Pre-bout hypertension in the combat sports athlete: clearance recommendations

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent medical disorders in the world and is associated with significant cerebrovascular and cardiovascular morbidity. Pre-bout blood pressure (BP) elevation is extremely common, and ringside physicians must accurately assess the accompanying risk of adverse cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events in the decision to allow participation in combat sports. It is strongly recommended that a ringside physician consider disqualifying a combat sports athlete with severe pre-bout hypertension (systolic BP ≥160 mm Hg and/or diastolic BP ≥100 mm Hg, or stage 2 hypertension in children when indexed by gender, age, and height) from that bout, if it persists despite rest and repeated measurement with accurate equipment. This recommendation is congruent with that of the American College of Sports Medicine, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association, which recommend non-clearance for sports or exercise testing when BP exceeds those thresholds. Severely elevated BP, as defined above, confers markedly increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Exercise further raises BP markedly. The combination of severely elevated blood pressure and cranial trauma during combat sports is a risk factor for intracranial hemorrhage with a direct impact on the morbidity and mortality associated with ringside combat sports events. Combat sports athletes with SBP ≥130 or DBP ≥90 - and their coaches and families, if available and the athlete consents - should be educated on the causes of hypertension, its acute and chronic risks, and the possible future implications for bout clearance, and the athletes should be referred for evaluation and management.

Palliative Paracentesis in the Home Setting: A Case Series

BACKGROUND

Management of ascites-related symptoms in home hospice and palliative care patients can be challenging. Ultrasound-guided paracentesis is a standard intervention for this indication, but generally requires transfer to a hospital or outpatient interventional-radiology (IR) setting; thus, such interventions are often not practical or attainable for home hospice and palliative care patients.

OBJECTIVE

To describe a mobile, in-home service that provides home-based palliative paracentesis (HBPP) as an interventional palliative option for patients with distressing symptoms related to ascites.

DESIGN

Retrospective case series. Setting/Subjects: Thirty patients with ascites, confirmed by portable bedside ultrasound, who underwent HBPP at their residence.

RESULTS

Thirty-three patients were referred for HBPP for symptomatic abdominal distention from March 1, 2019 to March 1, 2020. Thirty (91%) patients had ultrasound-confirmed ascites and received HBPP. All 30, verbalized appreciable symptom relief post-intervention. There were no reported post-procedural complications.

CONCLUSION

Home-based palliative paracentesis is a safe, effective, and convenient intervention for hospice and palliative care patients with symptomatic ascites.

The Role of Ultrasound-Guided Therapeutic Thoracentesis in an Outpatient Transitional Care Program: A Case Series

BACKGROUND

Symptomatic pleural effusions create discomfort and are a frequent cause of hospitalization. Ultrasound-guided thoracentesis is a key palliative intervention to assist in the management of this vulnerable population. Our institution has created a multidisciplinary transitional care program to address the needs of those discharged from the hospital with chronic complex conditions, including symptomatic pleural effusions.

METHODS

This case series was performed in a transitional care clinic between May 8, 2017, and December 11, 2018. Eight unique patients with symptomatic pleural effusions were referred to our clinic posthospital discharge and treated with ultrasound-guided thoracentesis. A retrospective review was performed to assess procedure details, complications, and follow-up emergency department visits or hospital readmissions. Additionally, cost comparison data were obtained from the hospital financial system.

RESULTS

Of the 8 unique patients, 15 thoracenteses were performed over the 19-month period in the transitional care clinic. The median age of the cohort was 56 years old (range: 39-92 years). All patients reported an immediate relief of symptoms (dyspnea and/ or pain) and no procedural complications. The total cost of performing an ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in the transitional care clinic was 61.8% that of performing the procedure in the hospital (US$537.61 vs US$869.65).

CONCLUSION

All 8 patients experienced an immediate relief in pleural effusion-related symptoms following thoracentesis. Our experience helps reveal the safety, efficacy, and cost-efficiency of ultrasound-guided thoracentesis in providing symptom management for patients with pleural effusions in a transitional care clinic.

The Role of Ultrasound-Guided Therapeutic Paracentesis in an Outpatient Transitional Care Program: A Case Series

Background:

Patients with ascites suffer from distressing symptoms and are at high risk for readmission after hospitalization. Timely paracentesis is an important palliative tool in managing this vulnerable population. At our institution, we have developed a multidisciplinary transitional care program for patients discharged from the hospital with a wide range of complex conditions including refractory ascites.

Methods:

We present a case series of 10 patients with symptomatic ascites who were enrolled in our transitional care program and treated with ultrasound-guided therapeutic paracentesis in our clinic. Patient medical records were retrospectively reviewed to collect procedure details, outcomes, and follow-up data on emergency department (ED) visits and readmissions. Cost data were obtained from the hospital financial system.

