Development of a Brief Caregiver-centric Screening Tool to Identify Risk of Depression among Caregivers of Hospitalized Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: Caregivers of hospitalized older adults experience elevated levels of stress and are at risk of poor health outcomes. There is a lack of screening tools based on self-reported caregiver variables incorporating both protective and risk factors, for early identification of at-risk caregivers. This study reports the development of a caregiver-centric screening tool to identify risk of depression at admission and predicts 3-month risk of depression and quality of life amongst caregivers of older adults with an unplanned admission. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This prospective cohort study was conducted in the medical wards of a tertiary-care hospital from July 2015 to May 2017. We recruited family caregivers of patients aged 65 years and above who fulfilled the following criteria: a) unplanned admission, b) not residing in nursing homes; and c) requiring assistance in activities of daily living. MEASUREMENTS: We examined 11 candidate caregiver variables (mastery, burden and nine demographic variables). Risk of depression (score ≥8 on Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS-D) depression subscale) was the primary outcome, and was assessed during the index admission. Logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors and risk scores (weights). The total risk scores were then stratified into three risk levels. Predictive validity of the screening tool was assessed using 3-months post-discharge risk of depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RESULTS: The study included 274 caregiver-patient dyads. The mean (SD) age of the caregivers was 59 (10) years with 33.6% caregivers screening positive for risk of depression. The final model comprised three caregiver variables: mastery, burden and education. The total risk scores ranged from 0 to 6 and showed good discrimination (AUC:0.82, 95% CI: 0.77 to 0.87). Caregivers were classified into low-risk (0-1 points), intermediate-risk (2-4 points), and high-risk (5-6 points) groups, with corresponding rates of risk of depression (HADS-D≥8) of 10.7%, 44.6% and 73.3%, during admission. Relative risk rates of the intermediate- and high- risk group using the low-risk group as reference were 4.16 and 6.84 respectively. At 3-months post-discharge, the rates of caregivers at risk of depression or having poor HRQoL also increased corresponding to the three risk levels as per baseline, supporting the predictive validity of the tool. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The caregiver-centric tool is a novel, practical, self-administered, relatively brief caregiver-centric instrument that can be used for rapid screening and stratification of caregivers at risk of depression. Uniquely, the tool comprised of assessment of protective factor (mastery) in addition to risk factors to provide a holistic assessment of the caregiver. It can be incorporated as part of older adults' admission evaluation so that prompt intervention can be rendered to their at-risk caregivers.

Retrospective study of alemtuzumab vs ATG-based conditioning without irradiation for unrelated and matched sibling donor transplants in acquired severe aplastic anemia: a study from the British Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.

This retrospective national study compared the use of alemtuzumab-based conditioning regimens for hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) in acquired severe aplastic anemia with antithymocyte globulin (ATG)-based regimens. One hundred patients received alemtuzumab and 55 ATG-based regimens. A matched sibling donor (MSD) was used in 87 (56%), matched unrelated donor (MUD) in 60 (39%) and other related or mismatched unrelated donor (UD) in 8 (5%) patients. Engraftment failure occurred in 9% of the alemtuzumab group and 11% of the ATG group. Five-year OS was 90% for the alemtuzumab and 79% for the ATG groups, P=0.11. For UD HSCT, OS of patients was better when using alemtuzumab (88%) compared with ATG (57%), P=0.026, although smaller numbers of patients received ATG. Similar outcomes for MSD HSCT using alemtuzumab or ATG were seen (91% vs 85%, respectively, P=0.562). A lower risk of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) was observed in the alemtuzumab group (11% vs 26%, P=0.031). On multivariate analysis, use of BM as stem cell source was associated with better OS and EFS, and less acute and cGVHD; young age was associated with better EFS and lower risk of graft failure. This large study confirms successful avoidance of irradiation in the conditioning regimens for MUD HSCT patients.

Impact of pre-transplant serum ferritin on outcomes of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes or secondary acute myeloid leukaemia receiving reduced intensity conditioning allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

We report on a retrospective analysis examining the influence of pre-transplant serum ferritin on transplant outcomes of 99 MDS patients receiving reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) HSCT. The median pre-transplant ferritin value was 1992 ng/ml (range: 6-9580 ng/ml). No patients received iron chelation therapy preceding transplantation. On univariate analysis, there was a strong correlation between a higher pre-transplant serum ferritin (>1500 ng/ml) and a significantly inferior 3-year OS (64.6+/-7.5% vs 39.6+/-7.3%, p=0.01). However, pre-transplant serum ferritin did not influence 3-year TRM (20.2+/-7% vs 27.4+/-7%, p=0.24). There was no difference in infection-related mortality, and incidence of acute or chronic GvHD between cohorts. On multivariate analysis, a raised serum ferritin (HR: 2.00, 95% CI: 0.97-3.57, p=0.03), and the presence of >5% bone marrow blasts at time of transplantation (HR: 2.14, 95% CI: 0.84-4.58, p=0.06) were independent predictors of an inferior overall survival. However, pre-transplant serum ferritin was not a significant predictor of disease-free survival, relapse or TRM. When compared with myeloablative regimens, RIC regimens may attenuate the impact of iron overload related end-organ toxicity. Prospective studies incorporating alternative biomarkers of iron metabolism alongside serum ferritin levels are needed to improve our understanding of the significance of iron overload in MDS patients undergoing allogeneic transplantation.

Tooth extraction in patients with heart disease.

A combination of fear and declining compensation may induce cardiovascular accidents in the elderly with heart disease. An accurate cardiac diagnosis and relief of stress and pain during tooth extraction are important. The range of cardiac abnormalities and the regime followed in two clinics in the People's Republic of China are reviewed, together with the precautions which are taken to avoid emergencies or manage them should they arise.