User involvement throughout development of technology to support diabetes foot care: a case illustration of the devices for dignity PPIE model

The successful development and implementation of any healthcare technology requires input from multiple stakeholders including clinical leads, trust information technology directorates as well as project management and procurement. In this process however, a key stakeholder that is often overlooked is the patient.This paper illustrates the crucial importance of patient involvement to avoid poor design and poor uptake of technology and subsequently poor health outcomes.To highlight this, we share a case example evidencing involvement of people with lived experience of foot ulcers resulting from Diabetic foot neuropathy throughout identification of unmet technology needs, design requirements for the device and iterative device development and evaluation.

1209 Effect Of Wearables On Sleep In Healthy Individuals: A Randomized Cross-over Trial And Validation Study

Introduction

To determine whether a wearable sleep-tracker improves perceived sleep quality in healthy subjects. To test whether wearables reliably measure sleep quantity and quality compared to polysomnography.

Methods

A single-center randomized cross-over trial of community-based participants without medical conditions or sleep disorders. Wearable device (WHOOP, Inc.) that provided feedback regarding sleep information to the participant for 1-week and maintaining sleep logs versus 1-week of maintaining sleep logs alone. Self-reported daily sleep behaviors were documented in sleep logs. Polysomnography was performed on one night when wearing the wearable. PROMIS Sleep disturbance sleep scale was measured at baseline, 7, and 14 days of study participation.

Results

In 32 participants (21 women; 23.8 + 5 years), wearables improved nighttime sleep quality (PROMIS sleep disturbance; B= -1.69; 95% Confidence Interval -3.11, -0.27; P=0.021) after adjusting for age, sex, baseline, and order effect. There was a small increase in self-reported daytime naps when wearing the device (B = 3.2; SE 1.4; P=0.023) but total daily sleep remained unchanged (P=0.43). The wearable had low bias (2.5 minutes) and low precision (5.6 minutes) errors for measuring sleep duration and measured dream sleep and slow wave sleep accurately (Intra-class coefficient 0.74 + 0.28 and 0.85 + 0.15, respectively). Bias and precision error for heart rate (bias -0.17%; precision 1.5%) and respiratory rate (bias 1.8%’ precision 6.7%) were very low when compared to that measured by electrocardiogram and inductance plethysmography during polysomnography.

Conclusion

In healthy people, wearables can improve sleep quality and accurately measure sleep and cardiorespiratory variables.

Support

WHOOP Inc.

Alarming levels of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Ukraine: results from the first national survey

SETTING

The true prevalence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in Ukraine is not known. Available data are a decade old and limited to only one province.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the prevalence of MDR-TB among new and previously treated TB cases in Ukraine and explore the risk factors associated with drug resistance.

METHODS

A total of 1550 sputum smear-positive pulmonary TB patients were recruited from 40 clusters throughout Ukraine. Sputum specimens were examined using culture, drug susceptibility testing and pncA gene sequencing.

RESULTS

The proportion of MDR-TB among new and previously treated TB cases was respectively 24.1% (95%CI 20.7-27.6) and 58.1% (95%CI 52.1-64.1). More than one third (38.0%) of MDR-TB or rifampicin (RMP) resistant cases showed resistance to either a fluoroquinolone (FQ) or a second-line injectable agent or both. Resistance to pyrazinamide and FQs was low in patients with RMP-susceptible TB. Among new TB cases, the odds of MDR-TB were higher among patients who were younger, female and living in south-eastern provinces, as well as among human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients who belonged to a low socio-economic group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study showed that the burden of MDR-TB in Ukraine was much greater than previously assumed. Urgent actions are needed to prevent further spread of drug-resistant TB in Ukraine.

Neutrophil Elastase Promotes Linker Cleavage and Paclitaxel Release from an Integrin-Targeted Conjugate

This work takes advantage of one of the hallmarks of cancer, that is, the presence of tumor infiltrating cells of the immune system and leukocyte-secreted enzymes, to promote the activation of an anticancer drug at the tumor site. The peptidomimetic integrin ligand cyclo(DKP-RGD) was found to accumulate on the surface of αv β3 integrin-expressing human renal cell carcinoma 786-O cells. The ligand was conjugated to the anticancer drug paclitaxel through a Asn-Pro-Val (NPV) tripeptide linker, which is a substrate of neutrophil-secreted elastase. In vitro linker cleavage assays and cell antiproliferative experiments demonstrate the efficacy of this tumor-targeting conjugate, opening the way to potential therapeutic applications.

Understanding the microbiome of diabetic foot osteomyelitis: insights from molecular and microscopic approaches

OBJECTIVES

Rigorous visual evidence on whether or not biofilms are involved in diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO) is lacking. We employed a suite of molecular and microscopic approaches to investigate the microbiome, and phenotypic state of microorganisms involved in DFO.

METHODS

In 20 consecutive subjects with suspected DFO, we collected intraoperative bone specimens. To explore the microbial diversity present in infected bone we performed next generation DNA sequencing. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and peptide nucleic acid fluorescent in situ hybridization (PNA-FISH) with confocal microscopy to visualize and confirm the presence of biofilms.

RESULTS

In 19 of 20 (95%) studied patients presenting with DFO, it was associated with an infected diabetic foot ulcer. By DNA sequencing of infected bone, Corynebacterium sp. was the most commonly identified microorganism, followed by Finegoldia sp., Staphylococcus sp., Streptococcus sp., Porphyromonas sp., and Anaerococcus sp. Six of 20 bone samples (30%) contained only one or two pathogens, while the remaining 14 (70%) had polymicrobial communities. Using a combination of SEM and PNA-FISH, we identified microbial aggregates in biofilms in 16 (80%) bone specimens and found that they were typically coccoid or rod-shaped aggregates.

CONCLUSIONS

The presence of biofilms in DFO may explain why non-surgical treatment of DFO, relying on systemic antibiotic therapy, may not resolve some chronic infections caused by biofilm-producing strains.

Mammary Epithelial Cells Treated Concurrently with TGF-α and TGF-β Exhibit Enhanced Proliferation and Death

Transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) stimulates while TGF-β inhibits mammary epithelial cell growth, suggesting that when cells are treated concurrently with the growth factors their combined effects would result in no net growth. However, combined treatments stimulate proliferation and cellular transformation in several cell lines. The objective of this paper was to describe the effect of long-term (6 days) concurrent TGF-α and TGF-β treatment on normal mammary epithelial cell growth pattern, morphology, and gene expression. Growth curve analysis showed that TGF-α enhanced while TGF-β suppressed growth rate until Day 4, when cells entered lag phase. However, cells treated concurrently with both growth factors exhibited a dichotomous pattern of growth marked by growth and death phases (with no intermittent lag phase). These changes in growth patterns were due to a marked induction of cell death from Day 2 (16.5%) to Day 4 (89.5%), resulting in the transition from growth to death phases, even though the combined treated cultures had significantly more ( P < 0.05) cells in S phase on Day 4. TGF-β stimulated epithelial to mesenchyme transdifferentiation (EMT) in the presence of TGF-α, as characterized by increased expression of fibronectin and changes in TGF-β receptor binding. Expression patterns of genes that regulate the cell cycle showed significant interaction between treatment and days, with TGF-β overriding TGF-α–stimulated effects on gene expression. Overall, the combined treatments were marked by enhanced rates of cellular proliferation, death, and trans-differentiation, behaviors reminiscent of breast tumors, and thus this system may serve as a good model to study breast tumorigenesis.

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine: Brussels, Belgium. 15-18 March 2016

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.].