Integrating Complementary Medicine Into the Care of Childhood Cancer Survivors: A Brief Report on the Preliminary Framework and Implementation of an Educational Program

BackgroundExisting educational programs typically include limited information on traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine (TCIM) for survivors of childhood cancer.ObjectivesThis brief report presents the preliminary results of an educational program that aims to promote the safe and effective use of Chinese medicine (CM) among survivors in Hong Kong.MethodsSurvivors of childhood cancer, their caregivers, and oncology practitioners were invited to participate in a program that consists of two didactic seminars and a written educational booklet that disseminated information on the use of CM. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate participants' receptivity toward and perceived relevance of the program. The Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework was used to discuss the impact of the intervention.ResultsReach: A total of 174 participants attended the seminars, and the seminar recording received over 380 views on social media platforms since April 2021. The hardcopy of the educational booklet was distributed to 43 recipients. The web-version of the booklet was sent to 67 participants and downloaded 143 times. Efficacy: The majority found that the content of the seminar useful (mean score = 5.04/6 points), especially the CM exercise (mean score = 4.88/6 points) and dietary advice (mean score = 4.99/6 points). Intention to adopt: The survivors (or their caregivers) reported that they would adopt advice on food therapies (83.3%) and traditional Chinese health exercises (55.6%) during survivorship.ConclusionThe preliminary data on patient preferences will be applied to further develop educational materials and to establish a TCIM referral network within the cancer survivor community

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Neonatal Abdominal Hemangiomatosis: Propranolol beyond Infantile Hemangioma

Hemangioma is the most common vascular tumor of infancy; presentation is often as cutaneous infantile hemangioma (IH). Cutaneous hemangioma is a clinical diagnosis. Most IHs follow a benign course, with complete involution without treatment in the majority of cases. Visceral hemangioma often involves the liver and manifests as a life-threatening disorder. Hepatic hemangiomas may be associated with high output cardiac failure, coagulopathy, and hepatomegaly which generally develop between 1 and 16 weeks of age. Mortality has been reportedly high without treatment. We report a rare case of a male infant with neonatal hemangiomatosis with diffuse peritoneal involvement, which mimicked a malignant-looking tumor on imaging, and discuss therapeutic options and efficacy. Propranolol is efficacious for IH but generally not useful for other forms of vascular hemangiomas, tumors, and malformations. In our case of neonatal peritoneal hemangiomatosis, propranolol appears to have halted the growth and possibly expedite the involution of the hemangiomatosis without other treatments

Neonatal Abdominal Hemangiomatosis: Propranolol beyond Infantile Hemangioma

Hemangioma is the most common vascular tumor of infancy; presentation is often as cutaneous infantile hemangioma (IH). Cutaneous hemangioma is a clinical diagnosis. Most IHs follow a benign course, with complete involution without treatment in the majority of cases. Visceral hemangioma often involves the liver and manifests as a life-threatening disorder. Hepatic hemangiomas may be associated with high output cardiac failure, coagulopathy, and hepatomegaly which generally develop between 1 and 16 weeks of age. Mortality has been reportedly high without treatment. We report a rare case of a male infant with neonatal hemangiomatosis with diffuse peritoneal involvement, which mimicked a malignant-looking tumor on imaging, and discuss therapeutic options and efficacy. Propranolol is efficacious for IH but generally not useful for other forms of vascular hemangiomas, tumors, and malformations. In our case of neonatal peritoneal hemangiomatosis, propranolol appears to have halted the growth and possibly expedite the involution of the hemangiomatosis without other treatments.Peer Reviewe

Sense of place, subjective well-being, and the influence of housing and neighbourhood: A comparative study of two marginalised districts in Hong Kong

This paper investigates the associations between the multiple dimensions of individuals’ sense of place and subjective well-being. The impact of objective and subjective housing and neighbourhood attributes on sense of place was also examined. Using a questionnaire and government spatial datasets, data were collected from residents of two marginalised communities in Hong Kong, Sham Shui Po and Tin Shui Wai. The results reveal positive relationships between various facets of sense of place and subjective well-being that vary in strength in different urban forms. Among the attributes of housing and neighbourhood analysed, housing satisfaction is found to be the strongest predictor of sense of place. The study further verifies the use of a synthesised three-dimensional scale to measure sense of place. It also has important implications for urban planning policies and practices for high-density cities

Treatment Adherence and Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Hemophilia in Hong Kong

