Evaluation of primary care services in Hungary: a comprehensive description of provision, professional competences, cooperation, financing, and infrastructure, based on the findings of the Hungarian-arm of the QUALICOPC study.

BACKGROUND: Primary health care provision in terms of quality, equity, and costs are different by countries. The Quality and Costs of Primary Care (QUALICOPC) study evaluated these domains and parameters in 35 countries, using uniformized method with validated questionnaires filled out by family physicians/general practitioners (GPs).This paper aims to provide data of the Hungarian-arm of the QUALICOPC study and to give an overview about the recent Hungarian primary care (PC) system. METHODS: The questionnaires were completed in 222 Hungarian GP practices, delivered by fieldworkers, in a geographically representative distribution. Descriptive analysis was performed on the data. FINDINGS: Financing is based mostly on capitation, with additional compensatory elements and minor financial incentives. The gate-keeping function is weak. The communication between GPs and specialists is often insufficient. The number of available devices and equipment are appropriate. Single-handed practices are predominant. Appointment instead of queuing is a new option and is becoming more popular, mainly among better-educated and urban patients. GPs are involved in the management of almost all chronic condition of all generations. Despite the burden of administrative tasks, half of the GPs estimate their job as still interesting, burn-out symptoms were rarely found. Among the evaluated process indicators, access, continuity, comprehensiveness, and coordination were rated as satisfactory, together with equity among health outcome indicators. Financing is insufficient; therefore, many GPs are involved in additional income-generating activities. The old age of the GPs and the lack of the younger GPs generation contributes to a shortage in manpower. Cooperation and communication between different levels of health care provision should be improved, focusing better on community orientation and on preventive services. Financing needs continuous improvement and appropriate incentives should be implemented. There is a need for specific PC-oriented guidelines to define properly the tasks and competences of GPs.

Decreased clot burden is associated with factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism and better functional outcomes in acute ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous thrombolysis using recombinant tissue plasminogen activator remains the mainstay treatment of acute ischemic stroke (AIS), although endovascular treatment is becoming standard of care in case of large vessel occlusions (LVO). To quantify the thrombus burden in LVO, a semiquantitative CT angiography (CTA) grading system, the clot burden score (CBS) can be used. Here we aimed to study the association between CBS and various hemostasis parameters, and to evaluate which parameters are major determinants of thrombolysis outcome. METHODS: In this single-centered prospective observational case-control study, 200 anterior circulation AIS patients receiving intravenous thrombolysis treatment without thrombectomy were enrolled: 100 AIS patients with LVO (CBS 0-9) and 100 age- and sex-matched AIS patients without LVO (CBS 10). Fibrinogen, α2-plasmin inhibitor, plasminogen, factor XIII and D-dimer were assessed from blood samples taken before and 24 h after thrombolysis, and FXIII-A Val34Leu was genotyped. CBS was calculated using admission CTA. Short-term outcomes were defined based on the change in NIHSS by day 7, long-term outcomes were assessed according to the modified Rankin scale at 3 months post-event. RESULTS: Poor outcomes were significantly more frequent in the CBS 0-9 group. Plasminogen activity on admission was significantly higher in the CBS 0-9 group. In a univariate analysis, significant protective effect of the Leu34 allele against developing larger clots (CBS 0-9) could be demonstrated (OR:0.519; 95%CI:0.298-0.922, p = 0.0227). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that CBS is an independent predictor of short- and long-term functional outcomes, while such effect of the studied hemostasis parameters could not be demonstrated. CONCLUSIONS: CBS was found to be a significant independent predictor of thrombolysis outcomes. FXIII-A Leu34 carrier status was associated with smaller thrombus burden, which is consistent with the in vitro described whole blood clot mass reducing effects of the allele, but the polymorphism had no effect on thrombolysis outcomes.

An automatic multi-tissue human fetal brain segmentation benchmark using the Fetal Tissue Annotation Dataset.

It is critical to quantitatively analyse the developing human fetal brain in order to fully understand neurodevelopment in both normal fetuses and those with congenital disorders. To facilitate this analysis, automatic multi-tissue fetal brain segmentation algorithms are needed, which in turn requires open datasets of segmented fetal brains. Here we introduce a publicly available dataset of 50 manually segmented pathological and non-pathological fetal magnetic resonance brain volume reconstructions across a range of gestational ages (20 to 33 weeks) into 7 different tissue categories (external cerebrospinal fluid, grey matter, white matter, ventricles, cerebellum, deep grey matter, brainstem/spinal cord). In addition, we quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of several automatic multi-tissue segmentation algorithms of the developing human fetal brain. Four research groups participated, submitting a total of 10 algorithms, demonstrating the benefits the dataset for the development of automatic algorithms.

