The effectiveness of including support people in a cognitive-behavioural weight loss maintenance program for obese adults: study rationale and design

Objective: The well-documented finding that obese adults have a high likelihood of weight regain following participation in behavioural weight loss programs highlights the importance of developing more effective approaches for weight loss maintenance. One promising approach is to improve the quality of social support for effective weight control available to an obese individual by including support people in behavioural weight loss programs. This paper describes the rationale and design of a randomised controlled trial that evaluates the effectiveness of training support people to assist obese adults in their weight management. Design: The study entails a twoarm randomised controlled trial in which obese participants take part in a one-year (26-session) cognitive-behaviour therapy group weight management program including motivational interviewing strategies (CBT-MI). In one arm, participants receive CBT-MI alone, while in the second arm (CBT-MI-SP) participants also have a support person who attends 10 group sessions designed to teach effective skills for supporting an individual in healthy weight control. Assessments of anthropometric, medical, behavioural, psychological, and social functioning take place at pretreatment, post-treatment, and a one-year follow-up. Conclusions: By helping obese participants to increase and sustain their motivation and skills for weight control, the CBT-MI-SP approach of the current study has the potential to effectively help patients to achieve sustained weight loss while minimising the patient’s need for ongoing, intensive weight control treatment with its attendant costs.This research was supported in part by project grant 632621 from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia

Application of generative language models to orthopaedic practice

Objective: To explore whether large language models (LLMs) Generated Pre-trained Transformer (GPT)-3 and ChatGPT can write clinical letters and predict management plans for common orthopaedic scenarios. Design: Fifteen scenarios were generated and ChatGPT and GPT-3 prompted to write clinical letters and separately generate management plans for identical scenarios with plans removed. Main outcome measures: Letters were assessed for readability using the Readable Tool. Accuracy of letters and management plans were assessed by three independent orthopaedic surgery clinicians. Results: Both models generated complete letters for all scenarios after single prompting. Readability was compared using Flesch-Kincade Grade Level (ChatGPT: 8.77 (SD 0.918); GPT-3: 8.47 (SD 0.982)), Flesch Readability Ease (ChatGPT: 58.2 (SD 4.00); GPT-3: 59.3 (SD 6.98)), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) Index (ChatGPT: 11.6 (SD 0.755); GPT-3: 11.4 (SD 1.01)), and reach (ChatGPT: 81.2%; GPT-3: 80.3%). ChatGPT produced more accurate letters (8.7/10 (SD 0.60) vs 7.3/10 (SD 1.41), p=0.024) and management plans (7.9/10 (SD 0.63) vs 6.8/10 (SD 1.06), p<0.001) than GPT-3. However, both LLMs sometimes omitted key information or added additional guidance which was at worst inaccurate. Conclusions: This study shows that LLMs are effective for generation of clinical letters. With little prompting, they are readable and mostly accurate. However, they are not consistent, and include inappropriate omissions or insertions. Furthermore, management plans produced by LLMs are generic but often accurate. In the future, a healthcare specific language model trained on accurate and secure data could provide an excellent tool for increasing the efficiency of clinicians through summarisation of large volumes of data into a single clinical letter

Use of the behaviour change wheel to improve everyday person-centred conversations on physical activity across healthcare

Abstract: Background: An implementation gap exists between the evidence supporting physical activity in the prevention and management of long-term medical conditions and clinical practice. Person-centred conversations, i.e. focussing on the values, preferences and aspirations of each individual, are required from healthcare professionals. However, many currently lack the capability, opportunity, and motivation to have these conversations. This study uses the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) to inform the development of practical and educational resources to help bridge this gap. Methods: The BCW provides a theoretical approach to enable the systematic development of behaviour change interventions. Authors followed the described eight-step process, considered results from a scoping review, consulted clinical working groups, tested and developed ideas across clinical pathways, and agreed on solutions to each stage by consensus. Results: The behavioural diagnosis identified healthcare professionals’ initiation of person-centred conversations on physical activity at all appropriate opportunities in routine medical care as a suitable primary target for interventions. Six intervention functions and five policy categories met the APEASE criteria. We mapped 17 Behavioural Change Techniques onto BCW intervention functions to define intervention strategies. Conclusions: This study uses the BCW to outline a coherent approach for intervention development to improve healthcare professionals’ frequency and quality of conversations on physical activity across clinical practice. Time-sensitive and role-specific resources might help healthcare professionals understand the focus of their intervention. Educational resources aimed at healthcare professionals and patients could have mutual benefit, should fit into existing care pathways and support professional development. A trusted information source with single-point access via the internet is likely to improve accessibility. Future evaluation of resources built and coded using this framework is required to establish the effectiveness of this approach and help improve understanding of what works to change conversations around physical activity in clinical practice

What do healthcare professionals want from a resource to support person-centred conversations on physical activity? A mixed-methods, user-centric approach to developing educational resources.

