scholarly journals The Utilization of Warfarin Dosing Algorithms in China: An Electronic Survey Study

Author(s):  
Yaxin Liu ◽  
Tian Wu ◽  
Yun Kuang ◽  
Xiaoyi Ning ◽  
Jinlian Xie ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Warfarin, a key anticoagulant medication, has a narrow therapeutic window and individual difference. Many warfarin dosing algorithms have been developed and been proved to have clinical benefits. However, the utilization of algorithms by medical professionals in China was unknown. We conducted an online survey to investigate the use and requirements of warfarin dosing algorithms among Chinese medical professionals. Method: A questionnaire survey was conducted via WeChat to investigate the utilization of warfarin dosing algorithms by medical professionals in seven regions of China. The content of questionnaire was included general characteristics of participants, condition of anticoagulant therapy, utilization of warfarin dosing algorithms and demand for function of an assistant warfarin dosing system we proposed.Results: A total of 399 participants completed the survey. Although most medical professionals use warfarin for anticoagulant therapy, some of them (15.04%) were not familiar with warfarin’s individual difference. As high as 32.97% of clinicians ruled out genotypes when using warfarin. The vast majority of anticoagulant medical professionals believed warfarin dosing algorithms can have clinical benefits, but only 20.80% of them usually use algorithms for anticoagulant therapy. Conclusion: Warfarin dosing algorithms have high evaluation while not good utilization among Chinese anticoagulant medical professionals. If warfarin dosing algorithms and assistant tools aimed to Chinese population were developed, to some extent can improve anticoagulant therapy in China.

Stroke ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Mutgi ◽  
Nicholas Lafountain ◽  
Noah Grose ◽  
Michel T Torbey ◽  
Reza Behrouz

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the AHA/ASA endorsed extending the Acute Stroke IV tPA treatment window to 4.5 hours. Four additional exclusionary criteria were advised for treating patients in this extended window. It is unknown how the practice of stroke care has evolved since then. We developed an online survey aimed to evaluate the current practice patterns of neurologists when treating patients in the 3 to 4.5 hour therapeutic window. METHODS: We developed a survey utilizing SurveyMonkey.com. The survey included 6 questions, 1. Subspecialty, 2. Frequency of informed consent when giving IV tPA in the 3 to 4.5 hour window, 3-6. Frequency excluding patient's from treatment in the 3 to 4.5 hour window for any of the additional exclusionary criteria. Answer options for questions 2-6 included: always, often (>50% of the time), seldom(<50% of the time), and never. The publicly available AHA/ASA online member directory was utilized to identify physicians meeting criteria: Council: Stroke, Specialty: Neuro/Stroke, Country: USA. The electronic survey was sent by email to 1000 identified physicians. RESULTS: 260 physicians responded, 230 completed the survey in its entirety and were included in our results. Subspecialties were: 83% vascular neurology, 13% general neurology, and 3% other neurology. Informed consent was always obtained by 33%, often by 22%, seldom by 16%, and never by 28%. Responses for specific exclusion criteria for the 3 to 4.5-hour window were as follows: 1) 34% always excluded patients age >80, 23% often, 29% seldom, and 13% never; 2) 31% always excluded patients with concomitant history of diabetes mellitus and stroke, 21% often, 27% seldom, and 22% never; 3) 28% always excluded patients on warfarin with normal INR, 12% often, 15% seldom, and 46% never; 4) 36% always excluded patients with NIHSS >25, 24% often, 28% seldom, and 12% never. CONCLUSION: Among US neurologists who care for stroke patients, there is notable diversity in practice with respect to IV thrombolysis within the 3 to 4.5-hour window. This may depict disparities in individual interpretation and acknowledgement of the scientific data pertaining to the extended window. There is a tendency towards obtaining informed consent and adherence to all four exclusion criteria, but not universally.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bollwerk ◽  
Bernd Schlipphak ◽  
Joscha Stecker ◽  
Jens Hellmann ◽  
Gerald Echterhoff ◽  
...  

