Predicting 30-day Mortality after Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms: Validation of the Harborview Risk Score in a Single-Center Dutch Study Population.

BACKGROUND: The Harborview Risk Score (HRS) was recently proposed as scoring tool to predict 30-day mortality in patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAAs). The HRS assigns 1 point for each of the following preoperative characteristics: age > 76 years, pH < 7.2, creatinine level > 2 mg/dL (> 176.8 µmol/L), and systolic blood pressure < 70 mm Hg, resulting in scores from 0 to 4. The 30-day mortality risk increases with every point. Primarily, we aimed to validate the HRS for the first time in a Dutch study population. A second objective was to identify other clinically relevant predictors for 30-day mortality after repair of rAAA. METHODS: Retrospective data from patients who underwent open repair or endovascular aortic repair for a rAAA between January 2009 and February 2022 were reviewed. Patients were grouped by HRS category (score 0-4). The 30-day mortality rate was calculated for each HRS category. Determinants for 30-day mortality were tested for significance and validated for HRS. RESULTS: In total, data from 135 patients were included. Open repair was performed in 95 patients and 40 patients underwent endovascular aortic repair. Univariate logistic regression identified pH < 7.2, systolic blood pressure < 70 mm Hg, female sex, performance status, and increase per HRS unit as significant determinants for 30-day mortality. After adjusting for sex and performance status in the multivariate analysis, the association between the HRS per-unit increase and 30-day mortality remained significant (odds ratio 2.532 (95% confidence interval: 1.437-4.461)). The 30-day mortality rate for HRS score 0 was 15.2%, while for HRS score 3 and 4 the mortality was 80% and 100% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The Harborview Risk Score was validated in this single-center Dutch population. Results were concordant with data presented in earlier studies. Therefore, the HRS seems accurate and accessible as preoperative tool. For now, the HRS should guide as an insightful tool to indicate the chances of postoperative mortality during the preoperative conversations in the emergency room, rather than as a decision-making tool whether to operate or not. Our results suggest that female sex and performance status are also relevant predictors that should be assessed in other populations to improve preoperative scoring systems.

Trends in emotional functioning and psychosocial wellbeing in breast cancer survivors: a prospective cohort study using patient-reported outcome measures.

BACKGROUND: A breast cancer diagnosis can threaten every aspect of a woman's wellbeing, including her mental health. With the growing number of breast cancer survivors, studies addressing mental health in this population are of increasing importance now more than ever. Therefore, the current study investigated trends in emotional functioning and psychosocial wellbeing of breast cancer survivors, and the demographic and treatment characteristics that may influence these trends. METHODS: Prospectively collected data of women treated for breast cancer at the Erasmus MC were analyzed in this study using a cohort study design. Emotional functioning was measured using the EORTC-QLQ-C30, while psychosocial wellbeing was measured using the BREAST-Q. Type of surgery, age, family status and employment status of study participants were retrieved, and multilevel analyses were performed to identify trends in emotional functioning and psychosocial wellbeing and to determine the relationship between aforementioned characteristics and these outcomes. RESULTS: Three hundred thirty-four cancer survivors were analyzed. Psychosocial wellbeing declined, but emotional functioning showed a steady improvement over time. Women who underwent breast reconstruction showed a steeper increase in their emotional functioning, and women with no partner or children showed a marginal decline in psychosocial wellbeing between baseline and 12 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can be utilized by healthcare teams to identify breast cancer patients at risk for emotional problems and to provide adequate psychological support to those women who need help dealing with their emotions and self-concept in order to optimize clinical treatment.

BREAST-Q Breast-Conserving Therapy Module: Normative Data from a Dutch Sample of 9059 Women.