Results:

Over the span of 9 months (September 2016 to July 2017), 22 total therapeutic paracenteses were performed on 10 unique patients in the transitional care clinic. Median age of the patient cohort was 52.5 years (range: 27-71 years). All patients reported immediate relief of ascites-related discomfort following the procedure. We did not observe any major adverse effects due to the in-clinic procedure. Nine of the 10 patients did not have any ED visits or readmissions within 30 days of discharge. The cost of performing ultrasound-guided paracentesis in the transitional care clinic was US$546.77 compared to US$978.32 when performed in the hospital.

Conclusion:

Our experience suggests that outpatient paracentesis may be a safe, feasible, and cost-effective means of providing symptom management for patients with ascites during their transition from hospital to home.

Direct Telephonic Communication in a Heart Failure Transitional Care Program: An observational study

Background

This study investigated the trend of phone calls in the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center (BGSMC) Heart Failure Transitional Care Program (HFTCP). The primary goal of the HFTCP is to reduce 30-Day readmissions for heart failure patients by using a multi-pronged approach.

Methods

This study included 104 patients in the HFTCP discharged over a 51-week period who had around-the-clock telephone access to the Transitionalist. Cellular phone records were reviewed. This study evaluated the length and timing of calls.

Results

A total of 4398 telephone calls were recorded of which 39% were inbound and 61% were outbound. This averaged to 86 calls per week. During the “Weekday Daytime” period, Eighty-five percent of the totals calls were made. There were 229 calls during the “Weekday Nights” period with 1.5 inbound calls per week. The “Total Weekend” calls were 10.2% of the total calls which equated to a weekly average of 8.8.

Conclusions

Our experience is that direct, physician-patient telephone contact is feasible with a panel of around 100 HF patients for one provider. If the proper financial reimbursements are provided, physicians may be apt to participate in similar transitional care programs. Likewise, third party payers will benefit from the reduction in unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Physician-directed heart failure transitional care program: a retrospective case review

Background

Despite a variety of national efforts to improve transitions of care for patients at risk for rehospitalization, 30-day rehospitalization rates for patients with heart failure have remained largely unchanged.

Methods

This is a retrospective review of 73 patients enrolled in our hospital-based, physican-directed Heart Failure Transitional Care Program (HFTCP). This study evaluated the 30- and 90- day readmission rates before and after enrollment in the program. The Transitionalist’s services focused on bedside consultation prior to hospital discharge, follow-up home visits within 72 hours of discharge, frequent follow-up phone calls, disease-specific education, outpatient intravenous diuretic therapy, and around-the-clock telephone access to the Transitionalist.

Results

The pre-enrollment 30-day readmission rates for acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and all-cause readmission was 26.0% and 28.8%, respectively, while the post-enrollment rates for ADHF and all-cause readmission were 4.1% (P < 0.001) and 8.2% (P = 0.002), respectively. The pre-enrollment 90-day all-cause and ADHF readmission rates were 69.8%, and 58.9% respectively, while the post-enrollment rates for all-cause and ADHF were 27.3% (P < 0.001) and 16.4% (P < 0.001) respectively.

Conclusions

Our physician-implemented HFTCP reduced rehospitalization risk for patients enrolled in the program. This program may serve as a model to assist other hospital systems to reduce readmission rates of patients with HF.

The role of outpatient intravenous diuretic therapy in a transitional care program for patients with heart failure: a case series

We present a case series of seven patients with an established diagnosis of heart failure enrolled in a transitional care program that were treated with intravenous diuretic therapy in the outpatient setting. The patients presented in this cases series were treated due to the development of decompensated heart failure within 30 days of their discharge from our hospital. All seven patients stated that they would have originally presented to the emergency department for their symptoms, but consented to alternative treatment by a transitional care physician, or transitionalist. These patients with decompensated heart failure (four male and three female) with a median age of 55 years (24 - 84 years) were evaluated and treated from November 2011 to March 2012. Of the seven patients, four presented with decompensated systolic heart failure (three with diastolic). All seven patients were treated with an intravenous diuretic for hypervolemia in our outpatient infusion room. All of the patients experienced relief of their dyspnea the day of diuretic administration or the following day. No adverse effects or emergency department transfers occurred as a result of outpatient intravenous diuretic therapy. Through the use of outpatient intravenous diuretic therapy, we have avoided the need for emergency department visits and potential hospitalization in select patients with decompensated heart failure. Based on our preliminary findings, the clinical efficacy of this approach to the treatment of heart failure decompensation is not only due to the pharmacologic effectiveness of intravenous diuretics, but also due to the bidirectional open line of communication that exists between transitionalist and patients in the program. The direct telephone access that patients have to the transitionalist allows for close post-hospitalization monitoring and facilitates timely evaluation and treatment when acute issues arise. The added benefit of our particular transitional care program is that we have an alternate venue in the hospital where our transitional care patients can be treated for heart failure decompensation (our outpatient infusion room), thus, enabling us to avoid emergency department transfers and possible hospital admissions. Further investigation of this therapy in a non-emergency department setting is warranted as our experience with this treatment modality is limited to the case series presented.

