Use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, termed eCPR, offers the prospect of improving survival with good neurological function after cardiac arrest. After ...death, ECMO can also be used for enhanced preservation of abdominal and thoracic organs, designated normothermic regional perfusion (NRP), before organ recovery for transplantation. To optimize resuscitation and transplantation outcomes, healthcare networks in Portugal and Italy have developed cardiac arrest protocols that integrate use of eCPR with NRP. Similar dissemination of eCPR and its integration with NRP in the USA raise novel ethical issues due to a non-nationalized health system and an opt-in framework for organ donation, as well as other legal and cultural factors. Nonetheless, eCPR investigations are ongoing, and both eCPR and NRP are selectively employed in clinical practice. This paper delineates the most pressing relevant ethical considerations and proposes recommendations for implementation of protocols that aim to promote public trust and reduce conflicts of interest. Transparent policies should rely on protocols that separate lifesaving from organ preservation considerations; robust, centralized eCPR data to inform equitable and evidence-based allocations; uniform practices concerning clinical decision-making and resource utilization; and partnership with community stakeholders, allowing patients to make decisions about emergency care that align with their values. Proactively addressing these ethical and logistical challenges could enable eCPR dissemination and integration with NRP protocols in the USA, with the potential to maximize lives saved through both improved resuscitation with good neurological outcomes and increased organ donation opportunities when resuscitation is unsuccessful or not in accordance with individuals' wishes.
US Organ Donation Policy Wall, Stephen P; Parent, Brendan; Caplan, Arthur
JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association,
01/2020, Letnik:
323, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Craniofrontonasal syndrome (CFNS) is an X-linked developmental disorder that shows paradoxically greater severity in heterozygous females than in hemizygous males. Females have frontonasal dysplasia ...and coronal craniosynostosis (fusion of the coronal sutures); in males, hypertelorism is the only typical manifestation. Here, we show that the classical female CFNS phenotype is caused by heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in EFNB1, which encodes a member of the ephrin family of transmembrane ligands for Eph receptor tyrosine kinases. In mice, the orthologous Efnb1 gene is expressed in the frontonasal neural crest and demarcates the position of the future coronal suture. Although EFNB1 is X-inactivated, we did not observe markedly skewed X-inactivation in either blood or cranial periosteum from females with CFNS, indicating that lack of ephrin-B1 does not compromise cell viability in these tissues. We propose that in heterozygous females, patchwork loss of ephrin-B1 disturbs tissue boundary formation at the developing coronal suture, whereas in males deficient in ephrin-B1, an alternative mechanism maintains the normal boundary. This is the only known mutation in the ephrin/Eph receptor signaling system in humans and provides clues to the biogenesis of craniosynostosis.
•Protected bike lanes varied in their risk of cyclist crashes and falls.•Lanes with heavy separation from the road decreased risk.•Other protected bike lanes increased risk.•Characteristics that ...reduce risk should be examined systematically to guide design.
Protected bike lanes separated from the roadway by physical barriers are relatively new in the United States. This study examined the risk of collisions or falls leading to emergency department visits associated with bicycle facilities (e.g., protected bike lanes, conventional bike lanes demarcated by painted lines, sharrows) and other roadway characteristics in three U.S. cities.
We prospectively recruited 604 patients from emergency departments in Washington, DC; New York City; and Portland, Oregon during 2015–2017 who fell or crashed while cycling. We used a case-crossover design and conditional logistic regression to compare each fall or crash site with a randomly selected control location along the route leading to the incident. We validated the presence of site characteristics described by participants using Google Street View and city GIS inventories of bicycle facilities and other roadway features.
Compared with cycling on lanes of major roads without bicycle facilities, the risk of crashing or falling was lower on conventional bike lanes (adjusted OR = 0.53; 95 % CI = 0.33, 0.86) and local roads with (adjusted OR = 0.31; 95 % CI = 0.13, 0.75) or without bicycle facilities or traffic calming (adjusted OR = 0.39; 95 % CI = 0.23, 0.65). Protected bike lanes with heavy separation (tall, continuous barriers or grade and horizontal separation) were associated with lower risk (adjusted OR = 0.10; 95 % CI = 0.01, 0.95), but those with lighter separation (e.g., parked cars, posts, low curb) had similar risk to major roads when one way (adjusted OR = 1.19; 95 % CI = 0.46, 3.10) and higher risk when they were two way (adjusted OR = 11.38; 95 % CI = 1.40, 92.57); this risk increase was primarily driven by one lane in Washington. Risk increased in the presence of streetcar or train tracks relative to their absence (adjusted OR = 26.65; 95 % CI = 3.23, 220.17), on downhill relative to flat grades (adjusted OR = 1.92; 95 % CI = 1.38, 2.66), and when temporary features like construction or parked cars blocked the cyclist’s path relative to when they did not (adjusted OR = 2.23; 95 % CI = 1.46, 3.39).
