scholarly journals A prospective evaluation of the Flacker-Kiely One Year Mortality Score and the added value of NT-proBNP

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Kjell Krüger ◽  
Bård R. Kittang ◽  
Sabine P. Solheim ◽  
Kristian Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Failure Criterion ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Blood Chemistry ◽  
Discriminatory Power ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Youden Index ◽  
Mortality Data

Objective: Several mortality indices have been constructed to aid clinical decision making in older adults. We aimed to prospectively validate the Flacker-Kiely (FK) mortality index in a Norwegian nursing home cohort, which has not been done before, and explore whether NT-ProBNP could improve its discriminatory power.Methods: We performed a cohort/mortality study. From November 2017 to July 2018, physicians in all public long-term nursing homes in Bergen, Norway, scored residents according to the original Flacker Kiely index. Mortality data were derived from the Norwegian Cause of Death Registry and NT-ProBNP values were obtained from routinely collected blood chemistry. An alternative FK index using the NT-ProBNP-value as a marker for the presence of heart failure was constructed (FK NT-ProBNP index). The ProBNP cut-off value was selected based on a Cox regression model (“dead/alive 1 year”/” NT-ProBNP (Ng/l)”, where the value with the highest Youden index was identified. We judged index performance by using c-statistics.Results: Both the original FK index and the constructed FK NT-ProBNP index discriminated between risk strata. The FK NT-ProBNP index yielded a C-index of 0.66 compared to 0.62 for the original FK index. Optimal discriminatory power was shown with a NT-ProBNP cut-off value of 1,595 Ng/l as heart failure criterion, and FK NT-ProBNP score 6.6.Conclusions: The prospective mortality estimation ability of the FK-index was comparable to previous retrospective studies. The inclusion of NT-ProBNP as a heart failure criterion strengthen the discriminatory power and utility of the index, both in clinic and administration.

Preliminary Findings on the Use of Session Questionnaires to Improve Clinician-Client Alliance With Special Consideration to Clinical Education

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-60
Author(s):  
Anu Subramanian
Keyword(s):  
Graduate Students ◽  
Clinical Education ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Treatment Effectiveness ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Therapeutic Outcomes ◽  
Specific Feedback ◽  
Stakeholder Perspective

ASHA's focus on evidence-based practice (EBP) includes the family/stakeholder perspective as an important tenet in clinical decision making. The common factors model for treatment effectiveness postulates that clinician-client alliance positively impacts therapeutic outcomes and may be the most important factor for success. One strategy to improve alliance between a client and clinician is the use of outcome questionnaires. In the current study, eight parents of toddlers who attended therapy sessions at a university clinic responded to a session outcome questionnaire that included both rating scale and descriptive questions. Six graduate students completed a survey that included a question about the utility of the questionnaire. Results indicated that the descriptive questions added value and information compared to using only the rating scale. The students were varied in their responses regarding the effectiveness of the questionnaire to increase their comfort with parents. Information gathered from the questionnaire allowed for specific feedback to graduate students to change behaviors and created opportunities for general discussions regarding effective therapy techniques. In addition, the responses generated conversations between the client and clinician focused on clients' concerns. Involving the stakeholder in identifying both effective and ineffective aspects of therapy has advantages for clinical practice and education.

Quality specifications: self pleasure for clinical laboratories or added value for patient management?

2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Plebani
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Patient Management ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Internal Quality ◽  
Laboratory Services ◽  
Management Procedures ◽  
Quality Specifications

AbstractAnalytical quality specifications play a key role in assuring and continuously improving high-quality laboratory services. However, I believe, that there are two “missing links” in the effective management of quality specifications in the delivery of laboratory services. The first is the evidence that pre-analytical variation and related problems are not taken into great consideration by laboratory professionals. The second missing link is the communication of quality specifications to clinicians and other possible stakeholders. If quality specifications represent “the level of performance required to facilitate clinical decision-making”, they cannot be used only for internal quality management procedures but must be communicated to facilitate clinical reasoning, decision-making and patient management. A consensus should be achieved in the scientific community on these issues to assure better utilization of laboratory data and, ultimately, improved clinical outcomes.Clin Chem Lab Med 2007;45:462–6.

Contemporary Heart Failure Treatment Based on Improved Knowledge and Personalized Care of Comorbidities

2019 ◽  
pp. 1565-1579
Author(s):  
Kostas Giokas ◽  
Charalampos Tsirmpas ◽  
Athanasios Anastasiou ◽  
Dimitra Iliopoulou ◽  
Vassilia Costarides ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
Collective Intelligence ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Personalized Care ◽  
Care Approach

Chronic diseases are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity. A significant contribution to the burden of chronic diseases is the concurrence of co-morbidities. Heart failure (HF) is a complex, chronic medical condition frequently associated with co-morbidities. The current care approach for HF patients with co-morbidities is neither capable to deliver personalised care nor to halt the on-going increase of its socio-economic burden. Our approach aims to improve the complete care process for HF patients and related co-morbidities to improve outcome and quality of life. This will be achieved by the proposed standardised yet personalised patient-oriented ICT system that supports evidence-based clinical decision making as well as interaction and communication between all stakeholders with focus on the patients and their relatives to improve self-management. We propose that such a system should be build upon a novel European-wide data standard for clinical input and outcome and that it should facilitate decision making and outcome tracking by new collective intelligence algorithms.

