scholarly journals Ethnic variations in referrals to the Leicester memory and dementia assessment service, 2010 to 2017

BJPsych Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Wilson ◽  
John Bankart ◽  
Emma Regen ◽  
Kay Phelps ◽  
Shona Agarwal ◽  
...  

Background The incidence of dementia in Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups is increasing in the UK, with concern about underdiagnosis and late presentation. Aims By reviewing referrals to memory clinics from Leicester City we examined whether the following differed by ethnicity: the proportion with a diagnosis of dementia, type of dementia and severity at presentation. Method We examined referrals between 2010 and 2017: all those whose ethnicity was recorded as Black (n = 131) and a random sample of 260 Asian and 259 White British referrals. Severity of dementia was assessed by record review. Odds ratios (ORs) were adjusted for general practice, age, gender and year of referral. Results A diagnosis of dementia was recorded in 193 (74.5%) White British, 96 (73.3%) Black and 160 (61.5%) Asian referrals. Compared with Asians, White British had twice the adjusted odds of a dementia diagnosis (OR = 1.99 (1.23–3.22). Of those with dementia, Alzheimer's disease was more common in White British (57.0%) than in Asian (43.8%) and Black referrals (51.0%): adjusted OR White British versus Asian 1.76 (1.11–2.77). Of those with dementia, the proportion with moderate/severe disease was highest in White British (66.8%), compared with 61.9% in Asian and 45.8% in Black groups. The adjusted OR for the White versus Black groups was 2.03 (1.10–3.72), with no significant difference between Asian and White British groups. Conclusions Differences in confirmed dementia suggest general practitioners have a lower threshold for referral for possible dementia in some BAME groups. Unlike other centres, we found no evidence of greater severity at presentation in Asian and Black groups.

Dementia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 3004-3022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cate Bailey ◽  
Jemima Dooley ◽  
Rose McCabe

Recent drives to facilitate earlier identification of dementia have led to increased memory clinic referrals and diagnoses. This study explored the perspectives of memory clinic doctors on making and delivering diagnoses. Four focus groups were conducted with 13 psychiatrists and two geriatricians in the UK. Transcripts were coded line by line using NVIVO. Thematic analysis identified 39 categories, 18 sub-themes and eight overarching themes. Inter-rater reliability on 31% of the data was 0.89. Increased public awareness of dementia was viewed positively in facilitating access to diagnosis and treatment. Doctors viewed diagnosis as a process and expressed concerns about limited pre-diagnostic counselling and post-diagnostic support. In diagnostic delivery doctors sought to develop a narrative drawing on the patient’s report of symptoms and adjust explanations to patient preferences and awareness. However, tailoring the delivery to the individual patient was challenging when meeting for the first time. These consultations often involved three participants (doctor, patient and relative), who were felt to have differing needs and expectations. Doctors emphasized that delicacy was required in deciding in what could be discussed in front of both parties, however also stressed the importance of explicitly naming ‘dementia’. Efforts were made to balance honesty and hope when discussing prognosis and medication. The work was sometimes emotionally distressing, with limited supervision. Existing communication training was felt to be inadequate for consultations involving triads or people with cognitive impairment. Delivering a dementia diagnosis is a nuanced and challenging task. Negotiating honest descriptions of a life-limiting condition whilst instilling hope is further complicated when cognitive impairment affects comprehension. Misunderstandings at the time of feedback may limit patient opportunities for informed future planning afforded by early diagnosis. Doctors in memory clinics would benefit from evidence based training and supervision to prepare them for these emotionally challenging and complex consultations.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shirish Dubey ◽  
Kanta Kumar ◽  
Helen Bunting ◽  
Tom Sheeran ◽  
Barbara Douglas ◽  
...  