Treatment of Levator Ani Syndrome with Cyclobenzaprine

Objective

TO report a case of levator ani syndrome (LAS) that was successfully treated with cyclobenzaprine.

Case Summary

A 26-year-old male presented with a 3-week history of severe, intermittent, aching anorectal pain that would last for 30–60 minutes per episode and occurred between 1 and 3 times per day. The pain was aggravated by squatting, with no alleviating factors. Physical examination revealed no prostate tenderness, lesions, hemorrhoids, or fissures and rectal tone was intact. The patient had moderate posterior rectal tenderness. After a standard workup, he was diagnosed with LAS and treated with oral cyclobenzaprine 5 mg 3 times daily for 7 days. The patient experienced resolution of his symptoms after 3 days of treatment and remained symptom-free 6 months after completion of therapy. The only reported adverse effect was mild drowsiness, which resolved after discontinuation of the cyclobenzaprine.

Discussion

A review of the literature via StatRef (April 1965-December 2011), Ovid (April 1965-December 2011), and MEDLINE (April 1965-December 2011) reveals that existing treatment options for LAS have been limited to levator massage, sitz baths, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, diazepam, biofeedback, botulinum toxin, steroid injections, and electrogalvanic stimulation, all of which offer minimal support. Cyclobenzaprine is a muscle relaxant; however, its mechanism of action is unclear. It is thought to influence the α and γ motor neurons in the central nervous system, which leads to the attenuation of muscle spasm. To our knowledge, cyclobenzaprine has not been reported as a treatment for LAS. In our patient, however, the clinical efficacy of cyclobenzaprine was clearly apparent.

Conclusions

Cyclobenzaprine effectively treated our patient's LAS. Given that cyclobenzaprine is safe, inexpensive, and shown to be effective in our case study, we believe it warrants further investigation as a first-line treatment option for LAS.

Use of acellular cadaveric dermis and tissue expansion in postmastectomy breast reconstruction

Tissue expander or permanent implant coverage in postmastectomy breast reconstruction is often challenging. Multiple authors have demonstrated the use of acellular cadaveric dermis (ACD) in nonexpansive, single-stage breast reconstruction. The literature also suggests that tissue expansion may be accomplished with ACD as well for stage reconstructions. In many cases tissue expansion is necessary to create a submuscular and subACD pocket to accommodate a subsequent permanent prosthesis. In this study we report the outcomes and complication rates of using ACD in staged breast reconstruction. We reviewed the charts of 41 patients (65 breasts) in whom ACD was used in staged reconstructions. We analysed the patients' charts and operative records to determine postoperative complication rates and results. Complication rates for wound infection, expander removal, haematoma, and seroma were: 3.1% (two of 65), 1.5% (one of 65), 1.5% (one of 65), and 4.6% (three of 65), respectively. The use of ACD in expansive postmastectomy breast reconstruction has an extremely low complication rate, results in good cosmetic outcome, and should be in the repertoire of plastic surgeons. Further follow up is needed to evaluate the long term outcomes of ACD use in postmastectomy breast reconstruction.

The Cost-Time Index: a new method for measuring the efficiencies of recruitment-resources in clinical trials

Paid media are important resources used to recruit subjects in clinical trials. An index for evaluating which advertising resource has minimal cost and time requirement for patient accrual, for a given study design, has not been previously introduced. In this communication the authors present a new index, the Cost-Time Index, which represents a measure of the average amount of money and time spent, simultaneously, on a given advertising resource to recruit one analyzable subject. This index can be calculated using retrospective data and may be a useful tool for comparing recruitment efficiencies among various resources. The authors demonstrate the utility of the Cost-Time Index and recommend its use as an additional variable in future studies regarding recruitment strategies in clinical trials.

An integrative biology approach for analysis of drug action in models of human vascular inflammation

Unexpected drug activities discovered during clinical testing establish the need for better characterization of compounds in human disease-relevant conditions early in the discovery process. Here, we describe an approach to characterize drug function based on statistical analysis of protein expression datasets from multiple primary human cell-based models of inflammatory disease. This approach, termed Biologically Multiplexed Activity Profiling (BioMAP), provides rapid characterization of drug function, including mechanism of action, secondary or off-target activities, and insights into clinical phenomena. Using three model systems containing primary human endothelial cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells in different environments relevant to vascular inflammation and immune activation, we show that BioMAP profiles detect and discriminate multiple functional drug classes, including glucocorticoids; TNF-alpha antagonists; and inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase, calcineurin, IMPDH, PDE4, PI-3 kinase, hsp90, and p38 MAPK, among others. The ability of cholesterol lowering HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) to improve outcomes in rheumatic disease patients correlates with the activities of these compounds in our BioMAP assays. In addition, the activity profiles identified for the immunosuppressants mycophenolic acid, cyclosporin A, and FK-506 provide a potential explanation for a reduced incidence of posttransplant cardiovascular disease in patients receiving mycophenolic acid. BioMAP profiling can allow integration of meaningful human biology into drug development programs.