UK-wide survey of gastroenterology and hepatology trainees in 2022: endoscopy, workforce planning and the Shape of things to come.

Objective: Shape of Training has shortened the gastroenterology curriculum in the UK from a 5 to 4-year programme. There are ongoing concerns that this will negatively impact training and the attainment of competencies expected at consultant level. We undertook a UK-wide survey of gastroenterology trainees to establish their views. Method: The British Society of Gastroenterology Trainees Section collected anonymised survey responses from trainees between June and September 2022 via an online platform. Results: 40.3% of trainees responded. Strikingly, only 10% of respondents felt they could achieve certificate of completion of training (CCT) within a 4-year programme. Furthermore, 31% were not confident they would attain the required expertise in their subspecialist interest during training. 70.8% reported spending a quarter or more of their training in general internal medicine (GIM) and 71.6% felt this negatively impacted on their gastroenterology training. Only 21.6% of respondents plan to pursue a consultant post with GIM commitments.Regarding endoscopy, only 36.1% of ST7s had provisional and 22.2% full accreditation in colonoscopy. Although 92.3% of respondents wanted exposure to a 'bleed rota', this was the case for only 16.2%. Teaching quality was judged to be insufficient by 45.9% of respondents. Conclusion: Respondents had struggled to achieve the necessary competencies for CCT even prior to the newly reduced 4-year curriculum. While still maintaining service provision, we must safeguard gastroenterology training from encroaching GIM commitments. This will be critical in order to provide capable consultants of the future and prevent UK standards from falling behind internationally.

The impact of frailty on death, discharge destination and modelling accuracy in patients receiving organ support on the intensive care unit.

Background: This study aims to identify any effect of frailty in altering the risk of death or poor outcome already associated with receipt of organ support on ICU. It also aims to assess the performance of mortality prediction models in frail patients. Methods: All admissions to a single ICU over 1-year were prospectively allocated a Clinical Frailty Score (CFS). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of frailty on death or poor outcome (death/discharge to a medical facility). Logistic regression analysis, area under the Receiver Operator Curve (AUROC) and Brier scores were used to investigate the ability of two mortality prediction models, ICNARC and APACHE II, to predict mortality in frail patients. Results: Of 849 patients, 700 (82%) patients were not frail, and 149 (18%) were frail. Frailty was associated with a stepwise increase in the odds of death or poor outcome (OR for each point rise of CFS = 1.23 ([1.03-1.47]; p = .024) and 1.32 ([1.17-1.48]; p = <.001) respectively). Renal support conferred the greatest odds of death and poor outcome, followed by respiratory support, then cardiovascular support (which increased the odds of death but not poor outcome). Frailty did not modify the odds already associated with organ support. The mortality prediction models were not modified by frailty (AUROC p = .220 and .437 respectively). Inclusion of frailty into both models improved their accuracy. Conclusions: Frailty was associated with increased odds of death and poor outcome, but did not modify the risk already associated with organ support. Inclusion of frailty improved mortality prediction models.

Prevalence of and risk factors for gout in HIV-positive adults: A case-control study.

Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis worldwide. Its principal risk factor is hyperuricaemia. While gout has been described in HIV patients and numerous more outdated anti-retroviral therapies (ARTs) have been implicated, there have been few recent studies. Our case-control study investigated the prevalence of and risk factors for gout in an established HIV cohort. Cases were identified from database searches using key search terms, with two age- and gender-matched controls. These were compared for demographic factors, co-morbidities, HIV factors and ART exposure. Forty-five cases with gout were identified (point prevalence 2.2%). All were male and were more likely than controls to be of black African origin. Hypertension was associated with an almost five-fold increased gout risk (OR 4.8, 95% CI 1.8-12.4). No individual drug or ART class was associated with gout in this study but exposure to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors had a significantly protective effect against the risk of gout (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.9). Our data suggest that gout is common in HIV patients and that the traditional risk factors, especially hypertension, play a key role. Gout and hyperuricaemia should be regarded as a biomarker of cardiovascular disease in HIV patients as they are in the general population.

Improving communication between phlebotomists and doctors: a quality improvement project.