Objectives: Healthcare is a fundamental action area in population efforts to address the global disease burden from physical inactivity. However, healthcare professionals lack the knowledge, skills and confidence to have regular conversations about physical activity. This study aimed to: (1) understand the requirements of healthcare professionals and patients from a resource to support routine physical activity conversations in clinical consultations and (2) develop such a resource. Methods: This study used codesign principles across two phases, actively involving relevant stakeholders in an iterative development process. The preparatory phase included a scoping literature review and workshops with multidisciplinary healthcare professionals and patients. The Delphi phase included the development of a draft resource, a three-stage modified online Delphi study and an external review. Results: The scoping review highlighted the importance of addressing time restrictions, a behaviour change skill deficit, the need for resources to fit into existing systems and meeting patient expectations. Consultation included 69 participants across two clinical workshops. They recommended using the internet, valued guidance on all aspects of physical activity conversations and were concerned about how to use a person-centred approach. The Delphi phase, including 15 expert participants, met agreement criteria in two stages to develop the resource. Conclusion: This mixed-methods study delivered an online resource that was codesigned with and based on the requirements of healthcare professionals and patients. The resource presents condition-specific ‘1-minute’, ‘5-minute’ and ‘more minute’ person-centred and evidence-based conversation templates on physical activity in an accessible and usable format to meet the needs of real-life clinical practice

Bilateral Free Flap Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: Do Abdominal Scars Affect Bilateral Flaps?

Background: The incidence of bilateral mastectomies is increasing along with the rates of breast reconstructions. A substantial number of patients will present with abdominal scars after Cesarean section, laparoscopy, laparotomy, and so on. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of prior abdominal scars on complication rates in abdominal bilateral free flap breast reconstruction. Methods: All consecutive patients with autologous free flap breast reconstruction between 2007 and 2014 were eligible. The relevant demographic and clinical data were prospectively collected into a study-specific database. Complications and reoperations were prospectively registered after postoperative outpatient visits. Results: Overall, 493 patients underwent abdominally based breast reconstruction during the study period: unilateral (n = 250; 50.7%) or bilateral (n = 243; 49.3%). In the bilateral group, the abdominal scar locations were Pfannenstiel (n = 73; 30.1%), midline (n = 16; 6.6%), lower oblique (n = 17; 7.0%), upper oblique (n = 5; 2.1%), and laparoscopic (n = 69; 28.4%). Four (1.7%) flap failures (including 1 converted to a pedicled transverse rectus abdominis flap) were registered, all occurring in patients from the scar group: 3 with Pfannenstiel incision and 1 patient with prior laparoscopy. Pfannenstiel scar was associated with higher risk of hematoma at the recipient site when compared with no scar group (13.7% versus 2.2%; P = 0.006). Partial flap necrosis, infection, and seroma occurred in 14 (5.9%), 8 (3.4%), and 5 (2.1%) patients, respectively, and no differences between the scar groups were identified. Conclusion: Surgical outcomes of bilateral reconstructions in patients with abdominal scars are generally comparable with ones in patients without prior surgery; however, some problems have been identified. These procedures might have some intraoperative considerations and often require increased operative times. Apart from the traditional preoperative computed tomography angiography, intraoperative imaging (e.g., fluorescence angiography) may be advocated in patients with abdominal scars

Bilateral Free Flap Breast Reconstruction Outcomes: Do Abdominal Scars Affect Bilateral Flaps?

