Accuracy of Vitalograph lung monitor as a screening test for COPD in primary care.

Microspirometry may be useful as the second stage of a screening pathway among patients reporting respiratory symptoms. We assessed sensitivity and specificity of the Vitalograph® lung monitor compared with post-bronchodilator confirmatory spirometry (ndd Easy on-PC) among primary care chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients within the Birmingham COPD cohort. We report a case-control analysis within 71 general practices in the UK. Eligible patients were aged ≥40 years who were either on a clinical COPD register or reported chronic respiratory symptoms on a questionnaire. Participants performed pre- and post-bronchodilator microspirometry, prior to confirmatory spirometry. Out of the 544 participants, COPD was confirmed in 337 according to post-bronchodilator confirmatory spirometry. Pre-bronchodilator, using the LLN as a cut-point, the lung monitor had a sensitivity of 50.5% (95% CI 45.0%, 55.9%) and a specificity of 99.0% (95% CI 96.6%, 99.9%) in our sample. Using a fixed ratio of FEV1/FEV6 < 0.7 to define obstruction in the lung monitor, sensitivity increased (58.8%; 95% CI 53.0, 63.8) while specificity was virtually identical (98.6%; 95% CI 95.8, 99.7). Within our sample, the optimal cut-point for the lung monitor was FEV1/FEV6 < 0.78, with sensitivity of 82.8% (95% CI 78.3%, 86.7%) and specificity of 85.0% (95% CI 79.4%, 89.6%). Test performance of the lung monitor was unaffected by bronchodilation. The lung monitor could be used in primary care without a bronchodilator using a simple ratio of FEV1/FEV6 as part of a screening pathway for COPD among patients reporting respiratory symptoms

Dual mobility cup reduces dislocation rate after arthroplasty for femoral neck fracture

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hip dislocation after arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures remains a serious complication. The aim of our study was to investigate the dislocation rate in acute femoral neck fracture patients operated with a posterior approach with cemented conventional or dual articulation acetabular components.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We compared the dislocation rate in 56 consecutive patients operated with conventional (single mobility) cemented acetabular components to that in 42 consecutive patients operated with dual articulation acetabular components. All the patients were operated via posterior approach and were followed up to one year postoperatively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 8 dislocations in the 56 patients having conventional components as compared to no dislocations in those 42 having dual articulation components (p = 0.01). The groups were similar with respect to age and gender distribution.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We conclude that the use of a cemented dual articulation acetabular component significantly reduces the dislocation rates in femoral neck fracture patients operated via posterior approach.</p

The UK's Global Health Respiratory Network: Improving respiratory health of the world's poorest through research collaborations.

Respiratory disorders are responsible for considerable morbidity, health care utilisation, societal costs and approximately one in five deaths worldwide [1-4]. Yet, despite this substantial health and societal burden – which particularly affects the world’s poorest populations and as such is a major contributor to global health inequalities – respiratory disorders have historically not received the policy priority they warrant. For example, despite causing an estimated 1000 deaths per day, less than half of the world’s countries collect data on asthma prevalence (http://www.globalasthmareport.org/). This is true for both communicable and non-communicable respiratory disorders, many of which are either amenable to treatment or preventable

Barriers and enablers of physical activity engagement for patients with COPD in primary care

Maria-Christina Kosteli,1 Nicola R Heneghan,1 Carolyn Roskell,1 Sarah E Williams,1 Peymane Adab,2 Andrew P Dickens,2 Alexandra Enocson,2 David A Fitzmaurice,2 Kate Jolly,2 Rachel Jordan,2 Sheila Greenfield,2 Jennifer Cumming1 1School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, 2Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK Background: Given that physical activity (PA) has a positive impact on COPD symptoms and prognosis, this study examined the factors that both encourage and limit participation in PA for individuals with COPD in a primary care setting from the perspective of social cognitive theory.Methods: A purposive sample of 26 individuals with a range of COPD severity (age range: 50&ndash;89&nbsp;years; males =15) were recruited from primary care to participate in one of four focus groups. Thematic analysis was undertaken to identify key concepts related to their self-efficacy beliefs.Results: Several barriers and enablers closely related to self-efficacy beliefs and symptom severity were identified. The main barriers were health related (fatigue, mobility problems, breathing issues caused by the weather), psychological (embarrassment, fear, frustration/disappointment), attitudinal (feeling in control of their condition, PA perception, older age perception), and motivational. The main enabling factors were related to motivation (autonomous or controlled), attitudes, self-regulation, and performance accomplishments.Clinical implications: When designing interventions for individuals with COPD, it is important to understand the patient-specific social cognitive influences on PA participation. This information can then inform individually tailored management planning. Keywords: COPD, social cognitive theory, self-efficacy, barriers, enablers, primary car