Expectations, values, preferences and experiences of Hungarian primary care population when accessing services: Evaluation of the patient's questionnaires of the international QUALICOPC study.

BACKGROUND: Preferences and wishes of patients is an important indicator of primary health care provision, although there are differences between national primary care systems. AIM: The aim of this paper is to describe and evaluate the preferences and values of Hungarian primary care (PC) patients before accessing and to analyse their experiences after attending PC services. METHODS: In the Hungarian arm of the European QUALICOPC Study, in 2013-2014, information was collected with questionnaires; the Patient Values contained 19 and the Patient Experiences had 41 multiple-choice questions. FINDINGS: The questionnaires were filled by 2149 (840 men, 1309 women) using PC services, aged 49.1 (SD ± 16.7) years, 73% of them having chronic morbidities. Women preferred to be accompanied and rated their own health better. Patients in the lowest educational category and women visited their GPs more often, and they are consulted more frequently by other doctors as well. Men, older and secondary educated people reported more frequently chronic morbidities. Longer opening hours were preferred by patients with higher education. The most preferred expectations were availability and polite communication of doctors, not pressures on consultation time, clear instructions provided during consultations, shared decisions about treatments and options for consultations, the knowledge of the doctors concerning the living conditions, social and cultural backgrounds of patients, updated medical records, short waiting times, options for home visits, wide scope of professional competences and trust in the doctor. CONCLUSION: Wishes, preferences of patients and fulfilment were similar than described in other participating countries of the study. Although there are room to improve PC services, most of the questioned population were satisfied with the provision.

Effective connectivity differences in motor network during passive movement of paretic and non-paretic ankles in subacute stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: A better understanding of the neural changes associated with paresis in stroke patients could have important implications for therapeutic approaches. Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is commonly used for analyzing effective connectivity patterns of brain networks due to its significant property of modeling neural states behind fMRI signals. We applied this technique to analyze the differences between motor networks (MNW) activated by continuous passive movement (CPM) of paretic and non-paretic ankles in subacute stroke patients. This study aimed to identify CPM induced connectivity characteristics of the primary sensory area (S1) and the differences in extrinsic directed connections of the MNW and to explain the hemodynamic differences of brain regions of MNW. METHODS: For the network analysis, we used ten stroke patients' task fMRI data collected under CPMs of both ankles. Regions for the MNW, the primary motor cortex (M1), the premotor cortex (PM), the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the S1 were defined in a data-driven way, by independent component analysis. For the network analysis of both CPMs, we compared twelve models organized into two model-families, depending on the S1 connections and input stimulus modeling. Using DCM, we evaluated the extrinsic connectivity strengths and hemodynamic parameters of both stimulations of all patients. RESULTS: After a statistical comparison of the extrinsic connections and their modulations of the "best model", we concluded that three contralateral self-inhibitions (cM1, cS1 and cSMA), one contralateral inter-regional connection (cSMA→cM1), and one interhemispheric connection (cM1→iM1) were significantly different. Our research shows that hemodynamic parameters can be estimated with the Balloon model using DCM but the parameters do not change with stroke. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm that the DCM-based connectivity analyses combined with Bayesian model selection may be a useful technique for quantifying the alteration or differences in the characteristics of the motor network in subacute stage stroke patients and in determining the degree of MNW changes.

PAI-1 5G/5G genotype is an independent risk of intracranial hemorrhage in post-lysis stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE: Thrombolysis by recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is the main pharmacological therapy in acute ischemic stroke (IS); however, it is only effective in a subset of patients. Here we aimed to investigate the role of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), an effective inhibitor of t-PA, and its major polymorphism (PAI-1 4G/5G) in therapy outcome. METHODS: Study population included 131 consecutive IS patients who all underwent thrombolysis. Blood samples were taken on admission, 1 and 24 h after rt-PA infusion. PAI-1 activity and antigen levels were measured from all blood samples and the PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism was determined. Clinical data including NIHSS were registered on admission and day 1. ASPECTS was assessed using CT images taken before and 24 h after thrombolysis. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) was classified according to ECASS II. Long-term outcome was defined 90 days post-event by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). RESULTS: PAI-1 activity levels dropped transiently after thrombolysis, while PAI-1 antigen levels remained unchanged. PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism had no effect on PAI-1 levels and did not influence stroke severity. PAI-1 activity/antigen levels as measured on admission were significantly elevated in patients with worse 24 h ASPECTS (<7). Logistic regression analysis including age, sex, NIHSS on admission, BMI, history of arterial hypertension, and hyperlipidemia conferred a significant, independent risk for developing ICH in the presence of 5G/5G genotype (OR:4.75, 95%CI:1.18-19.06). PAI-1 levels and PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphism had no influence on long-term outcomes. INTERPRETATION: PAI-1 5G/5G genotype is associated with a significant risk for developing ICH in post-lysis stroke patients.

