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AnteayerInterdisciplinares

Swallowing prehabilitation for people with head and neck cancer: a pilot cluster-randomised feasibility trial of the SIP SMART intervention

Por: Govender · R. · Wang · J. · Marston · L. · Pizzo · E. · Taylor · S. · Nazareth · I.
Objectives

To assess the feasibility of delivering the swallowing prehabilitation intervention known as Swallowing Intervention Package: Self-Monitoring, Assessment and Rehabilitation Training (SIP SMART) within the National Health Service (NHS) head and neck cancer care pathway.

Design

Two-arm cluster-randomised pilot trial: SIP SMART2 trial.

Setting and participants

Adults newly diagnosed with stage II–IV head and neck cancer receiving curative treatment within a multidisciplinary team who agree to participate.

Interventions

Six hospitals were randomised. Trained clinicians at the intervention sites delivered the manualised SIP SMART intervention, while standard care was provided at care as usual (CAU) sites. The intervention included two 45-minute consultations incorporating an X-ray swallow assessment, tailored exercises/advice and specific behaviour change strategies while CAU involved a single consultation of information giving and provision of a generic exercise sheet.

Outcomes

Study outcomes related to feasibility of the cluster-randomised design, recruitment of both sites and patients and completeness of clinical and health economic data collected at baseline, 4 weeks, 12 weeks and 24 weeks after treatment.

Results

12 hospitals expressed interest and six were randomised (50%) and provided data to the point of study completion. Patient recruitment across all sites (n=76) reached the target, although two sites fell short of their individual targets. The proportion of people with HNC recruited versus those eligible for each arm was 39% (95% CI 29 to 49) for SIP SMART group and 55% (95% CI 43 to 66) for CAU. The end point data at 24 weeks were completed for 50% (95% CI 33 to 67) for SIP SMART and 78% (95% CI 62 to 89) for CAU. Adherence to the intervention was above 50% at all time points. No harms related to the intervention were reported.

Conclusions

It is feasible to deliver the SIP SMART intervention embedded within the NHS cancer care pathway using a cluster-randomised design. A future trial will be optimised for efficiency in set-up and follow-up data collection based on these findings and learnings from the accompanying process evaluation study.

Trial registration number

ISRCTN12377415.

Developing a pharmacist-led transition of care programme in the emergency department of a secondary care teaching hospital: a qualitative participatory co-design protocol

Por: Alhmoud · E. · Barazi · R. · Zakaria · A. · Andraous · L. · El Enany · R. · Thomas · B. · Abdulrouf · P. V. · Pathan · S. A. · Nazar · H. · Ibrahim · M. I. M. · Hadi · M. A.
Introduction

Transitions from the emergency department (ED) to home are high-risk periods for medication-related harm. Pharmacist-led interventions during this period may improve medication safety and care continuity, yet co-design approaches to develop such interventions remain underused. The aim of this study is to co-design a pharmacist-led transition of care programme for patients discharged from the ED.

Methods and analysis

This study will be conducted at a 371-bed secondary-care teaching hospital in Qatar and will follow two sequential phases using qualitative and participatory methods. Phase I will involve focus groups and semistructured interviews with key stakeholders (clinical pharmacists, physicians, nurses and patients or patient representatives). Phase II will consist of an intervention co-design workshop with decision makers (leaders, policymakers and representatives from Phase I). Participants will be recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Interviews will be audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data will be analysed using an inductive-deductive approach, guided by the Theoretical Domains Framework, the Care Transitions Framework and the APEASE (Affordability, Practicability, Effectiveness/cost-effectiveness, Acceptability, Side-effects/safety, Equity) criteria for evaluation of intervention feasibility.

The anticipated outcome is a prototype intervention detailing target recipients, core components, workflow, implementation strategies and supporting tools. This prototype will be pilot-tested to assess feasibility and inform further refinement.

Ethics and dissemination

The study was approved by the Medical Research Centre of Hamad Medical Corporation-Qatar (MRC-01-24-699) and Qatar University Institutional Review Board (QU-IRB 009/2025-EM). Written informed consent will be obtained from all study participants prior to participation. Research findings will be disseminated through institutional stakeholder briefings, presentations at national and international scientific conferences and publication in peer-reviewed journals. Patient representatives will contribute throughout the intervention development process.

Effects of 810 nm treatments in acute myofiber contraction of C2C12 myotubes

by Nashwa Cheema, Linh Pham, Alexa Nazarian, Namrata Ghag, Emma Wise, Christiane Fuchs, Richard Rox Anderson, Joshua Tam

The muscoskeletal system can be irradiated with wavelengths in the red and near infrared regions which penetrate deep into the body and stimulate biological mechanisms. However, the activation of cellular responses in muscle, specifically actively contracting, is not clearly understood. Therefore, we investigated biological effects induced by irradiation with 810 nm wavelength of light in myotubes, resting or actively contracting in an acute model of exercise. In resting myotubes, cytosolic Ca2+ rose within 10 minutes post treatment with 810 nm at 2–4 J/cm2. ATP production was increased 4% ± 3 at 24 hrs post light treatment. In contracting myotubes, 810 nm treatment resulted in a significant ~30% increase in intracellular ATP levels and a 20% ± 12 reduction in lactate secretion into cell culture media. 810 nm treated myotubes also had a smaller change in myotube width during contractions, 5% ± 3, suggesting the myotubes were contracting with less force. Although the contractile motion was reduced, 810 nm treated myotubes had a higher frequency of spontaneous contractions after removal of electric pulse stimulation (EPS), 42% ± 21 and 1.3-2 – fold increase in mitochondrial proteins, Tom70, citrate synthase (CS) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDHA). This finding suggests that 810 nm treatment altered metabolic and contractile properties of myotubes due to mitochondrial activation. A more thorough understanding of these effects could lead to new treatment modalities that could improve physical performance.