Blood tests are a seemingly basic investigation, but are often a vital part of directing patient management. Despite the importance of this everyday process, we indentified the potential for improvement of the current phlebotomy service in our hospital, as both junior doctors and phlebotomists reported a lack of communication and standardised practice across the wards. Resulting delays in obtaining blood test results can impact detrimentally on patient safety and management. We designed a survey which highlighted inefficient handovers and discrepancies between wards as driving factors behind this. We therefore aimed to improve communication between phlebotomists and doctors, as well as the overall organisation of the service. This took the form of the "Phlebotomy Box," a box file system offering a set location for blood stickers to be situated. The box concept was optimised on a series of medical and surgical wards, incorporating multidisciplinary feedback from relevant teams. We measured how many untaken bloods were handed over to medical staff continuously, both pre- and post implementation of the phlebotomy box. Our baseline ward demonstrated poor handover rates of untaken bloods, ranging from 0% to 40%. This increased to a consistent 100% following introduction of the Phlebotomy Box and ongoing staff education. Once optimised, the box was trialled on a further two medical wards and one surgical ward, achieving 100% handover from an initial 0% to 67%. Quantitative improvement was also reflected qualitatively in widespread staff surveys, with overwhelmingly positive support and acceptance. In summary, the Phlebotomy Box innovation has led to 100% of untaken bloods being effectively handed over. We have demonstrated a significant improvement in communication and efficiency within the phlebotomy service, with tangible benefits to patient care, as minimising time lags can prevent delays in clinical decisions. The phlebotomy box represents a simplistic, sustainable intervention that could be easily replicated in other Trusts.

Promoting the management of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeds among junior doctors: a quality improvement project.

Though they are knowledgeable, foundation year one (FY1) doctors can lack skills and confidence in acute situations due to inexperience. This was witnessed when a new FY1 on call attended an acute upper gastrointestinal bleed (UGIB), a common emergency with a 10% in hospital mortality rate. We aimed to improve FY1s' ability to manage these critical patients through simulation based teaching, before and after the introduction of an algorithm summarising current guidelines. After assessing the FY1s' perceived level of confidence in managing UGIBs, they individually attended a simulation session which evaluated specific aspects of their assessment and management plans. Immediate debriefing and subsequent teaching sessions reinforced learning points, with an algorithm instituted as an aide mémoire to improve efficiency. A repeat simulation session assessed improvements in both subjective confidence and objective management targets. All FY1s expressed improved confidence in managing patients with UGIBs. There were improvements across the board in their assessment and management, notably: verbalisation of concern for hypotension increased to 100% (from 60%), two points of intravenous access requested in 100% of cases (from 53%), and a 76 second reduction in time to call for senior support. Collectively, these individual aspects led to improved patient care. Effective management of acute patients is best learnt through exposure, and simulation based teaching provides a safe but powerful modality to aid transition from textbook theory to ward situations. Algorithms can streamline care and hasten the stabilisation of patients. This project reinforces generic competencies that FY1s can translate to their management of not only UGIBs, but many acute presentations, providing a convincing argument for broader simulation use in FY1 teaching.

Testing initiatives increase rates of HIV diagnosis in primary care and community settings: an observational single-centre cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to examine trends in new HIV diagnoses in a UK area of high HIV prevalence between 2000 and 2012 with respect to site of diagnosis and stage of HIV infection. DESIGN: Single-centre observational cohort study. SETTING: An outpatient HIV department in a secondary care UK hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 1359 HIV-infected adults. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic information (age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation), site of initial HIV diagnosis (Routine settings such as HIV/GUM clinics versus Non-Routine settings such as primary care and community venues), stage of HIV infection, CD4 count and seroconversion symptoms were collated for each participant. RESULTS: There was a significant increase in the proportion of new HIV diagnoses made in Non-Routine settings (from 27.0% in 2000 to 58.8% in 2012; p<0.001). Overall there was a decrease in the rate of late diagnosis from 50.7% to 32.9% (p=0.001). Diagnosis of recent infection increased from 23.0% to 47.1% (p=0.001). Of those with recent infection, significantly more patients were likely to report symptoms consistent with a seroconversion illness over the 13 years (17.6% to 65.0%; p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study, we believe, to demonstrate significant improvements in HIV diagnosis and a shift in diagnosis of HIV from HIV/GUM settings to primary practice and community settings due to multiple initiatives.