Abstract Background/Aims  COVID-19 has created numerous challenges for people globally. In the UK, few studies have reported poorer outcomes for certain ethnic populations. UK government introduced shielding guidance to protect the most vulnerable patients and this was in force for a number of months. However, shielding guidance was initially released only in English, which resulted in further disenfranchisement of the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community (BAME). We undertook an audit to understand experiences of shielding particularly in rheumatological BAME patients in multi-ethnic communities in 3 centres - Wolverhampton, Leicester and Oxford. Methods  This study was approved in all three sites as an audit. Patients contacting rheumatology helpline or having routine consultations were included. Each centre aimed to recruit at least 20 patients. A questionnaire was developed to capture important data on shielding. The study was conducted between May and June 2020 during the peak of the first wave of Covid 19. Results  We recruited 79 patients into this audit, of these 54 were of BAME and 25 of Caucasian ethnicity with 17 males and 62 females. Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) was the commonest diagnosis in 49 of these patients (62%) and these patients were older (median ages 56 vs. 46 years, p = 0.14). BSR risk scoring algorithm was used to determine need for shielding (BSR score of 3 or more) - 38 patients fell into this category. The remaining patients had scored lower and had the option of shielding or enhanced social distancing. Of the 13 Caucasian patients who should have been shielding, 11 were (85%). Of the 25 BAME patients who should have been shielding: 17 were, and 8 were not (68%, p = 0.26; 65% looking at South Asian patients alone). Understanding of reasons for shielding was clear for 21 out of 25 Caucasian patients (84%). In contrast, 33 of 54 patients from BAME backgrounds (61%) were clear on this (p = 0.10). Within Wolverhampton and Leicester, the numbers are starker with 20 out of 37 (54%) being clear on this. Very few Caucasian patients made changes to their existing medications with 84% carrying on their medications as they were before the onset of COVID 19. However, of 54 BAME patients, 14 patients had stopped medications - either by themselves or as per advice of health professionals (74%, p = 0.16). There was a significant difference between centres in patients stopping medications with patients from Leicester much more likely (p < 0.001). Conclusion  Despite the small numbers, the data clearly suggest that BAME patients were less likely to understand the reasons for shielding, to follow shielding advice, and more likely to change their medications, thereby risking a flare. Addressing culturally competent educational needs and health equality for BAME rheumatology patients continues to remain a challenge. Disclosure  S. Dubey: None. K. Kumar: None. H. Bunting: None. T. Sheeran: None. B. Douglas: None. J. Sabu: None. M. Attwal: None. A. Moorthy: Honoraria; UCB, MSD, AbbVie.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Surendranathan ◽  
J. Kane ◽  
A. Bentley ◽  
S. Barker ◽  
R. McNally ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and dementia in Parkinson’s disease (PDD) are recognised to be under-recognised in clinical practice in the UK, with only one third to a half of expected cases diagnosed. We aimed to assess whether clinical diagnostic rates could be increased by the introduction of a structured assessment toolkit for clinicians. Methods We established baseline diagnostic rates for DLB and PDD in four memory clinics and three movement disorder/Parkinson’s disease (PD) clinics in two separate geographical regions in the UK. An assessment toolkit specifically developed to assist with the recognition and diagnosis of DLB and PDD was then introduced to the same clinical teams and diagnostic rates for DLB and PDD were reassessed. For assessing DLB diagnosis, a total of 3820 case notes were reviewed before the introduction of the toolkit, and 2061 case notes reviewed after its introduction. For PDD diagnosis, a total of 1797 case notes were reviewed before the introduction of the toolkit and 3405 case notes after it. Mean values and proportions were analysed using Student’s t test for independent samples and χ2 test, respectively. Results DLB was diagnosed in 4.6% of dementia cases prior to the introduction of the toolkit, and 6.2% of dementia cases afterwards, an absolute rise of 1.6%, equal to a 35% increase in the number of DLB cases diagnosed when using the toolkit (χ2 = 4.2, P = 0.041). The number of PD patients diagnosed with PDD was not found overall to be significantly different when using the toolkit: 9.6% of PD cases before and 8.2% of cases after its introduction (χ2 = 1.8, P = 0.18), though the ages of PD patients assessed after the toolkit’s introduction were lower (73.9 years vs 80.0 years, t = 19.2, p < 0.001). Conclusion Introduction of the assessment toolkit was associated with a significant increase in the rate of DLB diagnosis, suggesting that a structured means of assessing symptoms and clinical features associated with DLB can assist clinicians in recognising cases. The assessment toolkit did not alter the overall rate of PDD diagnosis, suggesting that alternate means may be required to improve the rate of diagnosis of dementia in Parkinson’s disease.


Crisis ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-272
Author(s):  
Sean Cross ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra ◽  
Paul I. Dargan ◽  
David M. Wood ◽  
Shaun L. Greene ◽  
...  

