Perspectives of healthcare professionals and older patients on shared decision-making for treatment escalation planning in the acute hospital setting: a systematic review and qualitative thematic synthesis.

Background: Shared Decision-Making (SDM) between patients and clinicians is increasingly considered important. Treament Escalation Plans (TEP) are individualised documents outlining life-saving interventions to be considered in the event of clinical deterioration. SDM can inform subjective goals of care in TEP but it remains unclear how much it is considered beneficial by patients and clinicians. We aimed to synthesise the existing knowledge of clinician and older patient (generally aged ≥65 years) perspectives on patient involvement in TEP in the acute setting. Methods: Systematic database search was performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo and CINAHL databases as well as grey literature from database inception to June 8, 2023, using the Sample (older patients, clinicians, acute setting; studies relating to patients whose main diagnosis was cancer or single organ failure were excluded as these conditions may have specific TEP considerations), Phenomenon of Interest (Treatment Escalation Planning), Design (any including interview, observational, survey), Evaluation (Shared Decision-Making), Research type (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) tool. Primary data (published participant quotations, field notes, survey results) and descriptive author comments were extracted and qualitative thematic synthesis was performed to generate analytic themes. Quality assessment was made using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme and Mixed Methods Appraisal Tools. The GRADE-CERQual (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation-Confidence in the Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach was used to assess overall confidence in each thematic finding according to methodology, coherence, adequacy and relevance of the contributing studies. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO, CRD42022361593. Findings: Following duplicate exclusion there were 1916 studies screened and ultimately 13 studies were included, all from European and North American settings. Clinician-orientated themes were: treatment escalation is a medical decision (high confidence); clinicians want the best for their patients amidst uncertainty (high confidence); involving patients and families in decisions is not always meaningful and can involve conflict (high confidence); treatment escalation planning exists within the clinical environment, organisation and society (moderate confidence). Patient-orientated themes were: patients' relationships with Treatment Escalation Planning are complex (low confidence); interactions with doctors are important but communication is not always easy (moderate confidence); patients are highly aware of their families when considering TEP (moderate confidence). Interpretation: Based on current evidence, TEP decisions appear dominated by clinicians' perspectives, motivated by achieving the best for patients and challenged by complex decisions, communication and environmental factors; older patients' perspectives have seldom been explored, but their input on decisions may be modest. Presenting the context and challenge of SDM during professional education may allow reflection and a more nuanced approach. Future research should seek to understand what approach to TEP decision-making patients and clinicians consider to be optimum in the acute setting so that a mutually acceptable standard can be defined in policy. Funding: HCA International and the NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre.

Escalation to intensive care for the older patient. An exploratory qualitative study of patients aged 65 years and older and their next of kin during the COVID-19 pandemic: the ESCALATE study.

BACKGROUND: older people comprise the majority of hospital medical inpatients so decision-making regarding admission of this cohort to the intensive care unit (ICU) is important. ICU can be perceived by clinicians as overly burdensome for patients and loved ones, and long-term impact on quality of life considered unacceptable, effecting potential bias against admitting older people to ICU. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the challenge of selecting those who could most benefit from ICU. OBJECTIVE: this qualitative study aimed to explore the views and recollections of escalation to ICU from older patients (aged ≥ 65 years) and next of kin (NoK) who experienced a COVID-19 ICU admission. SETTING: the main site was a large NHS Trust in London, which experienced a high burden of COVID-19 cases. SUBJECTS: 30 participants, comprising 12 patients, 7 NoK of survivor and 11 NoK of deceased. METHODS: semi-structured interviews with thematic analysis using a framework approach. RESULTS: there were five major themes: inevitability, disconnect, acceptance, implications for future decision-making and unique impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Life was highly valued and ICU perceived to be the only option. Prior understanding of ICU and admission decision-making explanations were limited. Despite benefit of hindsight, having experienced an ICU admission and its consequences, most could not conceptualise thresholds for future acceptable treatment outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: in this study of patients ≥65 years and their NoK experiencing an acute ICU admission, survival was prioritised. Despite the ordeal of an ICU stay and its aftermath, the decision to admit and sequelae were considered acceptable.

BLANKETS: a toasty tool to improve social history documentation for our older patients.

