Effectiveness of a nurse-led decision counselling programme on hepatocellular carcinoma screening uptake among patients with hepatitis B: A randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The globally endemic hepatocellular carcinoma induced by hepatitis B highlights the need for an ultrasonography-based screening strategy to reduce the tumour burden. However, patient non-adherence due to unawareness and complex decisions in weighting uncertainties of hepatocellular carcinoma screening has continuously challenged its continuum. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effectiveness and process of a nurse-led decision counselling programme for improving hepatocellular carcinoma screening among patients with hepatitis B. DESIGN: Single-blind randomised controlled trial. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Between 12 March and 19 July 2021, 178 patients with hepatitis B were recruited from six inpatient wards of a university-affiliated hospital in northern China. METHODS: Participants were randomly allocated to receive usual care (n = 89) or usual care plus a nurse-led decision counselling programme (n = 89). Underpinned by the preventive health model, the programme consisted of health education, tailored information, and values clarification exercises to elicit informed and value-based preferences for hepatocellular carcinoma screening. Screening barriers were explored and addressed through procedural problem-solving. Hepatocellular carcinoma screening rate at six months post-baseline was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes (knowledge, perceptions, and decision conflicts regarding hepatocellular carcinoma screening) were measured at baseline (T0), immediately after the intervention (T1), and the six-month follow-up (T2). A Medical Research Council framework-guided process evaluation was conducted by drawing on data from intervention documentation, WeChat discussions, and interviews with stakeholders (n = 13). RESULTS: With a mean age of 47.32 (8.78) years, participants mostly occupied rural residences (63.5 %). Compared with the control group, the intervention group had significantly higher hepatocellular carcinoma screening rates (75.6 % vs. 42.1 %, p < 0.001) and displayed greater improvements in the scores of hepatocellular carcinoma screening knowledge (ß = 3.643, 95 % confidence interval [CI] = 3.030, 4.255), salience and coherence (ß = 0.410, 95 % CI = 0.234, 0.586), response efficacy (ß = 0.327, 95 % CI = 0.181, 0.473), and perceived susceptibility (ß = 0.214, 95 % CI = 0.040, 0.388) at T1. Improvement in perceived susceptibility was not maintained, whereas a higher decrease of the decision conflict score was found at T2 (ß = -4.156, 95 % CI = -7.851, -0.461). The process evaluation revealed potential intervention mechanisms and contextual factors affecting intervention effectiveness, such as living status and natural disasters. CONCLUSION: The programme was effective in improving hepatocellular carcinoma screening and showed that nurses could play a decision counselling role in optimising the screening among patients with hepatitis B. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.govNCT04659005. Registration date: 9 December, 2020. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: Nurse-led decision counselling improves hepatocellular carcinoma screening in patients with hepatitis B.

Development of a nurse-led decision counseling program for improving hepatocellular carcinoma screening: A typology-guided feasibility study.

Objective: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is frequently diagnosed late. Although ultrasound-based HCC screening is recommended, its effectiveness is restricted by underutilization. This study aimed to develop a nurse-led decision counseling program used to improve HCC screening in patients with hepatitis B and to evaluate its feasibility in terms of process, resources, management, and cultural acceptance. Methods: The nurse-led decision counseling program was developed following the Medical Research Council framework and the preventive health model. Its components were informed by a systematic review and a qualitative study that had explored empirical HCC screening barriers. Guided by typology of Tickle-Degnen, a feasibility study was conducted among twenty eligible patients with hepatitis B, who were randomized to receive the intervention plus usual care or usual care only. Multisets of feasibility data were collected from interviews, field notes, and minutes of discussions with participants, family members, and clinical specialists. Results: The program consists of health education, tailored information, values clarification exercises, and exploring and addressing barriers, which help to achieve informed and value-based HCC screening utilization. Feasibility assessments identified and improved process issues, such as restrictive inclusion criteria and cultural challenges, including (1) default mistrust, (2) discrimination and confidentiality concerns, (3) cultural reluctance to open discussions about HCC screening, and (4) social influence under a collectivist culture. Conclusions: The study informs an innovative feasibility typology for nursing interventions and contributes to a promising, feasible, and culturally relevant intervention to improve HCC screening and prevent advanced diagnosis in hepatitis B-induced HCC in China and other hepatitis B-prevalent Asian countries. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04659005.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a Chinese Preventive Health Model instrument for measuring the psychosocial factors in hepatocellular carcinoma screening among patients with hepatitis B.

