (nmol l-1) in healthy subjects and COPD was 93 and 170, respectively (P = 0.03). The intravenous pharmacokinetic parameters for FP were comparable in the two groups, resulting in similar suppression of serum cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the altered pharmacokinetics of inhaled fluticasone propionate in COPD caused less hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal suppression than in healthy controls. This is further evidence that the systemic effects of inhaled corticosteroids should be assessed in patients and not healthy subjects.

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis: a case-control study of perinatal and early life events.

BACKGROUND: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a rare disease affecting women, is caused by somatic mutations in the tuberous sclerosis complex genes. METHODS: A case-control questionnaire study was carried out examining parental and family history, prenatal events, and early life events to try to shed light on the aetiology of the condition. Forty five patients identified from a national LAM register completed a questionnaire and 31 were compared with 117 age and sex matched control subjects using conditional logistic regression. RESULTS: No differences were found in perinatal events, childhood infections, and parental or family history, except that patients were more likely to be an only child (odds ratio (OR) 4.3 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5 to 11.8)) and have a relative with uterine fibroids (OR 4.2 (1.4 to 13)). Patients with LAM had had fewer pregnancies and fewer children but no differences in miscarriage rates. A non-matched analysis using all 45 cases and 117 controls gave similar results. CONCLUSIONS: No features in the family history, perinatal events, or early life events were detected that were associated with having LAM. Being more likely to be an only child and having an increased family history of uterine fibroids may, if confirmed, indicate some differences in reproductive function within the families of affected individuals.

Survival and disease progression in UK patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis.

BACKGROUND: Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare and progressive disease of young women with no effective treatment. Previous estimates of 10 year survival, based mostly on case series or patients from tertiary centres, have ranged from 40% to 79%; no data are available on the progression of respiratory disability. In order to provide data for patients and for planning intervention studies, we have looked at the time course of LAM using a national cohort. METHODS: Time to death, time to MRC dyspnoea grades 2-5, and need for oxygen in patients on the UK LAM database were analysed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression. RESULTS: Fifty seven of 72 patients responded with a median duration of follow up of 12.6 years (range 2.3-37) from the onset of symptoms. Ten year survival was 91% from onset of symptoms but varied widely with 11 patients alive after 20 years. Median time to MRC grade 3 dyspnoea (breathless walking on the flat) was 9.3 years (95% CI 5.1 to 13.4) from onset of symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Survival from LAM appears to be better than that reported in early studies. These data should be helpful for patients and for planning clinical trials.