Threat perceptions towards immigrants continue to gain importance in the context of growing international migration. To reduce associated intergroup conflicts, it is crucial to understand the personal and contextual determinants of perceived threat. In a large online survey study (N = 1,184), we investigated the effects of ideology (i.e., Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation), subjective societal status (SSS) and their interaction effects in predicting symbolic and realistic threat perceptions towards Middle Eastern immigrants. Results showed that ideology (higher RWA and SDO) and lower SSS significantly predicted both symbolic and realistic threat, even after controlling for income, education, age, and gender. Furthermore, ideology and SSS interacted significantly in predicting realistic threat, with higher levels of SDO and RWA enhancing the effect of SSS. In the discussion, we focus on the implications of our findings with respect to understanding societal conflicts, discuss methodological limitations, and provide directions for future research.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weihua Yang ◽  
Bo Zheng ◽  
Maonian Wu ◽  
Shaojun Zhu ◽  
Hongxia Zhou ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Artificial intelligence (AI) is widely applied in the medical field, especially in ophthalmology. In the development of ophthalmic artificial intelligence, some problems worthy of attention have gradually emerged, among which the ophthalmic AI-related recognition issues are particularly prominent. That is to say, currently, there is a lack of research into people's familiarity with and their attitudes toward ophthalmic AI. OBJECTIVE This survey aims to assess medical workers’ and other professional technicians’ familiarity with AI, as well as their attitudes toward and concerns of ophthalmic AI. METHODS An electronic questionnaire was designed through the Questionnaire Star APP, an online survey software and questionnaire tool, and was sent to relevant professional workers through Wechat, China’s version of Facebook or WhatsApp. The participation was based on a voluntary and anonymous principle. The questionnaire mainly consisted of four parts, namely the participant’s background, the participant's basic understanding of AI, the participant's attitude toward AI, and the participant's concerns about AI. A total of 562 participants were counted, with 562 valid questionnaires returned. The results of the questionnaires are displayed in an Excel 2003 form. RESULTS A total of 562 professional workers completed the questionnaire, of whom 291 were medical workers and 271 were other professional technicians. About 37.9% of the participants understood AI, and 31.67% understood ophthalmic AI. The percentages of people who understood ophthalmic AI among medical workers and other professional technicians were about 42.61% and 15.6%, respectively. About 66.01% of the participants thought that ophthalmic AI would partly replace doctors, with about 59.07% still having a relatively high acceptance level of ophthalmic AI. Meanwhile, among those with ophthalmic AI application experiences (30.6%), respectively about 84.25% of medical professionals and 73.33% of other professional technicians held a full acceptance attitude toward ophthalmic AI. The participants expressed concerns that ophthalmic AI might bring about issues such as the unclear definition of medical responsibilities, the difficulty of ensuring service quality, and the medical ethics risks. And among the medical workers and other professional technicians who understood ophthalmic AI, 98.39%, and 95.24%, respectively, said that there was a need to increase the study of medical ethics issues in the ophthalmic AI field. CONCLUSIONS Analysis of the questionnaire results shows that the medical workers have a higher understanding level of ophthalmic AI than other professional technicians, making it necessary to popularize ophthalmic AI education among other professional technicians. Most of the participants did not have any experience in ophthalmic AI, but generally had a relatively high acceptance level of ophthalmic AI, believing that doctors would partly be replaced by it and that there was a need to strengthen research into medical ethics issues of the field.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khanh Ngoc Cong Duong ◽  
Tien Nguyen Le Bao ◽  
Phuong Thi Lan Nguyen ◽  
Thanh Vo Van ◽  
Toi Phung Lam ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND The first nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic was implemented in Vietnam from April 1 to 15, 2020. Nevertheless, there has been limited information on the impact of COVID-19 on the psychological health of the public. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of psychological issues and identify the factors associated with the psychological impact of COVID-19 during the first nationwide lockdown among the general population in Vietnam. METHODS We employed a cross-sectional study design with convenience sampling. A self-administered, online survey was used to collect data and assess psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and stress of participants from April 10 to 15, 2020. The Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) were utilized to assess psychological distress, depression, anxiety, and stress of participants during social distancing due to COVID-19. Associations across factors were explored using regression analysis. RESULTS A total of 1385 respondents completed the survey. Of this, 35.9% (n=497) experienced psychological distress, as well as depression (n=325, 23.5%), anxiety (n=195, 14.1%), and stress (n=309, 22.3%). Respondents who evaluated their physical health as average had a higher IES-R score (beta coefficient [B]=9.16, 95% CI 6.43 to 11.89), as well as higher depression (B=5.85, 95% CI 4.49 to 7.21), anxiety (B=3.64, 95% CI 2.64 to 4.63), and stress (B=5.19, 95% CI 3.83 to 6.56) scores for DASS-21 than those who rated their health as good or very good. Those who self-reported their health as bad or very bad experienced more severe depression (B=9.57, 95% CI 4.54 to 14.59), anxiety (B=7.24, 95% CI 3.55 to 10.9), and stress (B=10.60, 95% CI 5.56 to 15.65). Unemployment was more likely to be associated with depression (B=3.34, 95% CI 1.68 to 5.01) and stress (B=2.34, 95% CI 0.84 to 3.85). Regarding worries about COVID-19, more than half (n=755, 54.5%) expressed concern for their children aged &lt;18 years, which increased their IES-R score (B=7.81, 95% CI 4.98 to 10.64) and DASS-21 stress score (B=1.75, 95% CI 0.27 to 3.24). The majority of respondents (n=1335, 96.4%) were confident about their doctor’s expertise in terms of COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, which was positively associated with less distress caused by the outbreak (B=–7.84, 95% CI –14.58 to –1.11). CONCLUSIONS The findings highlight the effect of COVID-19 on mental health during the nationwide lockdown among the general population in Vietnam. The study provides useful evidence for policy decision makers to develop and implement interventions to mitigate these impacts. CLINICALTRIAL


