Association of Home Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation With Clinical Outcomes in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE

The association of home noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) with outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and hypercapnia is uncertain.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association of home NIPPV via bilevel positive airway pressure (BPAP) devices and noninvasive home mechanical ventilator (HMV) devices with clinical outcomes and adverse events in patients with COPD and hypercapnia.

DATA SOURCES

Search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Cochrane Central Registrar of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, National Guideline Clearinghouse, and Scopus for English-language articles published from January 1, 1995, to November 6, 2019.

STUDY SELECTION

Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and comparative observational studies that enrolled adults with COPD with hypercapnia who used home NIPPV for more than 1 month were included.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

Data extraction was completed by independent pairs of reviewers. Risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool for RCTs and select items from the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for nonrandomized studies.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Primary outcomes were mortality, all-cause hospital admissions, need for intubation, and quality of life at the longest follow-up.

RESULTS

A total of 21 RCTs and 12 observational studies evaluating 51 085 patients (mean [SD] age, 65.7 [2.1] years; 43% women) were included, among whom there were 434 deaths and 27 patients who underwent intubation. BPAP compared with no device was significantly associated with lower risk of mortality (22.31% vs 28.57%; risk difference [RD], -5.53% [95% CI, -10.29% to -0.76%]; odds ratio [OR], 0.66 [95% CI, 0.51-0.87]; P = .003; 13 studies; 1423 patients; strength of evidence [SOE], moderate), fewer patients with all-cause hospital admissions (39.74% vs 75.00%; RD, -35.26% [95% CI, -49.39% to -21.12%]; OR, 0.22 [95% CI, 0.11-0.43]; P < .001; 1 study; 166 patients; SOE, low), and lower need for intubation (5.34% vs 14.71%; RD, -8.02% [95% CI, -14.77% to -1.28%]; OR, 0.34 [95% CI, 0.14-0.83]; P = .02; 3 studies; 267 patients; SOE, moderate). There was no significant difference in the total number of all-cause hospital admissions (rate ratio, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.71-1.17]; P = .47; 5 studies; 326 patients; SOE, low) or quality of life (standardized mean difference, 0.16 [95% CI, -0.06 to 0.39]; P = .15; 9 studies; 833 patients; SOE, insufficient). Noninvasive HMV use compared with no device was significantly associated with fewer all-cause hospital admissions (rate ratio, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.35-0.71]; P < .001; 1 study; 93 patients; SOE, low), but not mortality (21.84% vs 34.09%; RD, -11.99% [95% CI, -24.77% to 0.79%]; OR, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.29-1.08]; P = .49; 2 studies; 175 patients; SOE, insufficient). There was no statistically significant difference in the total number of adverse events in patients using NIPPV compared with no device (0.18 vs 0.17 per patient; P = .84; 6 studies; 414 patients).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

In this meta-analysis of patients with COPD and hypercapnia, home BPAP, compared with no device, was associated with lower risk of mortality, all-cause hospital admission, and intubation, but no significant difference in quality of life. Noninvasive HMV, compared with no device, was significantly associated with lower risk of hospital admission, but there was no significant difference in mortality risk. However, the evidence was low to moderate in quality, the evidence on quality of life was insufficient, and the analyses for some outcomes were based on small numbers of studies.

High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen in Patients with Acute Respiratory Failure and Do-Not-Intubate or Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) oxygen may provide tailored benefits in patients with preset treatment limitations. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of HFNC oxygen in patients with do-not-intubate (DNI) and/or do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review of interventional and observational studies. A search was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science, from inception to October 15, 2018.

RESULTS

We included six studies evaluating 293 patients. All studies had a high risk of bias. The hospital mortality rates of patients with DNI and/or DNR orders receiving HFNC oxygen were variable and ranged from 40% to 87%. In two before and after studies, the initiation of HFNC oxygen was associated with improved oxygenation and reduced respiratory rates. One comparative study found no difference in dyspnea reduction or morphine doses between patients using HFNC oxygen versus conventional oxygen. No studies evaluated quality of life in survivors or quality of death in nonsurvivors. HFNC was generally well tolerated with few adverse events identified.

CONCLUSIONS

While HFNC oxygen remains a viable treatment option for hospitalized patients who have acute respiratory failure and a DNI and/or DNR order, there is a paucity of high-quality, comparative, effectiveness data to guide the usage of HFNC oxygen compared with other treatments, such as noninvasive ventilation, conventional oxygen, and palliative opioids.

