The Challenges of Managing Pediatric Diabetes and Other Endocrine Disorders During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From an International Cross-Sectional Electronic Survey.

Background: Frequency, dimensions, management, and outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic in children with endocrine disorders and diabetes were assessed. Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed to the global network of endocrine societies. Respondents' professional and practice profiles, clinic sizes, their country of practice, and the impact of COVID-19 on endocrine diseases were investigated. Results: Respondents from 131 pediatric endocrine centers in 51 countries across all continents completed the survey. Routine check-ups and education were altered in most pediatric endocrine clinics. Over 20% of clinics experienced a shortage of critical medications or essential supplies. ICU treatment was required for patients with diabetes and COVID-19 in 21.2% of centers. In diabetes, 44% of respondents reported increased diabetic ketoacidosis episodes in newly diagnosed cases and 30% in established cases. Biopsychosocial and behavioral changes were explicitly reported to be occurring among pediatric patients with endocrine disorders. Conclusions: This large global survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights that diabetes is more challenging to manage than any other pediatric endocrine disorder, with an increased risk of morbidity. Psychological distress due to COVID-19 needs to be recognized and addressed. The importance of close contact with healthcare professionals should be emphasized, and medical supplies should be readily available to all patients.

Propuesta de sistema innovador de comunicación digital utilizando IoT para equipo biomédico de monitoreo de pacientes: de interés sector salud pública / Innovative digital communication system proposal using IoT in biomedical equipment for patient monitoring: interest in public health sector

La presente propuesta de diseño busca la interoperabilidad de datos en salud por medio de la integración de un sistema de comunicación a equipos especializados, utilizando las TI (Tecnologías de la Información) y el IoT (Internet de las Cosas) en los equipos biomédicos especializados o monitor que está siendo utilizado actualmente en los centros hospitalarios público a nivel nacional para la medición de signos vitales, con el objetivo de poder brindar una atención sanitaria a pacientes con padecimientos médicos y que necesitan de una constante supervisión y vigilancia. En los centros hospitalarios se cuenta con equipo biomédico especializado que carece de dichas funcionalidades. Esto repercute u obliga al responsable especialista a tener que estar frente al monitor y paciente para poder observar las mediciones o lecturas que presenta un paciente.

This design proposal seeks the interoperability of health data through the integration of a communication system to specialized equipment, using IT (Information Technology) and IoT (Internet of Things) in specialized biomedical equipment or monitor that is currently being used in public hospitals nationwide for the measurement of vital signs, in order to provide health care to patients with medical conditions and who need constant surveillance. Hospitals have specialized biomedical equipment that lacks these functionalities. This forces the responsible specialist to have to be in front of the monitor and the patient to be able to observe the measurements or readings that a patient presents.

National TB program shortages as potential factor for poor-quality TB care cascade: healthcare workers' perspective from Beira, Mozambique

Background Mozambique is one of the countries with the deadly implementation gaps in the tuberculosis (TB) care and services delivery. In-hospital delays in TB diagnosis and treatment, transmission and mortality still persist, in part, due to poor-quality of TB care cascade. Objective We aimed to assess, from the healthcare workers' (HCW) perspective, factors associated with poor-quality TB care cascade and explore local sustainable suggestions to improve inhospital TB management. Methods In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with different categories of HCW. Audio-recording and written notes were taken, and content analysis was performed through atlas.ti7. Results Bottlenecks within hospital TB care cascade, lack of TB staff and task shifting, centralized and limited time of TB laboratory services, and fear of healthcare workers getting infected by TB were mentioned to be the main factors associated with implementation gaps. Interviewees believe that task shifting from nurses to hospital auxiliary workers, and from higher and well-trained to lower HCW are accepted and feasible. The expansion and use of molecular TB diagnostic tools are seen by the interviewees as a proper way to fight effectively against both sensitive and MDR TB. Ensuring provision of N95 respiratory masks is believed to be an essential requirement for effective engagement of the HCW on high-quality in-hospital TB care. For monitoring and evaluation, TB quality improvement teams in each health facility are considered to be an added value. Conclusion Shortage of resources within the national TB control programme is one of the potential factors for poor-quality of the TB care cascade. Task shifting of TB care and services delivery, decentralization of the molecular TB diagnostic tools, and regular provision of N95 respiratory masks should contribute not just to reduce the impact of resource scarceness, but also to ensure proper TB diagnosis and treatment to both sensitive and MDR TB.

