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Dementia is a complex medical condition that poses significant challenges to healthcare systems and support services. People living with dementia (PLWD) and their carers experience complex needs often exacerbated by social isolation and challenges in accessing support. Social prescribing (SP) seeks to enable PLWD and their carers to access community and voluntary sector resources to support them address such needs. Existing research, however, does not describe what SP interventions are currently in place in dementia care. Little is known about the needs these interventions are designed to address, the reasons that lead PLWD and their carers to participate in them, their effectiveness and the extent to which they could increase positive health outcomes if adopted and how.
A complex intervention systematic review of SP for PLWD and/or their carers will be conducted using an iterative logic model approach. Six electronic (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus and Cochrane/CENTRAL) and two grey literature databases (EThOS and CORE) were searched for publications between 1 January 2003 and June 2023, supplemented by handsearching of reference lists of included studies. Study selection, data extraction and risk of bias assessment, using Gough’s Weight of Evidence Framework, will be independently performed by two reviewers. A narrative approach will be employed to synthesise and report quantitative and qualitative data. Reporting will be informed by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Complex Interventions extension statement and checklist.
No ethical approval is required due to this systematic review operating only with secondary sources. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and meetings with key stakeholders including healthcare professionals, patient and carer groups, community organisations (eg, the Social Prescribing Network and the Evidence Collaborative at the National Academy for Social Prescribing), policymakers and funding bodies.
CRD42023428625.
A deeper understanding of the lived experiences of Hispanic patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can help guide the development of behavioural programmes that facilitate NAFLD management. This paper explores Hispanic women’s experiences living with NAFLD.
We collected brief sociodemographic questionnaires and conducted in-depth interviews with 12 low-income (all had household income ≤USD$55 000 per year) Hispanic women with NAFLD from the Houston area. Transcripts were audio-recorded and transcribed. We developed a coding scheme and used thematic analysis to identify emergent themes, supported by Atlas.ti.
Participants identified physicians as their main information source on NAFLD but also consulted the internet, family, friends and peers. Many were still left wanting more information. Participants identified family history, sedentary lifestyles, poor diet and comorbid conditions as causes for their NAFLD. Participants also reported emotional distress after diagnosis. Participants experienced both successes and challenges in making lifestyle changes in nutrition and physical activity. Some participants received desired social support in managing NAFLD, although there were conflicting feelings about spousal support.
Multifaceted programming that improves patient–provider communication, conveys accurate information and enhances social support is needed to support Hispanic women in managing NAFLD.
The objective of this paper was to investigate erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and c-reactive protein (CRP) in diagnosing pedal osteomyelitis (OM) in patients with and without diabetes, and with and without severe renal impairment (SRI). This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with moderate and severe foot infections. We evaluated three groups: Subjects without diabetes (NDM), subjects with diabetes and without severe renal insufficiency (DM-NSRI), and patients with diabetes and SRI (DM-SRI). SRI was defined as eGFR <30. We evaluated area under the curve (AUC), cutoff point, sensitivity and specificity to characterize the accuracy of ESR and CRP to diagnose OM. A total of 408 patients were included in the analysis. ROC analysis in the NDM group revealed the AUC for ESR was 0.62, with a cutoff value of 46 mm/h (sensitivity, 49.0%; specificity, 76.0%). DM-NSRI subjects showed the AUC for ESR was 0.70 with the cutoff value of 61 mm/h (sensitivity, 68.9%; specificity 61.8%). In DM-SRI, the AUC for ESR was 0.67, with a cutoff value of 119 mm/h (sensitivity, 46.4%; specificity, 82.40%). In the NDM group, the AUC for CRP was 0.55, with a cutoff value of 6.4 mg/dL (sensitivity, 31.3%; specificity, 84.0%). For DM-NSRI, the AUC for CRP was 0.70, with a cutoff value of 8 mg/dL (sensitivity, 49.2%; specificity, 80.6%). In DM-SRI, the AUC for CRP was 0.62, with a cutoff value of 7 mg/dL (sensitivity, 57.1%; specificity, 67.7%). While CRP demonstrated relatively consistent utility, ESR's diagnostic cutoff points diverged significantly. These results highlight the necessity of considering patient-specific factors when interpreting ESR results in the context of OM diagnosis.
Our objective was to evaluate normative data for near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in 110 healthy volunteers by Fitzpatrick skin type (FST) and region of the foot. We obtained measurements of the dorsum and plantar foot using a commercially available device (SnapshotNIR, Kent Imaging, Calgary Canada). On the dorsum of the foot, people with FST6 had significantly lower oxygen saturation compared to FST1-5 (p < 0.001), lower oxyhaemoglobin compared to FST2-5 (p = 0.001), but there was no difference in deoxyhaemoglobin. No differences were found on the plantar foot. When comparing dorsal and plantar foot, there was higher oxyhaemoglobin (0.40 ± 0.09 vs. 0.51 ± 0.12, p < 0.001) and deoxyhaemoglobin (0.16 ± 0.05 vs. 0.21 ± 0.05, p < 0.001) on the plantar foot, but no differences in oxygen saturation (dorsal 70.7 ± 10.8, plantar 70.0 ± 9.5, p = 0.414). In 6.4% of feet, there were black areas, for which no NIRS measurements could be generated. All areas with no data were on the dorsal foot and only found in FST 5–6. People with FST6 had significantly larger areas with no data compared to FST 5 (22.2 cm2 ± 20.4 vs. 1.9 cm2 ± 0.90, p = 0.007). These findings should be considered when using NIRS technology. Skin pigmentation should be evaluated in future NIRS studies.