scholarly journals Accuracy, user-friendliness and usefulness of the Cobas h232 point-of-care test for NT-proBNP in primary care

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 539-545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiel Hex ◽  
Miek Smeets ◽  
Joris Penders ◽  
Viviane Van Hoof ◽  
Jan Verbakel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
User Friendliness ◽  
Point Of Care Test ◽  
Percentage Difference ◽  
Difference Plot

AimsN-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has been shown to be useful for ruling out heart failure in primary care. In this study, we examined the accuracy of the Cobas h232 point-of-care (POC) instrument in primary care compared with an in-hospital measurement. Furthermore, we investigated the user-friendliness and usefulness of the POC device.MethodsFive general practitioner (GP) groups were asked to evaluate adult patients who were suspected of having heart failure and to test NT-proBNP with the Cobas h232. The samples were subsequently delivered to and analysed at a central hospital laboratory by the Cobas e602 using conventional transport and storage. Difference between the paired measurements was analysed using a percentage difference plot, and correlation was assessed using Passing-Bablok linear regression analysis. User-friendliness and usefulness were assessed using semistructured questionnaires.ResultsNineteen GPs studied 94 patients. Passing-Bablok analysis showed a slope of 1.05 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.11) (R2=0.97). The percentage difference plot showed a mean difference of 15.7% (95% CI −46.0% to –77.4%). User-friendliness and usefulness had median scores of 4 or 5 on a five-point Likert scale. Eighteen out of 19 GPs confirmed that the device influenced their clinical practice. During the study, GPs’ confidence in using NT-proBNP increased significantly from a mean score of 4.4 (95% CI 3.2 to 5.6) to 7.6 out of 10 (95% CI 7.1 to 8.2).ConclusionsThe Cobas h232 NT-proBNP POC test proved to be an accurate, user-friendly and useful test in primary care. Nearly all participating GPs were convinced that the test could benefit clinical decision making.

An emerging epidemic: cancer and heart failure

2016 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paaladinesh Thavendiranathan ◽  
Mark T. Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Prediction Models ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Patients With Cancer ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Adult Cancer Survivors ◽  
Shared Risk

Heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of mortality globally. Cardiovascular complications of cancer therapy significantly contribute to the global burden of cardiovascular disease. Heart failure (HF) in particular is a relatively common and life-threatening complication. The increased risk is driven by the shared risk factors for cancer and HF, the direct impact of cancer therapy on the heart, an existing care gap in the cardiac care of patients with cancer and the increasing population of adult cancer survivors. The clear relationship between cancer treatment initiation and the potential for myocardial injury makes this population attractive for prevention strategies, targeted cardiovascular monitoring and treatment. However, there is currently no consensus on the optimal strategy for managing this at-risk population. Uniform treatment using cardioprotective medications may reduce the incidence of HF, but would impose frequently unnecessary and burdensome side effects. Ideally we could use validated risk-prediction models to target HF-preventive strategies, but currently no such models exist. In the present review, we focus on evidence and rationales for contemporary clinical decision-making in this novel field and discuss issues, including the burden of HF in patients with cancer, the reasons for the elevated risk and potential prevention strategies.

scholarly journals Prognostic Factors and a Nomogram Predicting Overall Survival in Patients with Limb Chondrosarcomas: A Population-Based Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Xinjie Wu ◽  
Yanlei Wang ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Mingsheng Tan
Keyword(s):  
Overall Survival ◽  
Prognostic Factors ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Proportional Hazards ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cox Proportional Hazards ◽  
Predictive Values

Introduction. We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram for predicting the overall survival of patients with limb chondrosarcomas. Methods. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program database was used to identify patients diagnosed with chondrosarcomas, from which data was extracted from 18 registries in the United States between 1973 and 2016. A total of 813 patients were selected from the database. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards regression models on the training group to identify independent prognostic factors and construct a nomogram to predict the 3- and 5-year survival probability of patients with limb chondrosarcomas. The predictive values were compared using concordance indexes ( C -indexes) and calibration plots. Results. All 813 patients were randomly divided into a training group ( n = 572 ) and a validation group ( n = 241 ). After univariate and multivariate Cox regression, a nomogram was constructed based on a new model containing the predictive variables of age, site, grade, tumor size, histology, stage, and use of surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy. The prediction model provided excellent C -indexes (0.86 and 0.77 in the training and validation groups, respectively). The good discrimination and calibration of the nomograms were demonstrated for both the training and validation groups. Conclusions. The nomograms precisely and individually predict the overall survival of patients with limb chondrosarcomas and could assist personalized prognostic evaluation and individualized clinical decision-making.

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