Effects of trust-based decision making in disrupted supply chains.

The United States has experienced prolonged severe shortages of vital medications over the past two decades. The causes underlying the severity and prolongation of these shortages are complex, in part due to the complexity of the underlying supply chain networks, which involve supplier-buyer interactions across multiple entities with competitive and cooperative goals. This leads to interesting challenges in maintaining consistent interactions and trust among the entities. Furthermore, disruptions in supply chains influence trust by inducing over-reactive behaviors across the network, thereby impacting the ability to consistently meet the resulting fluctuating demand. To explore these issues, we model a pharmaceutical supply chain with boundedly rational artificial decision makers capable of reasoning about the motivations and behaviors of others. We use multiagent simulations where each agent represents a key decision maker in a pharmaceutical supply chain. The agents possess a Theory-of-Mind capability to reason about the beliefs, and past and future behaviors of other agents, which allows them to assess other agents' trustworthiness. Further, each agent has beliefs about others' perceptions of its own trustworthiness that, in turn, impact its behavior. Our experiments reveal several counter-intuitive results showing how small, local disruptions can have cascading global consequences that persist over time. For example, a buyer, to protect itself from disruptions, may dynamically shift to ordering from suppliers with a higher perceived trustworthiness, while the supplier may prefer buyers with more stable ordering behavior. This asymmetry can put the trust-sensitive buyer at a disadvantage during shortages. Further, we demonstrate how the timing and scale of disruptions interact with a buyer's sensitivity to trustworthiness. This interaction can engender different behaviors and impact the overall supply chain performance, either prolonging and exacerbating even small local disruptions, or mitigating a disruption's effects. Additionally, we discuss the implications of these results for supply chain operations.

National TB program shortages as potential factor for poor-quality TB care cascade: Healthcare workers' perspective from Beira, Mozambique.

BACKGROUND: Mozambique is one of the countries with the deadly implementation gaps in the tuberculosis (TB) care and services delivery. In-hospital delays in TB diagnosis and treatment, transmission and mortality still persist, in part, due to poor-quality of TB care cascade. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess, from the healthcare workers' (HCW) perspective, factors associated with poor-quality TB care cascade and explore local sustainable suggestions to improve in-hospital TB management. METHODS: In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with different categories of HCW. Audio-recording and written notes were taken, and content analysis was performed through atlas.ti7. RESULTS: Bottlenecks within hospital TB care cascade, lack of TB staff and task shifting, centralized and limited time of TB laboratory services, and fear of healthcare workers getting infected by TB were mentioned to be the main factors associated with implementation gaps. Interviewees believe that task shifting from nurses to hospital auxiliary workers, and from higher and well-trained to lower HCW are accepted and feasible. The expansion and use of molecular TB diagnostic tools are seen by the interviewees as a proper way to fight effectively against both sensitive and MDR TB. Ensuring provision of N95 respiratory masks is believed to be an essential requirement for effective engagement of the HCW on high-quality in-hospital TB care. For monitoring and evaluation, TB quality improvement teams in each health facility are considered to be an added value. CONCLUSION: Shortage of resources within the national TB control programme is one of the potential factors for poor-quality of the TB care cascade. Task shifting of TB care and services delivery, decentralization of the molecular TB diagnostic tools, and regular provision of N95 respiratory masks should contribute not just to reduce the impact of resource scarceness, but also to ensure proper TB diagnosis and treatment to both sensitive and MDR TB.

