720 pubs · 15,054 cites · h-index 53
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of a novel point-of-care test (POCT) management strategy including phase contrast microscopy for bacteriuria and urinary dipsticks for erythrocytes to guide antibiotic prescribing in women with suspected uncomplicated urinary tract infection (uUTI) in general practice. DESIGN: Pilot cluster randomised controlled trial in 20 general practices in Germany. Practices were assigned 1:1 to POCT-guided management or usual care. All urine samples were sent for urine culture. Follow-up over 28 days involved symptom diaries, telephone interviews, and medical record review. OUTCOMES: Primary outcomes were recruitment and retention rates. Secondary outcomes included total and inappropriate antibiotic use, symptom duration and burden, recurrent and upper UTIs, re-consultations, and diagnostic accuracy of microscopy versus urine culture. Mixed-effects models accounted for clustering. RESULTS: Over 8 months, 157 women were recruited (90 intervention, 67 control), median of 7.5 patients per practice (range 1-15). Participant retention at day 28 was 75%. Baseline characteristics were well balanced. Antibiotic use was similar in both groups: 77% (intervention) vs. 79% (control) at initial consultation. The mean number of antibiotic courses over 28 days was 0.96 (intervention) vs. 1.00 (control), with no indication of reduced prescribing. Phase-contrast microscopy showed limited diagnostic accuracy, especially for ruling out infection (negative predictive value 46%). Exploratory analyses suggested that if GPs had access to urine culture results at the point of care, antibiotic prescribing in the intervention group could have been higher than in routine care. CONCLUSION: The POCT-guided management approach for suspected uUTIs is feasible but presents implementation and methodological challenges. Recruitment varied across sites and was lower in the control group practices, highlighting the risk of differential recruitment. Retention was below the expected 80%, indicating the need for efficient follow-up strategies in future trials. Explorative analyses suggest that simply adding diagnostic information may not support antibiotic stewardship. Novel POCTs should be carefully assessed for their influence on prescribing before routine use. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05667207.
Prospective cohort study links high CRP levels to greater illness duration and severity in lower respiratory infections.
Environmental scan identified strengths and weaknesses in patient decision aids for lung cancer screening, highlighting quality standards for shared decision making.
Logistic regression developed a risk score for influenza diagnosis in adults, indicating effective symptom assessment for vaccine status.
Logistic regression developed risk scores in pediatric patients after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, suggesting better survival categorization improves clinical decision-making.
BACKGROUND: Risk factors for poor prognosis in outpatient urinary tract infection (UTI) vary across studies and clinical guidelines. AIM: To review the evidence on risk factors for poor prognosis in adults' UTI. DESIGN & SETTING: Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies performed in the outpatient setting. METHOD: Five databases and citations of included studies were searched. Two reviewers independently screened studies, abstracted data, and assessed risk of bias (RoB). Random-effects meta-analysis of relative risks (RR) and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were performed for risk factors reported by ≥3 studies. RESULTS: Thirty-five cohort studies including 1 532 790 adults with cystitis or pyelonephritis (PN) were included. Ten were at moderate to high RoB. Increasing age was the only independent predictor of re-consultation (aOR 1.18 per decade). Hospitalisation was associated with high procalcitonin (PCT) (aOR 5.12), increasing age (aOR 3.51 if aged ≥65 years; aOR 1.27 per decade), hypotension (aOR 3.29), fever >38°C (aOR 2.08), elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) (aOR 1.62), creatinine ≥1.2 mg/dl (aOR 1.56), male sex (aOR 1.41), and diabetes (aOR 1.34). In the only study on mortality, among patients aged ≥65 years with cystitis, this outcome was associated with no antibiotics; older age; hospitalisation or antibiotics in prior month; higher comorbidity index; and smoking. CONCLUSION: Older age, male sex, elevated CRP, and diabetes are predictors of adverse outcomes in both patients with cystitis and PN. Elevated PCT, creatinine, hypotension, and fever predict hospitalisation in patients with PN only. These findings support risk stratification and patient management, but further studies are needed to consolidate knowledge on risk factors, especially for patients with cystitis.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to perform a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis of the accuracy of signs, symptoms and case definitions for the diagnosis of influenza. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy. SETTING: Inpatient or outpatient setting. PARTICIPANTS: Three databases (PubMed, CINAHL and EMBASE) were searched through February 2024 for studies of clinical diagnosis of influenza using prospective data collection and a high-quality reference standard. Data were abstracted by researchers working in parallel and resolving discrepancies by discussion. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Quality was assessed using QUADAS-2. Summary estimates (or ranges) of sensitivity and specificity, likelihood ratio (LR), the Youden Index and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated. RESULTS: The final meta-analysis included 67 studies, each with between 119 and 155 866 participants. Most were judged to be low risk of bias. The signs and symptoms with the highest overall accuracy for all studies based on the Youden Index were any fever (0.32), overall clinical impression (0.28), coryza (0.25), cough and fever (0.25), and measured fever (0.25). Accuracy varied widely by age group. Only the overall clinical impression had a positive LR greater than 2.0. Cough was the most sensitive finding (0.92) with a negative LR of 0.28 in adults. The absence of any fever also had a low negative LR (0.30). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition of influenza-like illness (ILI) had good specificity but poor sensitivity in adults, while in infants, it had good sensitivity but widely varying specificity. The European CDC and WHO case definitions for ILI had modest sensitivity and specificity. CONCLUSIONS: Individual signs and symptoms, their combinations, and ILI case definitions have very limited accuracy for identifying persons with influenza. More accurate surveillance and diagnosis will require the development and validation of accurate risk scores or greater use of point-of-care testing.
A new statistical approach using positive etiologic predictive value can help differentiate causative pathogens from commensal organisms in multi-pathogen PCR testing.
SUMMARY BACKGROUND Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis requires adequate contact between an infectious case and a susceptible host. The aim of this analysis was to validate a recently developed contact score that assessed settings of exposure and relationships between the case and contact. METHODS In a cross-sectional study from Kampala, Uganda, we estimated the prevalence of tuberculous infection (TBI) in social contacts of adult TB cases according to the setting and relationship domains of the contact score. We calculated the prevalence ratio (PR) for the association between contact scores (by domain) with TBI using modified Poisson regression models. RESULTS We enrolled 955 household and community contacts from 119 TB cases. The prevalence of TBI in the social network was 52% (95% CI 48–55). The prevalence of TBI increased by quartile for both the setting score (44%, 40%, 53%, 70%; P trend <0.0001) and the relationship score (41%, 47%, 53%, 66%; P trend <0.0001). The setting score was associated with a higher prevalence of infection among children aged 5–14 years, whereas the relationship score was associated with infection in children aged 0–4 years. CONCLUSION In urban Africa, contacts of TB with higher settings and relationship scores were more likely infected with M. tuberculosis .
Purpose To explore the impact of a context-adapted decision aid and an online training about shared decision-making (SDM) about goals of care on the level of involvement of elderly patients by intensivists in SDM about goals of care and quality of goals of care discussions (GCD) in an intensive care unit. Methods This was a three-phase before-after mixed-methods implementation study conducted in an ICU in Lévis, Quebec, Canada. We followed the StaRI and COREQ reporting guidelines. We recruited patients aged ≥ 65 and their attending intensivists. We video-recorded GCD in three phases: Phase I: GCD without a decision aid; Phase II: GCD with a decision aid about goals of care but no online training; and Phase III: GCD with both a decision aid about goals of care following online training about SDM. All GCD recordings were transcribed verbatim. We measured the level of patient engagement by intensivists in SDM about goals of care through the OPTION scale and evaluated GCD quality using the Audit of Communication, Care Planning, and Documentation (ACCEPT) indicators. A qualitative thematic analysis of the encounters transcriptions was also performed. Results Out of 359 eligible patients, the study included 21 patients (71% males; median age, 77 years; 57% without high school diploma) and 5 intensivists (80% male; median age, 35). Despite completing online training, the decision aid was never used in recorded encounters. We did not perform any tests of statistical significance to compare results in each study phase because of small sample sizes over each phase. OPTION and ACCEPT scores were low in each phase, but physicians did engage in GCD. We found that 76% of the goals of care recorded in medical records after the discussion were consistent with preferences expressed by patients during recorded observations. Several patients expressed confusion about GCD. Barriers identified by intensivists leading GCD include physician attitudes, challenges to performing GCD along with the demands of the intensive care unit, misunderstandings, and lack of training. Facilitators include a patient-centered approach, a clear decision aid, and positive patient attitudes. In future work, an environment that supports physicians in performing GCD, promotes earlier and higher quality patient GCD before admission to the intensive care unit, and encourages meaningful SDM in critical care must be assessed as pathways to successful intensive care unit GCD. Conclusion A context-adapted decision aid about goals of care was created in addition to a complementary online training module. The online training was completed by all participating physicians but no increased involvement of patients in SDM during intensive care unit GCD was observed, and use of the decision aid was also not observed. We found several communication barriers that will need to be explored to improve intensive care unit GCD. Trial registration number: NCT04034979 Key points Misunderstandings and concerns among older adult patients about goals of care and invasive interventions in the ICU contribute to delayed decision-making. An online training regarding shared decision making with a corresponding decision aid for discussing goals of care was completed by all participating intensivists, but no increased involvement of patients nor use of the decision aid was observed in the ICU. Facilitators to the uptake of shared decision making may include the involvement of non-intensivist health professionals, mandating documentation discussions and their results in patient files, and challenging a long-held reluctance to discuss death as an outcome.
