Indications for ordering thyroid-stimulating hormone in noncritically ill adult inpatients-A Delphi consensus recommendation.

BACKGROUND: Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is ordered commonly among inpatients, but the possibility of nonthyroidal illness syndrome challenges interpretation. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to obtain Canadian consensus on appropriate indications for ordering TSH in the first 48 h following presentation of a noncritically ill internal medicine patient. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Canadian endocrinologists with inpatient expertise were invited via snowball sampling to an online 3-round Delphi study. Main Outcome and Measures using a 6-point Likert scale, they rated 58 indications on appropriateness for measuring TSH in medical inpatients. These indications included clinical presentations, signs, and symptoms. Items that reached consensus and agreement (≥80% of participants selecting a rating of 5 or 6 on the Likert scale) were tabulated and dropped after each round. Qualitative analysis of comments identified additional contextual considerations as themes. RESULTS: There were 45 participants (academic setting: 84%) representing 8 provinces (Ontario: 64%). Rounds 2 and 3 were completed by 42 and 33 participants, respectively. Nine indications reached consensus and agreement: presumed myxedema coma, presumed thyroid storm, atrial fibrillation/flutter, euvolemic hyponatremia, proptosis, adrenal insufficiency, hypothermia, thyroid medication noncompliance, and goiter. There was also agreement that two contextual considerations identified in thematic analysis, including a recent abnormal outpatient TSH, and the presence of other findings of thyroid dysfunction, would significantly change some mid-range responses. CONCLUSIONS: Canadian experts agreed upon nine specific indications for ordering an inpatient TSH, with others requiring consideration of previous TSH measurement and clinical context.

Assessment of site-specific X-ray procedure codes for fracture ascertainment: a registry-based cohort study.

Site-specific X-ray procedure codes are a useful ancillary source of information for identifying fractures in healthcare administrative and claims data. INTRODUCTION: Real-world evaluation of fracture epidemiology at the population level from electronic healthcare information, such as administrative data, requires comprehensive data sources and validated case definitions. Only hip fractures are routinely hospitalized, and the identification of most osteoporosis-related fractures which are non-hospitalized fractures remains challenging. Plain X-rays (radiographs) are first-line tests for fracture diagnosis and are frequently repeated to monitor fracture healing, and claims data related to radiologic procedures are available in many healthcare systems. We hypothesized that temporal clustering in plain X-ray procedure codes might be an ancillary source of fracture data. METHODS: We identified individuals age 40 years and older in Manitoba Bone Mineral Density (BMD) Registry with a fracture diagnosis (hip, forearm, humerus, clinical vertebral) before or following a BMD test. A subset underwent detailed review of X-rays to verify an acute fracture. We examined the association between fracture diagnosis and numbers of site-specific X-ray procedures. RESULTS: The registry cohort included 7793 individuals with a fracture in the previous 5 years and 8417 incident fractures. The X-ray review cohort included 167 radiologically-verified fractures. The number of site-specific X-ray codes was greater in those with vs without fracture (all P < 0.001). The number of days with site-specific X-rays was strongly associated with a fracture diagnosis (area under the curve 0.90 to 0.99 for all non-vertebral fractures, 0.66 to 0.75 for clinical vertebral fractures). There was good agreement between the date of fracture diagnosis and the first X-ray at all non-vertebral fracture sites (Spearman correlation range 0.65 to 0.99), but this was lower for clinical vertebral fractures (range 0.29 to 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: Temporal clustering in site-specific X-ray procedures was associated with a corresponding fracture diagnosis in administrative medical records. Non-vertebral fracture sites were more strongly associated with X-ray procedures than clinical vertebral fractures.

Exercise training prevents the development of cardiac dysfunction in the low-dose streptozotocin diabetic rats fed a high-fat diet.

This study tested the hypothesis that exercise training would prevent the development of diabetes-induced cardiac dysfunction and altered expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2 +)-transport proteins in the low-dose streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD+STZ). Male Sprague-Dawley rats (4 weeks old; 125-150 g) were made diabetic using a high-fat diet (40% fat, w/w) and a low-dose of streptozotocin (35 mg·(kg body mass)(-1)) by intravenous injection. Diabetic animals were divided among a sedentary group (Sed+HFD+STZ) or an exercise-trained group (Ex+HFD+STZ) that accumulated 3554 ± 338 m·day(-1) of voluntary wheel running (mean ± SE). Sedentary animals fed a low-fat diet served as the control (Sed+LFD). Oral glucose tolerance was impaired in the sedentary diabetic group (1179 ± 29; area under the curve (a.u.c.)) compared with that in the sedentary control animals (1447 ± 42 a.u.c.). Although left ventricular systolic function was unchanged by diabetes, impaired E/A ratios (i.e., diastolic function) and rates of pressure decay (-dP/dt) indicated the presence of diastolic dysfunction. Diabetes also reduced SERCA2a protein content and maximal SERCA2a activity (V(max)) by 21% and 32%, respectively. In contrast, the change in each parameter was attenuated by exercise training. Based on these data, it appears that exercise training prevented the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy and the dysregulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum protein content in an inducible animal model of type 2 diabetes.