Validación de instrumentos para el cuidado en pediatría: un estudio integrativo / Validation of instruments for care in pediatrics: an integrative study / Validação de instrumentos para o cuidado em pediatria: um estudo integrativo

Objetivo: Se trata de un estudio de revisión integrativa, donde se objetivó analizar la producción científica nacional e internacional sobre la validación de instrumentos utilizados como herramientas para potenciar el cuidado en pediatría. Material y Métodos: Se realizó la búsqueda en bases de SCIELO, LILACS, CINHAL, PubMed y Scopus, usando las palabras clave en portugués, inglés y español validación española, instrumento, enfermería. Se identificaron 1278 artículos. Después de criterios de inclusión y exclusión, se obtuvieron 21 estudios que compusieron la muestra. Resultados: La presentación de los resultados y la discusión final se realizó a través de la estadística descriptiva, en forma de diagrama de flujo e interrelacionados a través del contenido. De los estudios incluidos en la revisión, el 42,8% fueron publicados en 2017. En cuanto al tipo de investigación, el 80,9% fueron estudios metodológicos. Los tipos de validación más retratados fueron del contenido, adaptación transcultural e integral. Conclusión: Después del análisis, fue posible identificar una creciente producción frente a métodos considerados válidos para el cuidar en pediatría, anhelando una transformación de la práctica asistencial en cuanto a innovaciones metodológicas dentro del proceso de enfermería

Objective: This is an integrative review study, which aims to analyze the national and international scientific production on the validation of instruments used as tools to enhance pediatric care. Material and Methods: We searched the databases SCIELO, LILACS, CINHAL, PUBMED and SCOPUS, using the descriptors in Portuguese, English and Spanish validation, instrument, nursing. The total of 1278 articles were identified. After inclusion and exclusion criteria, we obtained 21 studies that composed the sample. Results: The presentation of the results and the final discussion were done through descriptive statistics, presented the flowchart and interrelated through the content. Of the studies included in the review, 42.8% were published in 2017. Regarding the type of research, 80.9% were methodological studies. The types of validation most portrayed were content, transcultural and integral adaptation. Conclusion: After analysis, it was possible to identify a growing production in relation to methods considered valid for care in pediatrics, aiming at the transformation of the care practice regarding methodological innovations within the nursing process

Objetivo: Trata-se de um estudo de revisão integrativa, onde se objetivou analisar a produção científica nacional e internacional sobre a validação de instrumentos utilizados como ferramentas para potencializar o cuidado em pediatria. Material e Métodos: Realizou-se a busca nas bases SCIELO, LILACS, CINHAL, PUBMED e SCOPUS, usando os descritores em português, inglês e espanhol validação, instrumento, enfermagem. Foram identificados 1278 artigos. Após critérios de inclusão e exclusão, obtiveram-se 21 estudos que compuseram a amostra. Resultados: A apresentação dos resultados e a discussão final foram feitos através da estatística descritiva, apresentados sob a forma de fluxograma e inter-relacionados através do conteúdo. Dos estudos incluídos na revisão, 42,8% foram publicados em 2017. Quanto ao tipo de pesquisa, 80,9% foram estudos metodológicos. Os tipos de validação mais retratados foram do conteúdo, adaptação transcultural e integral. Conclusão: Após análise, foi possível identificar uma crescente produção frente a métodos considerados válidos para o cuidar em pediatria, almejando uma transformação da prática assistencial no tocante a inovações metodológicas dentro do processo de enfermagem

Supply Chains in Healthcare Organizations: Lessons Learned from Recent Shortages.

This paper examines the need for better management of supply chains in healthcare facilities. Recent shortages have highlighted the need for better supply chain systems. The reasons for the shortages are false scarcity, natural disasters, medical lawsuits, production process problems, and group purchasing organizations (GPO). These problems have occurred with increasing frequency. There are three possible solutions available to handle the shortages. First, better use of supply chain management, including multiple suppliers and safety stock. Second, there needs to be better cooperation between suppliers, consumers, and government entities. Finally, healthcare facilities should develop teams of individuals responsible for monitoring critical areas and developing contingency plans.

Understanding Costs of Care in the Operating Room.