Limb salvage is a difficult path for patients to travel as there is no guarantee of the outcome, often the major factor is perfusion. For patients who underwent transmetatarsal amputation (TMA), success rate is crucial as the next option is most likely a major amputation. We performed a 10 years (2010–2020) retrospective review of patients that underwent a TMA and had an angiogram or computed tomography angiography (CTA) perioperatively at the Dallas VA Medical Center. Failure after TMA was defined as a patient requiring a proximal amputation within 1 year. There were 125 TMAs performed between 2010 and 2020 at the institution. Forty-four (35.2%) patients had an angiogram/CTA peri-operative and met the inclusion criteria. Seventeen subjects (38.6%) had a higher level of amputation. Of the 17 failures, 2 (11.8%) patients had no patent vessel runoff to the foot, 9 (52.9%) had one vessel, 4 (23.5%) had two vessels, and 2 (11.8%) had three vessels runoff. One vessel runoff to the foot yielded a high rate of poor outcomes (56.3%) defined as a higher level of amputation. Two or more vessels runoff to the foot had over 75% success of limb salvage with a TMA.
by Sarah M. Frank, Lindsay M. Jaacks, Christy L. Avery, Linda S. Adair, Katie Meyer, Donald Rose, Lindsey Smith Taillie
BackgroundThe Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) measures adherence to the sustainable dietary guidance proposed by the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health. To justify incorporating sustainable dietary guidance such as the PHDI in the US, the index needs to be compared to health-focused dietary recommendations already in use. The objectives of this study were to compare the how the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI), the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) relate to cardiometabolic risk factors.
Methods and findingsParticipants from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015–2018) were assigned a score for each dietary index. We examined disparities in dietary quality for each index. We used linear and logistic regression to assess the association of standardized dietary index values with waist circumference, blood pressure, HDL-C, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and triglycerides (TG). We also dichotomized the cardiometabolic indicators using the cutoffs for the Metabolic Syndrome and used logistic regression to assess the relationship of the standardized dietary index values with binary cardiometabolic risk factors. We observed diet quality disparities for populations that were Black, Hispanic, low-income, and low-education. Higher diet quality was associated with improved continuous and binary cardiometabolic risk factors, although higher PHDI was not associated with high FPG and was the only index associated with lower TG. These patterns remained consistent in sensitivity analyses.
ConclusionsSustainability-focused dietary recommendations such as the PHDI have similar cross-sectional associations with cardiometabolic risk as HEI-2015 or DASH. Health-focused dietary guidelines such as the forthcoming 2025–2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans can consider the environmental impact of diet and still promote cardiometabolic health.
by Zhen Zhao, Owen Lou, Yiyang Wang, Raymond Yin, Carrie Gong, Florence Deng, Ethan C. Wu, Jing Yi Xie, Jerry Wu, Avery Ma, Yongzhi Guo, Wei Ting Xiong
While systemic corticosteroids quicken patient recovery during acute exacerbations of COPD, they also have many adverse effects. The optimal duration of corticosteroid administration remains uncertain. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare patient outcomes between short- (≤7 days) and long- (>7 days) corticosteroid regimens in adults with acute exacerbations of COPD. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and hand searches were used to identify eligible studies. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2.0 tool and ROBINS-I. Data were summarized as ORs (odds ratios) or MDs (mean differences) whenever possible and qualitatively described otherwise. A total of 11532 participants from eight RCTs and three retrospective cohort studies were included, with 1296 from seven RCTs and two cohort studies eligible for meta-analyses. Heterogeneity was present in the methodology and settings of the studies. The OR (using short duration as the treatment arm) for mortality was 0.76 (95% CI = 0.40–1.44, n = 1055). The MD for hospital length-of-stay was -0.91 days (95% CI = -1.81–-0.02 days, n = 421). The OR for re-exacerbations was 1.31 (95% CI = 0.90–1.90, n = 552). The OR for hyperglycemia was 0.90 (95% CI = 0.60–1.33, n = 423). The OR for infection incidence was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.59–1.156, n = 389). The MD for one-second forced expiratory volume change was -18.40 mL (95% CI = -111.80–75.01 mL, n = 161). The RCTs generally had low or unclear risks of bias, while the cohort studies had serious or moderate risks of bias. Our meta-analyses were affected by imprecision due to insufficient data. Some heterogeneity was present in the results, suggesting population, setting, and treatment details are potential prognostic factors. Our evidence suggests that short-duration treatments are not worse than long-duration treatments in moderate/severe exacerbations and may lead to considerably better outcomes in milder exacerbations. This supports the current GOLD guidelines. Trial registration: Our protocol is registered in PROSPERO: CRD42023374410.by Frederick P. Rivara, Ashley B. Hink, Deborah Kuhls, Samantha Banks, Lauren L. Agoubi, Shelbie Kirkendoll, Alex Winchester, Christopher Hoeft, Bhavin Patel, Avery Nathens
Firearm deaths continue to be a major public health problem, but the number of non-fatal firearm injuries and the characteristics of patients and injuries is not well known. The American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, with support from the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research, leveraged an existing data system to capture lethal and non-lethal injuries, including patients treated and discharged from the emergency department and collect additional data on firearm injuries that present to trauma centers. In 2020, Missouri had the 4th highest firearm mortality rate in the country at 23.75/100,000 population compared to 13.58/100,000 for the US overall. We examined the characteristics of patients from Missouri with firearm injuries in this cross-sectional study. Of the overall 17,395 patients, 1,336 (7.7%) were treated at one of the 11 participating trauma centers in Missouri during the 12-month study period. Patients were mostly male and much more likely to be Black and uninsured than residents in the state as a whole. Nearly three-fourths of the injuries were due to assaults, and overall 7.7% died. Few patients received post-discharge services.
FreshRSS 