Impact of risk factor control on peripheral artery disease outcomes and health disparities.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with modifiable atherosclerotic risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and smoking. However, the effect of risk factor control on outcomes and disparities in achieving control is less well understood. METHODS: All patients in an integrated, regional health system with PAD-related encounters, fee-for-service Medicare, and clinical risk factor control data were identified. Component risk factors were dichotomized into controlled and uncontrolled categories (control defined as low-density lipoprotein < 100 mg/dL, hemoglobin A1c < 7.0%, SBP < 140 mmHg, and current nonsmoker) and composite categories (none, 1, ⩾ 2 uncontrolled RFs) created. The primary outcome was major adverse vascular events (MAVE, a composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and lower-extremity revascularization and amputation). RESULTS: The cohort included 781 patients with PAD, average age 72.5 ± 9.8 years, of whom 30.1% were Black, and 19.1% were Medicaid dual-enrolled. In this cohort, 260 (33.3%) had no uncontrolled risk factors and 200 (25.6%) had two or more uncontrolled risk factors. Patients with the poorest risk factor control were more likely to be Black (p < 0.001), Medicaid dual-enrolled (p < 0.001), and have chronic limb-threatening ischemia (p = 0.009). Significant differences in MAVE by degree of risk factor control were observed at 30 days (none uncontrolled: 5.8%, 1 uncontrolled: 11.5%, ⩾ 2 uncontrolled: 13.6%; p = 0.01) but not at 1 year (p = 0.08). risk factor control was not associated with outcomes at 1 year after adjustment for patient and PAD-specific characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: risk factor control is poor among patients with PAD. Significant disparities in achieving optimal risk factor control represent a potential target for reducing inequities in outcomes.

The association of healthcare disparities and patient-specific factors on clinical outcomes in peripheral artery disease.

BACKGROUND: PAD increases the risk of cardiovascular mortality and limb loss, and disparities in treatment and outcomes have been described. However, the association of patient-specific characteristics with variation in outcomes is less well known. METHODS: Patients with PAD from Duke University Health System (DUHS) between January 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016 were identified. PAD status was confirmed through ground truth adjudication and predictive modeling using diagnosis codes, procedure codes, and other administrative data. Symptom severity, lower extremity imaging, and ankle-brachial index (ABI) were manually abstracted from the electronic health record (EHR). Data was linked to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data to provide longitudinal follow up. Primary outcome was major adverse vascular events (MAVE), a composite of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, lower extremity revascularization and amputation. RESULTS: Of 1,768 patients with PAD, 31.6% were asymptomatic, 41.2% had intermittent claudication (IC), and 27.3% had chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). At 1 year, patients with CLTI had higher rates of MAVE compared with asymptomatic or IC patients. CLTI and Medicaid dual eligibility were independent predictors of mortality. CLTI and Black race were associated with amputation. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of MAVE were highest in patients with CLTI, but patients with IC or asymptomatic disease also had high rates of adverse events. Black and Medicaid dual-eligible patients were disproportionately present in the CLTI subgroup and were at higher risk of amputation and mortality, respectively. Future studies must focus on early identification of high-risk patient groups to improve outcomes in patients with PAD.

Sacubitril/Valsartan Initiation and Postdischarge Adherence Among Patients Hospitalized for Heart Failure.

BACKGROUND: We investigated associations between timing of sacubitril/valsartan initiation and postdischarge adherence among patients hospitalized for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Clinical trials support initiation of sacubitril/valsartan among patients hospitalized with HFrEF. The association between timing of initiation and postdischarge adherence is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed patients hospitalized for HFrEF (EF of ≤40%) within the Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure registry linked with Medicare claims between October 2015 and September 2017 who were eligible for sacubitril/valsartan. Follow-up was through December 2018. Patients were grouped by timing of sacubitril/valsartan initiation. Sacubitril/valsartan adherence at 90 and 365 days after discharge was assessed by calculating proportion of days covered (PDC) using medication fills. Among 4666 patients, 108 (2.3%) were continued on sacubitril/valsartan (on sacubitril/valsartan at admission and discharge), 191 (4.1%) were initiated as inpatients, 130 (2.8%) were initiated at discharge, and 4237 (90.1%) were discharged without sacubitril/valsartan. Median (25th, 75th) proportion of days covered through 90 days among those continued, initiated as inpatients, and initiated at discharge was 0.9 (0.6-0.1), 0.3 (0.0-0.7), and 0.0 (0.0-0.7), respectively (P < .001). Patients discharged without sacubitril/valsartan had very low rates of any sacubitril/valsartan fills within 90 and 365 days of discharge (2.1% and 7.7% of surviving patients, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In 2015-2017 US clinical practice, more than 90% of eligible patients hospitalized for HFrEF were discharged without sacubitril/valsartan. Patients initiated as inpatients had a higher postdischarge proportion of days covered than patients initiated at discharge. Patients discharged without sacubitril/valsartan were unlikely to receive it during follow-up. These findings highlight the importance of initiating sacubitril/valsartan during hospitalization to improve the quality of care.