Importance: Increasing value requires improving quality or decreasing costs. In surgery, estimates for the cost of 1 minute of operating room (OR) time vary widely. No benchmark exists for the cost of OR time, nor has there been a comprehensive assessment of what contributes to OR cost. Objectives: To calculate the cost of 1 minute of OR time, assess cost by setting and facility characteristics, and ascertain the proportion of costs that are direct and indirect. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis examined annual financial disclosure documents from all comparable short-term general and specialty care hospitals in California from fiscal year (FY) 2005 to FY2014 (N = 3044; FY2014, n = 302). The analysis focused on 2 revenue centers: (1) surgery and recovery and (2) ambulatory surgery. Main Outcomes and Measures: Mean cost of 1 minute of OR time, stratified by setting (inpatient vs ambulatory), teaching status, and hospital ownership. The proportion of cost attributable to indirect and direct expenses was identified; direct expenses were further divided into salary, benefits, supplies, and other direct expenses. Results: In FY2014, a total of 175 of 302 facilities (57.9%) were not for profit, 78 (25.8%) were for profit, and 49 (16.2%) were government owned. Thirty facilities (9.9%) were teaching hospitals. The mean (SD) cost for 1 minute of OR time across California hospitals was $37.45 ($16.04) in the inpatient setting and $36.14 ($19.53) in the ambulatory setting (P = .65). There were no differences in mean expenditures when stratifying by ownership or teaching status except that teaching hospitals had lower mean (SD) expenditures than nonteaching hospitals in the inpatient setting ($29.88 [$9.06] vs $38.29 [$16.43]; P = .006). Direct expenses accounted for 54.6% of total expenses ($20.40 of $37.37) in the inpatient setting and 59.1% of total expenses ($20.90 of $35.39) in the ambulatory setting. Wages and benefits accounted for approximately two-thirds of direct expenses (inpatient, $14.00 of $20.40; ambulatory, $14.35 of $20.90), with nonbillable supplies accounting for less than 10% of total expenses (inpatient, $2.55 of $37.37; ambulatory, $3.33 of $35.39). From FY2005 to FY2014, expenses in the OR have increased faster than the consumer price index and medical consumer price index. Teaching hospitals had slower growth in costs than nonteaching hospitals. Over time, the proportion of expenses dedicated to indirect costs has increased, while the proportion attributable to salary and supplies has decreased. Conclusions and Relevance: The mean cost of OR time is $36 to $37 per minute, using financial data from California's short-term general and specialty hospitals in FY2014. These statewide data provide a generalizable benchmark for the value of OR time. Furthermore, understanding the composition of costs will allow those interested in value improvement to identify high-yield targets.

[Airway management in intensive care units in Rhineland-Palatinate : Evolution over five years]. / Atemwegssicherung auf Intensivstationen in Rheinland-Pfalz : Entwicklung über fünf Jahre.

BACKGROUND: Securing the airway in severely ill patients is associated with a high rate of complications. So far, no information exists about the equipment readily available for airway management in German intensive care units (ICUs). It is also unknown if the range of material has improved over time. OBJECTIVES: In the present trial the availability of equipment for airway management in ICUs in Rhineland-Palatinate was evaluated at two different times. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using a structured questionnaire, all ICUs in the state were contacted in the years 2010 and 2015. The availability of different types of equipment for airway management, as well as the presence of a training program for airway management, was evaluated. RESULTS: For 2010 data from 64 ICUs were evaluated and for 2015 data sets from 63 ICUs were collected. In 2010 indirect laryngoscopes were available in eight ICUs; in 2015 these devices were directly accessible in 43 units (p < 0.0001). Extraglottic devices were available in all but one ICU in 2010 and all ICUs in 2015. Equipment for emergency surgical airway procedures was available in nearly every ICU (n = 60). The availability of capnography increased significantly from 2010 (n = 12) to 2015 (n = 56; p < 0.0001). In 2010 and 2015, frequent training with a focus on airway management was performed in 23 and 32 units, respectively (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Most ICUs in Rhineland-Palatinate have a broad range of equipment for airway management available, and the range has significantly improved over the time period evaluated. The availability of indirect laryngoscopes and capnometers improved significantly. However, it is remarkable that in some ICU's there is still a lack of equipment for advanced airway management.