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Jee ◽  
Alsa Khan

BACKGROUND Understanding teens' relationship with technology is a pressing topic in this digital era. There seem to be both benefit and harmful implications that originate from use of technology by teens. Approximately 95% of teenagers have access to a smartphone, and several studies show a positive correlation between screen addiction and trends of Anxiety and Depression. While, at the same time, research shows that two-thirds of teenagers believe that technology is a necessity for connecting and making new friends. OBJECTIVE The aim of this research is to understand teens’ perceptions of their own and others’ relationship with personal technology and what future relationships do teens aspire to have with their technology. This will be fundamental in helping designers, healthcare practitioners and youth counselors inform design in technology accordingly. METHODS This research paper explores teens and technology relationship via three lenses. Lens-1 is teens' perception of their current relationship with their personal technology as users. Lens-2 is teens' perception of others' (parents, siblings or friends) relationship with personal technology as bystanders. Lens-3 is teens’ aspiration of how they wish to relate to their personal technology. We conducted an online survey with 619 teens in the 13-19 years age range. RESULTS We found that teens selected 'Essential,' 'Distractive,' and 'Addictive' most commonly to describe their own and others' relationship with personal technology. Whereas teens selected 'Provides an escape' more to describe their own relationship with technology. In contrast, they selected 'It's just a tool' and 'Creates Barrier' more to describe others' relationship with technology. These trends are consistent across ages and genders. Additionally, we found that 13-15 year-olds, particularly the majority of females in this age range, wish to see their future technology as their 'best friend.' However, 16-17 year-olds’ top choice was 'I don't believe in personal connection with mobile technology,’ and 18-19 year-olds’ top choice was 'My personal assistant.’ CONCLUSIONS Our three lenses approach is holistic as it allowed comparison of how teens perceive their relationship with personal technology as users vs. bystanders and from current vs. aspirational perspectives. This research not just confirms what is already known, but uncovers critical new associations more exclusive to teens' own relationship with technology. This paper presents related design implications to inform personal tech design thinking, including our guideline to shift 'user experience design' process to 'user relationship design.'


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237437352110076
Author(s):  
Hyllore Imeri ◽  
Erin Holmes ◽  
Shane Desselle ◽  
Meagen Rosenthal ◽  
Marie Barnard

Chronic conditions (CCs) management during the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of the pandemic on patient activation (PA) and health locus of control (HLOC) remain unknown. This cross-sectional online survey study examined the role of COVID-19 pandemic-related worry or fear in PA and HLOC among patients with CCs. Individuals with CCs (n = 300) were recruited through MTurk Amazon. The questionnaire included sociodemographic questions, the Patient Activation Measure, and the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control–Form B. Out of the 300 participants, 9.7% were diagnosed with COVID-19, and 7.3% were hospitalized. Patients with cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, drug abuse/substance abuse, and stroke reported significant difficulties in managing their CCs due to worry or fear because of COVID-19. More than half of the sample (45.7%) reported COVID-19-related worry or fear about managing their CCs, and these patients had lower PA and lower external HLOC compared to patients not affected by COVID-19-related worry or fear. Health professionals should provide more support for patients facing difficulties in managing their CCs during the COVID-19 pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Outi Haatainen ◽  
Jaakko Turkka ◽  
Maija Aksela

