This review discusses the interplay between multimorbidity (i.e. co‐occurrence of more than one chronic health condition in an individual) and functional impairment (i.e. limitations in mobility, ...strength or cognition that may eventually hamper a person's ability to perform everyday tasks). On the one hand, diseases belonging to common patterns of multimorbidity may interact, curtailing compensatory mechanisms and resulting in physical and cognitive decline. On the other hand, physical and cognitive impairment impact the severity and burden of multimorbidity, contributing to the establishment of a vicious circle. The circle may be further exacerbated by people's reduced ability to cope with treatment and care burden and physicians’ fragmented view of health problems, which cause suboptimal use of health services and reduced quality of life and survival. Thus, the synergistic effects of medical diagnoses and functional status in adults, particularly older adults, emerge as central to assessing their health and care needs. Furthermore, common pathways seem to underlie multimorbidity, functional impairment and their interplay. For example, older age, obesity, involuntary weight loss and sedentarism can accelerate damage accumulation in organs and physiological systems by fostering inflammatory status. Inappropriate use or overuse of specific medications and drug–drug and drug–disease interactions also contribute to the bidirectional association between multimorbidity and functional impairment. Additionally, psychosocial factors such as low socioeconomic status and the direct or indirect effects of negative life events, weak social networks and an external locus of control may underlie the complex interactions between multimorbidity, functional decline and negative outcomes. Identifying modifiable risk factors and pathways common to multimorbidity and functional impairment could aid in the design of interventions to delay, prevent or alleviate age‐related health deterioration; this review provides an overview of knowledge gaps and future directions.
Content List – Read more articles from the symposium: “Multimorbidity research at the cross‐roads: developing the evidence for clinical practice and health policy”.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
‘Speaking up’ or the ability to effectively challenge erroneous decisions is essential to preventing harm. This mixed‐methods study in two parts explores the concept of ‘barriers to ...challenging seniors’ for anaesthetic trainees, and proposes a conceptual framework. Using a fully immersive simulation scenario with unanticipated airway difficulty, we investigated how junior anaesthetists (one to two years of training) challenged a scripted error. We also conducted focus groups with senior trainees (three to seven years of training) and undertook a ‘thematic network analysis’ of responses. Junior anaesthetic trainees challenged erroneous decisions effectively, but trainees with an additional year of experience challenged more quickly and effectively, combining ‘crisp‐advocacy‐inquiry challenge’ with ‘non‐verbal cues’. Focus group analysis conceptualised a ‘barrier network’ with three main themes: concerns around relationships; decision‐making; and risk/cost–benefit. Emotional maturity is an important protective layer around decisions to challenge. Despite significant multifactorial barriers, systematic training in effective ‘speaking up’ could improve the confidence and ability of juniors to challenge erroneous decisions.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Laparoscopy has been widely adopted in elective abdominal surgery but is still sparsely used in emergency settings. The study investigated the effect of laparoscopic emergency surgery using a ...population database.
Data for all patients from December 2013 to November 2018 were retrieved from the NELA national database of emergency laparotomy for England and Wales. Laparoscopically attempted cases were matched 2 : 1 with open cases for propensity score derived from a logistic regression model for surgical approach; included co-variates were age, gender, predicted mortality risk, and diagnostic, procedural and surgeon variables. Groups were compared for mortality. Secondary endpoints were blood loss and duration of hospital stay.
Of 116 920 patients considered, 17 040 underwent laparoscopic surgery. The most common procedures were colectomy, adhesiolysis, washout and perforated ulcer repair. Of these, 11 753 were matched exactly to 23 506 patients who had open surgery. Laparoscopically attempted surgery was associated with lower mortality (6.0 versus 9.1 per cent, P < 0.001), blood loss (less than 100 ml, 64.4 versus 52.0 per cent, P < 0.001), and duration of hospital stay (median 8 (i.q.r. 5-14) versus 10 (7-18) days, P < 0.001). Similar trends were seen when comparing only successful laparoscopic cases with open surgery, and also when comparing cases converted to open surgery with open surgery.
In appropriately selected patients, laparoscopy is associated with superior outcomes compared with open emergency surgery.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UPUK
Background Many countries have introduced reforms with the aim of primary care transformation (PCT). Common objectives include meeting service delivery challenges associated with ageing populations ...and health inequalities. To date, there has been little research comparing PCT internationally. Our aim was to examine PCT and new models of primary care by conducting a systematic scoping review of international literature in order to describe major policy changes including key 'components', impacts of new models of care, and barriers and facilitators to PCT implementation. Methods We undertook a systematic scoping review of international literature on PCT in OECD countries and China (published protocol: Results A total of 107 studies from 15 countries were included. The most frequently employed component of PCT was the expansion of multidisciplinary teams (MDT) (46% of studies). The most frequently measured outcome was GP views (27%), with < 20% measuring patient views or satisfaction. Only three studies evaluated the effects of PCT on ageing populations and 34 (32%) on health inequalities with ambiguous results. For the latter, PCT involving increased primary care access showed positive impacts whilst no benefits were reported for other components. Analysis of 41 studies citing barriers or facilitators to PCT implementation identified leadership, change, resources, and targets as key themes. Conclusions Countries identified in this review have used a range of approaches to PCT with marked heterogeneity in methods of evaluation and mixed findings on impacts. Only a minority of studies described the impacts of PCT on ageing populations, health inequalities, or from the patient perspective. The facilitators and barriers identified may be useful in planning and evaluating future developments in PCT. Keywords: Primary care, Ageing, Scoping review, Health inequalities
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Summary
Background
Comorbidity in people with asthma can significantly increase asthma morbidity and lower adherence to asthma guidelines.
