Novel Plasma Biomarker-Based Model for Predicting Acute Kidney Injury After Cardiac Surgery: A Case Control Study

Introduction:Acute kidney injury (AKI) after cardiac surgery is independently associated with a prolonged hospital stay, increased cost of care, and increased post-operative mortality. Delayed elevation of serum creatinine (SCr) levels requires novel biomarkers to provide a prediction of AKI after cardiac surgery. Our objective was to find a novel blood biomarkers combination to construct a model for predicting AKI after cardiac surgery and risk stratification.Methods:This was a case-control study. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) was applied to Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) dataset GSE30718 to seek potential biomarkers associated with AKI. We measured biomarker levels in venous blood samples of 67 patients with AKI after cardiac surgery and 59 control patients in two cohorts. Clinical data were collected. We developed a multi-biomarker model for predicting cardiac-surgery-associated AKI and compared it with a traditional clinical-factor-based model.Results:From bioinformatics analysis and previous articles, we found 6 potential plasma biomarkers for the prediction of AKI. Among them, 3 biomarkers, such as growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), soluble suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2, IL1RL1), and soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) were found to have prediction ability for AKI (area under the curve [AUC] > 0.6) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. They were then incorporated into a multi-biomarker model for predicting AKI (C-statistic: 0.84, Brier 0.15) which outperformed the traditional clinical-factor-based model (C-statistic: 0.73, Brier 0.16).Conclusion:Our research validated a promising plasma multi-biomarker model for predicting AKI after cardiac surgery.

Does the perceived healthcare quality provided by full-time government employee doctors in the public system differ from the perceived care quality in their own privately managed facilities in Nigeria?

Objective: Although the differences in the quality levels between the public and private sectors have been identified in literature not much is known about the level of quality differences that exist when full time government employee doctors offer the same clinical services in their own privately managed facilities. The objective of this study was to compare service user perceived quality of care provided by full-time government employee doctors in the public system and in their own privately managed facilities in Nigeria.Methods: A cross-sectional multistage sampling design was used to elicit service user views on process, structure and outcome elements of quality identified in the Donabedian’s care quality model. The software for population surveys in EPI Info 7 was used to calculate the required sample. A total of 407 questionnaires were administered and completed after a pre-test.Results: Respondents reported better health outcomes in private practice than in the public system and a majority would recommend visiting a dual physician’s private practice than the public system where they work full-time. Process aspects of quality, including better rapport with doctors, greater perceived confidentiality, shorter wait times, and absence of bureaucratic impediments were said to be better in privately managed facilities of government doctors. However, respondents said that the public sector was superior in respect of the structure element of quality as reflected in better infrastructure, equipment, and availability of drugs.Conclusions: Despite the relatively lower cost of care in government hospitals the outcome and process elements are still crucial in determining which sector patients prefer. These two elements seem to have influenced patronage for private practices of dual practitioners.

Implementation of Client-Centered Care Coordination for HIV Prevention with Black Men Who Have Sex with Men: Activities, Personnel Costs, and Outcomes—HPTN 073

Background Black men who have sex with men (MSM) experience disproportionate rates of HIV infection in the USA, despite being no more likely to engage in sexual risk behaviors than other MSM racial/ethnic groups. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been shown to reduce risk of HIV acquisition; however, rates of PrEP use among Black MSM remain low. Clinical, psychosocial, and structural factors have been shown to impact PrEP use and adherence among Black MSM. Care coordination of HIV prevention services has the potential to improve PrEP use and adherence for Black MSM, as it has been shown to improve HIV-related care outcomes among people living with HIV. Methods Client-centered care coordination (C4) is a multi-level intervention designed to address clinical, psychosocial, and structural barriers to HIV prevention services for Black MSM within HPTN 073, a PrEP demonstration project among Black MSM in three cities in the USA. The current study examined the implementation process of C4, specifically investigating the activities, cost, time, and outcomes associated with the C4 intervention. Results On average, participants engaged in five care coordination encounters. The vast majority of care coordination activities were conducted by counselors, averaging 30 min per encounter. The cost of care coordination was relatively low with a mean cost of $8.70 per client encounter. Conclusion Although client-centered care coordination was initially implemented in well-resourced communities with robust HIV research and service infrastructure, our findings suggest that C4 can be successfully implemented in resource constrained communities.