A thorough social history is an important component of all medical clerkings and is particularly crucial when admitting an older patient. Standards exist to guide the social history content but are rarely referenced in practice. This quality improvement project conceived and implemented the novel BLANKETS (Bladder and bowels, Legal arrangements, Activities of daily living, Neurology (cognition), Kit (dentures, hearing or visual aids), EtOH and smoking, Trips, walking aids and exercise tolerance, Setup at home) tool for social history documentation, derived from existing standards, at a specialist medical inpatient hospital setting. Over a 15-week period with two cycles of intervention involving 125 patients in total, there was good staff engagement and overall improvement in social history documentation with 194/403 (48.1%) vs 199/545 (36.5%) criteria met overall and on average 6.3/13 vs 4.7/13 criteria documented for each patient. The social history BLANKETS tool is a memorable acronym to prompt clerking doctors to take a thorough and focused social history which is intrinsic to determining appropriate rehabilitation goals for effective discharge planning and setting appropriate ceiling of care decisions.

Delayed diagnosis of T3 supplementation in a bodybuilder presenting with tachycardia and features of sepsis.

A 25-year-old man presented generally unwell to the emergency department. Initial assessment identified systemic inflammatory response syndrome markers with an insect bite as a potential source of infection and he was treated for presumed sepsis. Tachycardia persisted and baseline thyroid function testing showed undetectable free thyroxine and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), prompting further endocrine investigation. Triiodothyronine (T3) was markedly raised with normal TSH receptor antibodies, and the patient later confessed to supplementary testosterone and T3 use as part of bodybuilding activities. Following counselling, thyroid function normalised and the patient returned to his usual health. This case describes the diagnostic work up in a case of persistent tachycardia caused by T3 supplementation, demonstrating the potential for endocrine supplementation by bodybuilders which may be poorly understood and recognised by clinicians. T3 supplementation should be considered and a thorough drug history obtained in bodybuilders presenting with symptoms of thyrotoxicosis and deranged thyroid function tests.

Gonadotrophin abnormalities in an infant with Lowe syndrome.

SUMMARY: This case, presenting with bilateral impalpable testes, illustrates the relevance of a broad differential disorders of sex development case management. It provides new insights on hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis and testicular function abnormalities in the multisystem disorder of Lowe syndrome. Lowe syndrome, also known as oculocerebrorenal syndrome, is a rare disorder characterised by eye abnormalities, central nervous system involvement and proximal renal tubular acidosis. There are a handful of reports of pubertal delay, infertility and cryptorchidism in Lowe syndrome. Biochemistry aged 72 h: testosterone 6.4 nmol/L, LH <0.5 IU/L and FSH <0.5 IU/L. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test identified significantly raised baseline LH = 45.4 IU/L (contrasts with earlier undetectable LH), with a 20% increase on stimulation, while baseline FSH = 4.3 IU/L with no increase on stimulation. Day 14 HCG stimulation test produced an acceptable 50% increase in testosterone. The constellation of further abnormalities suggested Lowe syndrome: hypotonia, bilateral cataracts (surgical extraction and intraocular lens implantation) and renal tubular acidosis (microscopic haematuria, hypercalciuria, proteinuria, generalised aminoaciduria, hypophosphataemia and metabolic acidosis). DNA sequencing identified de novo hemizygous frameshift mutation OCRL c.2409_2410delCT in exon 22. Interpretation of initial and repeat GnRH and HCG testing indicates the likelihood of testicular failure. Partial testicular descent occurred but left orchidopexy was required. Improving long-term gonadal function in Lowe syndrome assumes increased importance for current cohorts as advances in renal replacement therapy have greatly improved life expectancy. Noting HPG axis abnormalities in Lowe syndrome in infancy can identify cases requiring increased surveillance of pubertal progress for earlier detection and management. LEARNING POINTS: Clinical endocrine problems in Lowe syndrome has been reported, but has focused on abnormalities in adolescence and young adulthood: pubertal delay and infertility.We present an infant with isolated LH elevation at baseline and on GnRH stimulation testing who also had bilateral impalpable testes.Early testing of the HPG axis in patients with Lowe syndrome may help predict gonadal abnormalities from a younger age, which will enhance the overall case management into adolescence.