Recent Publications by CFE Educators

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Men with a low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level (1 ng/ml) in midlife may extend the rescreening interval (if aged 40-59 yr) or forgo future PSA screening (if aged >60 yr) owing to their low risk of aggressive prostate cancer (PCa). However, there is a subset of men who develop lethal PCa despite low baseline PSA. We investigated how a PCa polygenic risk score (PRS) in addition to baseline PSA impacts the prediction of lethal PCa among 483 men aged 40-70 yr from the Physicians' Health Study followed over a median of 33 yr. We examined the association of the PRS with the risk of lethal PCa (lethal cases vs controls) using logistic regression adjusted for baseline PSA. The PCa PRS was associated with risk of lethal PCa (odds ratio per 1 standard deviation in PRS [OR] 1.79, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.28-2.49). The association between the PRS and lethal PCa was stronger for those with PSA 1 ng/ml (OR 2.23, 95% CI 1.19-4.21) than for men with PSA ≥1 ng/ml (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.07-2.42). Our PCa PRS improved the identification of men with PSA 1 ng/ml at greater risk of future lethal PCa who should consider ongoing PSA testing.

PATIENT SUMMARY

A subset of men develop fatal prostate cancer despite having low prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in middle age. A risk score based on multiple genes can help in predicting men who may be at risk of developing lethal prostate cancer and who should be advised to have regular PSA measurements.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Identifying international differences in utilization and outcomes of liver transplantation (LT) after donation after circulatory death (DCD) donation provides a unique opportunity for benchmarking and population-level insight.

METHODS

Adult (≥18 years) LT data between 2008 and 2018 from the UK and US were used to assess mortality and graft failure after DCD LT. We used time-dependent Cox-regression methods to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for risk-adjusted short-term (0-90 days) and longer-term (90 days-5 years) outcomes.

RESULTS

One-thousand five-hundred-and-sixty LT receipts from the UK and 3426 from the US were included. Over the study period, the use of DCD livers increased from 15.7% to 23.9% in the UK compared to 5.1% to 7.6% in the US. In the UK, DCD donors were older (UK:51 vs. US:33 years) with longer cold ischaemia time (UK: 437 vs. US: 333 min). Recipients in the US had higher Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) scores, higher body mass index, higher proportions of ascites, encephalopathy, diabetes and previous abdominal surgeries. No difference in the risk-adjusted short-term mortality or graft failure was observed between the countries. In the longer-term (90 days-5 years), the UK had lower mortality and graft failure (adj.mortality HR:UK: 0.63 (95% CI: 0.49-0.80); graft failure HR: UK: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.58-0.91). The cumulative incidence of retransplantation was higher in the UK (5 years: UK: 11.9% vs. 4.6%; p  .001).

CONCLUSIONS

For those receiving a DCD LT, longer-term post-transplant outcomes in the UK are superior to the US, however, significant differences in recipient illness, graft quality and access to retransplantation were seen between the two countries.

PURPOSE

To assess the cost effectiveness of 3 main locoregional therapies (LRTs) (transarterial chemoembolization [TACE], transarterial radioembolization [TARE], and percutaneous ablation) as bridging therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed comparing the 3 LRTs for patients with a single hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a diameter of 3 cm or less over a 5-year time horizon from a payer's perspective. The clinical courses, including transplantation, decompensation resulting in delisting, and the need for a second LRT, were based on data from the United Network for Organ Sharing (2016-2019). Costs and effectiveness were measured in U.S. dollars and quality-adjusted life-years, respectively. Probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 2,594, 1,576, and 903 patients underwent TACE, ablation, and TARE, respectively. Ablation was the dominant strategy, with the lowest expected cost and highest effectiveness. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis demonstrated that ablation was the most cost-effective strategy in 93.9% of simulations. A subgroup analysis was performed for different wait times, with ablation remaining the most cost-effective strategy. The sensitivity analysis showed that ablation was most effective if the risk of waitlist dropout was less than 2.00% and the rate of transplantation was more than 15.1% quarterly. TARE was most effective if the risk of dropout was less than 1.19% and the rate of transplantation was more than 24.0%. TACE was most effective if the risk of dropout was less than 1.01% and the rate of transplantation was more than 45.7%. Ablation remained the most cost-effective modality until its procedural cost was more than $34,843.

