Topical administration of psychotropic medications in pluronic lecithin organogel to treat patients with dementia: A retrospective observational study

OBJECTIVE: Treatment of mood and behavioral symptoms in geriatric patients with advanced dementia may be impeded by poor compliance with oral medications. Pluronic lecithin organogel (PLO) is a compounding substrate that can be used for the topical administration of psychotropic medications. METHODS: Charts of patients treated with psychotropic medications compounded with PLO cream were reviewed for treatment outcomes. All patients were treated by a nursing home outreach service. RESULTS: Records from twenty-four patients, mean age 86.8 + 5.9, were reviewed. Common psychiatric symptoms included agitation, aggressive behavior, and depression. Medications most commonly administered as a PLO cream included quetiapine and venlafaxine. All patients had mild to marked improvement in psychiatric symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Pluronic lecithin organogel (PLO) may be an effective option for the topical administration of psychiatric medications in geriatric patients with dementia who are not compliant with oral medications

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Verification of Behavior in Multi-Agent Systems

Abstract. Effective planning and scheduling in multi-agent systems (MAS) requires the development of representations that can model their unique problem-solving requirements. This paper analyzes both the macro-behavior (behavior of a MAS w.r.t. system goals) and the micro-behavior (behavior of individual agents w.r.t. to local goals) of MAS. The Sensible Agent architecture provides a representation of the agent organizations in which the respective agent participates to pursue and accomplish goals. Specifically, this autonomy level representation defines an agent’s interactions with other agents in the system and, thus, the macro-behavior of agent problem solving organizations in the system. The Sensible Agent structure supports plan generation and execution of the resulting micro-behaviors. This research also extends traditional satisfiability (SAT) planners to model agent-level microbehavior for planning. The extensions use Binary Decision Diagrams and formal verification toolkits to improve the forecasting ability of agent planners. The resulting planner uses Computation Tree Logic (CTL) formulas to check local stability while retaining the speed and expressiveness of traditional satisfiability planners. The combination of micro- and macro-behavior modeling techniques greatly increases the control and stability of MAS. Submitted t

Advances in Lung Cancer

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the supportive care needs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of lung cancer survivors, and to identify the association between patient characteristics, HRQoL and supportive care needs. Method: This was a sub-study of a larger scale survey of cancer survivors' supportive care needs. A total of 48 lung cancer survivors were recruited from a regional teaching hospital, and a three-part structured questionnaire was used to collect 1) socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, 2) supportive care needs and 3) health-related quality of life data. Results: The three most commonly reported unmet needs were all in the health-system information domain: 1) being informed about your results as soon as possible (58%), 2) being informed about cancer which is under control or diminishing (50%), and 3) being informed about things you can do to help yourself get well (46%). The second most common unmet need domain was access to healthcare and ancillary support services. The survivors generally reported satisfactory HRQoL. However, household income and unmet physical and psychological needs were independently associated with HRQoL among these survivors. Conclusion: The high unmet needs in the health-system information area call for a review of the content and amount of information provided to lung cancer survivors. In addition, more attention should be given to lung cancer survivors with low incomes but high physical and psychological unmet needs, who require appropriate follow-up and long-term care of a physical, social and psychological kind