Certain bicycle facilities are safer for cyclists than riding on major roads. Protected bike lanes vary in how well they shield riders from crashes and falls. Heavier separation, less frequent intersections with roads and driveways, and less complexity appear to contribute to reduced risk in protected bike lanes. Future research should systematically examine the characteristics that reduce risk in protected lanes to guide design. Planners should minimize conflict points when choosing where to place protected bike lanes and should implement countermeasures to increase visibility at these locations when they are unavoidable.
A diagnosis of advanced chronic kidney disease or end-stage renal disease represents a significant life change for patients and families. Individuals often experience high symptom burden, decreased ...quality of life, increased health care utilization, and end-of-life care discordant with their preferences. Early integration of palliative care with standard nephrology practice in the outpatient setting has the potential to improve quality of life through provision of expert symptom management, emotional support, and facilitation of advance care planning that honors the individual's values and goals.
This special report describes application of participatory action research methods to develop an outpatient integrated nephrology and palliative care program.
Stakeholder concerns were thematically analyzed to inform translation of a known successful model of outpatient kidney palliative care to a practice in a large urban medical center in the U.S.
Stakeholder needs and challenges to meeting these needs were identified. We uncovered a shared understanding of the clinical need for palliative care services in nephrology practice but apprehension toward practice change. Action steps to modify the base model were created in response to stakeholder feedback.
The development of a model of care that provides a new approach to clinical practice requires attention to relevant stakeholder concerns. Participatory action research is a useful methodological approach that engages stakeholders and builds partnerships. This creation of shared ownership can facilitate innovation and practice change. We synthesized stakeholder concerns to build a conceptual model for an integrated nephrology and palliative care clinical program.
Objective
Injury‐related morbidity and mortality is an important emergency medicine and public health challenge in the United States. Here we describe the epidemiology of traumatic injury presenting ...to U.S. emergency departments (EDs), define changes in types and causes of injury among the elderly and the young, characterize the role of trauma centers and teaching hospitals in providing emergency trauma care, and estimate the overall economic burden of treating such injuries.
Methods
We conducted a secondary retrospective, repeated cross‐sectional study of the Nationwide Emergency Department Data Sample (NEDS), the largest all‐payer ED survey database in the United States. Main outcomes and measures were survey‐adjusted counts, proportions, means, and rates with associated standard errors (SEs) and 95% confidence intervals. We plotted annual age‐stratified ED discharge rates for traumatic injury and present tables of proportions of common injuries and external causes. We modeled the association of Level I or II trauma center care with injury fatality using a multivariable survey‐adjusted logistic regression analysis that controlled for age, sex, injury severity, comorbid diagnoses, and teaching hospital status.
Results
There were 181,194,431 (SE = 4,234) traumatic injury discharges from U.S. EDs between 2006 and 2012. There was a mean year‐to‐year decrease of 143 (95% CI = –184.3 to –68.5) visits per 100,000 U.S. population during the study period. The all‐age, all‐cause case‐fatality rate for traumatic injuries across U.S. EDs during the study period was 0.17% (SE = 0.001%). The case‐fatality rate for the most severely injured averaged 4.8% (SE = 0.001%), and severely injured patients were nearly four times as likely to be seen in Level I or II trauma centers (relative risk = 3.9 95% CI = 3.7 to 4.1). The unadjusted risk ratio, based on group counts, for the association of Level I or II trauma centers with mortality was risk ratio = 4.9 (95% CI = 4.5 to 5.3); however, after sex, age, injury severity, and comorbidities were accounted for, Level I or II trauma centers were not associated with an increased risk of fatality (odds ratio = 0.96 95% CI = 0.79 to 1.18). There were notable changes at the extremes of age in types and causes of ED discharges for traumatic injury between 2009 and 2012. Age‐stratified rates of diagnoses of traumatic brain injury increased 29.5% (SE = 2.6%) for adults older than 85 and increased 44.9% (SE = 1.3%) for children younger than 18. Firearm‐related injuries increased 31.7% (SE = 0.2%) in children 5 years and younger. The total inflation‐adjusted cost of ED injury care in the United States between 2006 and 2012 was $99.75 billion (SE = $0.03 billion).