Background:. The incidence of bilateral mastectomies is increasing along with the rates of breast reconstructions. A substantial number of patients will present with abdominal scars after Cesarean section, laparoscopy, laparotomy, and so on. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of prior abdominal scars on complication rates in abdominal bilateral free flap breast reconstruction. Methods:. All consecutive patients with autologous free flap breast reconstruction between 2007 and 2014 were eligible. The relevant demographic and clinical data were prospectively collected into a study-specific database. Complications and reoperations were prospectively registered after postoperative outpatient visits. Results:. Overall, 493 patients underwent abdominally based breast reconstruction during the study period: unilateral (n = 250; 50.7%) or bilateral (n = 243; 49.3%). In the bilateral group, the abdominal scar locations were Pfannenstiel (n = 73; 30.1%), midline (n = 16; 6.6%), lower oblique (n = 17; 7.0%), upper oblique (n = 5; 2.1%), and laparoscopic (n = 69; 28.4%). Four (1.7%) flap failures (including 1 converted to a pedicled transverse rectus abdominis flap) were registered, all occurring in patients from the scar group: 3 with Pfannenstiel incision and 1 patient with prior laparoscopy. Pfannenstiel scar was associated with higher risk of hematoma at the recipient site when compared with no scar group (13.7% versus 2.2%; P = 0.006). Partial flap necrosis, infection, and seroma occurred in 14 (5.9%), 8 (3.4%), and 5 (2.1%) patients, respectively, and no differences between the scar groups were identified. Conclusion:. Surgical outcomes of bilateral reconstructions in patients with abdominal scars are generally comparable with ones in patients without prior surgery; however, some problems have been identified. These procedures might have some intraoperative considerations and often require increased operative times. Apart from the traditional preoperative computed tomography angiography, intraoperative imaging (e.g., fluorescence angiography) may be advocated in patients with abdominal scars

The articularis genu muscle and its relevance in oncological surgical margins

Aims The aticularis genu (AG) is the least substantial and deepest muscle of the anterior compartment of the thigh and of uncertain significance. The aim of the study was to describe the anatomy of AG in cadaveric specimens, to characterize the relevance of AG in pathological distal femur specimens, and to correlate the anatomy and pathology with preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of AG. Methods In 24 cadaveric specimens, AG was identified, photographed, measured, and dissected including neurovascular supply. In all, 35 resected distal femur specimens were examined. AG was photographed and measured and its utility as a surgical margin examined. Preoperative MRIs of these cases were retrospectively analyzed and assessed and its utility assessed as an anterior soft tissue margin in surgery. In all cadaveric specimens, AG was identified as a substantial structure, deep and separate to vastus itermedius (VI) and separated by a clear fascial plane with a discrete neurovascular supply. Mean length of AG was 16.1 cm ( ± 1.6 cm) origin anterior aspect distal third femur and insertion into suprapatellar bursa. In 32 of 35 pathological specimens, AG was identified (mean length 12.8 cm ( ± 0.6 cm)). Where AG was used as anterior cover in pathological specimens all surgical margins were clear of disease. Of these cases, preoperative MRI identified AG in 34 of 35 cases (mean length 8.8 cm ( ± 0.4 cm)). Results AG was best visualized with T1-weighted axial images providing sufficient cover in 25 cases confirmed by pathological findings.These results demonstrate AG as a discrete and substantial muscle of the anterior compartment of the thigh, deep to VI and useful in providing anterior soft tissue margin in distal femoral resection in bone tumours. Conclusion Preoperative assessment of cover by AG may be useful in predicting cases where AG can be dissected, sparing the remaining quadriceps muscle, and therefore function. Cite this article: Bone Joint Open 2020;1-9:585–593

High or low intensity text-messaging combined with group treatment equally promote weight loss maintenance in obese adults

BACKGROUND Text-message and e-mail are emerging as potential methods for improving weight outcomes among obese individuals. The optimal volume, frequency, and timing of such interventions are unknown. This study investigated the effect of adjunct technological support on weight and psychological variables after a 3-month cognitive-behaviour therapy (CBT) group intervention. METHODS Sixty obese adults were randomised to a CBT programme plus intensive (text-message and e-mail; CBT+ITS) or minimal (text-message only; CBT+MTS) technological support. Assessments occurred at baseline, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 15-months. Outcome variables included weight (kg), body mass index (kg/m(2)), waist circumference (cm), binge-eating tendencies, weight self-efficacy, and weight control cognitions and behaviours. RESULTS CBT+ITS (n=31) and CBT+MTS (n=29) participants lost 5.2% (±1.1) and 4.7% (±1.1) of their baseline weight by 3-months, 8.4% (±1.2) and 6.4% (±1.1) by 6-months, 9.6% (±1.3) and 6.4% (±1.3) by 9-months, and sustained a 7.5% (±1.3) and 5.1% (±1.3) loss at 15-months, respectively. There were no significant differences between intensive and minimal support, however, the CBT+ITS group showed a marginal advantage across all anthropometric measures. CONCLUSIONS A low intensity text-message support programme is just as effective as higher intensity technological support for maintaining weight loss in obese adults. This represents a low-cost means of aiding weight loss maintenance without reliance on extended face-to-face treatment