Subtypes of major depressive disorders and objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviors in the community.

BACKGROUND: Lack of physical activity (PA) and high sedentary behavior (SB) may enhance mental health problems, including depression, and are associated with increased mortality. Aside from a large body of research on major depressive disorder (MDD) assessed as an entity and either PA or SB, few studies have examined associations among subtypes of MDD and both PA and SB simultaneously derived from wrist-worn accelerometers. Accordingly, our aim was to explore the associations among MDD subtypes (atypical, melancholic, combined atypical-melancholic and unspecified) and four actigraphy-derived behaviors combining the levels of PA and SB. METHODS: The sample stemmed from CoLaus|PsyCoLaus, a population-based cohort study, consisting of 2375 participants (55.1% women; mean age: 62.4 years) who wore an accelorometer for 14 days after a physical exam and subsequently completed a semi-structured psychiatric interview. Activity behaviors were defined according to the combination of the levels of moderate-to-vigorous intensity PA and SB. Associations of remitted MDD subtypes, current MDD and physical inactivity behaviors were assessed using multinomial logistic regression, adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics, a history of anxiety, alcohol and drug use disorders and cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: In the fully adjusted model, participants with the remitted combined atypical-melancholic subtype had a higher risk of being more physically inactive. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that low PA and high SB are not restricted to the duration of depressive episodes in people with atypical and melancholic episodes. The lack of PA and high SB in this group of depressive patients exposes them to an additional long-term cardiovascular risk and measures to increase PA may be particularly fruitful in this MDD subgroup.

Associations of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders with Pulmonary Disorders in the Community: The PneumoLaus and PsyCoLaus Studies.

INTRODUCTION: Mental health disorders figure among the many comorbidities of obstructive respiratory diseases. The multisystemic characteristics of chronic respiratory disease and its impact on quality of life could affect depressive and/or anxiety disorders. We aimed to evaluate the association of spirometric indices, ventilatory disorders, and self-reported respiratory diseases with psychiatric disorders considering potential confounders. METHODS: We analysed data from CoLaus|PsyCoLaus, a Swiss population-based cohort study, consisting of 2'774 participants (56% women; mean age: 62.3 (standard deviation = ±9.9) years) who performed spirometry and completed semi-structured psychiatric interviews. We defined ventilatory disorders using GLI-2012 references. Major depressive episode (MDE) and anxiety disorders were defined using the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual). RESULTS: 630 subjects (22.7%) presented a recent MDE. Reversible obstructive ventilatory disorders were associated with recent MDE (OR = 1.94, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.10-3.43) and recent anxiety disorders (2.21 [1.16-4.22]) only in unadjusted model. Self-reported chronic obstructive pulmonary (COPD) and asthma were associated with MDE with ORs of 2.49 (95% CI, 1.19-5.27) and 1.56 (95% CI, 1.04-2.35) after adjustment, respectively. Possible restrictive ventilatory impairment was positively associated with recent anxiety disorders (OR = 2.46, 1.10-5.51). Z-scores of FEV1, FVC, and maximal mid-expiratory flow were not associated with psychiatric disorders. There was no association between ventilatory disorders and MDE in adjusted models. CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional population-based study, the association between respiratory disorders and depressive disorders was observed for self-reported COPD and asthma, but not with objective diagnoses based on spirometry. Lung volumes are not associated with psychiatric disorders. Further prospective studies will be necessary to understand the significance of the association.

