Pre-admission interventions to improve outcome after elective surgery-protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND: Poor physical health and fitness increases the risk of death and complications after major elective surgery. Pre-admission interventions to improve patients’ health and fitness (referred to as prehabilitation) may reduce postoperative complications, decrease the length of hospital stay and facilitate the patient’s recovery. We will conduct a systematic review of RCTs to examine the effectiveness of different types of prehabilitation interventions in improving the surgical outcomes of patients undergoing elective surgery. METHODS: This review will be conducted and reported according to the Cochrane and PRISMA reporting guidelines. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ISI Web of Science and clinical trial registers will be searched for any intervention administered before any elective surgery (including physical activity, nutritional, educational, psychological, clinical or multicomponent), which aims to improve postoperative outcomes. Reference lists of included studies will be searched, and grey literature including conference proceedings, theses, dissertations and preoperative assessment protocols will be examined. Study quality will be assessed using Cochrane’s risk of bias tool, and meta-analyses for trials that use similar interventions and report similar outcomes will be undertaken where possible. DISCUSSION: This systematic review will determine whether different types of interventions administered before elective surgery are effective in improving postoperative outcomes. It will also determine which components or combinations of components would form the most effective prehabilitation intervention. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD4201501919

Does previous asbestos exposure increase the risk of a post coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) pleural effusion – a routine data study?

Background: Development of pleural effusion (PE) following CABG is common. Post-CABG PE are divided into early- (within 30 days of surgery) and delayed-onset (30 days–1 year) which are likely due to distinct pathological processes. Some experts suggest asbestos exposure may confer an independent risk for late-onset post-CABG PE, however no large studies have explored this potential association. Research question: To explore possible association between asbestos exposure and post-CABG PE using routine data. Methods: All patients who underwent CABG 01/04/2013–31/03/2018 were identified from the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) Database. This England-wide population was evaluated for evidence of asbestos exposure, pleural plaques or asbestosis and a diagnosis of PE or PE-related procedure from 30 days to 1 year post-CABG. Patients with evidence of PE three months prior to CABG were excluded, as were patients with a new mesothelioma diagnosis. Results: 68,150 patients were identified, of whom 1,003 (1%) were asbestos exposed and 2,377 (3%) developed late-onset PE. After adjusting for demographic data, Index of Multiple Deprivation and Charlson Co-morbidity Index, asbestos exposed patients had increased odds of PE diagnosis or related procedure such as thoracentesis or drainage (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.03–1.76, p = 0.04). In those with evidence of PE requiring procedure alone, the adjusted OR was 1.66 (95% CI 1.14–2.40, p = 0.01). Additional subgroup analysis of the 518 patients coded for pleural plaques and asbestosis alone revealed an adjusted OR of post-CABG PE requiring a procedure of 2.16 (95% CI 1.38–3.37, p = 0.002). Interpretation: This large-scale study demonstrates prior asbestos exposure is associated with modestly increased risk of post-CABG PE development. The risk association appears higher in patients with assigned clinical codes indicative of radiological evidence of asbestos exposure (pleural plaques or asbestosis). This association may fit with a possible inflammatory co-pathogenesis, with asbestos exposure ‘priming’ the pleura resulting in greater propensity for PE evolution following the physiological insult of CABG surgery. Further work, including prospective studies and clinicopathological correlation are suggested to explore this further

Genetically defined elevated homocysteine levels do not result in widespread changes of DNA methylation in leukocytes

BACKGROUND:DNA methylation is affected by the activities of the key enzymes and intermediate metabolites of the one-carbon pathway, one of which involves homocysteine. We investigated the effect of the well-known genetic variant associated with mildly elevated homocysteine: MTHFR 677C>T independently and in combination with other homocysteine-associated variants, on genome-wide leukocyte DNA-methylation. METHODS:Methylation levels were assessed using Illumina 450k arrays on 9,894 individuals of European ancestry from 12 cohort studies. Linear-mixed-models were used to study the association of additive MTHFR 677C>T and genetic-risk score (GRS) based on 18 homocysteine-associated SNPs, with genome-wide methylation. RESULTS:Meta-analysis revealed that the MTHFR 677C>T variant was associated with 35 CpG sites in cis, and the GRS showed association with 113 CpG sites near the homocysteine-associated variants. Genome-wide analysis revealed that the MTHFR 677C>T variant was associated with 1 trans-CpG (nearest gene ZNF184), while the GRS model showed association with 5 significant trans-CpGs annotated to nearest genes PTF1A, MRPL55, CTDSP2, CRYM and FKBP5. CONCLUSIONS:Our results do not show widespread changes in DNA-methylation across the genome, and therefore do not support the hypothesis that mildly elevated homocysteine is associated with widespread methylation changes in leukocytes

