Pre-operative resuscitation discussion with patients undergoing fractured neck of femur repair: a service evaluation and discussion of current standards

INTRODUCTION

The majority of neck of femur (NOF) fracture patients are frail and at a higher risk of cardiac arrest. This makes discussion of treatment escalation vital to informed care. The optimal time for these discussions is prior to admission or trauma. However, when this has not occurred, it is vital that these discussions happen early in the patient's admission when family is often present and before further deterioration in their condition. We undertook a service evaluation to evaluate and discuss the effect of clinician education on improving rates of timely discussion amongst orthopaedic doctors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The first cycle included 94 patients. Their notes were reviewed for presence of a ReSPECT (Recommend Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) form prior to operation and whether this it countersigned by a consultant. Following this, clinician education was undertaken and a re-audit was carried out involving 57 patients.

RESULTS

ReSPECT form completion rates rose from 23% in cycle 1-32% in cycle 2 following intervention. The proportion which consultants signed rose from 41% to 56% following intervention.

CONCLUSION

This project demonstrates how a basic education program can prove limited improvements in the rates of timely resuscitation discussions. We discuss a current lack in quality research into educational programs for discussion of treatment escalation for orthopaedic trainees. We suggest there is room to improve national best practice guidelines and training to ensure these discussions are carried out more frequently and to a better standard.

501 Antiplatelet Therapy Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Closed Loop Audit in a Tertiary Centre

Aim

Guidelines recommend 12 months of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) followed by emergency coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). In patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing CABG, DAPT does not give a survival benefit but may prevent venous graft occlusion. Variation exists in practice between consultants with regards to duration of DAPT after CABG in stable CAD patients.

Method

All patients who underwent CABG in our centre in October and November 2020 were identified. Type and duration of antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant were recorded, as was history of MI and/or PCI. An antiplatelet prescription aid, taking into account surgeon preference, was designed and the effect on prescribing re-audited.

Results

35 patients underwent CABG. All patients except 2 received lifelong aspirin or a DOAC/NOAC. 3 patients had STEMI/NSTEMI in the preceding 12 months; two received DAPT and one received aspirin and a DOAC. Variation exists for DAPT prescribing duration following CABG for stable CAD. Re-audit results shows improvement in consistency of prescribing following implementation of the prescription aid.

Conclusions

Adherence to DAPT guidelines following PCI and CABG is good. However, variation exists in DAPT prescribing in stable CAD patients, between consultants and between patients for the same consultant. Consistency improved with implementation of the prescription aid.

55 Are Virtual Journal Clubs A Viable Alternative in The Covid-19 Era?

Introduction

During the COVID-19 pandemic, face to face journal clubs have been curtailed due to Governmental guidance for social distancing. We present an example of a virtual journal club set up for Orthopaedic senior house officers (SHOs) & trainees in the North West Thames (NWT) Deanery from April to August 2020.

Method

Our aims were to establish a regular online journal club for orthopaedic trainees in NWT that successfully met the objectives of the more established face to face meetings. Assessment of each session was evaluated using a post attendance survey created using an established online generator.

Results

64.4% (16/25 participants) had not attended a virtual journal club before, with 100% (33/33) reporting that they would attend another virtual journal club. 39.4% (13/33) of attendees agreed or strongly agreed that they could participate in sessions over more conventional meetings. 24.2% (8/33) of participants reported experiencing technical issues during the sessions. 90.9% (30/33) of respondents reporting the virtual model to be more convenient than standard journal clubs.

Conclusions

The potential benefits of significantly increased accessibility increased visiting expert contribution whilst still adhering to government guidelines; weighed against marginally less effective teaching nonetheless results in an overall benefit.

Automated conversational agents for post-intervention follow-up: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

Advances in natural language processing and other machine learning techniques have led to the development of automated agents (chatbots) that mimic human conversation. These systems have mainly been used in commercial settings, and within medicine, for symptom checking and psychotherapy. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the acceptability and implementation success of chatbots in the follow-up of patients who have undergone a physical healthcare intervention.

METHODS

A systematic review of MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-process, EMBASE, PsychINFO, CINAHL, CENTRAL and the grey literature using a PRISMA-compliant methodology up to September 2020 was conducted. Abstract screening and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Risk of bias and quality assessments were performed for each study.

RESULTS

The search identified 904 studies of which 10 met full inclusion criteria: three randomised control trials, one non-randomised clinical trial and six cohort studies. Chatbots were used for monitoring after the management of cancer, hypertension and asthma, orthopaedic intervention, ureteroscopy and intervention for varicose veins. All chatbots were deployed on mobile devices. A number of metrics were identified and ranged from a 31 per cent chatbot engagement rate to a 97 per cent response rate for system-generated questions. No study examined patient safety.

CONCLUSION

A range of chatbot builds and uses was identified. Further investigation of acceptability, efficacy and mechanistic evaluation in outpatient care pathways may lend support to implementation in routine clinical care.

