Project description:Despite tremendous advancements in electrocardiography machine algorithms, accurately diagnosing dextrocardia, pseudodextrocardia, and limb lead reversal remains a serious challenge. We present the case of a patient with acquired cardiac dextroposition, or "pseudodextrocardia," in which the electrocardiography machine algorithm incorrectly interpreted the finding as "dextrocardia vs limb lead reversal." (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).
Project description:BackgroundSpontaneous pneumomediastinum recurrence is rare, and its clinical presentation is unclear. We investigated the clinical features of and predisposing factors for spontaneous pneumomediastinum recurrence.MethodsWe retrospectively investigated 30 consecutive patients treated for new-onset spontaneous pneumomediastinum at Shinshu Ueda Medical Center between 2012 and 2021. We evaluated the patient background characteristics, trigger activity, radiological findings, and clinical course of spontaneous pneumomediastinum, including those of recurrent cases. Predisposing factors for spontaneous pneumomediastinum recurrence were evaluated by comparing patients with and without recurrence.ResultsMost patients were male (87%). The median age of the patients was 16 years (range, 12-26 years). Among the 30 patients, five experienced at least one recurrence of spontaneous pneumomediastinum. All recurrences occurred within 1 year after new-onset spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Clinical presentations associated with spontaneous pneumomediastinum recurrence, including vital signs, laboratory data, length of hospital stay, and radiological extent of spontaneous pneumomediastinum, were similar to or less aggressive than those associated with new-onset spontaneous pneumomediastinum. Patients with recurrence were more likely to have a medical history of preexisting lung diseases, such as asthma, than those without recurrence (60% vs. 8%; P=0.022). Only one of five patients with recurrence had trigger activity at spontaneous pneumomediastinum onset (20%); however, 60% of patients without recurrence had trigger activity (P=0.15).ConclusionsSpontaneous pneumomediastinum recurrence may have a similar or less aggressive clinical presentation than new-onset spontaneous pneumomediastinum. The presence of preexisting lung diseases may increase the risk of spontaneous pneumomediastinum recurrence.
Project description:Primary spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a rare, often benign and self-limited condition defined by air within the mediastinum. However, correctly distinguishing primary spontaneous pneumomediastinum from secondary causes, especially esophageal perforation, remains a diagnostic challenge. There is significant debate regarding the balance of completing a thorough but not overly invasive and costly diagnostic workup. This clinical review aims to gather the limited data regarding spontaneous pneumomediastinum management from case series and retrospective cohort studies, and presents an evaluation algorithm and treatment plan stratified by clinical history. Understanding specifically if the patient presents with coughing versus forceful vomiting is critical to help elucidate the etiology and guide management of pneumomediastinum. Patients who present with forceful vomiting or retching should be considered with higher degree of suspicion for secondary causes of pneumomediastinum, specifically esophageal perforation. However, especially in children, aggressive diagnostic workup is not warranted in every case. After ruling out other etiologies of pneumomediastinum, spontaneous pneumomediastinum can be commonly treated with symptomatic management without the aggressive use of antibiotics or diet restriction. Hospital length of stay may also be minimized on a case-by-case basis. Overall, recurrence of spontaneous pneumomediastinum is rare and outpatient follow up may be safely limited to those at highest risk of recurrence.
Project description:BackgroundDespite widespread belief in the importance of patient-centred care, it remains difficult to create a system in which all groups work together for the good of the patient. Part of the problem may be that the issue of patient-centred care itself can be used to prosecute intergroup conflict.ObjectiveThis qualitative study of texts examined the presence and nature of intergroup language within the discourse on patient-centred care.MethodsA systematic SCOPUS and Google search identified 85 peer-reviewed and grey literature reports that engaged with the concept of patient-centred care. Discourse analysis, informed by the social identity approach, examined how writers defined and portrayed various groups.ResultsManagers, physicians and nurses all used the discourse of patient-centred care to imply that their own group was patient centred while other group(s) were not. Patient organizations tended to downplay or even deny the role of managers and providers in promoting patient centredness, and some used the concept to advocate for controversial health policies. Intergroup themes were even more obvious in the rhetoric of political groups across the ideological spectrum. In contrast to accounts that juxtaposed in-groups and out-groups, those from reportedly patient-centred organizations defined a 'mosaic' in-group that encompassed managers, providers and patients.ConclusionThe seemingly benign concept of patient-centred care can easily become a weapon on an intergroup battlefield. Understanding this dimension may help organizations resolve the intergroup tensions that prevent collective achievement of a patient-centred system.
