Author: Jason Curtis

Human immunodeficiency disease in new diagnoses of head and neck squamous cell cancer: are we testing? (2019)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
*McNamara K.J.; Saunders T.F.C.; *Ahsan F.; *Fernandez C.

Citation:
Journal of Laryngology and Otology; Vol. 133(12) p. 1038-1040

Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus infected patients have a three-fold increased risk of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The British HIV Association recommends human immunodeficiency virus testing in all new diagnoses of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE(S): This observational study aimed to examine the current routine practice of human immunodeficiency virus testing in patients with newly diagnosed head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and to address the importance of this test in promoting the early diagnosis and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus.
METHOD(S): All head and neck cancer multidisciplinary teams in England were questioned on their protocol for human immunodeficiency virus testing in new diagnoses of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
RESULT(S): Only 1 out of 30 hospitals leading head and neck multidisciplinary teams (3.3 per cent) routinely offered human immunodeficiency virus testing in this high-risk patient group.
CONCLUSION(S): This observational study highlights that head and neck specialists are not aware of, and are consequently not complying with, routine human immunodeficiency virus testing as recommended by the British HIV Association guidelines.

An Epidemiological Study of Foot and Ankle Motocross Motorcycling Injuries in the United Kingdom (2020)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
*Orfanos G.; *Paavana T.; *Hill S.O.; *Singh R.A.; *Hay S.M.

Citation:
Foot and Ankle Surgery; Oct 2020; vol. 26 (no. 7); p. 797-800

Abstract:
Background: Motocross is a recreational and competitive sport involving motorcycle racing on off-road circuits. Participants have enjoyed their sport worldwide for over 100 years. In the United Kingdom, there are over 200 clubs, with over 900 events annually. Unfortunately, little evidence exists on motocross injuries and their prevention. The aim of this study is to report and to quantify the different foot and ankle injuries observed in motocross.
Method(s): Data was collected prospectively between August 2010 to August 2015 at our regional trauma unit, regardless of whether the sport was performed competitively or recreationally.
Result(s): Foot and ankle related injuries were identified in 210 patients (age range 4-78 years), with the majority being male participants (189, 90%). The majority of injuries occurred within the 21- to 30-year-old-age group. Most injuries were sustained around the start of the motocross season, in early spring and the summer months. A total of 76 patients (36%) required operative intervention. The most common injury was ankle fracture (49, 23%), followed by ankle sprain (44, 21%).
Conclusion(s): This is the first epidemiological study in the United Kingdom documenting foot and ankle injuries in motocross. The frequency and severity of motocross-related injuries is presented. This may serve to provide recommendations and guidelines in the governing bodies of this sport. The surge in motocross popularity is correlates with an increase in injuries and inevitably the resources required to treat them.
Level of Evidence: Prospective descriptive epidemiological study. Level 1.

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Distress in patients with end-stage renal disease: Staff perceptions of barriers to the identification of mild-moderate distress (2019)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
Combes G.; Damery S.; Sein K.; Allen K.; *Nicholas J. ; Baharani J.

Citation:
PLoS ONE; 2019; vol. 14 (no. 11)

Abstract:
Objectives To explore staff perceptions of barriers to the identification of mild to moderate distress and the provision of emotional support in patients with end-stage renal disease.
Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews with staff in two hospitals (n = 31), with data analysed using a hybrid approach combining thematic analysis with aspects of grounded theory.
Results Staff appeared very aware that many patients with end-stage renal disease experience distress, and most thought distressed patients should be helped as part of routine care. However, practice was variable and looking for and addressing distress was not embedded in care pathways. Interviews identified six themes: i) staff perceptions about how distress is manifested and what causes distress were variable; ii) staff perceptions of patients could lead to distress being overlooked because patients were thought to hide their distress whilst some groups were assumed to be more prone to distress than others; iii) role perceptions varied, with many staff believing it to be their role but not feeling comfortable with it, with doctors being particularly ambivalent; iv) fears held back some staff, who were concerned about what might happen when talking about distress, or who found the emotional load for themselves to be too high; v) staff felt they lacked skills, confidence and training, vi) capacity to respond may be limited, as staff perceive there to be insufficient time, with little or no specialist support services to refer patients to.
Conclusions Staff perceived significant barriers in identifying and responding to patient distress. Barriers related to skills and knowledge could be addressed through training, with training ideally targeted at staff with positive attitudes, but who currently lack skills and confidence. Barriers related to role perceptions would be harder to address. The study is relevant internationally as part of improving long-term condition pathways.

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Pitfalls in the study of neovascularisation in achilles and patellar tendinopathy: a review of important factors for clinicians to consider and the need for greater standardisation (2019)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
Fallows, R. and *Lumsden, G.