Background: Self-poisoning (overdose) is the commonest form of self-harm cases presenting to acute secondary care services in the UK, where there has been limited investigation of self-harm in black and minority ethnic communities. London has the UK’s most ethnically diverse areas but presents challenges in resident-based data collection due to the large number of hospitals. Aims: To investigate the rates and characteristics of self-poisoning presentations in two central London boroughs. Method: All incident cases of self-poisoning presentations of residents of Lambeth and Southwark were identified over a 12-month period through comprehensive acute and mental health trust data collection systems at multiple hospitals. Analysis was done using STATA 12.1. Results: A rate of 121.4/100,000 was recorded across a population of more than half a million residents. Women exceeded men in all measured ethnic groups. Black women presented 1.5 times more than white women. Gender ratios within ethnicities were marked. Among those aged younger than 24 years, black women were almost 7 times more likely to present than black men were. Conclusion: Self-poisoning is the commonest form of self-harm presentation to UK hospitals but population-based rates are rare. These results have implications for formulating and managing risk in clinical services for both minority ethnic women and men.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Setareh Alabaf ◽  
Karen O'Connell ◽  
Sithara Ramdas ◽  
David Beeson ◽  
Jacqueline Palace

Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome (CMS) are a rare group of genetic disorders of neuromuscular transmission. Some subtypes of CMS can be associated with respiratory and bulbar weakness and these patients may therefore be at high risk of developing a severe disease from COVID-19. We screened 73 patients with genetically confirmed CMS who were attending the UK national referral centre for evidence of previous Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus 2 infection and their clinical outcome. Of 73 patients, seven had history of confirmed COVID-19. None of the infected patients developed a severe disease, and there were no signals that CMS alone carries a high risk of severe disease from COVID-19.


2021 ◽  
pp. archdischild-2020-321277
Author(s):  
Matko Marlais ◽  
Kate Martin ◽  
Stephen D Marks

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate whether being on dialysis at the time of renal transplantation affected renal allograft survival in paediatric renal transplant recipients (pRTRs).MethodsRetrospective study of UK Transplant Registry (National Health Service Blood and Transplant) data on all children (aged <18 years) receiving a kidney-only transplant from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2015. Kaplan-Meier estimates of patient and renal allograft survival calculated and Cox regression modelling accounting for donor type. The relationship between time on dialysis and renal allograft survival was examined.Results2038 pRTRs were analysed: 607 (30%) were pre-emptively transplanted, 789 (39%) and 642 (32%) on peritoneal dialysis and haemodialysis, respectively, at the time of transplantation. Five-year renal allograft survival was significantly better in the pre-emptively transplanted group (90.6%) compared with those on peritoneal dialysis and haemodialysis (86.4% and 85.7%, respectively; p=0.02). After accounting for donor type, there was a significantly lower hazard of 5-year renal allograft failure in pre-emptively transplanted children (HR 0.742, p=0.05). Time spent on dialysis pre-transplant negatively correlated with renal allograft survival (p=0.002). There was no significant difference in 5-year renal allograft survival between children who were on dialysis for less than 6 months and children transplanted pre-emptively (87.5% vs 90.5%, p=0.25).ConclusionsPre-emptively transplanted children have improved 5-year renal allograft survival, compared with children on dialysis at the time of transplantation. Although increased time spent on dialysis correlated with poorer renal allograft survival, there was no evidence that short periods of dialysis pre-transplant affected renal allograft survival.


Author(s):  
Ganesh Vigneswaran ◽  
Drew Maclean ◽  
Mohammed Hadi ◽  
Benjamin Maher ◽  
Sachin Modi ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose To compare the relative IPSS (International Prostate Symptom Score) improvement in storage and voiding symptoms between prostatic artery embolization (PAE) and transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Method Retrospective analysis of the UK-ROPE (UK Register of Prostate Embolization) multicentre database was conducted with inclusion of all patients with full IPSS questionnaire score data. The voiding and storage subscore improvement was compared between interventions. Student’s t-test (paired and unpaired) and ANOVA (Analysis of variance) were used to identify significant differences between the groups. Results 146 patients (121 PAE, 25 TURP) were included in the analysis. Storage symptoms were more frequently the most severe symptom (‘storage’ in 75 patients vs ‘voiding’ in 17 patients). Between groups, no significant difference was seen in raw storage subscore improvement (TURP 4.9 vs PAE 4.2; p = 0.34) or voiding subscore improvement (TURP 8.4 vs PAE 6.7; p = 0.1). ANOVA demonstrated a greater proportionate reduction (relative to total IPSS) towards voiding symptoms in the TURP group (27.3% TURP vs 9.9% PAE, p = 0.001). Conclusion Although both TURP and PAE improve voiding symptoms more than storage, a significantly larger proportion of total symptom reduction is due to voiding in the TURP cohort, with PAE providing a more balanced improvement between voiding and storage.