A scoping review to inform care coordination strategies for youth with traumatic brain injuries: Care coordination personnel

Introduction & Importance: Effective, patient-centered care coordination has been shown to improve outcomes for children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN), who often have complex, long-term involvement with multiple service providers. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) can result in long-term physical, intellectual, social, and emotional disabilities that persist long after acute treatment. Yet, even though it is a chronic condition, TBI remains an area with scarce standardization and research surrounding the complex, long-term care coordination need in this population. The purpose of this scoping review is to summarize current research on outcomes in CSHCN after implementation of care coordinators, whether individual or teams, to inform future research for youth with TBI. Methods: OVID/Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and ERIC databases were searched for articles relevant to care coordination and CSHCN. Results: 31 articles met inclusion criteria. Outcomes for children and families were grouped into 5 major categories: healthcare utilization, cost of care, disease status, parent and child quality of life, and healthcare satisfaction and perception of care. Discussion: Implementation of care coordinators, whether in the form of individuals, dyads, or teams, resulted in overall positive outcomes for CSHCN and their families across all 5 major outcome domains. Future research should be focused on the efficacy of care coordinators differing in profession, qualifications, and educational attainment specifically for the unique needs of children with TBI. Additionally, the application of care coordination within medical homes should be further investigated to increase proactive, preventative care of children with TBI and further reduce reactive, need-based treatment only.

A public health value-based healthcare paradigm for HIV

Background HIV patients face considerable acute and chronic healthcare needs and battling the HIV epidemic remains of the utmost importance. By focusing on health outcomes in relation to the cost of care, value-based healthcare (VBHC) proposes a strategy to optimize quality of care and cost-efficiency. Its implementation may provide an answer to the increasing pressure to optimize spending in healthcare while improving patient outcomes. This paper describes a pragmatic value-based healthcare framework for HIV care. Methods A value-based HIV healthcare framework was developed during a series of roundtable discussions bringing together 16 clinical stakeholder representatives from the Belgian HIV reference centers and 2 VBHC specialists. Each round of discussions was focused on a central question translating a concept or idea to the next level of practical implementation: 1) how can VBHC principles be translated into value-based HIV care drivers; 2) how can these value-based HIV care divers be translated into value-based care objectives and activities; and 3) how can value-based HIV care objectives and activities be translated into value-based care indicators. Value drivers were linked to concrete objectives and activities using a logical framework approach. Finally, specific, measurable, and acceptable structure, process and outcomes indicators were defined to complement the framework. Results Our framework identifies 4 core value areas where HIV care would benefit most from improvements: Prevention, improvement of the cascade of care, providing patient-centered HIV care and sustaining a state-of-the-art HIV disease management context. These 4 core value areas were translated into 12 actionable core value objectives. For each objective, example activities were proposed. Indicators are suggested for each level of the framework (outcome indicators for value areas and objectives, process indicators for suggested activities). Conclusions This framework approach outlines how to define a patient- and public health centered value-based HIV care paradigm. It proposes how to translate core value drivers to practical objectives and activities and suggests defining indicators that can be used to track and improve the framework’s implementation in practice.