Citation:
Physical Therapy Reviews; Dec 2019 Vol. 24(6) p.346-357

Abstract:
Background: The search for new vessels in pathological tendons is a relatively new field. In spite of a rapid growth in research and clinical experience, there is still poor agreement in the musculoskeletal community regarding the significance and measurement of so called “neovascularisation”. Any relationship between vascularity, tendon healing, degeneration and pain is not yet clear, as it has been considered as a normal physiological adaptation to loading yet also seen in chronic painful Achilles tendons. An expression of the degree of “neovascularisation” could potentially have significance if the amount of neovascularisation could be related to the degree of symptoms or dysfunction caused by the pathology in the tendon.
Objectives: This review examines the potential variables that can affect the quantification of the Doppler signal in Achilles and patellar tendinopathy under three perspectives. Firstly, the variables that arise from the actual technology that allows the capturing of the Doppler signal from intra-tendinous microvasculature flow, secondly by an awareness of known and highly likely physiological factors that may alter the rate of flow and thirdly by an exploration describing the actual methods and qualities of acquiring quantitative data of the microvascular flow with Doppler.
Methods: A literature search was conducted across AMED, CINAHL, Google Scholar, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE and NCBI (PubMed) for studies related to the qualitative or quantitative measure of the Doppler signal in relation to a clinical outcome of Achilles or patellar tendinopathy. Parameters regarding machine settings and examination conditions were extracted to identify the utilisation of important factors and consistency with a narrative analysis.
Discussion: Many of these influential factors have never been controlled for in previous studies and the methods have been unreliable and poorly reported. There is a need for international agreement on a standardised protocol in the assessment of the microvascularity of tendons, which could then help determine if the quantification of “neovascularisation” is a reliable and clinically relevant finding.

 

Audit of Brivaracetam in a Secondary Level Epilepsy Service (2019)

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Type of publication:
Poster presentation

Author(s):
Rowe, J., Youssef, C., Tittensor, P., Manfredonia, F., *Smyth, C., Doherty, C.

Citation:
Poster presentation at ILAE British Branch Annual Scientific Meeting, 2-4 October 2019, Birmingham

Abstract:
A multicentre audit of the use Brivaracetam was carried out. Data were collated from 3 sites, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust Brivaracetam has shown efficacy and good tolerability and our experience suggests that it is a suitable add-on treatment for patients with refractory focal epilepsy. The very low rate of discontinuation for mood or behaviour reasons, particularly in the ID patients, indicates that it has the potential to be a positive choice for people with ID where issues have been noted on other medications, most notably Levetiracetam.

 Final Poster [PDF]

Patients’ and partners’ views of care and treatment provided for metastatic castrate‐resistant prostate cancer in the UK (2019)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
Catt S, Matthews L, May S, Payne H, Mason M, Jenkins V.

Citation:
European Journal of Cancer Care. 2019 Nov;28(6):e13140.

Note:
14 of the 37 participants were recruited from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital

Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: Documentations of the experiences of patients with advanced prostate cancer and their partners are sparse. Views of care and treatment received for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are presented here.
METHODS: Structured interviews conducted within 14 days of a systemic therapy for mCRPC starting and 3 months later explored the following: treatment decisions, information provision, perceived benefits and harms of treatment, and effects of these on patients' and partners' lives.
RESULTS: Thirty-seven patients and 33 partners recruited from UK cancer centres participated. The majority of patients (46%) reported pain was their worst symptom and many wanted to discuss its management (baseline-50%; 3 months-33%). Patients and partners believed treatment would delay progression (>75%), improve wellbeing (33%), alleviate pain (≈12%) and extend life (15% patients, 36% partners). At 3 months, most men (42%) said fatigue was the worst treatment-related side effect (SE), 27% experienced unexpected SEs and 54% needed help with SEs. Most patients received SE information (85% written; 75% verbally); many additionally searched the Internet (33% patients; 55% partners). Only 54% of patients said nurse support was accessible.
CONCLUSION: Pain and other symptom management are not optimal. Increased specialist nurse provision and earlier palliative care links are needed. Dedicated clinics may be justified.

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Home haemodialysis: barriers and stepping stones (2019)

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Type of publication:
Journal article

Author(s):
*Nair, Sunita; *Kanbar, Ammar; Bajo, Maria

Citation:
Journal of Kidney Care; Sep 2019; vol. 4 (no. 5); p. 240-245

Abstract:
Despite national recommendations and well-chronicled benefits for extended hours home haemodialysis, uptake remains poor. The issues surrounding this are multifactorial. There are barriers to uptake at all levels of care—patient, clinician and commissioning. This article looks at some of those barriers and addresses them.