COVID-19 Legacy.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 virus that led to a pandemic. Acute manifestations of COVID-19 include fever, cough, dyspnea, respiratory failure, pneumonitis, anosmia, thromboembolic events, cardiogenic shock, renal injury, ischemic strokes, encephalitis, and cutaneous eruptions, especially of hands or feet. Prolonged symptoms, unpredictable recoveries, and chronic sequelae (long COVID) sometimes emerge even for some people who survive the initial illness. Sequelae such as fatigue occasionally persist even for those with only mild to moderate cases. There is much to learn about postacute COVID-19 dyspnea, anosmia, psychosis, thyroiditis, cardiac arrhythmia, and/or multisystem inflammatory response syndrome in children. Determining prognoses is imprecise. Examining patient databases about those who have survived COVID-19 is warranted. Multidisciplinary teams are assessing such disease databases to better understand longer-term complications and guide treatment.

What if Depressed and Pregnant?

Depression is the most prevalent mood disorder among pregnant women. Only 50% of women seek intervention during gestation. Untreated during pregnancy, depression can induce obstetric and neonatal complications, most commonly, anhedonia, suboptimal weight gain, suicidal behavior, pre-term birth, and/or spontaneous miscarriage. The babies more often suffer cognitive deficits, low birth weight, and growth delay. The mothers subsequently also experience an increased risk for significant degrees of postpartum depression. Those with relatively milder cases of depression should initially receive psychotherapy. Otherwise, there are many antidepressant medications available for the pharmacotherapy of depression. However, treating pregnant females with depression is a challenge because of potential teratogenic effects caused by many pharmaceuticals. Physicians should know the recommended guidelines for treating depressed women during a time of gestation. It is crucial to identify women suffering from depression during pregnancy, and electing those that warrant pharmacotherapy while picking the best and safest medication is a complex process with paramount significance. Before prescribing an antidepressant drug, explain the advantages and disadvantages of the interventions. Whenever prescribing during these circumstances, more than conventionally close obstetric, emotional, and medication monitoring is to be provided. This would also include an emphasis on diet, exercise, psychotherapy, and avoidance of any non-critical medicinal or other substance exposures.

Measurement Properties of the CAPACITY Instrument to Assess Perceived Communication With the Health Care Team Among Care Partners of Patients With Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: The CAregiver Perceptions About CommunIcaTion with Clinical Team members (CAPACITY) instrument measures how care partners perceive themselves to be supported by the patient's health care team and their experiences communicating with the team. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to assess the measurement properties (ie, structural validity of the construct and internal consistency) of the CAPACITY instrument in care partners of patients with cognitive impairment, and to examine whether care partner health literacy and patient cognitive impairment are associated with a higher or lower CAPACITY score. RESEARCH DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: A total of 1746 dyads of community-dwelling care partners and older adults in the United States with cognitive impairment who obtained an amyloid positron emission tomography scan. MEASURES: The CAPACITY instrument comprises 12 items that can be combined as a total score or examined as subdomain scores about communication with the team and care partner capacity-assessment by the team. The 2 covariates of primary interest in the regression model are health literacy and level of cognitive impairment of the patient (Modified Telephone Interview Cognitive Status). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis showed the CAPACITY items fit the expected 2-factor structure (communication and capacity). Higher cognitive functioning of patients and higher health literacy among care partners was associated with lower communication domain scores, lower capacity domain scores, and lower overall CAPACITY scores. CONCLUSIONS: The strong psychometric validity of the CAPACITY measure indicates it could have utility in other family caregivers or care partner studies assessing the quality of interactions with clinical teams. Knowing that CAPACITY differs by care partner health literacy and patient impairment level may help health care teams employ tailored strategies to achieve high-quality care partner interactions.

Association of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Stroke: A Rising Concern.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). It quickly became pandemic, and so did a new concern about COVID-19 infections increasing the risk for cerebrovascular diseases. There is an association between COVID-19 illness in people and acute stroke. Several chemical, mechanical, and/or inflammatory central nervous system pathologies are proposed to explain how this viral infection might induce acute cerebrovascular disease. Timely available evaluation and/or intervention is imperative for patients with concerns about acute cerebrovascular issues.

