Because existing instruments for assessing surgical fear seem either too general or too limited, the Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) was developed. The aim of this study is to assess the validity ...and reliability of the SFQ.
Based on existing literature and expert consultation the ten-item SFQ was composed. Data on the SFQ were obtained from 5 prospective studies (N = 3233) in inpatient or day surgery patients. These data were used for exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability analysis and validity analysis.
EFA in Study 1 and 2 revealed a two-factor structure with one factor associated with fear of the short-term consequences of surgery (SFQ-s, item 1-4) and the other factor with fear of the long-term consequences of surgery (SFQ-l, item 5-10). However, in both studies two items of the SFQ-l had low factor loadings. Therefore in Study 3 and 4 the 2-factor structure was tested and confirmed by CFA in an eight-item version of the SFQ. Across all studies significant correlations of the SFQ with pain catastrophizing, state anxiety, and preoperative pain intensity indicated good convergent validity. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was between 0.765-0.920 (SFQ-total), 0.766-0.877 (SFQ-s), and 0.628-0.899 (SFQ-l). The SFQ proved to be sensitive to detect differences based on age, sex, education level, employment status and preoperative pain intensity.
The SFQ is a valid and reliable eight-item index of surgical fear consisting of two subscales: fear of the short-term consequences of surgery and fear of the long-term consequences.
The primary aim of the study was to assess the convergent validity of the Surgical Fear Questionnaire (SFQ) with other self-report instruments and biological indices of stress. Secondary aims were ...the examination of predictors of the level and time course of fear and preferences for fear treatment.
In a prospective observational cohort study SFQ short-term (SFQ-s) and long-term (SFQ-l) scores were assessed one week, one day, and the morning before cataract surgery, together with salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA) levels, and numeric rating scale (NRS) fear score. SFQ-scores were also assessed before second eye surgery. Expected pain and recovery, and sociodemographic and medico-psychological predictors of fear were assessed at baseline.
Data of 98 patients were analyzed. Scores of both SFQ-subscales (range 0-40) were generally low, all mean ≤ 9.0. SFQ-s and SFQ-l correlated significantly with the other self-report instruments: NRS fear .83 and .89, expected pain .49 and .54, expected recovery -.27 and -.44. No association was found between SFQ-scores and cortisol or sAA level. Predictors of the level of fear were baseline pain and stress. Additional effects of time were found for subgroups based on educational level, antidepressant use, and presurgical stress (SFQ-l). SFQ-scores were significantly lower before the second cataract surgery than before the first, and higher in patients who would have appreciated treatment of fear.
Convergent validity of the SFQ with other self-report measures is shown. The sensitivity of the SFQ permits the detection of small variations in fear caused by time or other factors.
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal prognosis. The high risk of recurrence following surgical resection provides the rationale for adjuvant therapy. However, only a subset of ...patients benefit from adjuvant therapy. Identification of molecular markers to predict treatment outcome is therefore warranted. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether expression of novel candidate biomarkers, including microRNAs, can predict clinical outcome in PDAC patients treated with adjuvant therapy.
Formalin-fixed paraffin embedded specimens from a cohort of 82 resected Korean PDAC cases were analyzed for protein expression by immunohistochemistry and for microRNA expression using quantitative Real-Time PCR. Cox proportional hazards model analysis in the subgroup of patients treated with adjuvant therapy (N = 52) showed that lower than median miR-21 expression was associated with a significantly lower hazard ratio (HR) for death (HR = 0.316; 95%CI = 0.166-0.600; P = 0.0004) and recurrence (HR = 0.521; 95%CI = 0.280-0.967; P = 0.04). MiR-21 expression status emerged as the single most predictive biomarker for treatment outcome among all 27 biological and 9 clinicopathological factors evaluated. No significant association was detected in patients not treated with adjuvant therapy. In an independent validation cohort of 45 frozen PDAC tissues from Italian cases, all treated with adjuvant therapy, lower than median miR-21 expression was confirmed to be correlated with longer overall as well as disease-free survival. Furthermore, transfection with anti-miR-21 enhanced the chemosensitivity of PDAC cells.
Low miR-21 expression was associated with benefit from adjuvant treatment in two independent cohorts of PDAC cases, and anti-miR-21 increased anticancer drug activity in vitro. These data provide evidence that miR-21 may allow stratification for adjuvant therapy, and represents a new potential target for therapy in PDAC.
