Background

The efficacy of percutaneous stellate ganglion block (SGB) for managing electrical storm (ES) is not well understood.

Objective

To characterize the efficacy of SGB as a treatment for ES.

Methods

We conducted literature searches using PubMed/Medline and Google Scholar, for mixed combinations of terms including "stellate ganglion block", *ganglion block (ade)", "sympathetic block (ade)" and "arrhythmia", "ventricular arrhythmia (VA)" or "tachycardia" (VT), "ventricular fibrillation" (VF), "electrical storm". Inclusion criteria were presentation with guideline-defined ES and treatment with SGB. Exclusion criteria: presentation with any supraventricular arrhythmia, VA without ES, or surgical sympathectomy. Studies lacking basic demographic data, arrhythmia description, and outcomes were excluded.

Results

Of 3,374 publications reviewed, 38 patients from 23 studies met study criteria (52 ± 19.1 years, 11 F, 17 with ischemic cardiomyopathy). Anti-arrhythmics were used in all patients. Mean Left ventricular ejection fraction was 31 ± 10%. ES was triggered by acute myocardial infarction in 15 patients and QT prolongation in 7 patients. The most common local anesthetic used for SGB was bupivacaine (0.25-0.5%). SGB resulted in a significant decrease in VA burden (12.4±8.8 vs. 1.04±2.12 episodes/day, p< 0.001) and number of external and ICD shocks (10.0±9.1 vs. 0.05±0.22 shocks/day, p< 0.01). Following SGB, 80.6% of patients survived to discharge.

Conclusion

SGB is an effective acute treatment for ES. However, larger prospective randomized studies are needed to better understand the role of SGB in ES and other VAs.

Aims

The progression of prediabetes to T2DM can be delayed through diet modification and weight management. However, the intensive lifestyle program is often not covered by medical insurance. This retrospective analysis evaluates the association of a patient self-paid weight management program on an improvement of blood sugar in overweight and obese patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG).

Methods

The medical records of 4634 patients who participated in the self-pay UCLA Weight Management Program were reviewed and 2572 patients met the criteria for this retrospective analysis to examine whether this program was associated with the reversal of IFG over 3 months among 1396 patients with normal fasting glucose (NFG) and 1176 with IFG.

Results

The patients with IFG lost comparable amounts of weight (10.5 ± 1.3 kg) at three months, as did the subjects with NFG (10.1 ± 1.3 kg). Fasting blood glucose in the IFG group decreased from 108.49 ± 6.4 to 101.8 ± 9.41 mg/dL (p < 0.0001) after three months. There were also significant reductions in triglycerides, and both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in both groups in association with weight loss.

Conclusion

Our medically supervised self-pay multidisciplinary weight management program was associated with reduced fasting blood glucose levels in patients with IFG over three months with comparable weight loss to patients with NFG.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate basal epithelial cell morphology (CM) in the central cornea and limbal areas of eyes with limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD). METHODS: This was a prospective, cross-sectional comparative study. We developed a CM scoring system based on basal epithelial cell phenotypes graded from 0 (normal) to 3 (severe morphologic alterations); this system was evaluated by 2 independent masked observers. The CM score was compared with the LSCD clinical score, mean best-corrected visual acuity, and in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy parameters used to stage LSCD (ie, basal epithelial cell density, basal epithelial thickness, and subbasal corneal nerve fiber length density). RESULTS: One hundred sixty-eight eyes with LSCD and 63 normal eyes were included. Compared with the control group, the LSCD group had significantly higher mean (±SD) CM scores in the central cornea (1.8 ± 0.7 vs. 0.5 ± 0.4, respectively; P = 0.01) and limbal areas (1.6 ± 0.2 vs. 1.3 ± 0.0, respectively; P < 0.05). The mean CM score in the central cornea was positively correlated with the clinical score ( P < 0.01, r = 0.66) and negatively correlated with the best-corrected visual acuity ( P < 0.01, r = 0.42). The CM scores were positively correlated with all other in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy parameters in the central cornea and limbal areas (all P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Basal epithelial CM is altered in the central cornea and limbus of eyes with LSCD and thus can be used to stage the clinical severity of the disease.

Importance

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in adults of working age in the United States. In the Los Angeles County safety net, a nonvertically integrated system serving underinsured and uninsured patients, the prevalence of DR is approximately 50%, and owing to limited specialty care resources, the average wait times for screening for DR have been 8 months or more.

Objective

To determine whether a primary care-based teleretinal DR screening (TDRS) program reduces wait times for screening and improves timeliness of needed care in the Los Angeles County safety net.

Design, setting, and participants

Quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest evaluation of exposure to primary care-based TDRS at 5 of 15 Los Angeles County Department of Health Services safety net clinics from September 1, 2013, to December 31, 2015, with a subgroup analysis of random samples of 600 patients before and after the intervention (1200 total).