This monthly article provides a collection of summaries of the most relevant studies identified as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) for Italian primary care physicians. 1) Although bleeding risk scores such as HAS-BLED and HEMORR2HAGE are widely recommended by guidelines for decision-making regarding long-term anticoagulation, their accuracy in primary care patients seems to be pretty terrible. Studies in the primary care setting that derive and then externally validate simple, pragmatic risk scores are needed. 2) Point-of-care ultrasound is increasingly finding a role at the bedside, and this study adds to that evidence base. In the patient with acute abdominal pain, point-of-care ultrasound has been shown to be highly accurate for diagnosis of appendicitis, small bowel obstruction, aneurysm - and now, acute diverticulitis. 3) According to a recent meta-analysis, rhythm control is associated with a lower risk of dementia and cognitive dysfunction than rate control. Most of the data come from middling quality studies, which likely overestimate the purported protective effects. 4) Limited quality research finds no difference in outcomes among common treatments for acute otitis externa, including antibiotic, steroid, antiseptic, or nonpharmacologic treatment. Given the low quality of trials conducted so far, it remains to be seen if larger, better studies will find out a difference, but for now the existing literature gives us little guidance.
This monthly article provides a collection of summaries of the most relevant studies identified as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) for Italian primary care physicians. 1) In children and adults with acute conjunctivitis, antibiotic drops increase the likelihood that a patient will experience clinical recovery. Damage appears to be minimal for all agents other than fusidic acid (therefore, fusidic acid should be avoided). Since most patients improve without antibiotics, the benefit is modest, and there is a risk of antibiotic resistance, we would avoid them for patients with milder symptoms, especially immunocompetent adults. 2) A high quality randomized controlled trial was recently conducted on more than 4000 adult patients with recurrent episodes of subclinical atrial fibrillation. Trialists found that there was approximately 1 fewer ischemic stroke and 1 more major bleed for every 250 persons treated with apixaban instead of aspirin, but in people treated with apixaban major bleeding was also significantly more likely. This seems like a decision that requires an informed patient and shared decision-making. 3) In an intriguing but somewhat limited network meta-analysis, probiotics were equally or more effective than treatment with any antidepressant except escitalopram. Given the low advantage of standard treatments over placebo, probiotic treatment might be offered to patients who are reluctant to use antidepressants. 4) A recent meta-analysis showed that amyloid-targeting monoclonal antibodies do not provide any clinical meaningful benefits for patients with Alzheimer disease. Instead, they are associated with concerning risks of harm, most notably cerebral hemorrhage identified on imaging studies. The balance of risk versus benefit demonstrated thus far doesn't justify the use of these costly (over US$ 20,000 annually) drugs.
This monthly article provides a collection of summaries of the most relevant studies identified as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) for Italian primary care physicians. 1) A simple, well-validated risk score can help clinicians counsel patients with atrial fibrillation regarding the use of DOACs to prevent stroke. The score shares its name with the drug class (the "DOAC" score). 2) Presumably by perturbing the intestinal microbiome, antibiotic treatment is associated with an increase in the likelihood of the development of irritable bowel disease; this is especially true with multiple courses of antibiotics. 3) Patients with uncomplicated gallstones can be managed over time with analgesia and monitoring, though approximately 25% will eventually undergo cholecystectomy over the next 18 months. Still, there appears to be no need to rush to surgery without evidence of common bile duct blockage or acute pancreatitis. 4) Delivering bad news (e.g. a cancer diagnosis) by telephone does not affect levels of anxiety, depression, or satisfaction with care as compared with delivering the news in person. 5) An updated high quality systematic review found that, in conjunction with psychosocial interventions, oral naltrexone (50 mg/day) and oral acamprosate have the strongest evidence for being effective in the treatment of alcohol use disorder.