Pulse Wave Amplitude Drops Index: A Biomarker of Cardiovascular Risk in Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Rationale: It is currently unclear which patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased cardiovascular risk. Objective: To investigate the value of pulse wave amplitude drops (PWADs), reflecting sympathetic activations and vasoreactivity, as a biomarker of cardiovascular risk in OSA. Methods: PWADs were derived from pulse oximetry-based photoplethysmography signals in three prospective cohorts: HypnoLaus (N = 1,941), the Pays-de-la-Loire Sleep Cohort (PLSC; N = 6,367), and "Impact of Sleep Apnea syndrome in the evolution of Acute Coronary syndrome. Effect of intervention with CPAP" (ISAACC) (N = 692). The PWAD index was the number of PWADs (>30%) per hour during sleep. All participants were divided into subgroups according to the presence or absence of OSA (defined as ⩾15 or more events per hour or <15/h, respectively, on the apnea-hypopnea index) and the median PWAD index. Primary outcome was the incidence of composite cardiovascular events. Measurements and Main Results: Using Cox models adjusted for cardiovascular risk factors (hazard ratio; HR [95% confidence interval]), patients with a low PWAD index and OSA had a higher incidence of cardiovascular events compared with the high-PWAD and OSA group and those without OSA in the HypnoLaus cohort (HR, 2.16 [1.07-4.34], P = 0.031; and 2.35 [1.12-4.93], P = 0.024) and in the PLSC (1.36 [1.13-1.63], P = 0.001; and 1.44 [1.06-1.94], P = 0.019), respectively. In the ISAACC cohort, the low-PWAD and OSA untreated group had a higher cardiovascular event recurrence rate than that of the no-OSA group (2.03 [1.08-3.81], P = 0.028). In the PLSC and HypnoLaus cohorts, every increase of 10 events per hour in the continuous PWAD index was negatively associated with incident cardiovascular events exclusively in patients with OSA (HR, 0.85 [0.73-0.99], P = 0.031; and HR, 0.91 [0.86-0.96], P < 0.001, respectively). This association was not significant in the no-OSA group and the ISAACC cohort. Conclusions: In patients with OSA, a low PWAD index reflecting poor autonomic and vascular reactivity was independently associated with a higher cardiovascular risk.

Healthy sleep score changes and incident cardiovascular disease in European prospective community-based cohorts.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Evidence on the link between sleep patterns and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in the community essentially relies on studies that investigated one single sleep pattern at one point in time. This study examined the joint effect of five sleep patterns at two time points with incident CVD events. METHODS: By combining the data from two prospective studies, the Paris Prospective Study III (Paris, France) and the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus study (Lausanne, Switzerland), a healthy sleep score (HSS, range 0-5) combining five sleep patterns (early chronotype, sleep duration of 7-8 h/day, never/rarely insomnia, no sleep apnoea, and no excessive daytime sleepiness) was calculated at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS: The study sample included 11 347 CVD-free participants aged 53-64 years (44.6% women). During a median follow-up of 8.9 years [interquartile range (IQR): 8.0-10.0], 499 first CVD events occurred (339 coronary heart disease (CHD) and 175 stroke). In multivariate Cox analysis, the risk of CVD decreased by 18% [hazard ratio (HR) 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.76-0.89] per one-point increment in the HSS. After a median follow-up of 6.0 years (IQR: 4.0-8.0) after the second follow-up, 262 first CVD events occurred including 194 CHD and 72 stroke. After adjusting for baseline HSS and covariates, the risk of CVD decreased by 16% (HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.73-0.97) per unit higher in the follow-up HSS over 2-5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Higher HSS and HSS improvement over time are associated with a lower risk of CHD and stroke in the community.

Stability of the Subtypes of Major Depressive Disorder in Older Adults and the Influence of Mild Cognitive Impairment on the Stability.

OBJECTIVES: To assess 1) the longitudinal stability of the atypical, melancholic, combined atypical-melancholic and the unspecified subtypes of major depressive disorder (MDD) according to the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM -IV) specifiers in older adults, and 2) the effect of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on the stability of these subtypes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with a 5.1 year-follow-up. SETTING: Population-based cohort from Lausanne, Switzerland. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1,888 participants (mean age: 61.7 years, women: 69.2%) with at least two psychiatric evaluations, one after the age of 65 years. MEASUREMENTS: Semistructured diagnostic interview to assess lifetime and 12-month DSM-IV Axis-1 disorders at each investigation and neuro-cognitive tests to identify MCI in participants aged 65 years and over. Associations between lifetime MDD status before and 12-month depression status after the follow-up were assessed using multinomial logistic regression. The effect of MCI on these associations was assessed by testing interactions between MDD subtypes and MCI status. RESULTS: 1) Associations between depression status before and after the follow-up were observed for atypical (adjusted OR [95% CI] = 7.99 [3.13; 20.44]), combined (5.73 [1.50; 21.90]) and unspecified (2.14 [1.15; 3.98]), but not melancholic MDD (3.36 [0.89; 12.69]). However, there was a certain degree of overlap across the subtypes, particularly between melancholic MDD and the other subtypes. 2) No significant interactions were found between MCI and lifetime MDD subtypes regarding depression status after follow-up. CONCLUSION: The strong stability of the atypical subtype in particular highlights the need for identifying this subtype in clinical and research settings, given its well-documented links to inflammatory and metabolic markers.