Geense et al discuss their prospective multicenter study on the occurrence and cooccurrence of new physical, mental, and cognitive problems among ICU survivors 1 year after ICU admission, their ...impact on daily functioning, and risk factors associated with 1-year outcomes. Validated questionnaires were used to measure frailty, fatigue, new physical symptoms, anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive impairment, and quality of life. Of the 4,793 patients included, 2,345 completed the questionnaires both before and 1 year after ICU admission. New physical, mental, and/or cognitive problems 1 year after ICU admission were experienced by 58% of the medical patients, 64% of the urgent surgical patients, and 43% of the elective surgical patients. The results revealed that overall, 50% of ICU survivors suffer from new physical, mental, and/or cognitive problems. An improved insight into the specific health problems of ICU survivors would enable more personalized post-ICU care.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in medicine are currently areas of intense exploration, showing potential to automate human tasks and even perform tasks beyond human ...capabilities. Literacy and understanding of AI/ML methods are becoming increasingly important to researchers and clinicians. The first objective of this review is to provide the novice reader with literacy of AI/ML methods and provide a foundation for how one might conduct an ML study. We provide a technical overview of some of the most commonly used terms, techniques, and challenges in AI/ML studies, with reference to recent studies in cardiac electrophysiology to illustrate key points. The second objective of this review is to use examples from recent literature to discuss how AI and ML are changing clinical practice and research in cardiac electrophysiology, with emphasis on disease detection and diagnosis, prediction of patient outcomes, and novel characterization of disease. The final objective is to highlight important considerations and challenges for appropriate validation, adoption, and deployment of AI technologies into clinical practice.
OBJECTIVES:To prospectively describe the prevalence and predictive factors of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP) and poor global recovery in a large outpatient population at a university hospital, 1 ...year after outpatient surgery.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:A prospective longitudinal cohort study was performed. During 18 months, patients presenting for preoperative assessment were invited to participate. Outcome parameters were measured by using questionnaires at 3 timepoints1 week preoperatively, 4 days postoperatively, and 1 year postoperatively. A value of >3 on an 11-point numeric rating scale was considered to indicate moderate to severe pain. A score of ≤80% on the Global Surgical Recovery Index was defined as poor global recovery.
RESULTS:A total of 908 patients were included. The prevalence of moderate to severe preoperative pain was 37.7%, acute postsurgical pain 26.7%, and CPSP 15.3%. Risk factors for the development of CPSP were surgical specialty, preoperative pain, preoperative analgesic use, acute postoperative pain, surgical fear, lack of optimism, and poor preoperative quality of life. The prevalence of poor global recovery was 22.3%. Risk factors for poor global recovery were recurrent surgery because of the same pathology, preoperative pain, preoperative analgesic use, surgical fear, lack of optimism, poor preoperative and acute postoperative quality of life, and follow-up surgery during the first postoperative year.
DISCUSSION:Moderate to severe CPSP after outpatient surgery is common, and should not be underestimated. Patients at risk for developing CPSP can be identified during the preoperative phase.
OBJECTIVES:Anxiety and pain catastrophizing predict acute postoperative pain. However, it is not well established whether they also predict chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP). The aim of this ...systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate whether high levels of preoperative anxiety or pain catastrophizing are associated with an increased risk of CPSP.
METHODS:Electronic search databases included PubMed and PsychINFO. Additional literature was obtained by reference tracking and expert consultation. Studies from 1958 until October 2010, investigating the association between preoperative anxiety or pain catastrophizing and CPSP in adult surgery patients, were assessed. The primary outcome was the presence of pain at least 3 months postoperatively.
RESULTS:Twenty-nine studies were included; 14 instruments were used to assess anxiety or pain catastrophizing. Sixteen studies (55%) reported a statistically significant association between anxiety or pain catastrophizing and CPSP. The proportion of studies reporting a statistically significant association was 67% for studies of musculoskeletal surgery and 36% for other types of surgery. There was no association with study quality, but larger studies were more likely to report a statistically significant relationship. The overall pooled odds ratio, on the basis of 15 studies, ranged from 1.55 (95% confidence interval, 1.10-2.20) to 2.10 (95% confidence interval, 1.49-2.95). Pain catastrophizing might be of higher predictive utility compared with general anxiety or more specific pain-related anxiety.
DISCUSSION:There is evidence that anxiety and catastrophizing play a role in the development of CPSP. We recommend that anxiety measures should be incorporated in future studies investigating the prediction and transition from acute to chronic postoperative pain.
To identify somatic and psychologic predictors of pain, functional limitations, global perceived recovery, and quality of life 6 months after surgical intervention.
Recent studies have indicated that ...chronic pain after surgical intervention is more common than previously assumed. Several demographic and somatic predictors of long-term unfavorable outcome have been identified, but little is known about the contribution of psychologic risk factors.