Introduction: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in the pediatric population is associated with poor survival and neurological outcomes. We aimed to develop and internally validate a risk score to predict survival to discharge in pediatric IHCA patients. Methods: For model development and validation, we included pediatric IHCA patients captured in the Get With The Guidelines® registry (provided by the American Heart Association) between 2005 and 2021. We used logistic regression (LR), classification and regression trees (CART), and artificial neural networks (ANN) to develop models using 70% of the data and validate them using the remaining 30% of the data. The discrimination of the models was compared based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), calibration based on the ratio of observed to expected (O: E), and predictive accuracy based on percent survival in each risk group. Results: We included 6141 pediatric patients (mean age 4.82 years, 41.3% infants, 54.7% male). Most patients survived to hospital discharge (60.9%). We developed separate models for infants vs. older children using LR, CART, and ANN. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) identified age, illness category, acyanotic cardiac malformation, hepatic insufficiency, hypotension/hypoperfusion, metabolic/electrolyte abnormality, metastatic/hematologic malignancy, renal insufficiency, septicemia, and pediatric cerebral performance score on admission as important predictor variables for analysis. Table 1 shows a comparison of model parameters. Logistic regression models were found to be better at classifying survivors into risk categories with higher specificity and discrimination. Conclusion: Pediatric patients experiencing IHCA can be classified into low, moderate, and high-risk categories using a simple risk score and easily identified pre-arrest variables. These risk scores can support clinical decisions, facilitate research, and help monitor the quality of medical services.
Background Testing for influenza in patients with acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is common and in some cases is performed for all patients with LRTI. A more selective approach to testing could be more efficient. Methods We used data from two prospective studies in the US primary and urgent care settings that enrolled patients with acute LRTI or influenza-like illness. Data were collected in the 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2022 flu seasons. All patients underwent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for influenza and the FluScore was calculated based on patient-reported symptoms at their initial visit. The probability of influenza in each risk group was reported, as well as stratum-specific likelihood ratios (SSLRs) for each risk level. Results The prevalence of influenza within risk groups varied based on overall differences in flu seasons and populations. However, the FluScore exhibited consistent performance across various seasons and populations based on the SSLRs. The FluScore had a consistent SSLR range of 0.20 to 0.23 for the low-risk group, 0.63 to 0.99 for the moderate-risk group, and 1.46 to 1.67 for the high-risk group. The diagnostic odds ratio based on the midpoints of these ranges was 7.25. Conclusions The FluScore could streamline patient categorization, identifying patients who could be exempted from testing, while identifying candidates for rapid influenza tests. This has the potential to be more efficient than a “one size fits all” test strategy, as it strategically targets the use of tests on patients most likely to benefit. It is potentially usable in a telehealth setting.
Introduction Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (uUTIs) in women are common infections encountered in primary care. Evidence suggests that rapid point-of-care tests (POCTs) to detect bacteria and erythrocytes in urine at presentation may help primary care clinicians to identify women with uUTIs in whom antibiotics can be withheld without influencing clinical outcomes. This pilot study aims to provide preliminary evidence on whether a POCT informed management of uUTI in women can safely reduce antibiotic use. Methods and analysis This is an open-label two-arm parallel cluster-randomised controlled pilot trial. 20 general practices affiliated with the Bavarian Practice-Based Research Network (BayFoNet) in Germany were randomly assigned to deliver patient management based on POCTs or to provide usual care. POCTs consist of phase-contrast microscopy to detect bacteria and urinary dipsticks to detect erythrocytes in urine samples. In both arms, urine samples will be obtained at presentation for POCTs (intervention arm only) and microbiological analysis. Women will be followed-up for 28 days from enrolment using self-reported symptom diaries, telephone follow-up and a review of the electronic medical record. Primary outcomes are feasibility of patient enrolment and retention rates per site, which will be summarised by means and SDs, with corresponding confidence and prediction intervals. Secondary outcomes include antibiotic use for UTI at day 28, time to symptom resolution, symptom burden, number of recurrent and upper UTIs and re-consultations and diagnostic accuracy of POCTs versus urine culture as the reference standard. These outcomes will be explored at cluster-levels and individual-levels using descriptive statistics, two-sample hypothesis tests and mixed effects models or generalised estimation equations. Ethics and dissemination The University of Würzburg institutional review board approved MicUTI on 16 December 2022 (protocol n. 109/22-sc). Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conferences, reports addressed to clinicians and the local citizen’s forums. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05667207 .