[Improvement of medical equipment setting for the hospital link of the medical service during wartime].

One of the priorities of the military health care is to improve the system of rationing medical equipment for the hospital unit of the medical service of the Armed Forces in wartime. This is determined the fact that the effectiveness of measures to provide military field hospitals with medical supplies depends on the quality of medical care for the wounded and sick, as well as the level of their return to duty. The article presents the characteristics of modern standards medical supplies procurement of military field hospitals included in the new regulatory legal act of the Russian Federation Ministry of Defence--"Standards of supplies medical supplies medical and pharmaceutical organizations (units) of the Russian Federation on the wartime armed forces", approved and put into effect in 2015 by order of the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation.

Four decades of change and evolution examined.

Phil Wade, director of Marketing at Static Systems Group, looks back at how bedhead services and trunking have developed over the past 40 years. Their development has, he says, been driven not only by increasingly stringent infection control criteria, the need for more attractive aesthetics, increased functionality, evolving communications technology, and the ability to adapt to meet changing needs, but equally by the growing part that clinicians and healthcare planners now play in the decision-making process for bedside layouts. He also looks forward to what we might expect to see in the future.

Hacia la atención compartida de pacientes pediátricos. 'Hospital y Atención Primaria obligados a entenderse'. Experiencia del Hospital Universitario Cruces / Towards shared care of pediatric patients. 'Hospital and Primary Care must understand each other'. Experience of the Hospital Universitario Cruces

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Reuso y sustitución del material y equipo desechable de inhaloterapia / Reuse and replacement of disposable materials and equipment for inhalotherapy", "_i": "

Los profesionales de la salud utilizan diariamente para el cuidado de las personas enfermas diversos artefactos llamados dispositivos médicos, que generalmente son de un solo uso; sin embargo, el aumento de los costos en salud, la necesidad de reducir los gastos en la adquisición de dispositivos médicos, el pago del procesamiento de residuos hospitalarios y el cuidado del medio ambiente, son factores que han llevado a una práctica de reuso en el material rotulado como desechable; para ello se debe contar con disposición técnica, personal capacitado, características físicas y funcionales del área de reprocesamiento, procesos normatizados y validados, controles estrictos de seguridad que garanticen la funcionalidad e integridad de los dispositivos médicos, que eliminen el riesgo de infecciones o de reacciones endotóxicas; así mismo, que avalen la seguridad del personal, todo esto bajo un marco legal y ético. Uno de los principales problemas que se enfrenta con el reuso de los dispositivos médicos es la falta de estándares centrados en el proceso que nos direccione a conocer ¿cómo? y ¿cuántas? veces es viable realizarlo, por lo que los esfuerzos deben encaminarse a desarrollar estrategias de mejora para promover la estandarización del proceso y mantener un estricto control del número de reusos y con ello garantizar la integridad y esterilidad del material. La presente información se sustenta con el análisis de riesgos y validación del proceso de limpieza, desinfección y esterilización que requieren los dispositivos desechables reusados en el servicio de inhaloterapia.

Health professionals use every day to care for sick persons, several artifacts called medical devices, which are generally single use; however, rising health costs, the need to reduce costs in the acquisition of medical devices, payment for processing medical waste and environmental care, are factors that have led to the practice of reuse in the material labeled as disposable; to do this, there must be technical provisions, trained personnel, physical and functional characteristics in the reprocessing area, normed and validated processes, strict safety controls to guarantee the functionality and integrity of the medical devices, that eliminate the risk of infections or endotoxic reactions; while supporting the safety of staff, all this under a legal and ethical framework. One of the main problems that faces the reuse of medical devices is the lack of standards focused on the process that addresses us to know how and how many times it is feasible to reuse them, so efforts should be directed towards developing improvement strategies to promote standardization of the process and maintain strict control on the number of reuses and thereby ensure the integrity and sterility of the material. This information is supported with risk analysis and validation of the cleaning, disinfection and sterilization processes required by the reused disposable inhalation therapy devices.