Quality of life in elderly people after a hip fracture: a prospective study

ANTECEDENTES: La fractura de cadera es un importante problema social y médico por su creciente prevalencia, las consecuencias para la salud y el impacto económico en el sistema sanitario, pero no cabe duda de que también repercute en la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud (CVRS). De ahí la importancia de conocer y determinar el impacto de la enfermedad en la vida cotidiana desde la perspectiva del bienestar físico, emocional y social del paciente. PROPÓSITO: Determinar el impacto de la fractura de cadera en la CVRS de las personas mayores de 65 años un mes después de la cirugía, los factores relacionados y los efectos en la capacidad funcional y el estado de ánimo. MÉTODOS: Estudio observacional prospectivo realizado en las unidades de traumatología de dos hospitales universitarios de la provincia de Cáceres con muestreo consecutivo de todos los pacientes mayores de 65 años ingresados por cirugía de fractura de cadera durante el periodo de estudio. Se registraron datos sociodemográficos y clínicos en el momento del ingreso y de forma prospectiva en la visita de seguimiento 1 mes después. Se recogieron variables clínicas, sociales, de calidad de vida (EQ-5D-), de capacidad funcional e instrumental básica (Índice de Barthel (BI) y Escala de Lawton y Brody) y de depresión geriátrica (Yesavage). RESULTADOS: El estudio incluyó 224 pacientes con una edad media de 84,6 años (DE ± 6,1), el 76,3% eran mujeres. La comorbilidad de Charlson fue de 5,3 (DE ± 1,2). El índice EQ-5D disminuyó de 0,62 (DE ± 0,35) a 0,16 al mes de seguimiento (DE ± 0,20) p < 0,001. La puntuación media de la Escala Visual Analógica (EVA) del EQ-5D disminuyó de 72,8 (DE ± 15,8) a 48,3 (DE ± 17,2) p < 0,001. Todas las dimensiones de la EQ-5D mostraron una reducción significativa desde el momento del estado previo a la fractura hasta 1 mes después de la cirugía. Los factores independientes asociados con la CVRS 1 mes después de la cirugía fueron la puntuación del Índice de Barthel antes de la fractura, la escala de Lawton y Brody, la presencia de depresión y el tipo de cirugía. CONCLUSIONES: Después de una fractura de cadera, los pacientes experimentan un deterioro considerable de su CVRS, especialmente en el cuidado personal, las actividades diarias y la movilidad. También se produce una disminución significativa de la capacidad funcional para las actividades básicas e instrumentales de la vida diaria. Un mes después de la cirugía, la CVRS está muy lejos de los niveles previos a la fractura.BACKGROUND: Hip fracture is an important social and medical problem due to its increasing prevalence, the consequences for health and the economic impact on the health care system, but there is no doubt that it also has repercussions on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Hence the importance of understanding and determining the impact of the condition on everyday life from the perspective of the patient’s physical, emotional and social well-being. PURPOSE: To determine the impact of hip fracture on HRQoL of people over the age of 65 1 month after surgery, related factors and the effects on functional ability and mood. METHODS: Prospective observational study conducted in the traumatology units of two university hospitals in the province of Cáceres with consecutive sampling of all patients over the age of 65 admitted for hip fracture surgery during the study period. Sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded at the time of admission and prospectively at the follow-up visit 1 month later. Clinical, social, quality of life (EQ-5D-), basic functional and instrumental capacity (Barthel Index (BI) and Lawton & Brody Scale), and geriatric depression (Yesavage) variables were collected. RESULTS: The study included 224 patients with a median age of 84.6 years (SD ± 6.1), 76.3% were female. Charlson’s comorbidity was 5.3 (SD ± 1.2). The EQ-5D index decreased from 0.62 (SD ± 0.35) to 0.16 at 1 month follow up (SD ± 0.20) p < 0.001. The mean Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score of EQ-5D decreased from 72.8 (SD ±15.8) to 48.3 (SD ± 17.2) p < 0.001. All dimensions of EQ-5D showed a significant reduction from the time of pre-fracture status to 1 month after surgery. Independent factors associated with HRQoL 1 month after surgery were pre-fracture status Barthel Index score, Lawton and Brody scale, presence of depression, and type of surgery. CONCLUSIONS: After a hip fracture, patients experience considerable deterioration in their HRQoL, especially in selfcare, daily activities, and mobility. There is also a significant decline in functional capacity for both the basic and instrumental activities of daily living. One month after surgery, HRQoL is a long way from pre-fracture levels.peerReviewe

Route Analysis Through Filial Generations of Modern Varieties of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