Targeted case finding for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease versus routine practice in primary care (TargetCOPD): a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Many individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain undiagnosed worldwide. Health-care organisations are implementing case-finding programmes without good evidence of which are the most effective and cost-effective approaches. We assessed the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two alternative approaches to targeted case finding for COPD compared with routine practice. METHODS: In this cluster-randomised controlled trial, participating general practices in the West Midlands, UK, were randomly assigned (1:1), via a computer-generated block randomisation sequence, to either a targeted case-finding group or a routine care group. Eligible patients were ever-smokers aged 40-79 years without a previously recorded diagnosis of COPD. Patients in the targeted case-finding group were further randomly assigned (1:1) via their household to receive either a screening questionnaire at the general practitioner (GP) consultation (opportunistic) or a screening questionnaire at the GP consultation plus a mailed questionnaire (active). Respondents reporting relevant respiratory symptoms were invited for post-bronchodilator spirometry. Patients, clinicians, and investigators were not masked to allocation, but group allocation was concealed from the researchers who performed the spirometry assessments. Primary outcomes were the percentage of the eligible population diagnosed with COPD within 1 year (defined as post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] to forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio <0·7 in patients with symptoms or a new diagnosis on their GP record) and cost per new COPD diagnosis. Multiple logistic and Poisson regression were used to estimate effect sizes. Costs were obtained from the trial. This trial is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN14930255. FINDINGS: From Aug 10, 2012, to June 22, 2014, 74 818 eligible patients from 54 diverse general practices were randomly assigned and completed the trial. At 1 year, 1278 (4%) cases of COPD were newly detected in 32 789 eligible patients in the targeted case-finding group compared with 337 (1%) cases in 42 029 patients in the routine care group (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 7·45 [95% CI 4·80-11·55], p<0·0001). The percentage of newly detected COPD cases was higher in the active case-finding group (822 [5%] of 15 378) than in the opportunistic case-finding group (370 [2%] of 15 387; adjusted OR 2·34 [2·06-2·66], p<0·0001; adjusted risk difference 2·9 per 100 patients [95% CI 2·3-3·6], p<0·0001). Active case finding was more cost-effective than opportunistic case finding (£333 vs £376 per case detected, respectively). INTERPRETATION: In this well established primary care system, routine practice identified few new cases of COPD. An active targeted approach to case finding including mailed screening questionnaires before spirometry is a cost-effective way to identify undiagnosed patients and has the potential to improve their health. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research

Model-based evaluation of the long-term cost-effectiveness of systematic case-finding for COPD in primary care

Introduction'One-off' systematic case-finding for COPD using a respiratory screening questionnaire is more effective and cost-effective than routine care at identifying new cases. However, it is not known whether early diagnosis and treatment is beneficial in the longer term. We estimated the long-term cost-effectiveness of a regular case-finding programme in primary care.MethodsA Markov decision analytic model was developed to compare the cost-effectiveness of a 3-yearly systematic case-finding programme targeted to ever smokers aged ≥50 years with the current routine diagnostic process in UK primary care. Patient-level data on case-finding pathways was obtained from a large randomised controlled trial. Information on the natural history of COPD and treatment effects was obtained from a linked COPD cohort, UK primary care database and published literature. The discounted lifetime cost per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained was calculated from a health service perspective.ResultsThe incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of systematic case-finding versus current care was £16 596 per additional QALY gained, with a 78% probability of cost-effectiveness at a £20 000 per QALY willingness-to-pay threshold. The base case result was robust to multiple one-way sensitivity analyses. The main drivers were response rate to the initial screening questionnaire and attendance rate for the confirmatory spirometry test.DiscussionRegular systematic case-finding for COPD using a screening questionnaire in primary care is likely to be cost-effective in the long-term despite uncertainties in treatment effectiveness. Further knowledge of the natural history of case-found patients and the effectiveness of their management will improve confidence to implement such an approach