Conclusions
Emergency departments are a sensitive barometer of the continuing impact of traumatic injury as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Level I or II trauma centers remain a bulwark against the tide of severe trauma in the United States, but the types and causes of traumatic injury in the United States are changing in consequential ways, particularly at the extremes of age, with traumatic brain injuries and firearm‐related trauma presenting increased challenges.
Implementing uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death (uDCDD) in the United States could markedly improve supply of donor lungs for patients in need of transplants. Evidence ...from US pilot programs suggests families support uDCDD, but only if they are asked permission for using invasive organ preservation procedures prior to initiation. However, non‐invasive strategies that confine oxygenation to lungs may be applicable to the overwhelming majority of potential uDCDD donors that have airway devices in place as part of standard resuscitation. We propose an ethical framework for lung uDCDD by: (a) initiating post mortem preservation without requiring prior permission to protect the opportunity for donation until an authorized party can be found; (b) using non‐invasive strategies that confine oxygenation to lungs; and (c) maintaining strict separation between the healthcare team and the organ preservation team. Attempting uDCDD in this way has great potential to obtain more transplantable lungs while respecting donor autonomy and family wishes, securing public support, and enabling authorized persons to affirm or cease preservation decisions without requiring evidence of prior organ donation intent. It ensures prioritization of life‐saving, the opportunity to allow willing donors to donate, and respect for bodily integrity while adhering to current ethical norms.
The authors propose an ethical framework for lung uncontrolled donation after circulatory determination of death in countries having opt‐out organ donation systems.
In order to obtain FDA Marketing Authorization for aid in the diagnosis of concussion, an eye tracking study in an intended use population was conducted.
Potentially concussed subjects recruited in ...emergency department and concussion clinic settings prospectively underwent eye tracking and a subset of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 at 6 sites. The results of an eye tracking-based classifier model were then validated against a pre-specified algorithm with a cutoff for concussed vs. non-concussed. The sensitivity and specificity of eye tracking were calculated after plotting of the receiver operating characteristic curve and calculation of the AUC (area under curve).
When concussion is defined by SCAT3 subsets, the sensitivity and specificity of an eye tracking algorithm was 80.4 and 66.1%, The AUC was 0.718. The misclassification rate (
= 282) was 31.6%.
A pre-specified algorithm and cutoff for diagnosis of concussion vs. non-concussion has a sensitivity and specificity that is useful as a baseline-free aid in diagnosis of concussion. Eye tracking has potential to serve as an objective "gold-standard" for detection of neurophysiologic disruption due to brain injury.
To examine the relationship between lung radiation dose and survival outcomes in children undergoing total body irradiation (TBI)-based hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for acute ...lymphoblastic leukemia on the Children's Oncology Group trial.
TBI (1200 or 1320 cGy given twice daily in 6 or 8 fractions) was used as part of 3 HSCT preparative regimens, allowing institutional flexibility regarding TBI techniques, including lung shielding. Lung doses as reported by each participating institution were calculated for different patient setups, with and without shielding, with a variety of dose calculation techniques. The association between lung dose and transplant-related mortality, relapse-free survival, and overall survival (OS) was examined using the Cox proportional hazards regression model controlling for the following variables: TBI dose rate, TBI fields, patient position during TBI, donor type, and pre-HSCT minimal residual disease level.
Of a total of 143 eligible patients, 127 had lung doses available for this analysis. The TBI techniques were heterogeneous. The mean lung dose was reported as 904.5 cGy (standard deviation, ±232.3). Patients treated with lateral fields were more likely to receive lung doses ≥800 cGy (P < .001). The influence of lung dose ≥800 cGy on transplant-related mortality was not significant (hazard ratio HR, 1.78; P = .21). On univariate analysis, lung dose ≥800 cGy was associated with inferior relapse-free survival (HR, 1.76; P = .04) and OS (HR, 1.85; P = .03). In the multivariate analysis, OS maintained statistical significance (HR, 1.85; P = .04).
The variability in TBI techniques resulted in uncertainty with reported lung doses. Lateral fields were associated with higher lung dose, and thus they should be avoided. Patients treated with lung dose <800 cGy in this study had better outcomes. This approach is currently being investigated in the Children's Oncology Group AALL1331 study. Additionally, the Imaging and Radiation Oncology Core Group is evaluating effects of TBI techniques on lung doses using a phantom.
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