BACKGROUND: BREAST-Q, a patient-reported outcome measure for cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery, is widely used in both clinical research and practice. The aim of this study was to acquire normative data of BREAST-Q's Breast-Conserving Therapy Module from a Dutch population sample and to compare it with existing normative BREAST-Q values. METHODS: Flyers with QR codes, WhatsApp, and one academic center's Facebook and LinkedIn platforms were used to direct participants to self-complete an online version of four domains of the preoperative BREAST-Q Breast-Conserving Therapy Module. BREAST-Q domain scores were log transformed to normalize the distribution. Univariable regression analyses were used to assess (nonlinear) associations between age and BREAST-Q domain scores. RESULTS: Overall, 9059 questionnaire responses were analyzed. Median (±SD) BREAST-Q domain scores were 64.0 ± 18.0 (satisfaction with breasts), 69.0 ± 21.0 (psychosocial well-being), 92.0 ± 20 (physical well-being), and 59.0 ± 15.0 (sexual well-being). Age as a linear term was associated with log-transformed satisfaction with breasts, psychosocial well-being, and physical well-being; sexual well-being was a quadratic function of age. Previous breast surgery unrelated to breast cancer was a significant predictor for higher log-transformed satisfaction with breasts (ß = 0.04, p < 0.001) and higher sexual well-being score (ß = -0.05, p < 0.001). Compared with previously published normative data, small differences were found in mean BREAST-Q domain scores (mean differences ranging between 2.45 and 6.24). CONCLUSIONS: Normative Dutch BREAST-Q scores follow similar patterns across domains in comparison with previously published normative data. Normative Dutch BREAST-Q data enable future comparisons in breast-related satisfaction and quality of life issues of Dutch patients with breast cancer compared with their age-matched peers.

Quality of life of caregivers of breast cancer patients: a cross-sectional evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the care-related quality of life in caregivers of breast cancer patients, to assess its association with breast cancer patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and to identify its potential predictors. METHODS: Caregivers of breast cancer patients at six and twelve months follow up were identified through the institutes electronic patient reported outcome measurement collection tool. The Care-related Quality of Life Instrument (CarerQoL) was used to obtain CarerQoL utility scores by applying a pre-existent set of Dutch tariffs and the CarerQoL VAS score, which represented the overall happiness of caregivers. The associations between breast cancer patients' EQ-5D-5L and EORTC QLQ-C30 scores and caregivers' CarerQoL scores was determined with Spearman's correlation coefficients. Associations between log transformed CarerQol scores and patient and caregiver characteristics were analyzed with multivariable linear regression analyses. RESULTS: A total of 116 completed CarerQoL questionnaires were analyzed. Most caregivers were male spouses or partners (81.4%) with a mean age of 55.7 ± 16.4. The median CarerQoL utility score was 92.4/100 and median CarerQoL VAS was 8.0/10. We found weak correlations between CarerQoL VAS scores and patients' EQ-5D-5L utility score (0.301, p = 0.002) and EQ VAS score (0.251, p = 0.009), and between EORTC QLQ-C30 scores and CarerQol VAS (0.339, p < 0.001) and utility score (0.236, p = 0.015). There was a negative association between chemotherapy and log-transformed CarerQoL utility score (B = - 0.063, p = 0.001) and VAS score (B = - 0.044, p = 0.038) at six months follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides the first evaluation of the CarerQoL in caregivers of Dutch breast cancer patients. Caregivers' happiness was associated with breast cancer patients' HRQoL. Our results can be used as reference values for future care-related quality of life evaluations. Breast cancer patients face many difficulties during their cancer journey and often need the support of their caregivers. Despite the fact that successfully providing informal care can have positive effects on caregivers' wellbeing, it may also have a negative impact on their quality of life. Monitoring the quality of life using a standardized questionnaire, such as the CarerQoL questionnaire, may result in early detection of possible quality of life issues. In this study, we evaluated 116 caregivers and found overall high CarerQoL scores. The scores showed a positive relation to the patients' quality of life. Lower CarerQoL scores at six months after surgery were found in caregivers of patients who received chemotherapy. Our research underlines the importance to include caregivers of breast cancer patients in clinical practice, provides reference values for future research, and the results can be used to manage the caregivers' expectations prior to treatment.

Facilitators and barriers for implementing patient-reported outcome measures in clinical care: An academic center's initial experience.

Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of healthcare providers and researchers in a large academic hospital on facilitators and barriers for implementing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in clinical care. Methods A customized web-based questionnaire was developed and disseminated to healthcare providers and researchers across multiple medical departments involved in a value-based health care initiative in the hospital. Questionnaire statements were rated using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree". In addition, 8 open-ended questions were included allowing respondents to mention additional facilitators and barriers for implementing PROMs. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the results. Results In total, 61 participants from both surgical and non-surgical departments completed the survey. Most respondents (51%) were medical specialists and the median employment duration was 14 years. Frequently reported facilitators were the presence of a PROM coordinator in the (outpatient) clinic (85%), the integration of PROMs in the electronic health record (81%), and the intrinsic motivation of members involved in the implementation (N=9 open responses). Commonly reported barriers were language barriers (76%), IT issues (N=17 open responses), and time constraints (N=14 open responses). Conclusions For the successful implementation of PROMs in clinical practice, it is imperative that healthcare organizations consider supporting motivated healthcare professionals, involving PROMs coordinators, and investing in an adequate IT infrastructure, and removal of language barriers.

Predictive Ability of C-Reactive Protein in Detecting Short-Term Complications After Cytoreductive Surgery and Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a potentially curative treatment for peritoneal carcinomatosis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the predictive value of postoperative inflammatory biomarkers in assessing complications after CRS and HIPEC. METHODS: A prospective database of 181 patients, who underwent CRS-HIPEC between March 2014 through April 2018 in the Erasmus MC, was retrospectively analyzed. Postoperative complications were defined according to the serious adverse event (SAE) grading system. Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) count were compared between patients with SAE grade < 3 and SAE grade ≥ 3. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was calculated for CRP and WBC against SAE ≥ 3 and various intra-abdominal complications. RESULTS: SAE ≥ 3 postoperative complications occurred in 50 patients. From the second until the fifth postoperative day (POD), CRP levels were significantly higher (p = 0.023, p < 0.001, p = 0.002, and p = 0.002, respectively) in these patients. CRP concentrations above 166 mg/L on POD3 (AUC 0.75) and 116 mg/L on POD4 (AUC 0.70) were associated with the highest risk of an SAE ≥ 3. Postoperative WBC levels were not significantly different between patients with SAE < 3 and SAE ≥ 3 complications. CONCLUSION: Data from our hospital suggest that CRP levels that continue to rise after POD2 or that are ≥ 166 mg/L at POD3 or ≥ 116 mg/L at POD4, indicate a considerable risk for developing high-grade SAEs. The cut-off values we found can potentially be used as a threshold for additional diagnostic interventions, after they have been validated in external data.

Patient-Reported Morbidity Instruments: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: Although comorbidities play an essential role in risk adjustment and outcomes measurement, there is little consensus regarding the best source of this data. The aim of this study was to identify general patient-reported morbidity instruments and their measurement properties. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using multiple electronic databases (Embase, Medline, Cochrane Central, and Web of Science) from inception to March 2018. Articles focusing primarily on the development or subsequent validation of a patient-reported morbidity instrument were included. After including relevant articles, the measurement properties of each morbidity instrument were extracted by 2 investigators for narrative synthesis. RESULTS: A total of 1005 articles were screened, of which 34 eligible articles were ultimately included. The most widely assessed instruments were the Self-Reported Charlson Comorbidity Index (n = 7), the Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire (n = 3), and the Disease Burden Morbidity Assessment (n = 3). The most commonly included conditions were diabetes, hypertension, and myocardial infarction. Studies demonstrated substantial variability in item-level reliability versus the gold standard medical record review (κ range 0.66-0.86), meaning that the accuracy of the self-reported comorbidity data is dependent on the selected morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: The Self-Reported Charlson Comorbidity Index and the Self-Administered Comorbidity Questionnaire were the most frequently cited instruments. Significant variability was observed in reliability per comorbid condition of patient-reported morbidity questionnaires. Further research is needed to determine whether patient-reported morbidity data should be used to bolster medical records data or serve as a stand-alone entity when risk adjusting observational outcomes data.