Cannabis use and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: a Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Association between cannabis use and development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is inconsistent and challenging to interpret, given existing study limitations. METHODS: Sixty five independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), obtained from a genome-wide association study on lifetime cannabis use, were employed as genetic instruments to estimate the effects of genetically indexed cannabis use on risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and acute ischemic stroke (IS) using a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Summary statistics on CAD (CARDIoGRAMplusC4D; 60,801 cases and 123,504 controls) and IS (MEGASTROKE; 34,217 cases and 406,111 controls) were obtained separately. A comprehensive review of the observational literature on cannabis use and CAD or IS was also performed and contrasted with MR results. RESULTS: There was no causal effect of cannabis use on the risk of CAD (odds ratio (OR) per ever-users vs. never-users 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.83 to 1.03) or IS (OR 1.05; 95%CI, 0.93 to 1.19). Sensitivity analyses yielded similar results, and no heterogeneity and directional pleiotropy was observed. Our meta-analysis of observational studies showed no significant association between ever use of cannabis with risk of CAD (k = 6 studies; ORpooled = 1.23, 95%CI 0.78 to 1.69), nor with IS (k = 6 studies; ORpooled = 1.22, 95%CI 0.95 to 1.50). CONCLUSION: Using a genetic approach approximating a clinical trial does not provide evidence consistent with a causal effect of genetic predisposition to cannabis use on CAD or IS development. Further studies are needed to replicate our findinds, an to investigate more precisely the risk of ASCVD in relation to the quantity, type, route of administration, or the age at exposure to cannabis.

How ambient temperature affects mood: an ecological momentary assessment study in Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has suggested that an increase in temperature can negatively affect mental health and increase hospitalization for mental illness. It is not clear, however, what factors or mechanisms mediate this association. We aimed to (1) investigate the associations between ambient temperatures and bad daily mood, and (2) identify variables affecting the strength of these associations (modifiers) including the time, the day of the week and the year of the mood rating, socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, psychiatric disorders and the personality trait neuroticism in the community. METHODS: Data stemmed from the second follow-up evaluation of CoLaus|PsyCoLaus, a prospective cohort study conducted in the general population of Lausanne (Switzerland). The 906 participants rated their mood level four times a day during seven days using a cell phone app. Mixed-effects logistic regression was used to determine the association between daily maximum temperature and mood level. Participant ID was inserted as a random effect in the model, whereas the time of the day, the day of the week and the year were inserted as fixed effects. Models were controlled for several confounders (socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, weather parameters and air pollutants). Stratified analyses were conducted based on socio-demographic characteristics, sleep quality, presence of psychiatric disorders or a high neuroticism. RESULTS: Overall, the probability of having a bad mood for the entire day decreased by 7.0% (OR: 0.93: 95% CI 0.88, 0.99) for each 5 °C increase in maximum temperature. A smaller and less precise effect (-3%; OR: 0.97: 95% CI 0.91, 1.03) was found when controlling for sunshine duration. A higher association was found in participants with bipolar disorder (-23%; OR: 0.77: 95% CI 0.51, 1.17) and in participants with a high neuroticism (-13%; OR: 0.87 95% CI 0.80, 0.95), whereas the association was reversed for participants with anxiety (20%; OR: 1.20: 95% CI 0.90, 1.59), depression (18%; OR: 1.18 95% CI 0.94, 1.48) and schizophrenia (193%; OR: 2.93 95% CI 1.17, 7.73). CONCLUSIONS: According to our findings, rising temperatures may positively affect mood in the general population. However, individuals with certain psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia, may exhibit altered responses to heat, which may explain their increased morbidity when exposed to high temperatures. This suggests that tailored public health policies are required to protect this vulnerable population.