Do-not-intubate orders in patients with acute respiratory failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PURPOSE

To assess the rates and variability of do-not-intubate orders in patients with acute respiratory failure.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review of observational studies that enrolled adult patients with acute respiratory failure requiring noninvasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula oxygen from inception to 2019.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies evaluating 10,755 patients were included. The overall pooled rate of do-not-intubate orders was 27%. The pooled rate of do-not-intubate orders in studies from North America was 14% (range 9-22%), from Europe was 28% (range 13-58%), and from Asia was 38% (range 9-83%), p = 0.001. Do-not-intubate rates were higher in studies with higher patient age and in studies where do-not-intubate decisions were made without reported patient/family input. There were no significant differences in do-not-intubate orders according to illness severity, observed mortality, malignancy comorbidity, or methodological quality. Rates of do-not-intubate orders increased over time from 9% in 2000-2004 to 32% in 2015-2019. Only 12 studies (46%) reported information about do-not-intubate decision-making processes. Only 4 studies (15%) also reported rates of do-not-resuscitate.

CONCLUSIONS

One in four patients with acute respiratory failure (who receive noninvasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula oxygen) has a do-not-intubate order. The rate of do-not-intubate orders has increased over time. There is high inter-study variability in do-not-intubate rates-even when accounting for age and illness severity. There is high variability in patient/family involvement in do-not-intubate decision making processes. Few studies reported differences in rates of do-not-resuscitate and do-not-intubate-even though recovery is very different for acute respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

Do pediatricians routinely perform genitourinary examinations during well-child visits? A review from a large tertiary pediatric hospital

BACKGROUND

The male genital examination is a common source of discomfort for the patient and medical provider. Performance of male genital examination is imperative; however, as many treatable diagnoses can be made. Undescended testicles (UDTs), hernias, testicular tumors, and urethral abnormalities are all potentially concerning findings which can be discovered on routine examination.

OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this study are to determine the rate at which general pediatricians perform routine genitourinary (GU) examinations in the pediatric population and to determine the rate at which UDT are diagnosed or documented in the patient's history. The authors hypothesize the rate of pediatric GU examination during routine well-child visits to be in line with the previously reported rates in the adult literature.

STUDY DESIGN

Nine hundred ninety-six consecutive male well-child visits conducted by general pediatricians at the study institution were reviewed. These visits were evaluated for documentation of a detailed GU examination as well as the presence of UDT from these examinations. In addition, past medical and surgical histories were reviewed to determine if a diagnosis of UDT was noted.

RESULTS

Pediatricians at the study institution documented GU examinations 99.1% of the time during male well-child visits. Only 1.1% of the cohort had a documentation of UDT at any time point. Of the 11 patients with UDT, 6 boys (54.5%) had spontaneous descent with no referral to urology, whereas 5 (45.5%) required orchidopexy.

DISCUSSION

Prior reports suggest 70-75% of routine office visits include a genital examination. None of these reports reviewed the pediatric population, thus making this review novel in this respect. In addition, the results are vastly different from these prior studies as the authors demonstrated over 99% of male well-child examinations included documentation of a thorough genital examination. A limitation of the study is its retrospective nature, which creates a lack of standardization across the data set. In addition, without being physically present in the examination room, one cannot discern whether an examination is simply being documented without actual performance because of the template format of the electronic medical record (EMR). Furthermore, the study was not designed to best evaluate the true rate of UDTs; therefore, the reported rate of 1.1% cannot be accurately associated with a particular age at diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Pediatricians do, in fact, document GU examinations on a routine basis. This finding cannot be taken with complete certainty as verification of actual examination performance is impractical. While the data demonstrated a lower than expected rate of UDT, depending upon age at diagnosis, this could indicate that although examinations are being documented, their accuracy may be diminished because of various factors at play in the healthcare system as a whole, including improper exam performance and EMR templates. Follow-up studies are required to verify these potentially changing rates of UDT and to determine if there is discordance between documentation and performance of GU examinations.

Dietary Intervention to Control Vitamin A Deficiency in Seven- to Twelve-Year-Old Children

The efficacy of a dietary intervention programme to control vitamin A deficiency through inexpensive, locally available sources of β-carotene was evaluated in 121 children 7–12 years old. The subjects were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. A three-day food intake was first recorded for each subject using a 24-hour recall method and repeated at the end of the study on a randomly selected subsample. The intervention period lasted one month, during which carrots, papayas, coriander, and mint were offered daily as sources of β-carotene. There was no significant difference in the dietary intakes of the groups before the study. After the intervention period, the serum vitamin A values of the experimental subjects were significantly higher than those of the controls. These results indicate that consumption of small amounts of inexpensive, readily available vegetable sources of β-carotene could help prevent and control vitamin A deficiency. Nutrition education programmes are needed to encourage the use of these foods for home consumption as well as in feeding programmes for schoolchildren.