[Why would doctors from Debrecen go abroad? Results of a questionnaire]. / Miért mennek/mentek külföldre a debreceni orvosok? Egy felmérés eredményei.

INTRODUCTION: Numerous beliefs have arisen in relation to the emigration of doctors. First of all, in most cases emigration has been attributed to, almost exclusively, low salaries. There are a number of non-financial issues that could possibly be more easily addressed. METHOD: In order to get closer to these issues, we sent out a 37-item questionnaire to doctors, who originally graduated from the University of Debrecen. Altogether 82 of them sent back the questionnaire. RESULTS: The mean age at the time of emigration was 32 years. The most popular destination was the United States, however, many colleagues left for the US to do research, as well as clinical practice. Among the European countries, the most popular ones were Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway. The five most popular clinical specialties were general practice, internal medicine, anesthesiology/intensive care, laboratory/pathology and surgery. With respect to the planned duration of working abroad, at the time of emigration one-fourth of our colleagues planned very short (<2 years) stay. When we asked them now, 38% plans much longer, even indefinite stay. The most common reasons of emigration were also assessed. The most common one was the lack of career track, followed by low salary, quality of life, family issues and adventurousness. Interestingly, burnout and "gratuities" were at the end of the list. A mean 1.3 million HUF per month would make our colleagues satisfied but they think that a mean 486.000 HUF would be realistic and would keep most doctors within the country. As far as university education is concerned, our colleagues agreed that the basic medical knowledge of Hungarian doctors is excellent, but their practical skills are much worse. CONCLUSIONS: Although returning to Hungary would be unrealistic by most colleagues, low salaries are definitely not the most important or exclusive reason for leaving the country. These issues are rather complex, there are numerous non-financial issues, which could be addressed much easier by expressing a positive attitude. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(37): 1458-1468.

Cerebral micro-embolization during pulmonary vein isolation: Relation to post-ablation silent cerebral ischemia.

BACKGROUND: High incidences of silent cerebral ischemia (SCI) have been revealed by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW MRI) after pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for atrial fibrillation. A high number of mostly gaseous micro-embolic signals (MESs) was detected by transcranial Doppler (TCD) during PVI. In this investigation the possible relationship between MESs detected intraoperatively by TCD and new SCI on DW MRI post-ablation is reported. METHODS: 27 consecutive atrial fibrillation patients (6 female, age median: 64 interquartile range: 13.23) undergoing PVI with the pulmonary vein ablation catheter, pre- and post-ablation DW MRI and intra-operative MES detection by TCD were included in the study. Procedures were performed on a therapeutic international normalized ratio (2-3) and with a target activated clotting time ≥ 350 s in all patients. DW MRI scans performed pre- and post-ablation revealed new SCI in 6 out of 27 (22%) patients. RESULTS: The median (interquartile range) MES count recorded during the whole procedure was 1642 (912) in patients with and 1019 (529) in those without SCI (p = 0.129). The number of MESs recorded during pulmonary vein angiography was significantly higher in patients as compared to those without a new lesion on the post-ablation DW MRI: 257 (249) vs. 110 (71), respectively (p = 0.0009). On mul-tivariate logistic regression, the total MES count was predictive of SCI in patients older than 68 years. CONCLUSIONS: Micro-embolus generation detected by TCD during pulmonary vein angiography significantly correlates with new SCI on DW MRI post-ablation.

Elevated Factor VIII and von Willebrand Factor Levels Predict Unfavorable Outcome in Stroke Patients Treated with Intravenous Thrombolysis.

