How Times of Covid-19 Have Shaken The Foundations of Primary Care

The COVID pandemic has presented an exceptional challenge to Primary Care, with unexpected scenarios. Despite being used to move in the uncertainty, this situation has made us rethink multiple organizational, assistance, and competence aspects, discovering weaknesses but also strengths and opportunities. It has been necessary to reorganize, to make quick decisions, in a context of enormous stress and concern. Essential aspects of our practice are based on communication and the principles of bioethics. We have translated into film script format situations experienced with patients and with our colleagues in health centers, in family doctor's offices, in homes, to reflect the value of communication facing the difficulties experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also raised situations that confronted us regarding ethical conflicts facing highly demanding decision making cases, within a scenario of absolute exceptionality. Communication skills and bioethics are essential tools for dealing with such complex situations where we feel so vulnerable.La pandemia de la COVID ha enfrentado a Atención Primaria a un desafío excepcional, con escenarios inesperados. Aún acostumbrados a movernos en la incertidumbre, esta situación nos ha hecho replantearnos múltiples aspectos organizativos, asistenciales y competenciales, descubriéndonos debilidades, pero también fortalezas y oportunidades. Fue necesario reorganizarse, tomar decisiones rápidas, en un contexto de enorme estrés y preocupación. Aspectos esenciales en nuestra praxis son la comunicación y los principios de la bioética. Trasladamos a formato de guion cinematográfico situaciones vividas con los pacientes y con nuestros propios compañeros, en los centros de salud, en las consultas del médico de familia, en los domicilios, para reflexionar sobre el valor de la comunicación en el afrontamiento de las dificultades vividas en la pandemia COVID-19. Planteamos asimismo situaciones que nos enfrentaron a conflictos éticos ante la toma de decisiones de gran exigencia, en una situación de absoluta excepcionalidad

Basic guidelines for detecting sedentarism and recommendations for physical activity in primary care

La detección del sedentarismo en adultos mediante instrumentos sencillos y útiles es un objetivo primordial tanto en salud pública como en el ámbito clínico, ya que este factor de riesgo es una de las causas más importantes de enfermedad no transmisible en el mundo y es muy prevalente en las sociedades desarrolladas como la española. Se describen 2 instrumentos validados, sencillos y útiles para detectar y/o manejar el sedentarismo en adultos: a) el cuestionario internacional de actividad física en su versión corta, y b) el podómetro, para cuantificar el número de pasos realizados en un día. Aumentar los niveles de actividad física es importante para la prevención primaria de algunas enfermedades crónicas (cardiopatía coronaria, diabetes tipo 2, osteoporosis, cáncer de colon) y para mejorar la calidad de vida. El personal sanitario debe conocer el grado de motivación y la disponibilidad del paciente y su familia para el cambio de conducta hacia la actividad física. Las actividades físicas de intensidad moderada no presentan prácticamente ninguna contraindicación y los riesgos son muy escasos.The detection of physical inactivity in adults, using simple and useful tools is primary objective in both public health and in clinical settings, since this risk factor is one of the major causes of non-communicable disease in the world, and is very prevalent in developed societies such as in Spain. Two validated instruments are described that are simple and useful for detecting and/or monitoring physical inactivity in adults: (i) the international physical activity questionnaire in its short version, and (ii) the pedometer to measure the number of steps taken in a day. Increased levels of physical activity are important for the primary prevention of some chronic diseases (coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer) and to improve the quality of life. Medical personnel must determine the motivation level and the availability of patients and their families to change their behavior towards physical activity. Moderate-intensity physical activities have hardly any contraindications and the risks are few

Cost-effectiveness analysis of using innovative therapies for the management of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in Spain

Background: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of tofacitinib in comparison to vedolizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) after failure or intolerance to conventional therapy (bio-naive) or first-line biologic treatment (bio-experienced), from the Spanish National Health System (NHS) perspective. Methods: A lifetime Markov model with eight-week cycles was developed including five health states: remission, response, active UC, remission after surgery, and death. Response and remission probabilities (for induction and maintenance periods) were obtained from a multinomial network meta-analysis. Drug acquisition – biosimilar prices included – (ex-factory price with mandatory deductions), adminis- tration, surgery, patient management, and adverse event management costs (€, year 2019) were considered. A 3% discount rate (cost/outcomes) was applied. Probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were conducted. Results: Tofacitinib was dominant versus vedolizumab (both in bio-naive and bio-experienced patients) entailing total cost savings of €23,816 (bio-naïve) and €11,438 (bio-experienced). Differences in quality- adjusted life-year (QALY) were smaller than 0.1 for both populations. PSA results showed that tofacitinib has a high probability of being cost-effective (bio-naïve: 82.5%; bio-experienced: 90.6%) versus vedolizumab. Conclusions: From the Spanish NHS perspective, tofacitinib could be a dominant treatment (less costly and more effective) in comparison to vedolizumab, with relevant cost savings and similar QALY gains