Understanding the cost of care of type 2 diabetes mellitus - a value measurement perspective

ObjectivesWe explore the cost of care of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) using time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) and connect that cost to resulting patient health outcomes.DesignWe construct six care pathways varying from low-risk to high-risk patients over a 12-month cycle of care. We collect time, resource and cost data on activities in each care pathway and compute a time-driven estimate of cost. Use of patient outcome data highlights the health outcomes achieved.SettingPrimary, secondary and tertiary care.ParticipantsMedical staff involved in the care of patients with T2DM.Primary and secondary measuresPrimary: resources consumed to provide T2DM care. Secondary: health outcomes for representative patient within each patient category.ResultsBy computing cost of T2DM care and associated complications of chronic kidney disease, active foot disease, moderate risk of active foot disease and myocardial infarction, we show that when patients develop acute complications, significant costs are incurred, as compared with the cost of maintaining a patient at low or moderate risk. Variance analysis further informs decision making by showing the need to have the right personnel doing the right tasks at the right time to control costs.ConclusionsA TDABC approach facilitates an understanding of the drivers of cost in chronic illness care. Our paper highlights the stages in the care pathway where different settings, decision making and a more optimal use of resources could assist with achievement of better patient outcomes.

Prediction of Autonomy Loss in Alzheimer’s Disease

The evolution of functional autonomy loss leads to institutionalization of people affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD), to an alteration of their quality of life and that of their caregivers. To predict loss of functional autonomy could optimize prevention strategies, aids and cost of care. The aim of this study was to develop and to cross-validate a model to predict loss of functional autonomy as assessed by Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) score. Outpatients with probable AD and with 2 or more visits to the Clinical and Research Memory Centre of the University Hospital were included. Four Tree-Augmented Naïve bayesian networks (6, 12, 18 and 24 months of follow-up) were built. Variables included in the model were demographic data, IADL score, MMSE score, comorbidities, drug prescription (psychotropics and AD-specific drugs). A 10-fold cross-validation was conducted to evaluate robustness of models. The study initially included 485 patients in the prospective cohort. The best performance after 10-fold cross-validation was obtained with the model able to predict loss of functional autonomy at 18 months (area under the curve of the receiving operator characteristic curve = 0.741, 27% of patients misclassified, positive predictive value = 77% and negative predictive value = 73%). The 13 variables used explain 41.6% of the evolution of functional autonomy at 18 months. A high-performing predictive model of AD evolution of functional autonomy was obtained. An external validation is needed to use the model in clinical routine so as to optimize the patient care.

Telenursing-an emerging concept in reducing COVID-19 hospital occupancy

Tele-information and communication have led a global revolution in solving the scarcity of health care workers. In the vision of health for all, different global leaders have initiated many public health reforms to address the health care needs of citizens, like e-Sanjeevani in India. COVID-19 created an acute shortage of nurses, as well as the rising cost of care and hospital occupancy which are major hurdles to address basic health needs. Telenursing is a novel field that utilizes innovative technologies to offer safe, effective, and ethical care promptly by providing. Telenursing may provide a means to overcome some of the challenges faced by patients by providing easier access to cost-effective care and equitable distribution of health care providers. Globally, telenursing is an emerging and rapidly expanding area for professionals and offers unlimited opportunities for its members.

Clinical Utility and Cost Effectiveness of Long-Acting Lipoglycopeptides Used in Deep-Seated Infections among Patients with Social and Economic Barriers to Care

The use of long-acting lipoglycopeptides (LaLGPs) in serious, deep-seated infections is of increasing interest. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic and clinical utility of LaLGPs in patients requiring protracted antibiotic courses who are not ideal candidates for oral transition or outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT). This is a retrospective, observational, matched cohort study of adult patients who received a LaLGP. Patients were matched 1:1 to those who received standard of care (SOC). Cost effectiveness was evaluated as total healthcare-related costs between groups. Clinical failure was a composite endpoint of mortality, recurrence, or need for extended antibiotics beyond planned course within 90 days of initial infection. There was no difference in clinical failure between the two cohorts (22% vs. 30%; p = 0.491). Six patients in the SOC cohort left against medical advice (AMA) prior to completing therapy. Among those who did not leave AMA, receipt of LaLGPs resulted in a decreased hospital length of stay by an average of 13.6 days. The average total healthcare-related cost of care was USD 295,589 in the LaLGP cohort compared to USD 326,089 in the SOC cohort (p = 0.282). Receipt of LaLGPs may be a beneficial treatment option for patients with deep-seated infections and socioeconomic factors who are not candidates for oral transition or OPAT.