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Goodwin AJ, Eytan D, Dixon W, Goodfellow SD, Doherty Z, Greer RW, McEwan A, Tracy M, Laussen PC, Assadi A, Mazwi M. Timing errors and temporal uncertainty in clinical databases-A narrative review. Front Digit Health 2022; 4:932599. [PMID: 36060541 PMCID: PMC9433547 DOI: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.932599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
A firm concept of time is essential for establishing causality in a clinical setting. Review of critical incidents and generation of study hypotheses require a robust understanding of the sequence of events but conducting such work can be problematic when timestamps are recorded by independent and unsynchronized clocks. Most clinical models implicitly assume that timestamps have been measured accurately and precisely, but this custom will need to be re-evaluated if our algorithms and models are to make meaningful use of higher frequency physiological data sources. In this narrative review we explore factors that can result in timestamps being erroneously recorded in a clinical setting, with particular focus on systems that may be present in a critical care unit. We discuss how clocks, medical devices, data storage systems, algorithmic effects, human factors, and other external systems may affect the accuracy and precision of recorded timestamps. The concept of temporal uncertainty is introduced, and a holistic approach to timing accuracy, precision, and uncertainty is proposed. This quantitative approach to modeling temporal uncertainty provides a basis to achieve enhanced model generalizability and improved analytical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Goodwin
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Danny Eytan
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - William Dixon
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sebastian D. Goodfellow
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Zakary Doherty
- Research Fellow, School of Rural Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Robert W. Greer
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alistair McEwan
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Mark Tracy
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Peter C. Laussen
- Department of Anesthesia, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Azadeh Assadi
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mjaye Mazwi
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Sharma R, Kannourakis G, Prithviraj P, Ahmed N. Precision Medicine: An Optimal Approach to Patient Care in Renal Cell Carcinoma. Front Med (Lausanne) 2022; 9:766869. [PMID: 35775004 PMCID: PMC9237320 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2022.766869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Renal cell cancer (RCC) is a heterogeneous tumor that shows both intra- and inter-heterogeneity. Heterogeneity is displayed not only in different patients but also among RCC cells in the same tumor, which makes treatment difficult because of varying degrees of responses generated in RCC heterogeneous tumor cells even with targeted treatment. In that context, precision medicine (PM), in terms of individualized treatment catered for a specific patient or groups of patients, can shift the paradigm of treatment in the clinical management of RCC. Recent progress in the biochemical, molecular, and histological characteristics of RCC has thrown light on many deregulated pathways involved in the pathogenesis of RCC. As PM-based therapies are rapidly evolving and few are already in current clinical practice in oncology, one can expect that PM will expand its way toward the robust treatment of patients with RCC. This article provides a comprehensive background on recent strategies and breakthroughs of PM in oncology and provides an overview of the potential applicability of PM in RCC. The article also highlights the drawbacks of PM and provides a holistic approach that goes beyond the involvement of clinicians and encompasses appropriate legislative and administrative care imparted by the healthcare system and insurance providers. It is anticipated that combined efforts from all sectors involved will make PM accessible to RCC and other patients with cancer, making a tremendous positive leap on individualized treatment strategies. This will subsequently enhance the quality of life of patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Revati Sharma
- Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, Ballarat Central Technology Central Park, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia
- School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University, Mt Helen, VIC, Australia
| | - George Kannourakis
- Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, Ballarat Central Technology Central Park, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia
- School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University, Mt Helen, VIC, Australia
| | - Prashanth Prithviraj
- Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, Ballarat Central Technology Central Park, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia
- School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University, Mt Helen, VIC, Australia
| | - Nuzhat Ahmed
- Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute, Ballarat Central Technology Central Park, Ballarat Central, VIC, Australia
- School of Science, Psychology and Sport, Federation University, Mt Helen, VIC, Australia
- Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Spanakis M, Patelarou AE, Patelarou E. Nursing Personnel in the Era of Personalized Healthcare in Clinical Practice. J Pers Med 2020; 10:E56. [PMID: 32610469 PMCID: PMC7565499 DOI: 10.3390/jpm10030056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Personalized, stratified, or precision medicine (PM) introduces a new era in healthcare that tries to identify and predict optimum treatment outcomes for a patient or a cohort. It also introduces new scientific terminologies regarding therapeutic approaches and the need of their adoption from healthcare providers. Till today, evidence-based practice (EBP) was focusing on population averages and their variances among cohorts for clinical values that are essential for optimizing healthcare outcome. It can be stated that EBP and PM are complementary approaches for a modern healthcare system. Healthcare providers through EBP often see the forest (population averages) but miss the trees (individual patients), whereas utilization of PM may not see the forest for the trees. Nursing personnel (NP) play an important role in modern healthcare since they are consulting, educating, and providing care to patients whose needs often needs to be individualized (personalized nursing care, PNC). Based on the clinical issues earlier addressed from clinical pharmacology, EBP, and now encompassed in PM, this review tries to describe the challenges that NP have to face in order to meet the requisites of the new era in healthcare. It presents the demands that should be met for upgrading the provided education and expertise of NP toward an updated role in a modern healthcare system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marios Spanakis
- Computational BioMedicine Laboratory, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation for Research and Technology—Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, GR-70013 Crete, Greece
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, GR-71004 Crete, Greece; (A.E.P.); (E.P.)
| | - Athina E. Patelarou
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, GR-71004 Crete, Greece; (A.E.P.); (E.P.)
| | - Evridiki Patelarou
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, GR-71004 Crete, Greece; (A.E.P.); (E.P.)
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Blockchains for Secure Digitized Medicine. J Pers Med 2019; 9:jpm9030035. [PMID: 31337080 PMCID: PMC6789651 DOI: 10.3390/jpm9030035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Blockchain as an emerging technology has been gaining in popularity, with more possible applications to utilize the technology in the near future. With the offer of a decentralized, distributed environment without the need for a third trusted party (TTP), blockchains are being used to solve issues in systems that are susceptible to cyberattacks. One possible field that could benefit from blockchains that researchers have been focusing on is healthcare. Current healthcare information systems face several challenges, such as fragmented patient data, centralized systems which are viewed as single points of attacks, and the lack of patient-oriented services. In this paper, we investigate and analyze recent literature related to the use of blockchains to tackle issues found in modern healthcare information systems. This is done to understand issues that researchers commonly focus on, to discover remaining areas of concern in any proposed solution, and to understand the possible directions of the integration of blockchains in healthcare and personalized medicine. Background information regarding blockchains and existing healthcare information systems is reviewed, followed by the methodology used in the preparation of this review, where the research questions to consider are stated. Afterwards, an analysis of the results is provided, concluding with a discussion of the remaining issues that need to be focused on, and how blockchains could benefit the healthcare sector and empower personalized medicine.
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