improving patient care
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2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Yang ◽  
Chang Zeng ◽  
Kun Yang ◽  
Zhou Zhang ◽  
Qinyun Cai ◽  
...  

Long-term complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D) are the major causes for T2D-related disability and mortality. Notably, diabetic nephropathy (DN) has become the most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in most countries. Understanding epigenetic contributors to DN can provide novel insights into this complex disorder and lay the foundation for more effective monitoring tools and preventive interventions, critical for achieving the ultimate goal of improving patient care and reducing healthcare burden. We have used a selective chemical labeling technique (5hmC-Seal) to profile genome-wide distributions of 5-hydroxymethylcytosines (5hmC), a gene activation mark, in patient-derived circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA). Differentially modified 5hmC genes were identified across T2D patients with DN (n = 12), T2D patients with non-DN vascular complications (non-DN) (n = 29), and T2D patients with no complications (controls) (n = 14). Specifically, differential 5hmC markers between DN and controls revealed relevant pathways such as NOD-like receptor signaling pathway and tyrosine metabolism. A ten-gene panel was shown to provide differential 5hmC patterns between controls and DN, as well as between controls and non-DN patients using a machine learning approach. The 5hmC profiles in cfDNA reflected novel DN-associated epigenetic modifications relevant to the disease pathogenesis of DN. Importantly, these findings in cfDNA, a convenient liquid biopsy, have the potential to be exploited as a clinically useful tool for predicting DN in high risk T2D patients. Keywords: diabetes, nephropathy, epigenetics, 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, cfDNA


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Gowthaman Sivakumar ◽  
Eman Almehdawe ◽  
Golam Kabir

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted almost every sector. This impact has been especially felt in the healthcare sector, as the pandemic has affected its stability, which has highlighted the need for improvements in service. As such, we propose a collaborative decision-making framework that is capable of accounting for the goals of multiple stakeholders, which consequently enables an optimal, consensus decision to be identified. The proposed framework utilizes the best–worst method (BWM) and the Multi-Actor Multi-Criteria Analysis (MAMCA) methodology to capture and rank each stakeholder’s preferences, followed by the application of a Multi-Objective Linear Programming (MOLP) model to identify the consensus solution. To demonstrate the applicability of the framework, two hypothetical scenarios involving improving patient care in an intensive care unit (ICU) are considered. Scenario 1 reflects all selected criteria under each stakeholder, whereas in Scenario 2, every stakeholder identifies their preferred set of criteria based on their experience and work background. The results for both scenarios indicate that hiring part-time physicians and medical staff can be the effective solution for improving service quality in the ICU. The developed integrated framework will help the decision makers to identify optimal courses of action in real-time and to select sustainable and effective strategies for improving service quality in the healthcare sector.


Author(s):  
Fouad G. Souki ◽  
Ryan Chadha ◽  
Raymond Planinsic ◽  
Jeron Zerillo ◽  
Christine Nguyen-Buckley ◽  
...  

The Society for the Advancement of Transplant Anesthesia (SATA) is dedicated to improving patient care in all facets of transplant anesthesia. The anesthesia fellowship training recommendations for thoracic transplantation (heart and lungs) and part of the abdominal organ transplantation (liver) have been presented in previous publications. The SATA Fellowship Committee has completed the remaining component of abdominal transplant anesthesia (kidney/pancreas) and has assembled core competencies and milestones derived from expert consensus to guide the education and overall preparation of trainees providing care for kidney/pancreas transplant recipients. These recommendations provide a comprehensive approach to pre-operative evaluation, vascular access procedures, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, assessment of coagulation and metabolic abnormalities, operative techniques, and post-operative pain control. As such, this document supplements the current liver/hepatic transplant anesthesia fellowship training programs to include all aspects of “Abdominal Organ Transplant Anesthesia” recommended knowledge.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110545
Author(s):  
John M. Pickering ◽  
Wesley H. Giles