Hospital at home digital twin for the management of patients with frailty: a scoping review protocol

Por: Yahya · F. · Cooper · M. · Kassem · M. · Nazar · H.
Introduction

Patients with frailty are at risk of adverse outcomes such as mortality, falls, deconditioning and hospital readmissions. With an increasingly ageing population and a greater likelihood of frailty, there is a significant need to ensure that patients are managed in the right place and at the right time. There has been a focus on offering hospital-level care at home as a way to meet this need, incorporating strategies to integrate care and use digital solutions. Digital twin (DT) technology is one advancement, offering a virtual replica of an object/environment, which has the potential to make use of real-time data personalised for an individual patient and/or setting to inform and support patient management decisions. We are yet to realise the full potential of this new way of integrated working and technological advancements. This scoping review aims to ascertain the current evidence for the components of the DT architecture to enable the monitoring and management of patients with frailty living at home.

Methods

This scoping review will follow the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews and will be reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. The following electronic databases will be searched: Medline, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science and Scopus. Relevant websites will be searched for grey literature or case reports to capture the required information, as well as any documents provided by stakeholders. Primary studies, published in the English language from 2019 to the present day, which report on the monitoring or management of patients with long-term conditions and frailty within their home environment, will be included. Screening will be conducted by at least two independent reviewers against eligibility criteria, and a piloted data extraction form will be used to align with the research questions. Qualitative content analysis will be used. Data will be presented in tabular form, as well as descriptive and illustrative formats, to address the objectives of this review.

Ethics and dissemination

This scoping review does not require ethical approval. The findings of this review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and conferences and will support the development of a conceptual model of a hospital-at-home DT for the management of patients with frailty.

Machine Learning Insights Into Amputation Risk: Evaluating Wound Classification Systems in Diabetic Foot Ulcers

ABSTRACT

This study compares the performance of various wound classification systems to determine which system most effectively predicts amputation risk in diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) patients. Additionally, it identifies the key clinical and socioeconomic factors that influence this risk. A total of 616 DFUs from 400 outpatient participants in a prospective cohort study were followed over 6 months. Ten machine learning (ML) algorithms were employed to evaluate the predictive accuracy of various wound classification systems. The SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method was used to interpret the predictions of the selected model. The DIAFORA (diabetic foot risk assessment) and WIFI (Wound, Ischaemia and foot Infection) classification systems demonstrated the highest predictive power for predicting amputation within 6 months. SHAP analysis revealed that wound penetration to bone, presence of ischaemia and infection, renal failure, delayed first specialist visit, longer diabetes duration, high baseline HbA1c, low education levels and high body mass index were significant risk factors for amputation. Conversely, higher education levels served as a protective factor. Occupation showed variable effects, with private-sector employment associated with increased risk, while being a housewife was linked to lower risk. Infection and ischaemia are significant factors affecting DFU outcomes. Addressing treatment adherence barriers and implementing tailored interventions that consider patients' occupational needs can reduce amputation rates.

Disabilities and depression in young adolescents living in underdeveloped areas of Indonesia: results from the 2018 Indonesia Basic Health Survey

Por: Tjandrarini · D. H. · Ashar · H. · Nari · J. P. · Malakauseya · M. L. V. · Senewe · F. P. · Musoddaq · M. A. · Nazarina · N. · Mulyantoro · D. K. · Wardhani · Y. F. · Izza · N. · Titaley · C. R.
Objectives

This study aimed to investigate the association between the type and severity of disabilities and depression among adolescents aged 15–17 years living in underdeveloped areas of Indonesia.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Data were derived from the 2018 Indonesia Basic Health Research, a nationally representative data of Indonesia.

Participant

We used information collected from 4811 adolescents aged 15–17 living in underdeveloped areas of Indonesia.

Primary outcome

The primary outcome was depression, based on the conditions experienced by respondents during the last 2 weeks.

Results

The analysis showed that 5.65% of adolescents aged 15–17 years living in underdeveloped areas of Indonesia had depressive symptoms. Adolescents with severe physical and psychological disabilities were most at risk, exhibiting significantly higher odds of developing depression (aOR=12.09, 95% CI: 5.41 to 27.03, p0.001). Other significant predictors included female adolescents (aOR=2.18, 95% CI: 1.51 to 3.14, p0.001) and those who had a non-communicable disease (aOR=3.50, 95% CI: 1.00 to 12.18, p=0.049).

Conclusions

These findings highlight the critical need for targeted depression interventions and collaborative efforts to support vulnerable adolescents in underdeveloped areas of Indonesia, particularly those with disabilities, girls and those with non-communicable diseases. Efforts to engage healthcare providers, educators and policymakers to improve access to mental health resources will enhance the overall well-being of vulnerable populations.

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