INTRODUCTION: Plasma factor VIII (FVIII) and von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels have been associated with the rate and severity of arterial thrombus formation and have been linked to outcomes following thrombolytic therapy in acute myocardial infarction patients. Here, we aimed to investigate FVIII and VWF levels during the course of thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients and to find out whether they predict long-term outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study population included 131 consecutive AIS patients (median age: 69 years, 60.3% men) who underwent i.v. thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA). Blood samples were taken on admission, 1 and 24 h after rt-PA administration to measure FVIII activity and VWF antigen levels. Neurological deficit of patients was determined according to the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS). ASPECT scores were assessed using computer tomography images taken before and 24 h after thrombolysis. Intracranial hemorrhage was classified according to the European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study (ECASS) II criteria. Long-term functional outcome was determined at 90 days after the event by the modified Rankin scale (mRS). RESULTS: VWF levels on admission were significantly elevated in case of more severe AIS [median and IQR values: NIHSS <6:189.6% (151.9-233.2%); NIHSS 6-16: 199.6% (176.4-250.8%); NIHSS >16: 247.8% (199.9-353.8%), p = 0.013]; similar, but non-significant trend was observed for FVIII levels. FVIII and VWF levels correlated well on admission (r = 0.748, p < 0.001) but no significant correlation was found immediately after thrombolysis (r = 0.093, p = 0.299), most probably due to plasmin-mediated FVIII degradation. VWF levels at all investigated occasions and FVIII activity before and 24 h after thrombolysis were associated with worse 24 h post-lysis ASPECT scores. In a binary backward logistic regression analysis including age, gender, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, active smoking, diabetes, and NIHSS >5 on admission, elevated FVIII and VWF levels after thrombolysis were independently associated with poor functional outcomes (mRS ≥ 3) at 90 days (immediately after thrombolysis: FVIII: OR: 7.10, 95% CI: 1.77-28.38, p = 0.006, VWF: OR: 6.31, 95% CI: 1.83-21.73, p = 0.003; 24 h after thrombolysis: FVIII: OR: 4.67, 95% CI: 1.42-15.38, p = 0.011, VWF: OR: 19.02, 95% CI: 1.94-186.99, p = 0.012). CONCLUSION: Elevated FVIII activity and VWF antigen levels immediately after lysis and at 24 h post-therapy were shown to have independent prognostic values regarding poor functional outcomes at 90 days.

New prognostic score for the prediction of 30-day outcome in spontaneous supratentorial cerebral haemorrhage.

AIMS: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate predictors of outcome in primary supratentorial cerebral haemorrhage. Furthermore, we aimed to develop a prognostic model to predict 30-day fatality. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed a database of 156 patients with spontaneous supratentorial haemorrhage to explore the relationship between clinical and CT characteristics and fatal outcome within 30 days using multiple logistic regression analysis. The analyzed factors included volumetric data assessed by neuropathological and CT volumetry. A second CT scan in survivors or neuropathological ABC/2 volumetry in nonsurvivors was used along with the baseline CT to assess the growth index of haematoma. RESULTS: Systolic blood pressure, serum potassium and glucose levels, platelet count, absolute and relative haematoma volumes, and presence and size of intraventricular haemorrhage statistically significantly predicted the fatal outcome within 30 days. Based on our results we formulated a six-factor scoring algorithm named SUSPEKT to predict outcome. CONCLUSIONS: After validation the SUSPEKT score may be applicable in general clinical practice for early patient selection to optimize individual management or for assessment of eligibility for treatment trials.

The Multimodal Brain Tumor Image Segmentation Benchmark (BRATS).

In this paper we report the set-up and results of the Multimodal Brain Tumor Image Segmentation Benchmark (BRATS) organized in conjunction with the MICCAI 2012 and 2013 conferences. Twenty state-of-the-art tumor segmentation algorithms were applied to a set of 65 multi-contrast MR scans of low- and high-grade glioma patients-manually annotated by up to four raters-and to 65 comparable scans generated using tumor image simulation software. Quantitative evaluations revealed considerable disagreement between the human raters in segmenting various tumor sub-regions (Dice scores in the range 74%-85%), illustrating the difficulty of this task. We found that different algorithms worked best for different sub-regions (reaching performance comparable to human inter-rater variability), but that no single algorithm ranked in the top for all sub-regions simultaneously. Fusing several good algorithms using a hierarchical majority vote yielded segmentations that consistently ranked above all individual algorithms, indicating remaining opportunities for further methodological improvements. The BRATS image data and manual annotations continue to be publicly available through an online evaluation system as an ongoing benchmarking resource.

[QUALICOPC -- primary care study on quality, costs and equity in European countries: the Hungarian branch]. / QUALICOPC -- az alapellátás minoségének, költségének és méltányosságának vizsgálata Európa országaiban: magyarországi ág.

The importance of primary care has already been recognized in the developed countries, where the structure and function of primary care is very heterogeneous. In the QUALICOPC study, the costs, quality and equity of primary care systems will be compared in the 34 participating countries. Representative samples of primary care practices were recruited in Hungary. An evaluation with questionnaire was performed in 222 practices on the work circumstances, conditions, competency and financial initiatives. Ten patients in each practice were also questioned by independent fieldworkers. In this work, the methodology and Hungarian experience are described. The final results of the international evaluation will be analyzed and published later. It is expected that data obtained from the QUALICOPC study may prove to be useful in health service planning and may be shared with policy makers.