Author(s):  
Prasad Nagakumar ◽  
Ceri-Louise Chadwick ◽  
Andrew Bush ◽  
Atul Gupta

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-COV-2 virus fortunately resulted in few children suffering from severe disease. However, the collateral effects on the COVID-19 pandemic appear to have had significant detrimental effects on children affected and young people. There are also some positive impacts in the form of reduced prevalence of viral bronchiolitis. The new strain of SARS-COV-2 identified recently in the UK appears to have increased transmissibility to children. However, there are no large vaccine trials set up in children to evaluate safety and efficacy. In this short communication, we review the collateral effects of COVID-19 pandemic in children and young people. We highlight the need for urgent strategies to mitigate the risks to children due to the COVID-19 pandemic. What is Known:• Children and young people account for <2% of all COVID-19 hospital admissions• The collateral impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people is devastating• Significant reduction in influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in the southern hemisphere What is New:• The public health measures to reduce COVID-19 infection may have also resulted in near elimination of influenza and RSV infections across the globe• A COVID-19 vaccine has been licensed for adults. However, large scale vaccine studies are yet to be initiated although there is emerging evidence of the new SARS-COV-2 strain spreading more rapidly though young people.• Children and young people continue to bear the collateral effects of COVID-19 pandemic


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  

Abstract Introduction The aim of this study was to re-audit the rates of acute kidney injury (AKI) after elective colorectal surgery, following local presentations of results. Method Outcomes After Kidney injury in Surgery (OAKS) and Ileus Management International (IMAGINE), were prospective multicentre audits on consecutive elective colorectal resections, in the UK and Ireland. These were performed over 3-month periods in 2015 and 2018 respectively. During the interim period, results were presented at participating centres to stimulate local quality improvement initiatives. Risk-adjusted 7-day postoperative AKI rates were calculated through multilevel logistic regression based on the OAKS prognostic score. Result Of the 4,917 patients included, 3,133 (63.7%) originated from OAKS and 1,784 (36.3%) from IMAGINE. On univariate analysis, there was no significant difference (p=0.737) in the 7-day AKI rate between OAKS (n=346, 11.8%) and IMAGINE (n=205, 11.5%). However, the risk-adjusted AKI rate in IMAGINE was significantly lower compared to OAKS (-1.8%, 95% CI: -2.3% to -1.3%, p&lt;0.001). Of 47 centres (40.1%) with a recorded local presentation, there was no significant difference in the subsequent AKI rate in IMAGINE (-0.7%, -2.0% to 0.6%, p=0.278). Conclusion Rates of AKI after elective colorectal surgery significantly reduced on re-audit. However, this may be related to increased awareness from participation or national quality improvement initiatives, rather than local presentation of results. Abbrev. AKI - Acute Kidney Injury, OAKS - Outcomes After Kidney injury in Surgery, IMAGINE - Ileus Management International Take-home message Risk-adjusted AKI rates significantly reduced on re-audit, however, this was most likely due to factors separate from the local presentation of initial results.


Open Heart ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e001600
Author(s):  
Joanne Kathryn Taylor ◽  
Haarith Ndiaye ◽  
Matthew Daniels ◽  
Fozia Ahmed

AimsIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK was placed under strict lockdown measures on 23 March 2020. The aim of this study was to quantify the effects on physical activity (PA) levels using data from the prospective Triage-HF Plus Evaluation study.MethodsThis study represents a cohort of adult patients with implanted cardiac devices capable of measuring activity by embedded accelerometery via a remote monitoring platform. Activity data were available for the 4 weeks pre-implementation and post implementation of ‘stay at home’ lockdown measures in the form of ‘minutes active per day’ (min/day).ResultsData were analysed for 311 patients (77.2% men, mean age 68.8, frailty 55.9%. 92.2% established heart failure (HF) diagnosis, of these 51.2% New York Heart Association II), with comorbidities representative of a real-world cohort.Post-lockdown, a significant reduction in median PA equating to 20.8 active min/day was seen. The reduction was uniform with a slightly more pronounced drop in PA for women, but no statistically significant difference with respect to age, body mass index, frailty or device type. Activity dropped in the immediate 2-week period post-lockdown, but steadily returned thereafter. Median activity week 4 weeks post-lockdown remained significantly lower than 4 weeks pre-lockdown (p≤0.001).ConclusionsIn a population of predominantly HF patients with cardiac devices, activity reduced by approximately 20 min active per day in the immediate aftermath of strict COVID-19 lockdown measures.Trial registration numberNCT04177199.


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