In Mexico, to reduce production costs, small producers use tomato seeds of advanced generations such as F2 and F3. The objectives of this study were to measure the efficiency of using advanced populations of some commercial tomato hybrids and to identify the most important yield components associated with yield. Seven saladette-type hybrids of indeterminate growth were evaluated, as well as their respective generations F2s and F3s under greenhouse conditions. The evaluation of the three generations was carried out during the 2013 agricultural cycle. Three harvests were made at 82, 94 and 136 days after transplanting. The experiment was carried out under a randomized complete block experimental design, with 4 replications and 10 individuals per repletion. The obtained results indicated that there were significant differences for few traits in F2 and F3. Path analysis showed that the total number of fruits had the highest direct and indirect effects on yield through generations. Based on our analysis, the advanced generations of ‘LORETO’, ‘CUAUHTÉMOC’ and ‘ESPARTACO’ could be used by the small growers since low values of inbreeding depression was observed in F2 and F3.Objective: To measure the efficiency of using advanced generations of some commercial tomato hybrids for small farmers and to identify the most important yield components associated with yield. Design/Methodology/Approach: Seven saladette-type hybrids of indeterminate growth were evaluated, as well as their respective generations F2s and F3s under greenhouse conditions. The evaluation of the three generations was carried out during the 2013 agricultural cycle. Three harvests were made at 82, 94 and 136 days after transplanting. The experiment was a randomized complete block design, with 4 replications and 10 plants per replication. Results: Results indicated that there were significant differences for a few traits in F2 and F3. Path analysis showed that the total number of fruits had the highest direct and indirect effects on yield through generations. Limitations of the study/implications: The usefulness of advanced generations of tomato commercial hybrids would depend on the genetic background of the parental lines that take part in such as hybrids, as some hybrids would present high inbreeding depression depending on the genetic composition of their progenitors. Findings/Conclusions: Advanced generations of ‘LORETO’, ‘CUAUHTÉMOC’ and ‘ESPARTACO’ could be used by the small growers since low values of inbreeding depression were observed in F2 and F3 familie

Impact of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients: A nationwide study in Spain

Objective To assess the effect of the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the outcome of neurosurgical patients in Spain. Settings The initial flood of COVID-19 patients overwhelmed an unprepared healthcare system. Different measures were taken to deal with this overburden. The effect of these measures on neurosurgical patients, as well as the effect of COVID-19 itself, has not been thoroughly studied. Participants This was a multicentre, nationwide, observational retrospective study of patients who underwent any neurosurgical operation from March to July 2020. Interventions An exploratory factorial analysis was performed to select the most relevant variables of the sample. Primary and secondary outcome measures Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of mortality and postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Results Sixteen hospitals registered 1677 operated patients. The overall mortality was 6.4%, and 2.9% (44 patients) suffered a perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of those infections, 24 were diagnosed postoperatively. Age (OR 1.05), perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 4.7), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.006), postoperative neurological worsening (OR 5.9), postoperative need for airway support (OR 5.38), ASA grade =3 (OR 2.5) and preoperative GCS 3-8 (OR 2.82) were independently associated with mortality. For SARS-CoV-2 postoperative infection, screening swab test <72 hours preoperatively (OR 0.76), community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) (OR 1.011), preoperative cognitive impairment (OR 2.784), postoperative sepsis (OR 3.807) and an absence of postoperative complications (OR 0.188) were independently associated. Conclusions Perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection in neurosurgical patients was associated with an increase in mortality by almost fivefold. Community COVID-19 incidence (cases/10 5 people/week) was a statistically independent predictor of mortality. Trial registration number CEIM 20/217

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

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 &lt; 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

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Partial correlations between LCO3-PUFAs intake and bone mineral density in normal women according to the WHO diagnosis criteria for osteoporosis.

<p>Partial correlations between LCO3-PUFAs intake and bone mineral density in normal women according to the WHO diagnosis criteria for osteoporosis.</p

Multiple linear regression analysis for the association between BMD at the femoral neck and age, BMI, calcium intake, vitamin D intake, menopausal status and total LCO3-PUFA intake according to the WHO diagnosis criteria for osteoporosis.

<p>Multiple linear regression analysis for the association between BMD at the femoral neck and age, BMI, calcium intake, vitamin D intake, menopausal status and total LCO3-PUFA intake according to the WHO diagnosis criteria for osteoporosis.</p

Bivariate and partial correlations between LCO3-PUFAs and bone mineral density.

<p>Bivariate and partial correlations between LCO3-PUFAs and bone mineral density.</p