Munchausen Syndrome.

Munchausen syndrome is a factitious disorder that is difficult to diagnose and treat. This article clarifies points for clinical recognition and management of patients with this condition. Patients with this condition often are dramatic and provide false and/or exaggerated symptoms or information. They solicit attention from physicians, going doctor-to-doctor, having repeated diagnostic tests, procedures, hospitalizations, and evidence little improvement. Adherence to treatment plans is generally suboptimal and the patients frequently leave the hospital against medical advice. A compassionate, multidisciplinary approach to treatment is advised. It often includes conjoint clinical communication between the primary care physician and a psychiatrist. Open, supportive discussion with the patient about his or her condition is important. Long-term psychotherapy and follow-up are recommended.

Sports-Injury Encephalopathy.

Sports-related encephalopathies are a growing concern among athletes who have experienced head trauma. Anxiety is heightened for the public and especially among parents of children playing contact sports. The most common neuropsychological conditions are concussions and traumatic encephalopathies. Concussions result from brain traumas that can be asymptomatic, but more serious concussions can include loss of consciousness, neurological abnormalities, and/or posttraumatic amnesias. Repetitive concussions lead to persistent brain pathology, known as chronic traumatic encephalopathies. This gradually progressive neurodegenerative disease frequently presents with cognitive and neurological deficits, which can result in significant parkinsonian features and dementia. Imaging studies may be noncontributory; however, diffusion tensor imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and functional magnetic resonance imaging can detect changes indicative of these encephalopathies. Progressive neuronal degeneration with tau proteins are documented on pathological examination. Prevention, early diagnosis, and proper treatment are the recommended approach to these conditions.

E-Cigarette Toxicity?

Tobacco smoking is the most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality. In just a few short years, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have become increasingly popular, especially for younger individuals. Many people believe that e-cigarettes are safe. The inhaled aerosols of e-cigarettes contain numerous potential toxicities, some of which could be dangerous for health with long-term use. The safety of prolonged aerosol exposure is not known. The use of e-cigarettes as a harm-reduction tool at stopping tobacco smoking is not uniformly successful. E-cigarettes may be safer than tobacco products, but repeated prolonged exposure to their aerosols has its own considerable potential risk. The long-term health consequences of their use remain to be established. Physicians should vigorously discourage the use of e-cigarettes and tobacco products, with special emphasis on abstinence for younger people and during pregnancy or lactation.

Cardiovascular events and hospital resource utilization pre- and post-transcatheter mitral valve repair in high-surgical risk patients.

MitraClip is an approved therapy for mitral regurgitation (MR); however, health care resource utilization pre- and post-MitraClip remains understudied. METHODS: Patients with functional and degenerative MR at high surgical risk in the EVEREST II High-Risk Registry and REALISM Continued-Access Study were linked to Medicare data. Pre- and post-MitraClip all-cause death, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure (HF), and bleeding hospitalizations were identified. Inpatient costs, adjusted to 2010 US dollars, were calculated, and event rate ratios and cost ratios were estimated with multivariable modeling. RESULTS: Among 403 linked patients, the mean age was 80 years, 60% were male, mean baseline left ventricular ejection fraction was 49.6%, 83.3% were New York Heart Association class III/IV, 78.2% were MR grade 3+/4+, and 63.3% had functional MR. All-cause hospitalization decreased from 1,854 to 1,435/1,000 person-years (P<.001). HF hospitalization decreased following MitraClip (749 vs 332/1000 person-years, P<.001), but bleeding increased (199 vs 298/1000 person-years, P<.001). Changes in stroke and myocardial infarction were not statistically significant. Overall mean Medicare costs per patient were similar pre- and post-MitraClip, although there was a significant decrease in mean costs among those that survived a full year after MitraClip ($18,131 [SD $25,130] vs $11,679 [SD $22,486], P=.02). CONCLUSIONS: MitraClip was associated with a reduced rate of all-cause and HF hospitalizations and an increased rate of bleeding hospitalizations. One-year Medicare costs were reduced in those who survived a full year after the MitraClip procedure. Payors and providers seeking to reduce HF hospitalizations and associated Medicare costs may consider MitraClip among appropriate patients likely to survive 1 year.