[Artificial Intelligence in internal medicine†: development of a model predicting length of stay for non-elective admissions]. / Intelligence artificielle en médecine interne†: développement d'un modèle prédictif des durées de séjour.

Efficient management of hospitalized patients requires carefully planning each stay by taking into account patients' pathologies and hospital constraints. Therefore, the ability to accurately estimate length of stays allows for better interprofessional tasks coordination, improved patient flow management, and anticipated discharge preparation. This article presents how we built and evaluated a predictive model of length of stay based on clinical data available upon admission to a division of internal medicine. We show that Machine Learning-based approaches can predict lengths of stay with a similar level of accuracy as field experts.

Une prise en charge efficiente des patients nécessite une planification minutieuse des soins en fonction de la pathologie et des contraintes hospitalières. Dans ce contexte, une estimation de la durée de séjour permet de mieux coordonner les tâches interprofessionnelles, de gérer le flux des patients et d'anticiper la préparation à la sortie. Cet article présente la construction et l'évaluation d'un modèle prédictif de la durée de séjour à l'aide de données cliniques présentes à l'admission dans un service de médecine interne universitaire. Nous démontrons que les approches basées sur le Machine Learning sont capables de prédire des durées de séjour avec une performance similaire à celle des professionnels.

[Organizational Impacts and Clinical Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Swiss Tertiary Internal Medicine Department]. / Impacts organisationnels et défis cliniques de la pandémie COVID-19 pour un service hospitalier de médecine interne universitaire.

The rapid progression of COVID-19 is an organizational challenge for all hospitals. To secure the patient overflow, the Department internal medicine of the University Hospital of Lausanne increased nurse and medical workforces as well as bed capacity by 65 %, with extraordinary help from other departments. The implemented crisis management stood upon three pillars : a crisis management team, steering documents and internal communication. In this new form, the Department had already taken care of 442 COVID-19 admissions by April 16, 2020. Alongside organizational challenges, clinical issues such as rapid respiratory distress, clinical suspicions with negative PCR and treatment uncertainties in the absence of sufficient evidence were overcome. Despite the peak of the pandemic appearing to have passed, the next phase could be just as complicated.

La progression rapide du COVID-19 constitue un défi organisationnel pour tous les hôpitaux. Pour anticiper un afflux important de patients, le service de médecine interne du CHUV a ainsi augmenté ses forces de travail médico-soignantes et son nombre de lits de 65 % avec un soutien extraordinaire de toute l'institution. Pour opérer ces changements majeurs, l'organisation de crise mise en place s'est appuyée sur trois piliers : une cellule de conduite, des documents de pilotage et une communication interne. Sous cette nouvelle forme, le service a pris en charge 442 hospitalisations COVID-19 jusqu'au 16 avril 2020. Si les enjeux organisationnels ont été majeurs, la gestion des situations complexes, comme les manifestations respiratoires et les multiples incertitudes cliniques diagnostiques et thérapeutiques, ont été également une gageure. Le pic de la pandémie semble passé, mais la prochaine phase pourrait constituer un nouveau défi organisationnel.

[Management of peripheral neuropathy in general internal medicine]. / Prise en charge des neuropathies périphériques en médecine interne générale.

Peripheral neuropathies are frequent in clinical practice and portend severe functional limitations or neuropathic pain. History taking and clinical examination represent key features to trigger investigations and uncover the underlying affection. For general internal medicine practitioners, initial investigation should include search for alcohol consumption, diabetes mellitus, vitamin B12 deficiency and monoclonal gammapathy. Nerve conduction studies should be limited to patients with atypical presentations and/or without a defined etiology. After treatment of specific etiologies, supportive care includes management of neuropathic pain and physical rehabilitation.