Project description:ObjectivesThe shift to the patient-centred care (PCC) model as a healthcare delivery paradigm calls for systematic measurement and evaluation. In an attempt to develop patient-centred quality indicators (PC-QIs), this study aimed to identify quality indicators that can be used to measure PCC.MethodsDesign: scoping review.Data sourcesstudies were identified through searching seven electronic databases and the grey literature. Search terms included quality improvement, quality indicators, healthcare quality and PCC. Eligibility Criteria: articles were included if they mentioned development and/or implementation of PC-QIs.Data extraction and synthesisextracted data included study characteristics (country, year of publication and type of study/article), patients' inclusion in the development of indicators and type of patient populations and point of care if applicable (eg, in-patient, out-patient and primary care).ResultsA total 184 full-text peer-reviewed articles were assessed for eligibility for inclusion; of these, 9 articles were included in this review. From the non-peer-reviewed literature, eight documents met the criteria for inclusion in this study. This review revealed the heterogeneity describing and defining the nature of PC-QIs. Most PC-QIs were presented as PCC measures and identified as guidelines, surveys or recommendations, and therefore cannot be classified as actual PC-QIs. Out of 502 ways to measure PCC, only 25 were considered to be actual PC-QIs. None of the identified articles implemented the quality indicators in care settings.ConclusionThe identification of PC-QIs is a key first step in laying the groundwork to develop evidence-based PC-QIs. Research is needed to continue the development and implementation of PC-QIs for healthcare quality improvement.
Project description:PURPOSE: Assessment of current practice with a valid set of indicators is the key to successfully improving the quality of patient-centred care. For improvement purposes, we developed indicators of patient-centred cancer care and tested them on a population of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: Recommendations for patient-centred care were extracted from clinical guidelines, and patients were interviewed to develop indicators for assessing the patient-centredness of cancer care. These indicators were tested with regard to psychometric characteristics (room for improvement, applicability, discriminating capacity and reliability) on 132 patients with NSCLC treated in six hospitals in the east Netherlands. Data were collected from patients by means of questionnaires. RESULTS: Eight domains of patient-centred cancer care were extracted from 61 oncology guidelines and 37 patient interviews and were translated into 56 indicators. The practice test amongst patients with NSCLC showed the most room for improvement within the domains 'emotional and psychosocial support', 'physical support' and 'information supply'. Overall, 26 of the 56 indicators had good psychometric characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Developing a valid set of patient-centred indicators is a first step towards improving the patient centredness of cancer care. Indicators can be based on recommendations from guidelines, but adding patient opinions leads to a more complete picture of patient centredness. The practice test on patients with NSCLC showed that the patient centredness of cancer care can be improved. Our set of indicators may also be useful for future quality assessments for other patients with cancers or chronic diseases.
Project description:Background: Patient-centred care has received increased attention in recent years. Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs) and shared decision-making are key components of Patient-Centred care. Low back pain (LBP) is a complex symptom affected by multiple, interacting factors. Therefore, evidence strongly recommend a biopsychosocial and patient-centred approach in the assessment and management. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provide a biopsychosocial model for describing functioning and disability. ICF is widely acknowledged, but implementation into clinical practice is lacking. To support the use of a biopsychosocial and patient-centred approach in daily clinical practice among patients with LBP we developed a practice-friendly tool based on ICF; the LBP assessment tool. Objective: To compare an ICF-based assessment facilitated by the LBP assessment tool with standard care in terms of the use of PROs and shared decision-making in order to promote patient-centred care in patients with LBP. Methods: A non-randomized controlled design was used. Eligible patients were allocated to one of two groups: the ICF group, assessed with the LBP assessment tool or the control group, assessed with a conventional LBP assessment. Primary outcome includes use of PROs. Secondary outcomes include use of a graphical overview displaying the patient profile and shared decision-making. A patient evaluation questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Seven hundred ten patients were assessed for eligibility of whom 531 were allocated to the ICF group (n = 299) or the control group (n = 232). A significantly higher use of PRO data (p < 0.00) and the patient profile (p < 0.00) was reported in favor of the ICF group. Patients in the ICF group also experienced being more involved in decision-making (p = 0.01). Conclusions: This study showed that a functioning assessment, by means of the LBP assessment tool, increased use of PROs and shared decision-making when compared to a conventional LBP assessment. Additionally, this study demonstrated that routine use of ICF-based PRO data and shared decision-making promoted patient-centred care in patients with LBP. The LBP assessment tool may be a strong candidate for a user-friendly ICF-based tool with the potential to support health professionals in a shift toward a biopsychosocial and patient-centred approach to patients with LBP.