O40: PRE-OPERATIVE MANAGEMENT AND SENSITISATION IN VASCULARIZED COMPOSITE ALLOTRANSPLANTATION: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Introduction

Vascularised composite allotransplantation (VCA) permits like-for-like reconstruction following extensive soft tissue injuries. The initial management of extensive soft tissue injury can lead to the development of anti-HLA antibodies through injury, transfusion and cadaveric grafting. The role of antibody-mediated rejection, donor-specific antibodies and graft rejection in the context of VCA remains unclear. This systematic review aimed to determine whether pre-operative management strategies influence immunological outcome following VCA.

Method

A systematic review of MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL using a PRISMA-compliant methodology up to February 2019 was conducted. Pre-operative, procedural and long-term outcome data were collected and recorded for all VCA recipients on an individual patient basis.

Result

The search revealed 3,847 records of which 114 met inclusion criteria and reported clinical data related to 100 patients who underwent 129 VCA transplants. Trauma (50%) and burns (15%) were the most frequent indications for VCA. Of all 114 studies, only one reported acute resuscitative management. Fifteen patients (14.7%) were sensitized prior to reconstructive transplantation with an 80% incidence of acute rejection in the first post-operative year. Seven patients demonstrated graft vasculopathy, only one of whom had demonstrated panel reactive antibodies.

Conclusion

Currently employed acute management strategies predispose to the development of anti-HLA antibodies, adding to the already complex immunological challenge of VCA. Early appropriate care is warranted in patients with extensive soft tissue loss where the resuscitative needs should be balanced against strategies to mitigate the immunological burden, particularly as reconstructive transplantation becomes a feasible option for future soft tissue coverage.

Take-home message

Acute resuscitative management may sensitise potential transplant recipients following major soft tissue injury. Early appropriate care is warranted.

Psychiatric specialty clinics: do they weed out comorbid depression and anxiety?

The concept of comorbidity of anxiety and depression was examined as it relates to specialty clinics, a growing trend as mental health care providers attempt to compete for patients and provide efficient and specialized treatments. Twenty-nine patients from an anxiety clinic were compared with 23 patients from a mood disorders clinic in a university-based outpatient setting. Axis I diagnoses obtained by structured clinical interview for DSM-III-R were generally consistent with each specialty clinic. Incidence of diagnosable comorbid anxiety and mood disorders was not significantly different for the two clinics and within the range cited (11-78%) in several other studies drawing from various patient populations. Similarly, in comparing self-reported symptoms on three rating scales using Student's tests, authors found elevated symptoms of both depression and anxiety in both clinic populations. The importance of addressing the needs of patients with co-occurring diagnoses and symptoms within a specialty clinic is discussed as it pertains to treatment and research.

Paroxetine increases heart rate variability in panic disorder

Panic patients have decreased heart rate variability, a risk factor for sudden cardiac death, and increased rates of cardiac death and stroke. Imipramine has been found to further reduce heart rate variability in panic. This study uses power spectral analysis to compare autonomic components of heart rate variability in 16 unmedicated control subjects and 17 panic patients before and after treatment with paroxetine at 20 mg/day for 4 weeks. Patients had higher predrug reclining and standing sympathetic activity than control subjects. After drug, patients' total sympathetic activity decreased. Predrug patients failed to increase sympathetic activity on orthostasis, lacking the normal baroreflex response found in control subjects. After drug, patients normalized this sympathetic component of the baroreflex response. Before drug, patients' parasympathetic reclining and standing activity did not differ from control subjects, and patients showed the normal orthostatic parasympathetic decrease. After drug, patients' total parasympathetic activity increased, whereas the baroreflex response was preserved. Nine medicated patients had more than a 50% reduction of panic attacks. In view of paroxetine's increase of heart rate variability, potential benefits of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in decreasing cardiac mortality in panic disorder are discussed.

Training case managers in cognitive-behaviour therapy

Four case managers with a nursing background took part in a 26 week in-service programme aimed at developing basic skills in cognitive-behaviour therapy. The programme occupied about 5 hours each week and included directly supervised therapy with at least 4 patients having serious mental illness. Patients' symptoms improved significantly after an average of less than 12 one hour therapy sessions. After the programme, case managers began treating patients autonomously, although all recognised the need for some continuing supervision and the necessity of referring unusually complex or challenging cases to clinical psychologists or others highly skilled in the area.

Cyclopent[a]anthraquinones as DNA intercalating agents with covalent bond formation potential: synthesis and biological activity

A series of mitomycin C (MMC) analogues, namely cyclopentanthraquinone derivatives, were synthesized via Diels-Alder cyclization of naphthoquinone with 1-vinylcyclopent-1-enes. These new compounds are planar structures, like MMC, and bear an aziridine ring and a methyl carbamate side chain. After bioreduction, they are anticipated to be capable of intercalating into double-stranded DNA and bind covalently. Structure-activity relationships were studied. Of these compounds, 2,3-aziridino-4-[[(methylamino)carbonyl]methyl] cyclopent[alpha]anthracene-6,11-dione (4) was shown to have inhibitory activity against several leukemic and solid tumor cell lines. Mice (BDF1) bearing Lewis lung adenocarcinoma were treated with 4 and MMC (i.p., QD x 5). At a dose of 30.0 mg/kg, compound 4 was as effective as MMC (0.8 mg/kg). Compound 4 appears to be less toxic than MMC. DNA unwinding assay indicated that 4 is able to intercalate into DNA double strands and is also a topoisomerase II inhibitor.