Value-based healthcare in ischemic stroke care: case-mix adjustment models for clinical and patient-reported outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) have been proposed for benchmarking health care quality across hospitals, which requires extensive case-mix adjustment. The current study's aim was to develop and compare case-mix models for mortality, a functional outcome, and a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) in ischemic stroke care. METHODS: Data from ischemic stroke patients, admitted to four stroke centers in the Netherlands between 2014 and 2016 with available outcome information (N = 1022), was analyzed. Case-mix adjustment models were developed for mortality, modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores and EQ-5D index scores with respectively binary logistic, proportional odds and linear regression models with stepwise backward selection. Predictive ability of these models was determined with R-squared (R2) and area-under-the-receiver-operating-characteristic-curve (AUC) statistics. RESULTS: Age, NIHSS score on admission, and heart failure were the only common predictors across all three case-mix adjustment models. Specific predictors for the EQ-5D index score were sex (ß = 0.041), socio-economic status (ß = - 0.019) and nationality (ß = - 0.074). R2-values for the regression models for mortality (5 predictors), mRS score (9 predictors) and EQ-5D utility score (12 predictors), were respectively R2 = 0.44, R2 = 0.42 and R2 = 0.37. CONCLUSIONS: The set of case-mix adjustment variables for the EQ-5D at three months differed considerably from the set for clinical outcomes in stroke care. The case-mix adjustment variables that were specific to this PROM were sex, socio-economic status and nationality. These variables should be considered in future attempts to risk-adjust for PROMs during benchmarking of hospitals.

Implementing Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Clinical Breast Cancer Care: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly being used to improve care delivery and are becoming part of routine clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aims to give an overview of PROM administration methods and their facilitators and barriers in breast cancer clinical practice. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted in Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, and Web of Science for potentially relevant articles from study inception to November 2017. Reference lists of screened reviews were also checked. After inclusion of relevant articles, data were extracted and appraised by 2 investigators. RESULTS: A total of 2311 articles were screened, of which 34 eligible articles were ultimately included. Method and frequency of PROM collection varied between studies. The majority of studies described a promising effect of PROM collection on patients (adherence, symptom distress, quality of life, acceptability, and satisfaction), providers (willingness to comply, clinical decision making, symptom management), and care process or system outcomes (referrals, patient-provider communication, hospital visits). A limited number of facilitators and barriers were identified, primarily of a technical and behavioral nature. CONCLUSION: Although interpreting the impact of PROM collection in breast cancer care is challenging owing to considerations of synergistic (multicomponent) interventions and generalizability issues, this review found that systematic PROM collection has a promising impact on patients, providers, and care processes/ systems. Further standardization and reporting on method and frequency of PROM collection might help increase the effectiveness of PROM interventions and is warranted to enhance their overall impact.

Short-term complications in elderly patients undergoing CRS and HIPEC: A single center's initial experience.

INTRODUCTION: Cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a well-established curative treatment for patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) from colorectal cancer (CRC) and pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). The study's aim was to present a single center's initial experience with CRS and HIPEC and report the postoperative morbidity in elderly patients. METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted of all patients with peritoneally disseminated colorectal cancer or pseudomyxoma peritonei undergoing CRS and HIPEC between March 2014 and March 2017. Patient characteristics and the peri- and postoperative course were reviewed. Elderly patients were defined as those aged ≥ 65 years. Postoperative complications were classified according to the Serious Adverse Event (SAE) grading system. RESULTS: 122 patients undergoing CRS and HIPEC were split into two groups based on age (< 65 years versus ≥ 65 years) at the time of surgery. Both groups were comparable for ASA score, Peritoneal Cancer Index (PCI), procedure time and blood loss. Serious Adverse Event (SAE) grade > 3 morbidity was 26.7% in the elderly group as opposed to 10.4% in the younger group (p = 0.034). Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that age was a significant risk factor (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 1.1-9.4, p = 0.033) for severe postoperative morbidity (SAE > 3). CONCLUSION: This retrospective study showed advanced age to be a significant risk factor for SAE > 3, after undergoing CRS and HIPEC. The initial institutional experience resembles previously published literature in terms of severe postoperative morbidity in elderly patients.