Objective
The objective of this study was to comprehensively ...measure the prevalence of physical and mental health comorbidities in adults with asthma using a large nationally representative population.
Methods
Cross‐sectional analysis of routine primary care electronic medical records for 1 424 378 adults in the UK, examining the prevalence of 39 comorbidities in people with and without asthma, before and after adjustment for age, sex, social deprivation and smoking status using logistic regression.
Results
Of 39 comorbidities measured, 36 (92%) were significantly more common in adults with asthma; 62.6% of adults with asthma had ≥1 comorbidity vs 46.2% of those without, and 16.3% had ≥4 comorbidities vs 8.7% of those without. Comorbidities with the largest absolute increase in prevalence in adults with asthma were as follows: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (13.4% vs 3.1%), depression (17.3% vs 9.1%), painful conditions (15.4% vs 8.4%) and dyspepsia (10.9% vs 5.2%). Comorbidities with the largest relative difference in adults with asthma compared to those without were as follows: COPD (adjusted odds ratio aOR 5.65, 95% CI 5.52‐5.79), bronchiectasis (aOR 4.65, 95% CI 4.26‐5.08), eczema/psoriasis (aOR 3.30, 95% CI 3.14‐3.48), dyspepsia (aOR 2.20, 95% CI 2.15‐2.25) and chronic sinusitis (aOR 2.12, 95% CI 1.99‐2.26). Depression and anxiety were more common in adults with asthma (aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.57‐1.63, and aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.48‐1.57, respectively).
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance
Physical and mental health comorbidities are the norm in adults with asthma. Appropriate recognition and management should form part of routine asthma care.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Non-iatrogenic trauma to the airway is rare and presents a significant challenge to the anaesthetist. Although guidelines for the management of the unanticipated difficult airway have been published, ...these do not make provision for the ‘anticipated’ difficult airway. This systematic review aims to inform best practice and suggest management options for different injury patterns.
A literature search was conducted using Embase, Medline, and Google Scholar for papers after the year 2000 reporting on the acute airway management of adult patients who suffered airway trauma. Our protocol and search strategy are registered with and published by PROSPERO (http://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO, ID: CRD42016032763).
A systematic literature search yielded 578 articles, of which a total of 148 full-text papers were reviewed. We present our results categorized by mechanism of injury: blunt, penetrating, blast, and burns.
The hallmark of airway management with trauma to the airway is the maintenance of spontaneous ventilation, intubation under direct vision to avoid the creation of a false passage, and the avoidance of both intermittent positive pressure ventilation and cricoid pressure (the latter for laryngotracheal trauma only) during a rapid sequence induction. Management depends on available resources and time to perform airway assessment, investigations, and intervention (patients will be classified into one of three categories: no time, some time, or adequate time). Human factors, particularly the development of a shared mental model amongst the trauma team, are vital to mitigate risk and improve patient safety.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The study's objective was to compare hematocrit (Hct) levels at 36 to 48 h of age in term infants delivered by cesarean section exposed to immediate cord clamping or umbilical cord milking (UCM).
In ...this randomized controlled trial, 24 women scheduled for elective cesarean section were randomized to either immediate clamping (<10 s) or UCM (milked × 5 by the obstetrical provider) at birth.
All subjects received their allocated intervention. The milking group had a smaller placental residual blood volume (13.2±5.6 vs 19.2±5.4 ml kg(-1), P=0.01) and higher Hct levels at 36 to 48 h (57.5±6.6 vs 50.0±6.4 %, P=0.01). Five infants (42%) in the immediate group had a Hct of ≤47%, indicative of anemia.
UCM results in placental transfusion in term infants at the time of elective cesarean section with higher Hct levels at 36 to 48 h of age.
There is growing evidence of an aetiological relationship between vascular risk factors and the development of dementia in later life. Dementia in the under-65s has historically been considered to be ...more driven by genetic factors, but previous epidemiological studies in the young have been relatively small. This study aims to determine the prevalence of vascular comorbidity in people aged <65 with dementia in comparison to the general population.
Analysis of routine clinical data from 314 (30%) general medical practices in Scotland.
From an overall population of 616 245 individuals, 1061 cases of 'all-cause' dementia were identified (prevalence 172/100 000 population, 95% CI 161 to 182). The prevalence of dementia was higher in people with vascular morbidities, and prevalence progressively increased from 129/100 000 in people with no vascular comorbidity to 999/100 000 in people with four or more (p=0.01). The strength of association was greatest with a previous transient ischaemic attack (TIA) or stroke and chronic kidney disease (adjusted OR=3.1 and 2.9, respectively). Statistically significant, but smaller associations were seen with the presence of hypertension, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease and peripheral vascular disease (adjusted OR=1.4, 2.0, 1.9 and 2.2, respectively).
Vascular comorbid diseases were more commonly recorded in people aged 40-64 with dementia than those without. This finding indicates that vascular disease may be more important in the aetiology of young-onset dementia than previously believed, and is of concern given the continuing rise in obesity and diabetes internationally.
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