“Sometimes we can’t fix things”: a qualitative study of health care professionals’ perceptions of end of life care for patients with heart failure

Background Although heart failure has a worse prognosis than some cancers, patients often have restricted access to well-developed end of life (EoL) models of care. Studies show that patients with advanced heart failure may have a poor understanding of their condition and its outcome and, therefore, miss opportunities to discuss their wishes for EoL care and preferred place of death. We aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of health care professionals (HCPs) working with patients with heart failure around EoL care. Design A qualitative in-depth interview study nested in a wider ethnographic study of unplanned admissions in patients with heart failure (HoldFAST). We interviewed 24 HCPs across primary, secondary and community care in three locations in England, UK – the Midlands, South Central and South West. Results The study revealed three issues impacting on EoL care for heart failure patients. Firstly, HCPs discussed approaches to communicating with patients about death and highlighted the challenges involved. HCPs would like to have conversations with patients and families about death and dying but are aware that patient preferences are not easy to predict. Secondly, professionals acknowledged difficulties recognising when patients have reached the end of their life. Lack of communication between patients and professionals can result in situations where inappropriate treatment takes place at the end of patients’ lives. Thirdly, HCPs discussed the struggle to find alternatives to hospital admission for patients at the end of their life. Patients may be hospitalised because of a lack of planning which would enable them to die at home, if they so wished. Conclusions The HCPs regarded opportunities for patients with heart failure to have ongoing discussions about their EoL care with clinicians they know as essential. These key professionals can help co-ordinate care and support in the terminal phase of the condition. Links between heart failure teams and specialist palliative care services appear to benefit patients, and further sharing of expertise between teams is recommended. Further research is needed to develop prognostic models to indicate when a transition to palliation is required and to evaluate specialist palliative care services where heart failure patients are included

Exploring Plagiarism Awareness, Motivation, And Intentions Within The Ayurvedic Domain

As plagiarism is a serious offense, it is critical for researchers to examine their work for plagiarism. Consequently, this study aims to shed light on the issue of plagiarism within the Ayurveda domain, providing valuable insights into the awareness, motivations, and purposes behind plagiarism. This is an empirical study based on the primary data collected from the field of Ayurved domain using a survey approach. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics for hypothesis testing to draw conclusions. Researchers collected data from 194 participants (38% male and 62% female) with an average age 31.19 years (± 0.80) and SD 11.11 years. They included 58.76% of students, 40.72% of teachers, and 0.52% of researchers having education qualifications as 37.63%, 40.72%, and 21.65% for undergraduate (UG), Post Graduate (PG), and Doctoral (Ph.D.) respectively. Formulated four research hypotheses, through their respective sub-hypotheses, are tested for independence using parametric χ2 test of independence at 95% confidence level (α = 0.05). Awareness about plagiarism depends upon educational qualification as well as professional-category of the personnel, It is found to be in increasing order with respect to educational qualification, more in teachers than students. The motivation behind the plagiarism check was also found to be dependent upon educational qualification and professional category. Mandatory-requirement factor increases with an academic qualification and is found to be higher in teachers than students. The researcher further observed that the selection of plagiarism detection software is independent of educational qualification and professional category. It found effectiveness as the primary factor for selection followed by price. By understanding these plagiarism aspects, it is possible to develop strategies to prevent plagiarism and promote ethical research practices in the field of Ayurveda, ultimately preserving the integrity of this traditional system of medicine. &nbsp