Les neuropathies périphériques sont fréquentes en pratique clinique, avec parfois une limitation fonctionnelle importante ou l'apparition de douleurs. L'anamnèse et l'examen clinique constituent des éléments importants pour établir un plan d'investigation et orienter le diagnostic. Pour l'interniste généraliste, la prise en charge initiale consiste à rechercher la présence d'une consommation d'alcool à risque, d'un diabète, d'un déficit en vitamine B12 ou d'une gammapathie monoclonale. Une étude de la conduction nerveuse est réservée aux présentations atypiques et/ou sans cause claire. Hormis le traitement des étiologies réversibles, le soutien au patient passe par la gestion des douleurs neuropathiques et par une prise en charge rééducative.

Use of oscillometric devices in atrial fibrillation: a comparison of three devices and invasive blood pressure measurement.

BACKGROUND: The use of automated (oscillometric) blood pressure (BP) devices is not validated in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients. OBJECTIVES: To assess the reliability of three oscillometric BP devices, and the agreement with invasive arterial blood pressure(IBP) in AF patients. METHODS: 48 AF patients with randomized sequences of 10 consecutive BP measurements with two pairs of devices: (1) OmronR7™(wrist) and OmronHEM907™(arm); (2) OmronR7™ and Microlife WatchBPhome(arm). Reliability and agreement of each device were assessed by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) for the continuous BP measurements and Bland & Altman methodology, respectively. In 10 additional AF patients, 10 consecutive measurements with IBP and OmronHEM907™, and IBP and Microlife WatchBPhome were performed. RESULTS: The OmronR7™ was not able to obtain any BP Readings. Arm devices presented better ICC for systolicBP(SBP) than for diastolicBP(DBP) (Omron HEM907™:0.94 [0.90; 0.97] vs. 0.77 [0.67; 0.89]; Microlife WatchBPhome:0.92 [0.88; 0.96] vs.0.79 [0.69; 0.89]).The correlation coefficient between Microlife WatchBPhome and IBP computed using the average of repeated measurements from two to ten measurements improved up to the third and remained stable afterwards. The agreement between IBP and SBP, and IBP and DBP, was moderate as illustrated by a wide limit of agreement [-24; 26](SBP) and [-15;17](DBP) for Microlife WatchBPHome, respectively and [-30; 13](SBP) and [-7; 15](DBP) for OmronHEM907. CONCLUSIONS: BP measurement using the two arm oscillometric devices achieved a high reliability for SBP. The agreement between IBP and arm devices was low but using the average of three consecutive measurements improved the results substantially.

Cytokines and hs-CRP levels in individuals treated with low-dose aspirin for cardiovascular prevention: a population-based study (CoLaus Study).

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Low-dose aspirin for CV prevention is reported to have anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to determine the association between pro-inflammatory cytokines and hs-CRP levels and low-dose aspirin use for cardiovascular prevention in a population-based cohort (CoLaus Study). We assessed blood samples in 6085 participants (3201 women) aged 35-75years. Medications' use and indications were recorded. Among aspirin users (n=1'034; 17%), overall low-dose users (351; 5.8%) and low-dose for cardiovascular prevention users (324; 5.3%) were selected for analysis. Pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α were assessed by a multiplex particle-based flow cytometric assay and hs-CRP by an immunometric assay. Cytokines and hs-CRP were presented in quartiles. Multivariate analysis adjusting for sex, age, smoking status, body mass index, diabetes mellitus and immunomodulatory drugs showed no association between cytokines and hs-CRP levels and low-dose aspirin use for cardiovascular prevention, either comparing the topmost vs. the three other quartiles (OR 95% CI, 0.84 (0.59-1.18), 1.03 (0.78-1.32), 1.10 (0.83-1.46), 1.00 (0.67-1.69) for IL-1ß, IL-6, TNF-α and hs-CRP, respectively), or comparing the topmost quartile vs. the first one (OR 95% CI, 0.87 (0.60-1.26), 1.19 (0.79-1.79), 1.26 (0.86-1.84), 1.06 (0.67-1.69)). Low-dose aspirin use for cardiovascular prevention does not impact plasma pro-inflammatory cytokine and hs-CRP levels in a population-based cohort.