Exposure

Primary care clinic-based teleretinal screening for DR.

Main outcomes and measures

Annual rates of screening for DR before and after implementation of the TDRS program across the 5 clinics, time to screening for DR in a random sample of patients from these clinics, and a description of the larger framework of program implementation.

Results

Among the 21 222 patients who underwent the screening (12 790 female, 8084 male, and 348 other gender or not specified; mean [SD] age, 57.4 [9.6] years), the median time to screening for DR decreased from 158 days (interquartile range, 68-324 days) before the intervention to 17 days (interquartile range, 8-50 days) after initiation of the program (P < .001). Overall annual screening rates for DR increased from 5942 of 14 633 patients (40.6%) before implementation to 7470 of 13 133 patients (56.9%) after initiation of the program at all 15 targeted clinics (odds ratio, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.3-2.9; P = .002). Of the 21 222 patients who were screened, 14 595 (68.8%) did not require referral to an eye care professional, 4160 (19.6%) were referred for treatment or monitoring of DR, and 2461 (11.6%) were referred for other ophthalmologic conditions.

Conclusions and relevance

A digital TDRS program was successfully implemented for the largest publicly operated county safety net population in the United States, resulting in the elimination of the need for more than 14 000 visits to specialty care professionals, a 16.3% increase in annual rates of screening for DR, and an 89.2% reduction in wait times for screening. Teleretinal DR screening programs have the potential to maximize access and efficiency in the safety net, where the need for such programs is most critical.

Objective

Using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT), we investigated the epithelial thickness (ET) of the central cornea and limbal regions in patients with limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD) as a diagnostic and staging parameter.

Design

Prospective, cross-sectional study.

Methods

The central corneal epithelium thickness (CET) and maximum limbal epithelium thickness (mLET) were measured in the superior, inferior, nasal, and temporal limbus on AS-OCT images of the normal and eyes with LSCD. CET was obtained by 1-point (OCT-CET1) and 3-point measurement (OCT-CET3). The values of OCT-CET1 and OCT-CET3 were compared to the CET obtained with in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM-CET).

Results

Sixty-eight eyes of 50 patients with LSCD and 52 eyes of 34 normal subjects were included. The mean (±standard deviation) OCT-CET3 was 55.0 ± 3.0 μm (range, 50.6-62.0 μm) in the control group and 41.6 ± 10.8 μm (range, 0-56.3 μm) in the LSCD group (P < .001). OCT-CET3 had a better correlation with IVCM-CET (r = 0.91) than did OCT-CET1 (r = 0.87, P = .001). The degree of reduction in OCT-CET3 increased in more advanced clinical stages of LSCD (all P < .001). The OCT-CET3 cutoff value that suggests LSCD was 46.6 μm. Compared with the control group, the LSCD group had decreases in mLET in all 4 limbal regions (all P < .001). The sensitivity and specificity of OCT-CET3 is the highest among all mLET in detecting LSCD.

Conclusions

Both CET and mLET were thinner in patients with LSCD than in normal subjects. OCT-CET3 appears to be a reliable parameter to confirm LSCD when there is clinical suspicion.

INTRODUCTION: Interventions are needed to promote utilization of the Medicare Annual Wellness Visit (AWV), an underused opportunity to perform screenings and plan individualized preventive health services. METHOD: Using remote practice redesign and electronic health record (EHR) support, we implemented the Practice-Tailored AWV intervention in 2021 (during the COVID-19 pandemic) in 3 small community-based practices. The intervention combines EHR-based tools with practice redesign approaches and resources. Outcomes included completion of AWV and fulfillment of recommended preventive services. RESULTS: At baseline the 3 practices had 1,513 Medicare patients with at least 1 visit in the past 12 months. AWV utilization went from 7% at baseline to 54% 8 months postintervention implementation; advance care planning increased 10.7% (from 7.9% to 18.6%); depression screening increased 16.3% (from 51.7% to 68.0%); and alcohol misuse screening increased 17.3% (from 42.6% to 59.9%). Every individual preventive health service was received more often by patients with an AWV than those without. At the patient level, fulfillment of all eligible preventive services (of a maximum of 12 evaluated) went from 47.5% to 53.8% (P < .001). Subgroup analyses showed that patients with AWVs completed a greater percentage of their total recommended preventive health services than those without an AWV. CONCLUSION: Virtual implementation of an intervention that combined EHR-based tools with practice redesign approaches increased AWV and preventive services utilization in Medicare patients. Given the success of this intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic (when practices had many competing demands), greater consideration should be given to delivering future interventions virtually.

Study objective

To determine the association between enrollment in the Medicare Part D low-income subsidy (LIS) program, which reduces out-of-pocket medication costs, and fill adherence to the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel after coronary stent placement.

Design

Retrospective cohort study.

Data source

Pharmacy claims database of a large national Medicare Part D insurer.