Modafinil Treatment of Cocaine Dependence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there is none FDA-approved medication to treat cocaine dependency. Studies conducted with various medications, including antipsychotics, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, and others, revealed inconsistent results. OBJECTIVES: To meta-analytically investigate the efficacy and safety of modafinil in the treatment of cocaine-dependent patients. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials with ≥20 subjects comparing the numerical therapeutic outcomes of modafinil with placebo were identified in databases, such as PUBMED, psycINFO, EMBASE, and Clinicaltrials.gov. Relevant data on efficacy and safety were extracted. Relative risk (RR) and standardized mean difference were applied for reporting dichotomous and continuous outcomes respectively. Random effects, subgroup, and meta-regression analyses were conducted to further explore the results and evaluate for any moderators. RESULTS: In total, 11 studies (participants = 896, duration = 6.7 ± 1.9 weeks) comparing modafinil with placebo were systematically analyzed, which indicated that modafinil was not superior to placebo in improving the treatment retention rate (studies = 11, participants = 891, RR = 1.030, 95% CI = 0.918-1.156, p = .613). Similarly, data from 7/11 studies did not evidence superiority of modafinil in achieving cocaine abstinence (participants = 696, RR = 1.259, 95% CI = 0.813-1.949, p = .302). However, subgroup analysis of six studies conducted in the United States demonstrated superiority of modafinil in cocaine abstinence rate (studies = 6, participants = 669, 95% CI = 1.027-2.020, p = 0.035). In addition, no evidence suggested modafinil-related discontinuation or specific adverse events than placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, there is no evidence to conclude superiority of modafinil in increasing cocaine abstinence and treatment retention rate. However, promising result in subgroup analysis of cocaine abstinence, secondary outcomes, and good safety profile urged the need of larger studies to derive more conclusive results.

Benefits of Dexmedetomidine in Management of Post-ECT Agitation.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an intervention for patients with a variety of psychiatric conditions. Occasionally, people exhibit dangerous degrees of agitation after this treatment, and some do not respond well to conventional pharmacotherapies. Dexmedetomidine is a central α-2 agonist that can induce significantly calmative effects in persons with post-ECT agitation. The indication for it is in calming individuals with acute and/or recurrent posttreatment agitation. Dexmedetomidine is safe and effective when infused just before, or postictally, at ECT sessions.

Deep Brain Stimulation for Treatment-Refractory Depression.

Depression has a high lifetime prevalence and recurrence rate, with more than one-third of affected patients experiencing treatment-refractory depression. These individuals should benefit from additional treatment options such as deep brain stimulation (DBS), a research-grade intervention. DBS is being investigated for its efficacy in treatment-refractory cases. We reviewed the English-language literature published between the years 2010 and 2015 regarding the utility of DBS for patients with treatment-refractory depression. The literature review revealed that most DBS research is open label, with few large randomized, placebo-controlled trials to confirm results. Long-term response rates with DBS were between 40% and 70%, with clinical effects depending on location of electrode placement. Improvement was documented to last for months to years. Although DBS is potentially efficacious and a relatively safe option for patients with treatment resistance, it is invasive, costly, and still considered experimental. Understanding of the neurobiology of depression, the mechanism of DBS action, and biomarkers that may predict patient response remains obscure. Future research should contain careful design, including homogenous inclusion criteria and characterization of pretreatment patient mood, somatic complaints, and cognition; consistent outcome measures; monitoring of depressive symptoms at different brain-positioning targets across an adequate time course; and records of stimulus parameters.

Pharmacogenomics Can Enhance Prescribing of Psychiatric Medications.

Many psychiatric patients experience pharmaceutical intolerances, and some of them do not derive optimal efficacy from their pharmacotherapies. Clinical problems such as these may result in prolonged dysfunction, adverse consequences, and repeated changes in medication treatment regimens. Pharmacogenomics is a laboratory method that aids individualized medication selection by predicting drug efficacy and adverse effect profiles. It is a technique that involves the testing of patients' genetic makeup to improve medicinal response and tolerance. Pharmacogenomics aims to clarify pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in addition to focusing on hepatic cytochrome enzyme metabolism. Ultimately, it facilitates optimal selection and adjustment of medications to enhance clinical outcomes. Pharmacogenomics is most useful in cases in which routinely prescribed pharmacotherapies are either suboptimally effective or have unacceptable adverse effects. Once there has been a failure of a therapeutic drug treatment, rather than "blindly" selecting an alternative medicine, pharmacogenomic test results can provide guidance for the selection of the most appropriate drug and its dose. The intent is to yield a greater likelihood of patient success in following a therapeutic intervention.