[General internal medicine in hospital practice: the year 2013 put into perspective by residents]. / Médecine interne générale en pratique hospitalière: l'année 2013 mise en perspective par les chefs de clinique.

2013 was full of significant advances in all areas of medicine, which may have an impact on daily practice in general internal medicine. From salt and water restriction in heart failure to transfusion threshold in upper gastrointestinal bleeding and fecal infusion in Clostridium difficile colitis; from new data in resuscitation and persistent questions in palliative care and intensive care medicine, through pneumology, nephrology and endocrinology, the literature has been rich in new considerations. Each year, the residents of the Department of internal medicine of the University hospital of Vaud (CHUV) meet to share their most interesting readings. Thirteen of them are reviewed and commented here.

Left hepatic hydrothorax without ascites.

Hepatic hydrothorax (HH) is a complication in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. It predominantly presents in the right pleural cavity and usually associates with ascites. Few cases of HH occurring without detectable ascites have been reported. This case report comprehensively presents a case of a refractory left unilateral HH without ascites. The patient benefited from palliative care and the HH was managed using a semipermanent indwelling pleural catheter until she died 3 months after diagnosis.

Blood pressure status, trajectories and cardiovascular disease: the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus prospective study.

BACKGROUND: High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Adequate treatment of high BP should reduce the risk of CVD, but this association has seldom been assessed in a general population setting. METHODS: Population-based prospective study conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland, with a follow-up between 2003 and 2021. Participants were categorised as normal BP, untreated high BP, treated and uncontrolled BP and treated and controlled BP. Total and CVD mortality as well as any CVD event were assessed. RESULTS: 5341 participants (65% normal, 17.4% untreated, 8.8% treated and uncontrolled and 8.8% treated and controlled) were included. After a median follow-up of 14 years (IQR: 11-15), 575 CVD events occurred. Relative to participants with normal BP, multivariable-adjusted HRs (and 95% CI) for total CVD were 1.38 (1.11 to 1.72) for untreated, 1.35 (1.04 to 1.76) for treated and uncontrolled and 1.50 (1.15 to 1.95) for treated and controlled. The corresponding HRs for CVD mortality (112 events) were 0.94 (0.52 to 1.70), 1.77 (1.00 to 3.12) and 2.52 (1.50 to 4.23), respectively. For total mortality (677 events), the HRs were 1.24 (1.01 to 1.52), 1.26 (0.99 to 1.60) and 1.27 (0.99 to 1.62), respectively. Sensitivity analysis using BP status during a 5-year period and categorising participants as always normal, always treated and uncontrolled, always treated and controlled and other led to similar findings. CONCLUSION: Over a long follow-up period of 14 years, BP control was not associated with reduction of CVD events, CVD-related or total mortality. This finding should help define further studies on factors affecting CVD and mortality in people treated for hypertension in the general population.

Prevalence of Critical Errors and Insufficient Peak Inspiratory Flow in Patients Hospitalized with COPD in a Department of General Internal Medicine: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The suboptimal use of inhalers in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is probably a major but poorly documented problem in hospitalized patients. We aimed to describe the prevalence of misused inhalers among patients hospitalized with COPD in a department of general internal medicine. Methods: We conducted a monocentric cross-sectional study in consecutive patients with a diagnosis of COPD and hospitalized between August 2022 and April 2023 in the internal medicine division of Fribourg Hospital, Switzerland. Patients underwent an assessment of their inhaler technique and peak inspiratory flow (PIF) using the In-Check Dial G16®. The primary outcome was the prevalence of misused inhalers, defined as an inhaler used with a critical error and/or insufficient PIF. Secondary outcomes included the prevalence of inhaler unsuitable to patient characteristics and of patients using at least one misused inhaler. Results: The study included 96 patients and 160 inhalers were assessed at admission. Among these inhalers, 111 (69.4%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 61.6-76.4) were misused; 105 (65.6%; 95% CI 57.7-72.9) due to the presence of a critical error in the inhalation technique and 22 (13.8%; 95% CI 8.8-20.1) due to insufficient PIF. Concerning the secondary outcome, 27 inhalers (16.9%) were unsuitable and 79 patients (82.3%) used at least one misused inhaler. Conclusion: Among patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of COPD, two-thirds of inhalers were misused. Suboptimal use was mainly due to the presence of critical errors, but also to the presence of an insufficient PIF and unsuitable inhalers.