Background: This study aims to identify factors affecting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Chinese patients with hemophilia in Hong Kong, and to examine the association between treatment adherence and HRQoL outcomes. Methods: Patients with hemophilia A or B from a non-governmental organization reported their HRQoL and treatment adherence to prophylactic therapy using validated tools. Univariate tests and multivariable regression analysis were used to compare differences in outcomes across clinically relevant subgroups. Results: Fifty-six patients were recruited (mean age 30.4 [17.4] years; majority hemophilia A: 75%; moderate-to-severe severity: 88%). Patients who received prophylactic treatment reported fewer work/school problems (25.8 [18.9] versus 51.5 [26.3]; p = 0.001) than those who received on-demand therapy. The multivariable model showed that older age (B = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.093–0.75) and living in public housing (B = 10.24, 95% CI = 0.70–19.77) were associated with worse HRQoL. Older age was associated with treatment non-adherence (r = 0.66, p < 0.0001). Patients with poor adherence tended to report worse functioning in sports/leisure (r = 0.31, p = 0.033). Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients who were older, had lower education attainment and received on-demand treatment had poorer perception of their health. Improving adherence may lead to better HRQoL. Future work includes evaluating the occupational needs prospectively in this population

Transition from Acute Treatment to Survivorship: Exploring the Psychosocial Adjustments of Chinese Parents of Children with Cancer or Hematological Disorders

Objectives: Parents of children diagnosed with critical illnesses face multiple challenges during their caregiving experience. However, relevant studies have been limited in the Chinese context. Guided by the stress and coping model, we conducted a qualitative study to identify the stressors, coping strategies, and adjustment experiences of Hong Kong parents of children with cancer or hematological disorders. Methods: We recruited 15 parents of children with cancer or hematological disorders requiring bone marrow transplantation and were currently >2 years post-treatment. They participated in a 30-min semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis was performed using the grounded theory approach. Results: The stressors reported by parents included a high caregiving burden during their children’s diagnosis and treatment stages. The fear of recurrence, the need for information, and concerns about late effects were also common among the parents during their children’s transition/survivorship stage. To cope with these stressors, the parents commonly used problem-focused (e.g., seeking help from professionals and support groups) and emotion-focused (e.g., behavioral distractions, venting, and crying) strategies. Despite these stressors, parents reported positive changes through the caregiving experience, such as improved family relationships, developing health-protective habits, and the reprioritization of different aspects of life. Conclusions: Parents encounter different stressors during the cancer care continuum. Using different coping strategies, parents experience positive changes amidst caregiving. Future studies should explore culturally relevant adaptive coping strategies to enhance parents’ psychosocial adjustment

Hematopoietic Transcription Factor RUNX1 is Essential for Promoting Macrophage–Myofibroblast Transition in Non‐Small‐Cell Lung Carcinoma

Abstract Macrophage‐myofibroblast transition (MMT) is a newly discovered pathway for mass production of pro‐tumoral cancer‐associated fibroblasts (CAFs) in non‐small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in a TGF‐β1/Smad3 dependent manner. Better understanding its regulatory signaling in tumor microenvironment (TME) may identify druggable target for the development of precision medicine. Here, by dissecting the transcriptome dynamics of tumor‐associated macrophage at single‐cell resolution, a crucial role of a hematopoietic transcription factor Runx1 in MMT formation is revealed. Surprisingly, integrative bioinformatic analysis uncovers Runx1 as a key regulator in the downstream of MMT‐specific TGF‐β1/Smad3 signaling. Stromal Runx1 level positively correlates with the MMT‐derived CAF abundance and mortality in NSCLC patients. Mechanistically, macrophage‐specific Runx1 promotes the transcription of genes related to CAF signatures in MMT cells at genomic level. Importantly, macrophage‐specific genetic deletion and systemic pharmacological inhibition of TGF‐β1/Smad3/Runx1 signaling effectively prevent MMT‐driven CAF and tumor formation in vitro and in vivo, representing a potential therapeutic target for clinical NSCLC

Effect of Membrane Permeability on Inflammation and Arterial Stiffness: A Randomized Trial

Background and objectives: Both larger molecule removal and dialyzer biocompatibility have been implicated in the high-flux hemodialysis (HD)-associated favorable outcome. In an attempt to delineate the effect of membrane permeability, we performed a randomized, crossover study to compare the inflammatory biomarkers, lipid profile, and aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) of two dialyzers that are composed of identical membranes but with different flux characteristics