To understand how integrated science education (ISE) can be transferred into successful classroom practices, it is important to understand teachers’ perceptions and self-efficacy. The focus of this study is twofold: (1) to understand how teachers perceive ISE and (2) to assess if science teachers’ perceptions of and experiences with integrated education correlate with their views on self-efficacy in relation to ISE. Ninety-five Finnish science teachers participated in an online survey study. A mixed method approach via exploratory factor analysis and data-driven content analysis was used. Self-efficacy emerged as a key factor explaining teachers’ perceptions of and their lack of confidence in implementing ISE as well as their need for support. In addition, teachers regarded ISE as a relevant teaching method, but challenging to implement, and teachers primarily applied integrated approaches irregularly and seldom. Furthermore, teachers’ experiences with integrated activities and collaboration correlated with their views on integrated education and self-efficacy. These findings indicate teachers need support to better understand and implement ISE.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. iii303-iii304
Author(s):  
Fatma El-Khouly ◽  
Syed Adil ◽  
Harry Hendrikse ◽  
Gertjan Kaspers ◽  
Christof Kramm ◽  
...  

Abstract INTRODUCTION Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare and aggressive childhood brainstem malignancy with a two-year survival rate of ≤10%. In this international survey study we aim to evaluate the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in this patient population. METHODS Parents of-, and physicians treating DIPG patients were asked to participate in a retrospective online survey with questions regarding CAM use during time of illness. RESULTS 120 parents and 75 physicians contributed to the online survey between January and May 2020. Physicians estimated that &lt;50% of their patients used CAM, whereas 69% of the parents reported to have used CAM to treat their child during time of illness. Cannabis was the most widely used form of CAM, followed by vitamins and minerals, melatonin, curcumin and boswellic acid. CAM was mainly used to actively treat the tumor. Other motivations were to treat side effects of chemotherapy, or to comfort the child. Children diagnosed ≥2016 were more likely to use CAM (χ2=6.08, p=0.014). No significant difference was found between CAM users and non-users based on ethnicity (χ2=4.18, p=0.382) and country of residence (χ2=9.37, p=0.154). Almost 50% of the physicians do not frequently ask their patients about possible CAM use. CONCLUSION This survey demonstrates that worldwide a considerable number of DIPG patients use CAM. Physicians should be more aware of potential CAM use and more actively discuss the topic. More research is needed to gain knowledge about possible anticancer effects of CAM and their interactions with conventional therapies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e000987
Author(s):  
Nicola J Roberts ◽  
Carol A Kelly ◽  
Kate A Lippiett ◽  
Emma Ray ◽  
Lindsay Welch

BackgroundNurses have been at the forefront of the pandemic response, involved in extensive coordination of services, screening, vaccination and front-line work in respiratory, emergency and intensive care environments. The nature of this work is often intense and stress-provoking with an inevitable psychological impact on nurses and all healthcare workers. This study focused on nurses working in respiratory areas with the aim of identifying and characterising the self-reported issues that exacerbated or alleviated their concerns during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsAn online survey was developed consisting of 90 questions using a mixture of open-ended and closed questions. Participant demographic data were also collected (age, gender, ethnicity, number of years qualified, details of long-term health conditions, geographical location, nursing background/role and home life). The online survey was disseminated via social media and professional respiratory societies (British Thoracic Society, Primary Care Respiratory Society, Association of Respiratory Nurse Specialists) over a 3-week period in May 2020 and the survey closed on 1 June 2020.ResultsThe study highlights the experiences of nurses caring for respiratory patients during the first wave of the pandemic in early 2020. Concerns were expressed over the working environment, the supply and availability of adequate protective personal equipment, the quality of care individuals were able to deliver, and the impact on mental health to nurses and their families. A high number provided free-text comments around their worries and concerns about the impact on their household; these included bringing the virus home, the effect on family members worrying about them, mental health and the impact of changing working patterns, and managing with children. Although both formal and informal support were available, there were inconsistencies in provision, highlighting the importance of nursing leadership and management in ensuring equity of access to services.ConclusionsSupport for staff is essential both throughout the pandemic and afterwards, and it is important that preparation of individuals regarding building resilience is recognised. It is also clear that psychological support and services for nurses and the wider healthcare team need to be available and quickly convened in the event of similar major incidents, either global or local.


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