PURPOSE: Screening for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as an effective instrument to reduce the burden of late diagnoses remains underutilized in China, much of the Asian countries, and in a sense all over the world. Modifiable psychosocial factors should be identified to improve screening utilization and reduce the burden of late diagnoses. However, valid psychosocial measures are unavailable. This study aimed to translate, culturally adapt, and validate the preventive health model (PHM) instrument for measuring psychosocial factors of HCC screening among patients with hepatitis B. METHODS: This study was conducted from June 2020 to April 2021 in three rigorous phases: (1) committee-based translation from English to Chinese; (2) cognitive interviews (n = 33) and Delphi expert consultations (n = 7) for cultural adaptation; and (3) a cross-sectional study (n = 305) for validation. RESULTS: In phase I, two items were reworded, and two retranslated for semantic equivalence. In phase II, issues related to comprehension, sensitive wording, wording clarity, question relevance, and cultural sensitivity were addressed by including pictures, rewording five items, and developing seven items. In phase III, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested a five-factor 20-item solution: it explained 76.9% of the variance; had adequate factor loading (.60-.91), convergent and discriminant validity; satisfactory model fit indices; and reliability (Cronbach's α, .86-.91). Known-group analysis showed that patients with optimal HCC screening behavior had significantly higher scores on each subscale than those not having such. CONCLUSION: The Chinese PHM instrument is culturally sensitive, reliable, and valid to measure the psychosocial factors of HCC screening. It can help nurses and researchers to tailor strategies to improve clinical HCC screening practices in high-risk HCC regions.

Continuous glucose monitoring in diabetes patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis: a meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This review investigates the effectiveness of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) in diabetes patients who were on routine dialysis. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Literature search was conducted in electronic databases and studies were selected by following precise eligibility criteria. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed to estimate: 1) correlations of CGM with other indicators including glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), glycated albumin and mean amplitude of glucose excursions (MAGE); 2) mean differences (MDs) in CGM and MAGE values between dialysis and off-dialysis days or during vs before dialysis. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: There was a good correlation between CGM and self-monitoring of blood glucose values (r=0.837 [95% CI: 0.67, 0.92]). Correlation coefficient between CGM and HbA1c was 0.523 (95% CI: 0.422, 0.604) in diabetes patients on dialysis and 0.592 (95% CI: 0.354, 0.757) in diabetes patients without renal failure. Correlation coefficient between CGM and glycated albumin in diabetes patients on dialysis was 0.544 (95% CI: 0.254, 0.744). Average CGM and MAGE values on dialysis day were not significantly different from those of off-dialysis day in diabetes patients (MDs: -0.40 mmol/L [95% CI: -1.06, 0.26]; P=0.23; and MAGE 0.50 mmol/L [95% CI: -0.01, 1.00]; P=0.05). Compared to pre-dialysis values, average CGM and MAGE values were significantly lower during dialysis in diabetes patients (MDs: -2.11 mmol/L [95% CI: -3.25, -0.97]; P=0.0003 and MAGE -2.24 mmol/L [95% CI: -3.99, -0.50]; P=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CGM is an efficient method of glycemic monitoring in diabetes patients on dialysis. CGM had similar correlations with HbA1c and glycated albumin.