A patient safety toolkit for family practices

Objectives: Major gaps remain in our understanding of primary care patient safety. We describe a toolkit for measuring patient safety in family practices. Methods: Six tools were used in 46 practices. These tools were: NHS Education for Scotland Trigger Tool, NHS Education for Scotland Medicines Reconciliation Tool, Primary Care Safequest, Prescribing Safety Indicators, PREOS-PC, and Concise Safe Systems Checklist. Results: PC-Safequest showed that most practices had a well-developed safety climate. However, the Trigger Tool revealed that a quarter of events identified were associated with moderate or substantial harm, with a third originating in primary care and avoidable. Although medicines reconciliation was undertaken within 2 days in >70% of cases, necessary discussions with a patient/carer did not always occur. The prescribing safety indicators identified 1,435 instances of potentially hazardous prescribing or lack of recommended monitoring (from 92,649 patients). The Concise Safe Systems Checklist found that 25% of staff thought their practice provided inadequate follow-up for vulnerable patients discharged from hospital and inadequate monitoring of non-collection of prescriptions. Most patients had a positive perception of the safety of their practice although 45% identified at least one safety problem in the past year. Conclusions: Patient safety is complex and multidimensional. The Patient Safety Toolkit is easy to use and hosted on a single platform with a collection of tools generating practical and actionable information. It enables family practices to identify safety deficits that they can review and change procedures to improve their patient safety across a key sets of patient safety issues

Glycosylated haemoglobin and prognosis in 10,536 people with cancer and pre-existing diabetes: a meta-analysis with dose-response analysis

AIMS: To assess whether glycaemic control is associated with prognosis in people with cancer and pre-existing diabetes. METHODS: In this pre-registered systematic review (PROSPERO: CRD42020223956), PubMed and Web of Science were searched on 25th Nov 2021 for studies investigating associations between glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and prognosis in people with diabetes and cancer. Summary relative risks (RRs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for associations between poorly controlled HbA1c or per 1-unit HbA1c increment and cancer outcomes were estimated using a random-effects meta-analysis. We also investigated the impact of potential small-study effects using the trim-and-fill method and potential sources of heterogeneity using subgroup analyses. RESULTS: Fifteen eligible observational studies, reporting data on 10,536 patients with cancer and pre-existing diabetes, were included. Random-effects meta-analyses indicated that HbA1c ≥ 7% (53 mmol/mol) was associated with increased risks of: all-cause mortality (14 studies; RR: 1.14 [95% CI: 1.03-1.27]; p-value: 0.012), cancer-specific mortality (5; 1.68 [1.13-2.49]; p-value: 0.011) and cancer recurrence (8; 1.68 [1.18-2.38; p-value: 0.004]), with moderate to high heterogeneity. Dose-response meta-analyses indicated that 1-unit increment of HbA1c (%) was associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality (13 studies; 1.04 [1.01-1.08]; p-value: 0.016) and cancer-specific mortality (4; 1.11 [1.04-1.20]; p-value: 0.003). All RRs were attenuated in trim-and-fill analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested that glycaemic control might be a modifiable risk factor for mortality and cancer recurrence in people with cancer and pre-existing diabetes. High-quality studies with a larger sample size are warranted to confirm these findings due to heterogeneity and potential small-study effects. In the interim, it makes clinical sense to recommend continued optimal glycaemic control

Outcome trends in people with heart failure, type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease in the UK over twenty years

Background: Heart failure (HF) together with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are major pandemics of the twenty first century. It is not known in people with new onset HF, what the distinct and combined associations are between T2D and CKD comorbidities and cause-specific hospital admissions and death, over the past 20 years. Methods: An observational study using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to the Hospital Episode Statistics in England (1998-2017). Participants were people aged >= 30 years with new onset HF. Exposure groups were HF with: (i) no T2D and no CKD (reference group); (ii) CKD-only (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) Findings: In 87,709 HF patients (mean age, 78 years; 49% female), 40% had CKD-only, 12% T2D-only, and 16% both. Age-standardised first-year CVD hospitalisation rates were significantly higher in HF patients with CKD-only (46.4; 95% CI 44.9,47.9 per 100 person years) and T2D-only (49.2; 46.7,58.8) than in the reference group (35.1; 34.0,36.1); the highest rate was in patients with T2D-CKD-5: 89.1 (65.8,112.4). Similar patterns were observed for non-CVD hospitalisations and deaths. Group differences remained significant after adjustment for potential confounders. Median survival was highest in the reference (4.4 years) and HF-T2D-only (4.1 years) groups, compared to HF-CKD-only (2.2 years). HF-T2D-CKD group survival ranged from 2.8 (CKD-3a) to 0.7 years (CKD-5). Over time, CVD hospitalisation rates significantly increased for HF-CKD-only (+26%) and reduced (-24%) for HF-T2D-only groups; no reductions were observed in any of the HF-T2D-CKD groups. Trends were similar for non-CVD hospitalisations and death: whilst death rates significantly reduced for HF-T2D-only (-37%), improvement was not observed in any of the T2D-CKD groups. Interpretation: In a cohort of people with new onset HF, hospitalisations and deaths are high in patients with T2D or CKD, and worst in those with both comorbidities. Whilst outcomes have improved over time for patients with HF and comorbid T2D, similar trends were not seen in those with comorbid CKD. Strategies to prevent and manage CKD in people with HF are urgently needed. [reference: NIHR 30011] (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd

The implications of living with heart failure; the impact on everyday life, family support, co-morbidities and access to healthcare: a secondary qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to use secondary analysis to interrogate a qualitative data set to explore the experiences of patients living with heart failure. METHODS: The data-set comprised interviews with 11 patients who had participated in an ethnographic study of heart failure focusing on unplanned hospital admissions. Following an initial review of the literature, a framework was developed with which to interrogate the data-set. This was modified in light of analysis of the first two interviews, to focus on the rich data around patients' perceptions of living with heart failure, managing co-morbidities, accessing healthcare and the role of their family and friends, during their illness journey. RESULTS: Respondents described how the symptoms of heart failure impacted on their daily lives and how disruption of routine activity due to their symptoms caused them to seek medical care. Respondents disclosed the difficulties of living with other illnesses, in addition to their heart failure, particularly managing multiple and complex medication regimes and negotiating multiple appointments; all expressed a desire to return to their pre-morbid, more independent lives. Many respondents described uncertainty around diagnosis and delays in communication from their healthcare providers. The importance of family support was emphasised, but respondents worried about burdening relatives with their illness. CONCLUSION: Living with heart failure causes disruption to the lives of sufferers. Facilitation of access to healthcare, through good communication between services and having a strong support network of both family and clinicians can reduce the impact of heart failure on the lives of the patient and those around them

Variation in the estimated prevalence of multimorbidity : systematic review and meta-analysis of 193 international studies

Funding: This study was funded by Health Data Research UK (CFC0110).Objective (1) To estimate the pooled prevalence of multimorbidity in all age groups, globally. (2) To examine how measurement of multimorbidity impacted the estimated prevalence. Methods In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we conducted searches in nine bibliographic databases (PsycINFO, Embase, Global Health, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CINAHL and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global) for prevalence studies published between database inception and 21 January 2020. Studies reporting the prevalence of multimorbidity (in all age groups and in community, primary care, care home and hospital settings) were included. Studies with an index condition or those that did not include people with no long-term conditions in the denominator were excluded. Retrieved studies were independently reviewed by two reviewers, and relevant data were extracted using predesigned pro forma. We used meta-analysis to pool the estimated prevalence of multimorbidity across studies, and used random-effects meta-regression and subgroup analysis to examine the association of heterogeneous prevalence estimates with study and measure characteristics. Results 13 807 titles were screened, of which 193 met inclusion criteria for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of multimorbidity was 42.4% (95% CI 38.9% to 46.0%) with high heterogeneity (I2 >99%). In adjusted meta-regression models, participant mean age and the number of conditions included in a measure accounted for 47.8% of heterogeneity in effect sizes. The estimated prevalence of multimorbidity was significantly higher in studies with older adults and those that included larger numbers of conditions. There was no significant difference in estimated prevalence between low-income or middle-income countries (36.8%) and high-income countries (44.3%), or between self-report (40.0%) and administrative/clinical databases (52.7%). Conclusions The pooled prevalence of multimorbidity was significantly higher in older populations and when studies included a larger number of baseline conditions. The findings suggest that, to improve study comparability and quality of reporting, future studies should use a common core conditions set for multimorbidity measurement and report multimorbidity prevalence stratified by sociodemographics. PROSPERO registration number CRD42020172409.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Navigating the complexities of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) from risk factors to outcome: insights from the UK Biobank cohort

