Supporting Family Carers of Community-Dwelling Elder with Cognitive Decline: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective. Caring for a patient with cognitive decline has an important impact on the general well-being of family caregivers. Although highly appreciated, interventions in dementia home care remain mainly ineffective in terms of well-being. Consequently, in spite of an extensive support system, abrupt ending of home care remains more rule than exception. Method. The hypothesis was that the intervention of a care counselor, coordinating care in quasi-unstructured way during one year, will alleviate caregivers' feelings of depression. The study population was composed of community-dwelling patients with cognitive decline. A care counselor was at the exclusive disposal of the intervention group. Primary outcome measure was caregiver depression. Results. Finally, depression was 6.25 times less frequent in the intervention group. The actual intervention appeared minimal with only ten applications for more support followed by only three interventions effectively carried out. Although caregivers felt burdened and depressed, formal support remained stable. On the other hand, the availability of the care counselor made caregivers feel less depressed with the same amount of support. Conclusion. Carers do not always need to be surrounded with more professionals, but they want to feel more supported. In terms of policy, this could have some important implications

The necessary shift from diagnostic to prognostic research

Background: Do doctors really need to establish an etiological diagnosis each time a patient presents? Or might it often be more effective to treat simply on the basis of symptoms and signs alone, relying on research and on our experience of outcomes for patients who presented in similar ways in the past? Discussion: At a time of increase health care costs especially in pharmaceuticals and expensive diagnostic tests, this article uses examples from recent research to address this question. Our examples come from general practice, because that is where doctors frequently see patients presenting with a yet undifferentiated disease which is consequently difficult to diagnose. The examples include respiratory tract infections, low back pain and shoulder pain. Finally we discuss the 'something is wrong' feeling. Summary: We conclude that, in addition to diagnostic research, a renewed focus on prognostic research is needed. </p

Excess of mortality in patients with chest pain peaks in the first 3 days period after the incident and normalizes after 1 month

Background. Patients presenting with chest pain have a 5% chance of experiencing a coronary event. These patients are at risk of mortality and should be recognized and referred to secondary care

A meta-analysis on depression and subsequent cancer risk

BACKGROUND: The authors tested the hypothesis that depression is a possible factor influencing the course of cancer by reviewing prospective epidemiological studies and calculating summary relative risks. METHODS: Studies were identified by computerized searches of Medline, Embase and PsycINFO. as well as manual searches of reference lists of selected publications. Inclusion criteria were cohort design, population-based sample, structured measurement of depression and outcome of cancer known for depressed and non-depressed subjects RESULTS: Thirteen eligible studies were identified. Based on eight studies with complete crude data on overall cancer, our summary relative risk (95% confidence interval) was 1.19 (1.06-1.32). After adjustment for confounders we pooled a summary relative risk of 1.12 (0.99-1.26).No significant association was found between depression and subsequent breast cancer risk, based on seven heterogeneous studies, with or without adjustment for possible confounders. Subgroup analysis of studies with a follow-up of ten years or more, however, resulted in a statistically significant summary relative risk of 2.50 (1.06-5.91).No significant associations were found for lung, colon or prostate cancer. CONCLUSION: This review suggests a tendency towards a small and marginally significant association between depression and subsequent overall cancer risk and towards a stronger increase of breast cancer risk emerging many years after a previous depression.status: Published onlin

Use of diagnostic self-tests on body materials among Internet users in the Netherlands: prevalence and correlates of use

Contains fulltext : 81025.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: A range of self-tests on body materials has become available to the general public, but the extent of their use has hardly been studied. This study examined how many people use diagnostic self-tests on body materials such as blood or urine, as well as the type of tests that are used, and factors associated with their use. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey. Participants were recruited from an existing Dutch Internet panel of 12,529 persons, and information was collected by means of a structured Internet-based questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess correlates of self-test use. RESULTS: Response to the survey was 63%. Sixteen percent of the respondents said they had ever used at least one self-test, with a mean of 2.1 tests per self-tester. The most frequently reported self-tests were those for diabetes and cholesterol. Self-testers generally reported lower health status and had a higher BMI than non-testers. On the other hand, they were more likely to engage in health-related behaviour such as the use of dietary supplements and homeopathic medicine. CONCLUSION: Self-testing proved to be relatively prevalent among Dutch Internet users. We therefore think that it is essential to develop appropriate information for consumers, health care providers and policymakers, about the pros and cons of self-testing and specific self-tests. More test-specific research is needed