6 versus 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab for HER2-positive early breast cancer (PERSEPHONE): 4-year disease-free survival results of a randomised phase 3 non-inferiority trial (2019)

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Type of publication:
Randomised controlled trial

Author(s):
Helena M Earl, Louise Hiller, Anne-Laure Vallier, Shrushma Loi, Karen McAdam, Luke Hughes-Davies, Adrian N Harnett, Mei-Lin Ah-See, Richard Simcock, Daniel Rea, Sanjay Raj, Pamela Woodings, Mark Harries, Donna Howe, Kerry Raynes, Helen B Higgins, Maggie Wilcox, Chris Plummer, Janine Mansi, Ioannis Gounaris, Betania Mahler–Araujo, Elena Provenzano, Anita Chhabra, Jean E Abraham, Carlos Caldas, Peter S Hall, Christopher McCabe, Claire Hulme, David Miles, Andrew M Wardley, David A Cameron, Janet A Dunn on behalf of PERSEPHONE Steering Committee and Trial Investigators.

Randomising consultants at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital were: *Huzeifa Gadir, *Laura Pettit, *Rajiv Agrawal, and *Sheena Khanduri. Principal investigator at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital was: *Laura Pettit.

Citation:
Lancet 2019; 393: p. 2599–612

Abstract:
Background: Adjuvant trastuzumab significantly improves outcomes for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. The standard treatment duration is 12 months but shorter treatment could provide similar efficacy while reducing toxicities and cost. We aimed to investigate whether 6-month adjuvant trastuzumab treatment is noninferior to the standard 12-month treatment regarding disease-free survival.
Methods: This study is an open-label, randomised phase 3 non-inferiority trial. Patients were recruited from 152 centres in the UK. We randomly assigned patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer, aged 18 years or older, and with a clear indication for chemotherapy, by a computerised minimisation process (1:1), to receive either 6-month or 12-month trastuzumab delivered every 3 weeks intravenously (loading dose of 8 mg/kg followed by maintenance doses of 6 mg/kg) or subcutaneously (600 mg), given in combination with chemotherapy (concurrently or sequentially). The primary endpoint was disease-free survival, analysed by intention to treat, with a non-inferiority margin of 3% for 4-year disease-free survival. Safety was analysed in all patients who received trastuzumab. This trial is registered with EudraCT (number 2006–007018–39), ISRCTN (number 52968807), and ClinicalTrials.gov (number NCT00712140).
Findings: Between Oct 4, 2007, and July 31, 2015, 2045 patients were assigned to 12-month trastuzumab treatment and 2044 to 6-month treatment (one patient was excluded because they were double randomised). Median follow-up was 5·4 years (IQR 3·6–6·7) for both treatment groups, during which a disease-free survival event occurred in 265 (13%) of 2043 patients in the 6-month group and 247 (12%) of 2045 patients in the 12-month group. 4-year disease-free survival was 89·4% (95% CI 87·9–90·7) in the 6-month group and 89·8% (88·3–91·1) in the 12-month group (hazard ratio 1·07 [90% CI 0·93–1·24], non-inferiority p=0·011), showing non-inferiority of the 6-month treatment. 6-month trastuzumab treatment resulted in fewer patients reporting severe adverse events (373 [19%] of 1939 patients vs 459 [24%] of 1894 patients, p=0·0002) or stopping early because of cardiotoxicity (61 [3%] of 1939 patients vs 146 [8%] of 1894 patients, p<0·0001).
Interpretation: We have shown that 6-month trastuzumab treatment is non-inferior to 12-month treatment in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer, with less cardiotoxicity and fewer severe adverse events. These results support consideration of reduced duration trastuzumab for women at similar risk of recurrence as to those included in the trial.

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Midwifery Identification, Stabilisation and Transfer of the Sick Newborn (MIST) (2019)

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Type of publication:
E-learning package

Author(s):
*Wendy Tyler, Alan Fenton, Scott Mountifield, Leanne Hargreaves, Claire Beattie

Citation:
e-Learning for Healthcare

Abstract:
This e-learning programme is aimed at midwifery and ambulance personnel to support the treatment plan for newborn babies who are, or have the potential to become, unwell following delivery in a community setting. The resources are designed to equip maternity and emergency teams with the knowledge required to extend care beyond the first minutes after birth, up to and including handover to the neonatal team.

The programme consists of four e-learning sessions and covers several clinical scenarios from normal variation to significant illness.

It is expected that by completing all four sessions within this programme, you will be able to:

  • Recognise normal and abnormal infant colour (anaemia and cyanosis)
  • Recognise normal and abnormal feeding patterns and abdominal signs
  • Support an infant born unexpectedly preterm
  • Support a baby born in an unexpectedly poor condition

Each session will cover identification, management including stabilisation and communication, and transfer to a neonatal unit.

This programme is the result of a collaboration between Health Education England’s e-Learning for Healthcare, The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It was also made possible through the support of Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust, as part of a successful bid from HEE.

All the resources for this programme have been written by subject specialists and experts in this field.

Link to full-text [registration required to use package]