AbstractBackgroundThe global prevalence of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) is increasing despite optimal management of traditional risk factors such as hyperglycaemia, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. This study examines the influence of cardiorenal risk factors, socioeconomic status, and ethnic and cardiovascular comorbidities on ESKD outcomes in the general population.MethodsThis cross-sectional study analysed data from 502,408 UK Biobank study participants recruited between 2006 and 2010. Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to assess risk factors for ESKD, with results presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).ResultsA total of 1191 (0.2%) of the study participants reported ESKD. Diabetes increased ESKD risk by 62% [1.62 (1.36–1.93)], with early-onset diabetes (before age 40) conferring higher odds compared to later-onset (after age 40) [2.26 (1.57–3.24)]. Similarly, early-onset hypertension (before age 40), compared to later onset (after age 40), increased ESKD odds by 73% [1.73 (1.21–2.44)]. Cardiovascular comorbidities, including stroke, hypertension, myocardial infarction and angina, were strongly associated with ESKD [5.97 (3.99–8.72), 5.35 (4.38–6.56), 4.94 (3.56–6.78), and 4.89 (3.47–6.81)], respectively. Males were at 22% higher risk of ESKD than females [1.22 (1.04–1.43)]. Each additional year of diabetes duration increased ESKD odds by 2% [1.02 (1.01–1.03)]. Non-white ethnicity, compared to white and socioeconomically most deprived, compared to the least deprived quintiles, were at 70% and 83% higher odds of ESKD. Each unit of HbA1c rise increased the odds of ESKD by 2%. Compared to microalbuminuria, macroalbuminuria increased the odds of ESKD by almost 10-fold [9.47 (7.95–11.27)] while normoalbuminuria reduced the odds by 73% [0.27 (0.22–0.32)].ConclusionsEarly onset of diabetes and hypertension, male sex, non-white ethnicity, deprivation, poor glycaemic control, and prolonged hyperglycaemia are significant risk factors for ESKD. These findings highlight the complexity of ESKD and the need for multifactorial targeted interventions in high-risk populations

Cancer history as a predictor in cardiovascular risk scores: a primary care cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular risks are raised in cancer survivors but cancer history is not included in cardiovascular risk scores that inform preventive decisions. AIM: To assess whether cancer diagnosis should be included in cardiovascular risk scores. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cohort study using data from English general practices linked to hospital, cancer registration, and death registration data from 1990 to 2015. METHOD: Adults alive 1 year after a first cancer diagnosis and age, sex, general practice, and calendar- time matched cancer-free individuals were included. Individuals with 10% relative difference with P<0.01) was assessed. RESULTS: In total, 81 420 cancer survivors and 413 547 cancer-free individuals were followed for a median 5.2 years (interquartile range [IQR] 2.8- 9.1) and 6.3 years (IQR 3.5-10.2), respectively. Including a 1-year cancer survivorship variable in a QRISK3-based model met the threshold for inclusion for males (independent hazard ratio [iHR] 1.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11 to 1.20, P<0.001) but not females (iHR 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.14, P = 0.02). When including cancer type, the threshold was met for both sexes with history of haematological cancer (males: iHR 1.27, 95% CI = 1.16 to 1.40, P <0.001; females: iHR 1.59, 95% CI = 1.32 to 1.91, P<0.001) and for males but not females with history of solid cancers (males: iHR 1.13, 95% CI = 1.08 to 1.18, P <0.001; females: iHR 1.04, 95% CI = 0.98 to 1.10, P = 0.19). CONCLUSION: Developers should consider including cancer history variables in future cardiovascular risk models