Patients

We selected a total of 2967 beneficiaries of a national Medicare Part D plan who had a coronary stent placed between April and December 2006 and were prescribed clopidogrel but were not preexisting users of clopidogrel. Of these patients, 504 were enrolled in the LIS program and 2463 were not.

Measurements and main results

We defined LIS status as enrollment in the LIS program at any point during the 12 months after the procedure. We examined the association between LIS status and good medication fill adherence to clopidogrel, defined as proportion of days covered of 80% or more, or discontinuation of clopidogrel over the 12-month window starting from the date of their stent placement. We also identified patients with claims-based diagnoses of major bleeding events while taking clopidogrel. For those patients, we calculated fill adherence only for the period between medication initiation and the onset of major bleeding and/or did not classify them as having inappropriately discontinued the medication. We created a propensity score predicting the propensity of being eligible for the LIS benefit and used inverse propensity score weighting with regression adjustment to generate estimates of the effect parameters. LIS enrollment was associated with a higher predicted likelihood of good clopidogrel fill adherence after stent placement (54.8% for LIS enrollees vs 47.6% for non enrollees; p=0.008). No significant difference was noted between the two groups in predicted risk of discontinuing clopidogrel after stent placement (18.3% for LIS enrollees vs 21.0% for non enrollees; p=0.21).

Conclusion

The LIS benefit was associated with better clopidogrel fill adherence after stent placement. Although clopidogrel is now available in generic form, our work underscores the need for efforts to identify and enroll patients in the LIS benefit who require costly antiplatelet medications for coronary heart disease.

Background

Uninsured patients may not have access to postacute care facilities that play an important role in clinical recovery, and functional outcomes after vascular surgery. We sought to determine whether discharge disposition is associated with insurance status.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed data from the Vascular Quality Initiative^® for patients who underwent open abdominal aortic repair, infrainguinal bypass, or suprainguinal bypass (SB) between January 2012 and July 2015. Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis with clustering at the surgeon and facility level was used to calculate 95% confidence intervals for discharge disposition to home, skilled nursing facility (SNF) or rehabilitation (Rehab) facility by payer status (Medicare, Medicaid, Commercial, Military/Veterans Affairs, Non-US Insurance, or Self-pay), with adjustment for patient, operative, and postoperative characteristics.

Results

The study cohort comprised 18,478 procedures (open abdominal aortic repair = 2,817; infrainguinal bypass = 11,572; suprainguinal bypass = 4,089) after we excluded procedures with missing data and in-hospital deaths. Twenty-four percent of the cohort was discharged to an SNF or Rehab site. On univariate analysis, the odds ratio (OR) of discharge home was 4.38 (95% CI: 3.33-5.77) for self-pay as compared to Medicare. On mixed-effects analysis, the adjusted odds of discharge home for self-pay as compared to Medicare remained high (OR = 3.09; 95% CI: 2.23-4.26), after adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, preoperative ambulatory status, number of comorbidities, case urgency, total operative time, presence of a postoperative complication, procedure type, and length of stay. Adjusted odds for discharge to SNF (OR = 0.26; 95% CI: 0.15-0.46) and Rehab (OR = 0.50; 95% CI: 0.35-0.72) were lowest for self-pay status.

Conclusions

Access to postacute care facilities is associated with insurance status. Self-pay (uninsured) patients are less likely to have access to discharge services that may aid clinical recovery, and functional outcomes after major vascular surgery.

Aims

To evaluate the clinical and visual outcomes of fluid-filled scleral lens devices (SL) wear in patients with limbal stem cell deficiency (LSCD).

Design

Retrospective consecutive case series.

Methods

27 eyes with LSCD confirmed by in vivo confocal microscopy at the Stein Eye Institute and fitted with SL were included. Correlations between corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) and LSCD stage determined by clinical grading were performed between baseline (after the SL fit) and the last follow-up (the time of discontinuation of SL wear or the last visit in eyes in which SL were continued). In a subset of patients that had worsened LSCD while using SL, anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and anterior segment fluorescein angiogram (AS-FA) were performed.

Results

Baseline LSCD grading was stage I in 12 eyes (44.4%), stage 2 in 12 eyes (44.4%), and stage III in 3 eyes (11.1%). At the last follow-up, CDVA was improved in 7 eyes (25.9%), remained stable in 13 eyes (48.1%) and decreased in 7 eyes (25.9%, P = 0.16). The LSCD stage was improved in 7 eyes (25.9%), remained stable in 8 eyes (29.6%) and worsened in 12 eyes (44.4%, P = 0.10). AS-OCT and AS-FA, performed in 5 eyes, showed limbal compression and delayed fluorescein filling.

Conclusion

SL can improve visual acuity and maintain the ocular surface in the majority of eyes. Worsening of the ocular surface might be a result of limbal hypoxia. Close monitoring of SL fit is necessary in these compromised eyes.