An in-hospital intervention to reduce the proportion of misused inhalers at hospital discharge among patients with COPD: a non-randomised intervention study.

AIMS OF THE STUDY: Misuse of inhalers during chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment is common and may result from errors in inhalation technique or insufficient peak inspiratory flow (PIF). We aimed to evaluate the impact of an in-hospital intervention to reduce inhaler misuse at hospital discharge among patients with COPD. METHODS: We conducted a monocentric, non-randomised intervention study to compare the proportion of misused inhalers at hospital discharge by patients with COPD between a group with standard care and a group receiving an in-hospital intervention. The control group successively included all patients hospitalised between March and June 2022, and the intervention group included patients hospitalised between August and December 2022. The intervention consisted of (a) an evaluation of inhalation technique and PIF at admission, (b) the provision of a written guide to assist in the selection of an inhaler, and (c) therapeutic education. The primary outcome was the proportion of misused inhalers, defined as an inhaler used with a critical error and/or insufficient PIF, at hospital discharge. The primary outcome was assessed by observing inhalation technique and measuring PIF using the In-Check DIAL G16® . RESULTS: The study included 93 patients: 46 in the control group and 47 in the intervention group. Mean age was 70.5 years (SD 10.9 years), 56 patients (60.2%) were men, and 57 patients (62%) were hospitalised for a COPD exacerbation. Patients used an average of 1.9 inhalers at hospital discharge; 98 inhalers were assessed in the control group and 81 in the intervention group. The proportion of misused inhalers at discharge was 61.2% in the control group and 21.0% in the intervention group (absolute risk reduction 40.2% [95% CI 25.5-55.0]; p <0.01). In the intervention group, the proportion of inhalers used with at least one critical error was reduced by 38.6% (95% CI 24.3-52.3%) and that of inhalers used with insufficient PIF by 13.9% (95% CI 4.2-23.6%). CONCLUSIONS: An in-hospital intervention was associated with a reduction in the proportion of misused inhalers at hospital discharge. This intervention should be considered for hospitalised patients with COPD. The trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05207631).

Adherence to 2020 ESC recommendations on physical activity in a population with different cardiovascular risk levels: A prospective population-based study from the CoLaus/PsyCoLaus study.

Introduction: In 2020, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommends 150 min of moderate or 75 min of vigorous-intensity PA per week. While general population PA adherence is suboptimal, its status among those with previous ASCVD or high ASCVD risk remains unknown. We aimed to assess objective adherence to ESC PA recommendations using accelerometer-based measurement among these populations. Methodology: We used data from the Swiss CoLaus|PsyCoLaus cohort study (2014-2016). PA was measured using a 14-day wrist accelerometer. Adherence was defined as > 80 % of recommended PA achievement. Adherence was investigated separately among participants with previous ASCVD and among cardiovascular risk groups (based on the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation SCORE-1 and more recent SCORE2) with simple and multivariable logistic regressions. Participants' characteristics were also evaluated as independent factors after adjustment. Results: We studied 1867 participants (median age: 61.2 years, 51.3 % female). ESC PA Adherence reached 55.5 % overall, and 37 % in those with previous ASCVD. Multivariable analysis showed no significant association between previous ASCVD or high cardiovascular risk and PA adherence (Odds ratio adjusted [ORa] 0.9, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI] 0.6-1.4 and ORa 0.7, 95 % CI 0.4-1.2, respectively). Age (≥60 years old), obesity, smoking, chronic renal disease, hypertension, diabetes and benzodiazepine use were significantly associated with lower likelihood of PA adherence in multivariable logistic regression. Conclusion: Adherence to ESC PA guidelines, particularly in participants with higher cardiovascular risk, was poor. Since PA adherence was associated with modifiable risk factors (e.g., obesity, smoking, and benzodiazepine use), maintained efforts to implement the ESC recommendations are advised.