'We can bear it!' Unpacking barriers to hepatocellular carcinoma screening among patients with hepatitis B: A qualitative study.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore barriers to hepatocellular carcinoma screening among patients with hepatitis B. BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B-related hepatocellular carcinoma is a major cause of cancer-related mortality globally. A preventive strategy for screening is needed to improve early tumour detection and overall survival. However, utilisation remains suboptimal and barriers are understudied and largely focused on clinical factors. DESIGN: A qualitative study based on the preventive health model using phenomenological hermeneutical approach. METHODS: Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 hepatitis B patients from November 2020 to February 2021. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used. The COREQ checklist was followed. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: (i) miscognition, (ii) cultural stigma and taboo, (iii) social norms of enduring hardship and (iv) social barriers at the community, health system and policy levels. Patients had misconceptions about inactive carriers, asymptomatic nature of chronic hepatitis B, hepatocellular carcinoma risks and screening recommendations. Influenced by the taboo of hepatocellular carcinoma, stigma against hepatitis B and enduring hardship norms, they perceived screening as divination, avoided utilisation to hide disease status and endured symptoms until they were intolerable. Insufficient community support, a lack of shared decision-making in health systems, and inadequate rural reimbursement policy and hepatocellular carcinoma detection capacity further precluded utilisation. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive and sociocultural barriers precluded individuals' intention, utilisation and persistence of hepatocellular carcinoma screening. The results highlight intervention targets for miscognition, stigma, taboo and social norms; propose family-focused, community-based education programs; suggest health systems to introduce decision aids; and inform policymaking and upskilling of physicians in rural areas. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Collaborative efforts are needed to improve real-world hepatocellular carcinoma screening, including education to address knowledge deficiencies, psychological counselling to reduce stigma and taboo beliefs, support for shared decision-making and reimbursement policies.

MicroRNA-33b regulates sensitivity to daunorubicin in acute myelocytic leukemia by regulating eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A-2.

In this study, we aimed to study the effect of miR-33b in regulating sensitivity to daunorubicin (DNR) in acute myelocytic leukemia (AML). We used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Cell Counting Kit-8 assay to detect the level of miR-33b and cell viability. Cell apoptosis and the expression of eIF5A-2 and MCL-1 protein were detected by flow cytometry analysis and Western Blot analysis, respectively. MiR-33b mimic increased sensitivity of AML cells against DNR, while miR-33b inhibitor had the opposite effect. Furthermore, the results showed that the eIF5A-2 gene was a direct target of miR-33b, and miR-33b regulated eIF5A-2 mRNA and protein expression. Silencing of eIF5A-2 by RNA interference increased the sensitivity of AML cells against DNR. We also found that MCL-1 contributed to the regulation of DNR sensitivity, which was dependent on downregulation of eIF5A-2. Finally, knockdown of eIF5A-2 eliminated the effects of miRNA-33b mimic or inhibitor on DNR sensitivity. These findings indicate that miR-33b maybe as a new therapeutic target in AML cells.

miR-9 Enhances the Chemosensitivity of AML Cells to Daunorubicin by Targeting the EIF5A2/MCL-1 Axis.

Daunorubicin (Dnr) is at the forefront of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy, but drug resistance poses a major threat to treatment success. MicroRNA (miR)-9 has been shown to have a pivotal role in AML development. However, little is known about the role of miR-9 in Dnr resistance in AML. We explored the potential role of miR-9 in Dnr resistance in AML cells and its mechanism of action. AML cell lines with high half-maximal inhibitory concentration to Dnr in vivo had significantly low miR-9 expression. miR-9 overexpresssion sensitized AML cells to Dnr, inhibited cell proliferation, and enhanced the ability of Dnr to induce apoptosis; miR-9 knockdown had the opposite effects. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A-2 (EIF5A2) was a putative target of miR-9, which was inversely correlated with the expression and role of miR-9 in AML cells. miR-9 improved the anti-tumor effects of Dnr by inhibiting myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL-1) expression, which was dependent on downregulation of EIF5A2 expression. These results suggest that miR-9 has an essential role in Dnr resistance in AML cells through inhibition of the EIF5A2/MCL-1 axis in AML cells. Our data highlight the potential application of miR-9 in chemotherapy for AML patients.