Implementation of the EIRA 3 Intervention by Targeting Primary Health Care Practitioners : Effectiveness in Increasing Physical Activity

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that physical inactivity (PI) is responsible for 20 to 30% of all non-communicable diseases. We aimed to analyze the effectiveness of a multiple health behavior change (MHBC) intervention to increase physical activity (PA) in patients 45 to 75 years old who had at least 2 of 3 unhealthy behaviors (tobacco use, reduced fruit and vegetable consumption, and insufficient PA). The MHBC intervention is based on the Transtheoretical Model and the conceptual framework of the "5 A's" and includes an individually tailored intervention, group sessions, and the use of community resources. We included 3062 participants, 1481 in the intervention group and 1581 in the control group. After 12 months, there were no differences in PA intensity measured by metabolic_equivalent_of_task_minutes/week (adjusted mean difference: 284.093, 95% CI: −298.24, 866.42) nor in the proportion of participants who increased PA levels to moderate or high (OR: 1.02, 95% CI: 0.85, 1.23; p = 0.822), and no differences in blood pressure, weight loss, or waist circumference. We found an increased proportion of patients in the intervention group who followed the WHO recommendations for PA (OR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.60; p = 0.02). We concluded that the intervention did not lead to a significant increase in PA

Complex multiple risk intervention to promote healthy behaviours in people between 45 to 75 years attended in primary health care (EIRA study): study protocol for a hybrid trial

CDATA[CDATA[Background: Health promotion is a key process of current health systems Primary Health Care (PHC) is the ideal setting for health promotion but multifaceted barriers make its integration difficult in the usual care. The majority of the adult population engages two 01 more risk behaviours, that is why a multiple intervention might be more effective and efficient The primary objectives are to evaluate the effectiveness, the cost effectiveness and an implementation strategy of a complex multiple risk intervention to promote healthy behaviours in people between 45 to 75 years attended in PHC. CDATA[CDATA[Methods: This study is a cluster randomised controlled hybrid type 2 trial with two parallel groups comparing a complex multiple risk behaviour intervention with usual care It will be carried out in 26 PHC centres in Spam The study focuses on people between 45 and 75 years who carry out two or more of the following unhealthy behaviours tobacco use, low adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern or insufficient physical activity level The intervention is based on the Transtheoretical Model and it will be made by physicians and nurses in the routine care of PHC practices according to the conceptual framework of the ''5A''s" It will have a maximum duration of 12 months and it will be carried out to three different levels (individual, group and community) Incremental cost per quality adjusted life year gamed measured by the tanffs of the EuioQo! 5D questionnaire will be estimated. The implementation strategy is based on the ''Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, a set of discrete implementation strategies and an evaluation framework. CDATA[CDATA[Discussion: EIRA study will determine the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of a complex multiple risk intervention and will provide a better understanding of implementation processes of health promotion interventions in PHC setting. It may contribute to increase knowledge about the individual and structural barriers that affect implementation of these interventions and to quantify the contextual factors that moderate the effectiveness of implementation

Clustering COVID-19 ARDS patients through the first days of ICU admission. An analysis of the CIBERESUCICOVID Cohort

Background Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) can be classified into sub-phenotypes according to different inflammatory/clinical status. Prognostic enrichment was achieved by grouping patients into hypoinflammatory or hyperinflammatory sub-phenotypes, even though the time of analysis may change the classification according to treatment response or disease evolution. We aimed to evaluate when patients can be clustered in more than 1 group, and how they may change the clustering of patients using data of baseline or day 3, and the prognosis of patients according to their evolution by changing or not the cluster.Methods Multicenter, observational prospective, and retrospective study of patients admitted due to ARDS related to COVID-19 infection in Spain. Patients were grouped according to a clustering mixed-type data algorithm (k-prototypes) using continuous and categorical readily available variables at baseline and day 3.Results Of 6205 patients, 3743 (60%) were included in the study. According to silhouette analysis, patients were grouped in two clusters. At baseline, 1402 (37%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2341(63%) in cluster 2. On day 3, 1557(42%) patients were included in cluster 1 and 2086 (57%) in cluster 2. The patients included in cluster 2 were older and more frequently hypertensive and had a higher prevalence of shock, organ dysfunction, inflammatory biomarkers, and worst respiratory indexes at both time points. The 90-day mortality was higher in cluster 2 at both clustering processes (43.8% [n = 1025] versus 27.3% [n = 383] at baseline, and 49% [n = 1023] versus 20.6% [n = 321] on day 3). Four hundred and fifty-eight (33%) patients clustered in the first group were clustered in the second group on day 3. In contrast, 638 (27%) patients clustered in the second group were clustered in the first group on day 3.Conclusions During the first days, patients can be clustered into two groups and the process of clustering patients may change as they continue to evolve. This means that despite a vast majority of patients remaining in the same cluster, a minority reaching 33% of patients analyzed may be re-categorized into different clusters based on their progress. Such changes can significantly impact their prognosis

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223