Unipolar versus bipolar hemiarthroplasty for displaced femoral neck fractures: A pooled analysis of 30,250 participants data

PURPOSE: To assess the clinical outcomes of unipolar versus bipolar hemiarthroplasty for displaced intracapsular femoral neck fractures in older patients and to report whether bipolar implants yield better long-term functional results. METHODS: We searched PubMed, Scopus, EBSCO, and Cochrane Library for relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and observational studies, comparing unipolar and bipolar hemiarthroplasty. Data were extracted from eligible studies and pooled as relative risk (RR) or mean difference (MD) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) using RevMan software for Windows. RESULTS: A total of 30 studies were included (13 RCTs and 17 observational studies). Analyses included 30,250 patients with a mean age of 79 years and mean follow-up time of 24.6 months. The overall pooled estimates showed that bipolar was superior to unipolar hemiarthroplasty in terms of hip function, range of motion and reoperation rate, but at the expense of longer operative time. In the longer term the unipolar group had higher rates of acetabular erosion compared to the bipolar group. There was no significant difference in terms of hip pain, implant related complications, intraoperative blood loss, mortality, six-minute walk times, medical outcomes, and hospital stay and subsequently cost. CONCLUSIONS: Bipolar hemiarthroplasty is associated with better range of motion, lower rates of acetabular erosion and lower reoperation rates compared to the unipolar hemiarthroplasty but at the expense of longer operative time. Both were similar in terms of mortality, and surgical or medical outcomes. Future large studies are recommended to compare both methods regarding the quality of life

TargetCOPD : a pragmatic randomised controlled trial of targeted case finding for COPD versus routine practice in primary care : protocol

BACKGROUND: Many people with clinically significant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) remain undiagnosed worldwide. There are a number of small studies which have examined possible methods of case finding through primary care, but no large RCTs that have adequately assessed the most cost-effective approach. METHODS/DESIGN: In this study, using a cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) in 56 general practices in the West Midlands, we plan to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a Targeted approach to case finding for COPD compared with routine practice. Using an individual patient RCT nested in the Targeted arm, we plan also to compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Active case finding using a postal questionnaire (with supplementary opportunistic questionnaires), and Opportunistic-only case finding during routine surgery consultations. All ever-smoking patients aged 40-79 years, without a current diagnosis of COPD and registered with participating practices will be eligible. Patients in the Targeted arm who report positive respiratory symptoms (chronic cough or phlegm, wheeze or dyspnoea) using a brief questionnaire will be invited for further spirometric assessment to ascertain whether they have COPD or not. Post-bronchodilator spirometry will be conducted to ATS standards using an Easy One spirometer by trained research assistants. The primary outcomes will be new cases of COPD and cost per new case identified, comparing targeted case finding with routine care, and two types of targeted case finding (active versus opportunistic). A multilevel logistic regression model will be used to model the probability of detecting a new case of COPD for each treatment arm, with clustering of patients (by practice and household) accounted for using a multi-level structure. A trial-based analysis will be undertaken using costs and outcomes collected during the trial. Secondary outcomes include the feasibility, efficiency, long-term cost-effectiveness, patient and primary care staff views of each approach. DISCUSSION: This will be the largest RCT of its kind, and should inform how best to identify undiagnosed patients with COPD in the UK and other similar healthcare systems. Sensitivity analyses will help local policy-makers decide which sub-groups of the population to target first. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current controlled trials ISRCTN14930255 ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2466-14-157) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Dislocation of total hip replacement in patients with fractures of the femoral neck: A prospective cohort study of 713 consecutive hips

Background Total hip replacement is increasingly used in active, relatively healthy elderly patients with fractures of the femoral neck. Dislocation of the prosthesis is a severe complication, and there is still controversy regarding the optimal surgical approach and its influence on stability. We analyzed factors influencing the stability of the total hip replacement, paying special attention to the surgical approach