Project description:BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is associated with spontaneous pneumomediastinum (SPM) predominantly in those after positive pressure ventilation (PPV) support. Additionally, many cases of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in COVID-19 patients were described. Our case is the first to describe SPM and VTE present on admission in a patient with Covid -19 pneumonia.Case reportA 53-year-old man presented to the hospital with escalating dyspnea. Two weeks prior to this visit, he had been evaluated in an ambulatory setting and was started on antibiotics and systemic steroids. In the hospital, this patient was found to be in acute hypoxic respiratory failure and was placed on noninvasive PPV. Diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test from nasopharyngeal swab specimen. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan revealed multi-lobar pulmonary emboli (PE) and subcutaneous emphysema with pneumomediastinum. The patient was managed conservatively. He never required closed invasive mechanical ventilation. Subsequent serial imaging displayed the resolution of SPM.ConclusionThe association between VTE and COVID-19 has been established. This report brings attention to SPM as an additional important complication of COVID-19, even in patients without pre-existing predisposing pathology or exposure to PPV.
Project description:Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) is the prototype for ethnic-based carrier screening, with a carrier rate of ∼1/27 in Ashkenazi Jews and French Canadians. HexA enzyme analysis is the current gold standard for TSD carrier screening (detection rate ∼98%), but has technical limitations. We compared DNA analysis by next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) plus an assay for the 7.6 kb deletion to enzyme analysis for TSD carrier screening using 74 samples collected from participants at a TSD family conference. Fifty-one of 74 participants had positive enzyme results (46 carriers, five late-onset Tay-Sachs [LOTS]), 16 had negative, and seven had inconclusive results. NGS + 7.6 kb del screening of HEXA found a pathogenic mutation, pseudoallele, or variant of unknown significance (VUS) in 100% of the enzyme-positive or obligate carrier/enzyme-inconclusive samples. NGS detected the B1 allele in two enzyme-negative obligate carriers. Our data indicate that NGS can be used as a TSD clinical carrier screening tool. We demonstrate that NGS can be superior in detecting TSD carriers compared to traditional enzyme and genotyping methodologies, which are limited by false-positive and false-negative results and ethnically focused, limited mutation panels, respectively, but is not ready for sole use due to lack of information regarding some VUS.
Project description:INTRODUCTION:Patient-centred infertility care (PCIC) is one of the quality indicators of effective fertility care. The application of this indicator requires a clear definition from the patient's perspective. This proposed scoping review aims to explore the extent and nature of published scientific literature on PCIC in the past decade, identify gaps in the literature and define PCIC from infertile patients' perspectives. METHODS AND ANALYSIS:We will conduct the proposed scoping review following the method of Arksey and O'Malley. The literature search will include studies published from 2009 to 2019, and will be conducted on the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases; reference lists will be mined for literature not contained on these databases. A grey literature search will also be conducted. To be included in the review, studies should have been conducted on people with a history of infertility, with a focus on patient-centred fertility care. Studies that have not been published in full text and studies published in languages other than English will be excluded. After study selection, data will be charted in a prepared form. We will analyse the data using descriptive numerical and qualitative thematic analyses to answer the research questions. NVivo V.12 will be used for data extraction. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION:This work does not warrant any ethical or safety concerns. This scoping review will synthesise existing literature on PCIC, and the results will be published to be readily available for clinical audiences and policymakers. These findings may support clinicians and decision-makers in applying PCIC, thereby promoting high-quality healthcare in the concerned population.