The evolution of renal function and the incidence of end-stage renal disease in patients aged

Abstract Background. The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is high, especially among older patients. Methods. In order to identify risk factors for the evolution towards end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a cohort of patients !50 years of age for whom at least four serum creatinine measurements were available were selected from a primary care-based database. The slope of changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (using the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease formula) was calculated, and ESRD was defined as eGFR &lt;15 mL/min. Risk factors for ESRD were analysed using Cox regression analysis. Conclusions. Baseline eGFR, diabetes, high cholesterol, high LDL, hypertension and female gender are independent risk factors for developing ESRD. Older age at baseline predicts a lower risk

Estimating the Cost-Effectiveness of Quality-Improving Interventions in Oral Anticoagulation Management within General Practice

AbstractObjectivesA clinical trial, “Belgian Improvement Study on Oral Anticoagulation Therapy (BISOAT),” significantly improved the quality after implementing four different quality-improving interventions in four randomly divided groups of general practitioners (GPs). The quality-improving interventions consisted of multifaceted education with or without feedback reports on their performance, international normalized ratio (INR) testing by the GP with a CoaguChek device or computer-assisted advice for adapting oral anticoagulation therapy. The quality improvement in INR control versus baseline was similar in the four groups. The aim of the current study was to calculate the cost-effectiveness and influencing factors of the four quality-improving interventions compared with usual care.MethodsActivity-based costing techniques with questionnaires were used to determine the global costs per patient per month in the different intervention groups. Effectiveness data were obtained from the BISOAT study. Cost-effectiveness was expressed as cost per additional day within a 0.5 range from INR target.ResultsThe one-time cost of multifaceted education was €49,997 for the whole study. Monthly continuous costs per intervention ranged between €37 and €54 per patient. Using the CoaguChek in combination with the multifaceted education was associated with net savings and quality improvement, hence dominated usual care. Sensitivity analyses showed improved cost-effectiveness with extended duration and with increased program size.ConclusionImplementation of the combination multifaceted education with the use of the CoaguChek is a cost-effective new organizational model of oral anticoagulation management in general practice

Early health technology assessment of future clinical decision rule aided triage of patients presenting with acute chest pain in primary care

The objective of the paper is to estimate the number of patients presenting with chest pain suspected of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in primary care and to calculate possible cost effects of a future clinical decision rule (CDR) incorporating a point-of-care test (PoCT) as compared with current practice. The annual incidence of chest pain, referrals and ACS in primary care was estimated based on a literature review and on a Dutch and Belgian registration study. A health economic model was developed to calculate the potential impact of a future CDR on costs and effects (ie, correct referral decisions), in several scenarios with varying correct referral decisions. One-way, two-way, and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to test robustness of the model outcome to changes in input parameters. Annually, over one million patient contacts in primary care in the Netherlands concern chest pain. Currently, referral of eventual ACS negative patients (false positives, FPs) is estimated to cost €1,448 per FP patient, with total annual cost exceeding 165 million Euros in the Netherlands. Based on ‘international data’, at least a 29% reduction in FPs is required for the addition of a PoCT as part of a CDR to become cost-saving, and an additional €16 per chest pain patient (ie, 16.4 million Euros annually in the Netherlands) is saved for every further 10% relative decrease in FPs. Sensitivity analyses revealed that the model outcome was robust to changes in model inputs, with costs outcomes mainly driven by costs of FPs and costs of PoCT. If PoCT-aided triage of patients with chest pain in primary care could improve exclusion of ACS, this CDR could lead to a considerable reduction in annual healthcare costs as compared with current practice