Introduction: We previously developed a simple risk score with 3 items (age, patient report of dyspnea, and any relevant comorbidity), and in this report validate it in a prospective sample of patients, stratified by vaccination status. Methods: Data were abstracted from a structured electronic health record of primary care and urgent care 8 patients with COVID-19 in the Lehigh Valley Health Network from 11/21/2021 and 10/31/2022 9 (Omicron variant). Our previously derived risk score was calculated for each of 19,456 patients, 10 and the likelihood of hospitalization was determined. Area under the ROC curve was calculated. Results: We were able to place 13,239 patients (68%) in a low-risk group with only a 0.16% risk of 13 hospitalization. The moderate risk group with 5622 patients had a 2.2% risk of hospitalization 14 and might benefit from close outpatient follow-up, whereas the high-risk group with only 574 15 patients (2.9% of all patients) had an 8.9% risk of hospitalization and may require further 16 evaluation. Area under the curve was 0.844. Discussion: We prospectively validated a simple risk score for primary and urgent care patients with COVID1919 that can support outpatient triage decisions around COVID-19.
This monthly article provides a collection of summaries of the most relevant studies identified as POEMs (patient-oriented evidence that matters) for Italian primary care physicians. 1) For patients with severe fatigue at least 3 months after Covid-19 infection, cognitive behavioral therapy offers significant improvement in symptoms over care as usual. 2) Key changes in the US chronic coronary disease guideline recommendations include the following. Shortening the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy, the use of beta-blockers in patients with chronic coronary disease, not recommending fish oil or omega-3 fatty acids for secondary prevention, not using e-cigarettes as first-line agents (but as secondary agents) for smoking cessation, and incorporating sodium-glucose transport protein 2 inhibitors (Sglt-2i) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for some patients with chronic coronary disease, including those without comorbid diabetes mellitus. 3) People with irritable bowel syndrome can try various probiotic-containing products to lessen their symptoms, but on the whole, most people will not experience a significant reduction. Products containing Escherichia strains were the most likely to provide a benefit, but these are not widely available. 4) Framing weight loss in terms of its positive effects, rather than by listing the risks of excess weight, increased patients' participation in a weight-loss program and increased their eventual weight loss.
PURPOSE: We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate clinically meaningful benefits and harms of monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid in patients with Alzheimer dementia. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, and 5 trial registries, as well as the reference lists of identified studies. We included randomized controlled trials comparing a monoclonal antibody with placebo at a dose consistent with that used in phase 3 trials or for Food and Drug Administration approval. Studies had to report at least 1 clinically relevant benefit or harm. Data were extracted independently by at least 2 researchers for random effects meta-analysis. Changes in cognitive and functional scales were compared between groups, and each difference was assessed to determine if it met the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). RESULTS: We identified 19 publications with 23,202 total participants that evaluated 8 anti-amyloid antibodies. There were small improvements over placebo in the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale (ADAS)-Cog-11 to -14 score (standardized mean difference = -0.07; 95% CI, -0.10 to -0.04), Mini Mental State Examination score (0.32 points; 95% CI, 0.13 to 0.50), and Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes scale score (mean difference =-0.18 points; 95% CI, -0.34 to -0.03), and the combined functional scores (standardized mean difference = 0.09; 95% CI, 0.05 to 0.13). None of the changes, including those for lecanemab, aducanumab, and donanemab, exceeded the MCID. Harms included significantly increased risks of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA)-edema (relative risk [RR] = 10.29; number needed to harm [NNH] = 9), ARIA-hemorrhage (RR = 1.74; NNH = 13), and symptomatic ARIA-edema (RR = 24.3; NNH = 86). CONCLUSIONS: Although monoclonal antibodies targeting amyloid provide small benefits on cognitive and functional scales in patients with Alzheimer dementia, these improvements are far below the MCID for each outcome and are accompanied by clinically meaningful harms.