Tools for Risk Analysis: Updating the 2006 WHO guidelines

This chapter reviews developments since the WHO Guidelines for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture were published in 2006. The six main developments are: the recognition that the tolerable additional disease burden may be too stringent for many developing countries; the benefits of focusing on single-event infection risks as a measure of outbreak potential when evaluating risk acceptability; a more rigorous method for estimating annual risks; the availability of dose-response data for norovirus; the use of QMRA to estimate Ascaris infection risks; and a detailed evaluation of pathogen reductions achieved by produce-washing and disinfection. Application of the developments results in more realistic estimates of the pathogen reductions required for the safe use of wastewater in agriculture and consequently permits the use of simpler wastewater treatment processes

Mapping the UK renal psychosocial workforce : the first comprehensive workforce survey

Background: Emerging evidence of psychosocial problems in CKD patients has led to an acceptance that a focus on the emotional wellbeing of the patient should be included in the provision of comprehensive CKD care. It is unclear if an increased attention for psychosocial needs in guidelines and policy documents has led to a rise in psychosocial staffing levels or change in composition of staff since the last workforce mapping in 2002. This paper offers a critical analysis and in-depth discussion of findings and their implications, in addition to providing an international perspective and exposing gaps in current knowledge. Methods: Data on psychosocial staffing levels was taken from a survey based on the Scottish Renal Association’s (SRA) staffing survey that was sent to all units in England, Wales and Northern-Ireland in 2016. In addition, data from a psychosocial staffing survey designed by and distributed via psychosocial professional groups was used. This data was then completed with Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and collated to describe the current renal psychosocial workforce in all 84 UK renal units. This was compared to results from the last renal workforce mapping in 2002. Results: The results from this mapping show great variability in models of service provision, significant exceeding of benchmarks for staffing levels, and a change in staffing patterns over the past 15 years. Adult psychology services have increased in number, but provision remains low due to increased patient numbers, whereas adult social work and paediatric services have decreased. Conclusion: A lack in the provision of renal psychosocial services has been identified, together with the absence of a general service provision model. These findings provide a valuable benchmark for units, a context from which to review and monitor provision alongside patient need. Along with recommendations, this paper forms a foundation for future research and workforce planning. Research into best practice models of service provision and the psychosocial needs of CKD patients lies at the heart of the answers to many identified questions

Cost-effectiveness of a new autoantibody test added to Computed Tomography (CT) compared to CT surveillance alone in the diagnosis of lung cancer amongst patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules

Oncimmune's EarlyCDT®-Lung is a simple ELISA blood test that measures seven lung cancer specific autoantibodies and is used in the assessment of malignancy risk in patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs). The objective of this study was to examine the cost-effectiveness of EarlyCDT-Lung in the diagnosis of lung cancer amongst patients with IPNs in addition to CT surveillance, compared to CT surveillance alone which is the current recommendation by the British Thoracic Society guidelines. A model consisting of a combination of a decision tree and Markov model was developed using the outcome measure of the quality adjusted life year (QALY). A life-time time horizon was adopted. The model was parameterized using a range of secondary sources. At £70 per test, EarlyCDT-Lung and CT surveillance was found to be cost-effective compared to CT surveillance alone with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of less than £2,500 depending on the test accuracy parameters used. It was also found that EarlyCDT-Lung can be priced up to £1,177 and still be cost-effective based on cost-effectiveness acceptance threshold of £20,000 / QALY. Further research to resolve parameter uncertainty, was not found to be of value. The results here demonstrate that at £70 per test the EarlyCDT-Lung will have a positive impact on patient outcomes and coupled with CT surveillance is a cost-effective approach to the management of patients with IPNs. The conclusions drawn from this analysis are robust to realistic variation in the parameters used in the model

Associations between multimorbidity and neuropathology in dementia: Consideration of functional cognitive disorders, psychiatric illness and dementia mimics

\ua9 The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal College of Psychiatrists.Background Multimorbidity, the presence of two or more health conditions, has been identified as a possible risk factor for clinical dementia. It is unclear whether this is due to worsening brain health and underlying neuropathology, or other factors. In some cases, conditions may reflect the same disease process as dementia (e.g. Parkinson\u27s disease, vascular disease), in others, conditions may reflect a prodromal stage of dementia (e.g. depression, anxiety and psychosis). Aims To assess whether multimorbidity in later life was associated with more severe dementia-related neuropathology at autopsy. Method We examined ante-mortem and autopsy data from 767 brain tissue donors from the UK, identifying physical multimorbidity in later life and specific brain-related conditions. We assessed associations between these purported risk factors and dementia-related neuropathological changes at autopsy (Alzheimer\u27s-disease related neuropathology, Lewy body pathology, cerebrovascular disease and limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy) with logistic models. Results Physical multimorbidity was not associated with greater dementia-related neuropathological changes. In the presence of physical multimorbidity, clinical dementia was less likely to be associated with Alzheimer\u27s disease pathology. Conversely, conditions which may be clinical or prodromal manifestations of dementia-related neuropathology (Parkinson\u27s disease, cerebrovascular disease, depression and other psychiatric conditions) were associated with dementia and neuropathological changes. Conclusions Physical multimorbidity alone is not associated with greater dementia-related neuropathological change; inappropriate inclusion of brain-related conditions in multimorbidity measures and misdiagnosis of neurodegenerative dementia may better explain increased rates of clinical dementia in multimorbidit