Drug combinations and effect parameters of zidovudine, stavudine, and nevirapine in standardized drug-sensitive and resistant HIV type 1 strains

Reference strains of HIV-1 from the NIH AIDS Research and Reference Reagent Program, including wild-type IIIB, G762-3, and AZT resistant with RT 215T-->Y (G910-11/AZT); 67D-->N, 70K-->R, 215T-->F, 219K-->Q (G691-2/AZT); as well as nevirapine (NEV) resistant with 181Y-->C (N119/NEV); and 103K-->N, 181Y-->C (A17/NEV), were subjected to quantitative parametric efficacy analysis using AZT, stavudine (D4T), and nevirapine (NEV) singly or in combinations in MT4 or MT2 cells. The median-effect principle and combination index (CI) method of Chou-Talalay (see Ref. 26) have been used, which take into account both the potency (Dm value or EC50) and the shape of the dose-effect curve (m value). Under standardized assay conditions, G910-11 and G691-2 strains showed 600- and 7800-fold resistance to AZT, and N119 and A17 strains showed 3600- and 1000-fold resistance to NEV at the EC50 level, respectively. AZT-resistant strains exhibited slight cross-resistance to D4T. Computerized analysis indicates that IIIB gave sigmoidal dose-effect curves (m = 2.8, 3.4, and 3.1 for AZT, D4T, and NEV, respectively) whereas drug-resistant strains showed negative sigmoidicity toward the corresponding AZT or NEV, with m = 0.27-0.73. Therefore, the degrees of drug resistance are drastically different at classic EC50 and at therapeutically more relevant EC95 levels (ranging from severalfold to several log orders). Combinations of AZT+NEV and AZT+NEV+D4T showed synergism against IIIB, G762-3 (wild type) and A17/NEV, G910-11/AZT strains. D4T+NEV and AZT+D4T showed nearly additive or moderate antagonism. Synergism or additive effect leads to a favorable dose-reduction index (DRI). The present study on RT inhibitors provides quantitative assessment of the combinations of AZT, NEV, and D4T against HIV infections involving drug-sensitive and drug-resistant HIVs.

Parent-child agreement in prepubertal depression: findings with a modified assessment method

OBJECTIVE

Lack of or low parent-child (P-C) agreement is a well-documented problem in child psychopathology assessment. This study proposed to improve this agreement by using a modified assessment approach.

METHOD

Ninety-three depressed prepubertal children, aged 6 to 12 years, and their mothers underwent an assessment procedure that combined multiple assessment measures given separately to child and mother (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present Episode [K-SADS-P], Children's Depression Inventory, and traditional psychiatric interviews), confrontation of either and/or both informants with intra- and interinformant discrepancies, and senior clinician's "best estimate" clinical judgment to solve discrepant ratings. Correlational statistics (r, kappa, and z) were used to compare child's with mother's ratings on 20 K-SADS-P depressive symptoms.

RESULTS

The major hypothesis, that using our assessment procedure, P-C agreement would be significant and moderately high (r and kappa = .40 or higher), was confirmed. The second hypothesis on dissociation of P-C agreement on behavioral versus ideational symptoms was partially confirmed; the third hypothesis on adverse effects of maternal "depression" on P-C agreement was not confirmed.

CONCLUSION

Our assessment method has potential clinical application in enhancing diagnostic reliability of childhood depression assessment.

Biochemical studies on McLeod phenotype red cells and isolation of Kx antigen

Red cells of the McLeod blood group phenotype have weak Kell antigens, lack Kx antigen and have acanthocytic morphology. We have immunoprecipitated Kell antigens from McLeod red cells and show that they are markers on the same 93 kDa membrane protein that carries Kell antigens on normal red cells. However, as determined by Western immunoblotting, McLeod red cells have a marked deficiency of this protein. We have also studied the near-neighbour relationship of McLeod and common Kell red-cell membrane proteins by cross-linking intrinsic sulphydryl groups by oxidation, catalysed with orthophenanthroline and copper, or by cross-linking amino groups with dimethyl-3,3'-dithiobispropionimidate. Results were analysed by diagonal mapping in two-dimensional gels. No abnormalities of membrane protein inter-relationship were detected in McLeod red cells. We have isolated Kx antigen from K0 red cells by immunoprecipitation with human alloimmune anti-Kx serum, isolation of immune complexes from detergent-solubilized cell membranes with protein A-Sepharose and analysis of the eluted immune complex by SDS-PAGE under reducing conditions. Kx antigen is a marker on a red-cell membrane protein of approximately 37 kDa. Ko (Knull) red cells have about twice the amount of Kx antigen as do red cells of common Kell type. McLeod red cells have no detectable Kx antigen by serological tests or by immunoprecipitation.