Background Intraoperative parathyroid hormone (iPTH) testing is often used to confirm successful removal of hypersecreting parathyroid glands during parathyroidectomy. Unfortunately, the iPTH test can be a time-consuming and highly variable process that occurs while the patient is under anesthesia. We set out to improve iPTH lab efficiency and variability. Methods We performed a retrospective review of 85 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy at our institution from October 2017 to October 2019. Each step of the iPTH lab reporting process was recorded and analyzed. Three simulations were performed of the entire process. We then established interventions to modify inefficiencies in the process and studied 21 patients who underwent parathyroidectomy at our institution from November 2019 to March 2020. Results Twenty-five minutes of time inherent to the process were identified. Four critical steps were identified as modifiable steps in the process: 1. Operating room (OR) blood draw ---> lab receipt. 2. Lab receipt ---> placement on centrifuge. 3. Removal from centrifuge ---> placement on PTH machine. 4. PTH machine result ---> OR verbal report. We improved iPTH lab efficiency by 19%, decreasing the average lab result from 45 to 36 minutes ( P = .001). We improved iPTH lab variability by 62%, decreasing the standard deviation from 21 to 8 minutes ( P = .001). Discussion Utilizing a team-based approach to identify and expedite critical steps in the iPTH lab process can make a significant improvement in iPTH lab efficiency, improving patient care by decreasing total anesthesia time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1248
Author(s):  
Te-Chun Hsieh ◽  
Chiung-Wei Liao ◽  
Yung-Chi Lai ◽  
Kin-Man Law ◽  
Pak-Ki Chan ◽  
...  

Patients with bone metastases have poor prognoses. A bone scan is a commonly applied diagnostic tool for this condition. However, its accuracy is limited by the nonspecific character of radiopharmaceutical accumulation, which indicates all-cause bone remodeling. The current study evaluated deep learning techniques to improve the efficacy of bone metastasis detection on bone scans, retrospectively examining 19,041 patients aged 22 to 92 years who underwent bone scans between May 2011 and December 2019. We developed several functional imaging binary classification deep learning algorithms suitable for bone scans. The presence or absence of bone metastases as a reference standard was determined through a review of image reports by nuclear medicine physicians. Classification was conducted with convolutional neural network-based (CNN-based), residual neural network (ResNet), and densely connected convolutional networks (DenseNet) models, with and without contrastive learning. Each set of bone scans contained anterior and posterior images with resolutions of 1024 × 256 pixels. A total of 37,427 image sets were analyzed. The overall performance of all models improved with contrastive learning. The accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and negative predictive value (NPV) for the optimal model were 0.961, 0.878, 0.599, 0.712, 0.92 and 0.965, respectively. In particular, the high NPV may help physicians safely exclude bone metastases, decreasing physician workload, and improving patient care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S572-S572
Author(s):  
Allison Armagan ◽  
Elaine Bell ◽  
Maria B Uravich ◽  
Shanthi Voorn

Abstract Background The incorporation of effective treatments is critical to improving patient care for COVID-19. We assessed the educational impact of a series of continuing medical education (CME) activities on knowledge, competence, and confidence changes in US and OUS physicians related to the use of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for COVID-19. Methods 10 online, CME-certified activities were delivered in multiple formats. For individual activities, educational effect was assessed with a repeated pairs pre-/post-assessment study including a 1 to 7-item, multiple choice, knowledge/competence questionnaire and one confidence assessment question. To assess changes in knowledge, competence, and confidence, data were aggregated across activities and stratified by learning theme. McNemar’s test or paired samples t-test (P< .05) assessed educational effect. The activities launched between November 2020 and May 2021; data were collected through May 2021. Results To date, the 10 activities have reached over 50,000 clinicians, including 24,627 physicians. Selected improvement/reinforcement in knowledge/competence measured as relative % change in correct responses pre/post education across the learning themes are reported. (i) 89% improvement/reinforcement among US ID specialists in knowledge/competence incorporating mAbs into patient care and 83% improvement among outside the US (OUS) ID specialists (P < .001). (ii) 70% improvement/reinforcement among US PCPs in knowledge/competence incorporating mAbs into patient care and 55% improvement among OUS PCPs (P < .001). (iii) 52% improvement/reinforcement in knowledge/competence among US PCPs regarding clinical data for mAbs and 44% among OUS PCPs (P < .001). (iv) 42% of US ID specialists and 29% of OUS ID specialists had a measurable improvement in confidence in identifying patients who would benefit from mAbs (P < .001). Conclusion This series of online, CME-certified educational activities resulted in significant improvements in knowledge, competence, and confidence regarding the appropriate use of mAbs for SARS-CoV-2 in clinical practice. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of global curriculum-based education for clinicians designed to address specific gaps in care. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Kinsey ◽  
Jeremy Sokhi ◽  
Maria Christou ◽  
David Wright

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