CONCLUSIONS

Ablation is the most cost-effective bridging strategy for patients with a single, small (≤3 cm) HCC prior to liver transplantation. The conclusion remained robust in multiple sensitivity analyses.

BACKGROUND

Patients with language barriers suffer significant health disparities, including adverse events and poor health outcomes. While remote language services can help improve language access, these modalities remain persistently underused. The objective of this study was to understand clinician experiences and challenges using dual-handset interpreter telephones and to inform recommendations for future language access interventions.

METHODS

We conducted four focus groups with nurses (=14) and resident physicians (=20) to understand attitudes toward dual-handset interpreter telephones in the hospital, including general impressions, effects on communication, situations in which they did and did not use them, and impact on clinical care. Three researchers independently coded all transcripts using a constant comparative approach, meeting repeatedly to discuss coding and to reconcile differences to reach consensus.

RESULTS

We identified five salient themes, including increased language access (improved convenience, flexibility, and versatility of phones over in-person or interpreters); effects on interpersonal processes of care (improved ability to communicate directly with patients); effects on clinical processes of care (improvements in critical patient care functions, including pain and medication management); impact on time (needing extra time for interpreted encounters and perceived delays impacting future use); and patients for whom, and circumstances in which, the dual-handset interpreter telephone is inadequate (e.g., complex discussions, hands-on instruction, or multiple speakers are present).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that clinicians value dual-handset interpretation in bridging communication barriers and highlight recommendations to guide future implementation interventions to increase the uptake of remote language services in hospital settings.

Medical students lack opportunities to have authentic conversations with patients with cancer in busy hospitals. An improved understanding of what such communication might look like may provide a framework for end-of-life curricula. The authors performed thematic analysis using written correspondence between patient and student participants in the University of California, San Francisco's Firefly Program whose letters discussed death or dying. Four themes emerged: (1) turmoil, (2) grief, (3) making peace, and (4) past, present, and future. Medical students expressed a fifth theme: unmet student expectations. The study provides educators with a unique perspective to help inform curriculum development and patient care.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate factors associated with severe COVID-19 in people with psoriasis (PsO), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA).

METHODS

Demographic data, clinical characteristics and COVID-19 outcome severity of adults with PsO, PsA and axSpA were obtained from two international physician-reported registries. A three-point ordinal COVID-19 severity scale was defined: no hospitalisation, hospitalisation (and no death) and death. ORs were estimated using multivariable ordinal logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of 5045 cases, 18.3% had PsO, 45.5% PsA and 36.3% axSpA. Most (83.6%) were not hospitalised, 14.6% were hospitalised and 1.8% died. Older age was non-linearly associated with COVID-19 severity. Male sex (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.83), cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, metabolic and cancer comorbidities (ORs 1.25-2.89), moderate/high disease activity and/or glucocorticoid use (ORs 1.39-2.23, vs remission/low disease activity and no glucocorticoids) were associated with increased odds of severe COVID-19. Later pandemic time periods (ORs 0.42-0.52, vs until 15 June 2020), PsO (OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.37 to 0.65, vs PsA) and baseline exposure to TNFi, IL17i and IL-23i/IL-12+23i (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.44 to 0.73; OR 0.62, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.87; OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.45 to 0.98; respectively; vs no disease-modifying antirheumatic drug) were associated with reduced odds of severe COVID-19.

CONCLUSION

Older age, male sex, comorbidity burden, higher disease activity and glucocorticoid intake were associated with more severe COVID-19. Later pandemic time periods, PsO and exposure to TNFi, IL17i and IL-23i/IL-12+23i were associated with less severe COVID-19. These findings will enable risk stratification and inform management decisions for patients with PsO, PsA and axSpA during COVID-19 waves or similar future respiratory pandemics.