A prospective cohort study, including 625 patients undergoing elective surgery at the University Hospital Maastricht, The Netherlands, was conducted between February and August 2003. Psychologic questionnaires were completed preoperatively and acute postoperative pain was recorded until 4 days after the operation. Six months later, all patients received follow-up questionnaires to assess pain, functional limitations, global perceived recovery, and quality of life. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to estimate relative risk of poor outcome in terms of pain, functional limitations, and global recovery. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to assess associations with quality of life at 6 months.
The most important somatic predictors of unfavorable outcome were duration of the operation and high levels of acute postoperative pain. Patients reporting high levels of pain 4 days after the operation and patients undergoing an operation of longer than 3 hours were at risk for increased pain, increased functional limitations, poor global recovery, and reported lower levels of quality of life 6 months after the operation. Psychologic variables that influenced long-term outcome were preoperative fear of surgery and optimism. Fear of the long-term consequences of the operation was associated with more pain, poor global recovery, and worse quality of life 6 months later, whereas optimism was associated with better recovery and higher quality of life.
This study was the first to identify the joint contribution of somatic and psychologic factors to chronic pain, functional limitations, and quality of life 6 months after surgical interventions. It replicates previous findings that intense acute postoperative pain is a risk factor for long-term adverse outcome and also identified additional risk factors, namely, long duration of the operation, ASA status, and preoperative fear of surgery.
OBJECTIVES:Although patient’s health status before ICU admission is the most important predictor for long-term outcomes, it is often not taken into account, potentially overestimating the ...attributable effects of critical illness. Studies that did assess the pre-ICU health status often included specific patient groups or assessed one specific health domain. Our aim was to explore patient’s physical, mental, and cognitive functioning, as well as their quality of life before ICU admission.
DESIGN:Baseline data were used from the longitudinal prospective MONITOR-IC cohort study.
SETTING:ICUs of four Dutch hospitals.
PATIENTS:Adult ICU survivors (n = 2,467) admitted between July 2016 and December 2018.
INTERVENTIONS:None.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:Patients, or their proxy, rated their level of frailty (Clinical Frailty Scale), fatigue (Checklist Individual Strength-8), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), cognitive functioning (Cognitive Failure Questionnaire-14), and quality of life (Short Form-36) before ICU admission. Unplanned patients rated their pre-ICU health status retrospectively after ICU admission. Before ICU admission, 13% of all patients was frail, 65% suffered from fatigue, 28% and 26% from symptoms of anxiety and depression, respectively, and 6% from cognitive problems. Unplanned patients were significantly more frail and depressed. Patients with a poor pre-ICU health status were more often likely to be female, older, lower educated, divorced or widowed, living in a healthcare facility, and suffering from a chronic condition.
CONCLUSIONS:In an era with increasing attention for health problems after ICU admission, the results of this study indicate that a part of the ICU survivors already experience serious impairments in their physical, mental, and cognitive functioning before ICU admission. Substantial differences were seen between patient subgroups. These findings underline the importance of accounting for pre-ICU health status when studying long-term outcomes.
Background Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a very prevalent disorder. Medical therapy improves symptoms in some but not all patients. Antireflux surgery is an excellent option for patients ...with persistent symptoms such as regurgitation, as well as for those with complete symptomatic resolution on acid-suppressive therapy. However, proper patient selection is critical to achieve excellent outcomes. Study Design A panel of experts was assembled to review data and personal experience with regard to appropriate preoperative evaluation for antireflux surgery and to construct an evidence and experience-based consensus that has practical application. Results The presence of reflux symptoms alone is not sufficient to support a diagnosis of GERD before antireflux surgery. Esophageal objective testing is required to physiologically and anatomically evaluate the presence and severity of GERD in all patients being considered for surgical intervention. It is critical to document the presence of abnormal distal esophageal acid exposure, especially when antireflux surgery is considered, and reflux-related symptoms should be severe enough to outweigh the potential side effects of fundoplication. Each testing modality has a specific role in the diagnosis and workup of GERD, and no single test alone can provide the entire clinical picture. Results of testing are combined to document the presence and extent of the disease and assist in planning the operative approach. Conclusions Currently, upper endoscopy, barium esophagram, pH testing, and manometry are required for preoperative workup for antireflux surgery. Additional studies with long-term follow-up are required to evaluate the diagnostic and therapeutic benefit of new technologies, such as oropharyngeal pH testing, multichannel intraluminal impedance, and hypopharyngeal multichannel intraluminal impedance, in the context of patient selection for antireflux surgery.
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