An antenatal diagnosis: Congenital high airway obstruction

Congenital high airway obstruction (CHAOS) is a rare lethal fetal malformation characterised by obstruction to the fetal upper airway, which can be partial or complete. Antenatal diagnosis of CHAOS is important due to recent management options. Diagnosis is made with secondary changes such as hyperechoic enlarged lungs resulting in mediastinal compression, ascites, hydrops, flattened or everted diaphragms and dilated distal airways. We reported a case of CHAOS, antenatally on ultrasonography (USG) at 20 weeks of gestation.

Skin Cancers in Organ Transplant Recipients

Long-term utilization of immunosuppression in organ transplant recipients (OTRs) leads to decreased immune-mediated tumor surveillance and development of malignant tumors. A delicate balance needs to be maintained in the intensity of immunosuppression to keep the risk of malignancy low without jeopardizing life-saving graft function. OTRs are prone to developing skin cancers that exhibit unique epidemiologic, pathophysiologic, and prognostic characteristics. In this review, we discuss the most commonly reported skin cancers in OTRs: squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), Kaposi sarcoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma (MM). Tumors in this high-risk population are aggressive and may respond poorly to standard therapies; however, new targeted therapies are promising. Checkpoint inhibitor antibodies have been used for treatment of cutaneous SCC, Merkel cell carcinoma, and MM; epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors have been used for cutaneous SCC; hedgehog pathway inhibitors have been used for BCC; and BRAF and MEK inhibitors are being used increasingly in the management of MM. Guidelines for dermatologic screening are variable and primarily based on expert opinion. Prospective evidence-based trials by multidisciplinary groups are needed to better define surveillance schedules for pre- and posttransplant cutaneous malignancies.

The validity and reproducibility of cross table radiographs compared with CT scans for the measurement of anteversion of the acetabular component after total hip arthroplasty

Aims

The aim of this study was to assess the reproducibility and validity of cross table radiographs for measuring the anteversion of the acetabular component after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and to compare it with measurements using CT scans.

Patients and Methods

A total of 29 patients who underwent THA between June 2010 and January 2016 were included. There were 17 men and 12 women. Their mean age was 43 years (26 to 65). Seven patients underwent a bilateral procedure. Thus, 36 THAs were included in the study. Lateral radiographs and CT scans were obtained post-operatively and radiographs repeated three weeks later. The anteversion of the acetabular component was measured using the method described by Woo and Morrey and the ischiolateral method described by Pulos et al and these were compared with the results obtained from CT scans.

Results

The mean anteversion was 18.35° (3° to 38°) using Woo and Morrey’s method, 51.45° (30° to 85°) using the ischiolateral method and 21.22° (2° to 48°) using CT scans. The Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.754 for Woo and Morrey’s method and 0.925 for the ischiolateral method. There was a linear correlation between the measurements using the ischiolateral method and those using CT scans. We derived a simple linear equation between the value of the CT scan and that of ischiolateral method to deduce the CT scan value from that of ischiolateral method and vice versa.

Conclusion

The anteversion of the acetabular component measured using both plain radiographic methods was consistently valid with good interobserver reproducibility, but the ischiolateral method which is independent of pelvic tilt was more accurate. As CT is costly, associated with a high dose of radiation and not readily available, the ischiolateral method can be used for assessing the anteversion of the acetabular component. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1006–11.

Retrospective cohort analysis of neoadjuvant treatment and survival in resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in a high volume referral centre

BACKGROUND

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a deadly disease. Neoadjuvant therapy (NA) with chemotherapy (NAC) and radiotherapy (RT) prior to surgery provides promise. In the absence of prospective data, well annotated clinical data from high-volume units may provide pilot data for randomised trials.

METHODS

Medical records from a tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia, were analysed to identify all patients with resectable or borderline resectable PDAC. Data regarding treatment, toxicity and survival were collected.

RESULTS

Between January 1 2010 and April 1 2016, 220 sequential patients were treated: 87 with NA and 133 with upfront operation (UO). Forty-three NA patients (52%) and 5 UO patients (4%) were borderline resectable at diagnosis. Twenty-four borderline patients received NA RT, 22 sequential to NAC. The median overall survival (OS) in the NA group was 25.9 months (mo); 95% CI (21.1-43.0 mo) compared to 26.9 mo (19.7, 32.7) in the UO; HR 0.89; log-ranked p-value = 0.58. Sixty-nine NA patients (79%) were resected, mOS was 29.2 mo (22.27, not reached (NR)). Twenty-two NA (31%) versus 22 UO (17%) were node negative at operation (N0). In those managed with NAC/RT the mOS was 29.0 mo (17.3, NR). There were no post-operative deaths with NA within 90-days and three in the UO arm.

DISCUSSION

This is a hypothesis generating retrospective review of a selected real-world population in a high-throughput unit. Treatment with NA was well tolerated. The long observed survival in this group may be explained by lymph node sterilisation by NA, and the achievement of R0 resection in a greater proportion of patients.