Protocol for a meta-review of interventions to prevent and manage ICU delirium

Introduction Intensive care unit (ICU) delirium is an acute brain dysfunction that affects up to 7 out of 10 patients admitted to ICUs. Patients who develop ICU delirium cannot think clearly, have trouble paying attention, do not understand what is happening around them and may see or hear things that are not there. ICU delirium increases the time patients spend in ICUs and hospitals and therefore healthcare costs. ICU delirium is also associated with increased mortality and dementia in the longer term. ICU delirium prevention and management strategies are likely to include both pharmacological and non-pharmacological components as part of a complex intervention, but it is unclear which components should be included. The objective of this meta-review is to systematically map the quantity and certainty of the available evidence from reviews and meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, which will be used to design a multicomponent intervention to prevent and manage ICU delirium. Methods and analysis A systematic search strategy was performed in MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO and Web of Science (from inception to 26 September 2023), as well as Epistemonikos (from inception to 19 July 2023). We will include all critically ill adults (aged≥18 years) and any ICU delirium prevention or management intervention (pharmacological or non-pharmacological). For pharmacological interventions, we will include reviews of RCTs. For non-pharmacological interventions, we will consider reviews of RCTs, quasi-experimental and cohort studies. We will use the International Consensus Study (Del-COrS) core outcome set for research evaluating interventions to prevent or manage ICU delirium and synthesise our findings using quantitative data description methods. We will involve our Patient and Public Involvement group of people who experienced ICU delirium to develop and comment on such aspects as the research question, methodology and which outcomes are most important. Ethics and dissemination No ethical approval is required for this study. The results of this meta-review will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and conferences. They will also form part of an evidence map and logic model for the prevention and management of ICU delirium. PROSPERO registration number CRD4202347326

Homicidios en la Pareja: Explorando las Diferencias entre Agresores Inmigrantes y Españoles

El homicidio en la pareja es un problema social que afecta especialmente a las mujeres inmigrantes por presentar un mayor riesgo de ser asesinadas, existiendo una sobrerrepresentación tanto en las víctimas como en los agresores inmigrantes. El presente estudio explora las diferencias existentes en homicidios domésticos cometidos por agresores inmigrantes y españoles comparando los factores sociodemográficos del autor, las características de la pareja, los antecedentes violentos, el modus operandi y la conducta poscrimen. A partir del análisis de sentencias judiciales firmes se obtuvo una muestra de 168 casos de asesinatos, homicidios o tentativas llevados a cabo en España entre los años 2000 y 2011. Los datos se analizaron mediante t de Student y chi-cuadrado. Los grupos mostraron diferencias significativas en la edad de los agresores, presencia de hijos comunes de la pareja y discusiones previas al ataque, existiendo escasas diferencias en los factores de riesgo estudiados

Surgical reconstruction of severe pressure ulcers in England from 01/04/2011 to 30/09/2018:Retrospective cohort study using routinely collected data

IntroductionWe identified patients in England admitted to hospital with severe pressure ulcers (SPUs), quantified how many had surgical reconstruction (SR) to close SPUs and described their outcomes.MethodsUsing Hospital Episode Statistics (2010ꟷ2019), we identified adults with SPU who had undergone SR. Outcomes were: length of stay; time-to-next-admission with SPU diagnosis; repeat SR; death from any cause (Office for National Statistics). Maximum and minimum numbers of SRs to close SPUs (the latter comprising a subset about whom we had greatest confidence) were estimated by applying increasingly specific filters.ResultsA minimum of 404 and maximum of 1018 patients with SPUs had SR over 7.5 years. Patients in the minimum subset were younger than the entire SR group (median 52 versus 58 years), had fewer comorbidities and were more likely to have a cause of impaired mobility. In the subset and entire group, median hospital stays after SR were 26 (IQR 13ꟷ48) and 42 (IQR 17ꟷ90) days. By one year, more patients in the subset had a further admission with SPU (24.4%, 95% CI 20.5%ꟷ29.0% versus 21.7%, 95%CI 19.2%ꟷ24.5% vs) and fewer had died (4.0%, 95%CI 2.5%ꟷ6.4% versus 14.6%, 95%CI 12.6%ꟷ16.7%); by two years, more had a second SR (10.7%, 95%CI 7.8%ꟷ14.5% versus 7.4%, 95%CI 5.7%ꟷ9.5%). Half the entire number of SRs (505/1018) were performed by 10 of 124 English hospitals.ConclusionPatients in the subset most likely had SR to close their SPUs. Their outcomes provide evidence that SR to close an SPU is effective for such patients