Impact of High Deductible Health Plans on Diabetes Care Quality and Outcomes: Systematic Review

ObjectiveTo provide a review of the impact of high deductible health plans (HDHPs) on the utilizations of services required for optimal management of diabetes and subsequent health outcomes.MethodsSystematic literature review of studies published between January 1, 2000, and May 7, 2021, was conducted that examined the impact of HDHP on diabetes monitoring (eg, recommended laboratory and surveillance testing), routine care (eg, ambulatory appointments), medication management (eg, medication initiation, adherence), and acute health care utilization (eg, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, incident complications).ResultsOf the 303 reviewed articles, 8 were relevant. These studies demonstrated that HDHPs lower spending at the expense of reduced high-value diabetes monitoring, routine care, and medication adherence, potentially contributing to the observed increases in acute health care utilization. Additionally, patient out-of-pocket costs for recommended screenings doubled, and total health care expenditures increased by 49.4% for HDHP enrollees compared with enrollees in traditional health plans. Reductions in disease monitoring and routine care and increases in acute health care utilization were greatest in lower-income patients. None of the studies examined the impact of HDHPs on access to diabetes self-management education, technology use, or glycemic control.ConclusionAlthough HDHPs reduce some health care utilization and costs, they appear to do so at the expense of limiting high-value care and medication adherence. Policymakers, providers, and payers should be more cognizant of the potential for negative consequences of HDHPs on patients’ health.     

Mechanical strain induced phospho-proteomic signaling in uterine smooth muscle cells

Mechanical strain associated with the expanding uterus correlates with increased preterm birth rates. Mechanical signals result in a cascading network of protein phosphorylation events. These signals direct cellular activities and may lead to changes in contractile phenotype and calcium signaling. In this study, the complete phospho-proteome of uterine smooth muscle cells subjected to mechanical strain for 5 min was compared to un-strained controls. Statistically significant, differential phosphorylation events were annotated by Ingenuity Pathway Analysis to elucidate mechanically induced phosphorylation networks. Mechanical strain leads to the direct activation of ERK1/2, HSPB1, and MYL9, in addition to phosphorylation of PAK2, vimentin, DOCK1, PPP1R12A, and PTPN11 at previously unannotated sites. These results suggest a novel network reaction to mechanical strain and reveal proteins that participate in the activation of contractile mechanisms leading to preterm labor.     

急诊危重孕产妇5分钟紧急剖宫产的临床效果及新生儿不良结局的危险因素分析

摘要 目的：探讨急诊危重孕产妇5分钟紧急剖宫产的临床效果,并分析新生儿不良结局的危险因素。方法：回顾性分析2018年1月~2022年6月在河北省儿童医院妇产科收治的急诊危重孕产妇139例的临床资料。根据急诊剖宫产流程分为对照组（n=68,常规紧急剖宫产流程下进行手术）及观察组（n=71,5分钟紧急剖宫产）。观察两组孕产妇的手术情况、手术反应时间、孕产妇并发症、新生儿不良结局发生率。采用多因素Logistic回归模型分析新生儿不良结局的危险因素。结果：两组住院时间、术中出血量、术中输血情况组间对比,未见统计学差异（P>0.05）。与对照组相比,观察组进手术室至手术开始时间、决定手术至胎儿娩出的时间间隔（DDI）、决定手术至进手术室时间、手术开始至胎儿娩出时间均更短,新生儿不良结局发生率、并发症发生率更低（P<0.05）。根据新生儿不良结局将孕产妇分为不良组（n=38）、良好组（n=101）。单因素分析结果显示：新生儿不良结局与受教育程度、新生儿体重、孕周、剖宫产类型、DDI、妊娠合并症、采用辅助生殖技术有关（P<0.05）。多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示,受教育程度为小学及其以下、新生儿体重偏低、剖宫产类型为I类剖宫产、孕周偏短、DDI偏长均是新生儿不良结局的危险因素（P<0.05）。结论：急诊危重孕产妇5分钟紧急剖宫产可缩短各项手术反应时间,降低孕产妇并发症和新生儿不良结局发生率。此外,新生儿不良结局的发生与受教育程度、新生儿体重、剖宫产类型、孕周、DDI等因素有关。     

Treatment-resistant depression: definition,prevalence, detection,management, and investigational interventions

Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) is common and associated with multiple serious public health implications. A consensus definition of TRD with demonstrated predictive utility in terms of clinical decision-making and health outcomes does not currently exist. Instead, a plethora of definitions have been proposed, which vary significantly in their conceptual framework. The absence of a consensus definition hampers precise estimates of the prevalence of TRD, and also belies efforts to identify risk factors, prevention opportunities, and effective interventions. In addition, it results in heterogeneity in clinical practice decision-making, adversely affecting quality of care. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have adopted the most used definition of TRD (i.e., inadequate response to a minimum of two antidepressants despite adequacy of the treatment trial and adherence to treatment). It is currently estimated that at least 30% of persons with depression meet this definition. A significant percentage of persons with TRD are actually pseudo-resistant (e.g., due to inadequacy of treatment trials or non-adherence to treatment). Although multiple sociodemographic, clinical, treatment and contextual factors are known to negatively moderate response in persons with depression, very few factors are regarded as predictive of non-response across multiple modalities of treatment. Intravenous ketamine and intranasal esketamine (co-administered with an antidepressant) are established as efficacious in the management of TRD. Some second-generation antipsychotics (e.g., aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, cariprazine, quetiapine XR) are proven effective as adjunctive treatments to antidepressants in partial responders, but only the olanzapine-fluoxetine combination has been studied in FDA-defined TRD. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is established as effective and FDA-approved for individuals with TRD, with accelerated theta-burst TMS also recently showing efficacy. Electroconvulsive therapy is regarded as an effective acute and maintenance intervention in TRD, with preliminary evidence suggesting non-inferiority to acute intravenous ketamine. Evidence for extending antidepressant trial, medication switching and combining antidepressants is mixed. Manual-based psychotherapies are not established as efficacious on their own in TRD, but offer significant symptomatic relief when added to conventional antidepressants. Digital therapeutics are under study and represent a potential future clinical vista in this population.     

妊娠晚期阴道B族链球菌的感染对肠道菌群和妊娠结局的影响

目的探究妊娠晚期阴道B族链球菌(group B Streptococcus,GBS)的感染对肠道菌群和妊娠结局的影响。方法选取2018年3月至2019年11月大连市中心医院孕检并分娩的妊娠妇女744人为对象,调查并统计B族链球菌的感染率;筛选有和没有B族链球菌感染妊娠妇女各47人,调查不良妊娠结局的发生率;选取信息匹配的妊娠晚期阴道B族链球菌感染和未感染的妊娠妇女,采集粪便样本,提取菌群DNA,用16S rDNA方法分析菌群变化。结果744名妊娠妇女中B族链球菌检出49例,感染率为6.59%;B族链球菌感染组总的不良妊娠发生比例为76.6%,正常组发生比例为27.7%(χ^2=5.491,P<0.05)。B族链球菌感染组妊娠妇女胎膜早破(χ^2=16.177,P<0.01)、难产(χ^2=21.134,P<0.01)和羊水异常(χ^2=22.989,P<0.05)的发生率与未感染组比较显著增高。B族链球菌感染组妊娠妇女肠道菌群发生显著变化。结论妊娠晚期阴道B族链球菌的感染可能引起肠道菌群紊乱,增加不良妊娠结局。     

重度妊娠期肝内胆汁淤积症对母婴结局影响的临床分析

目的：分析重度妊娠期肝内胆汁淤积症（intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy,ICP）对母婴结局的影响,以提高对ICP的认识与治疗水平。方法：选择ICP产妇58例,根据ICP分度标准分为轻度组（n=26例）和重度组（n=32例）,比较两组产妇的母婴结局。结果：与轻度组相比,重度组产妇剖宫产率、产后出血与平均产后出血量显著升高或增加,阴道分娩率显著降低,组间比较差异均具有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;重度组新生儿早产、胎儿窘迫、羊水污染和新生儿窒息的发生率均显著上升,新生儿平均出生体重显著降低,组间比较差异均具有统计学意义（P〈0.05）。结论：ICP对产妇及新生儿均有不良影响,对ICP严重程度进行划分,有利于临床处理。对于重度ICP产妇,应尽早采取剖宫产分娩的方式终止妊娠。     

Education for sustainability in higher education: a multiple-case study of three courses

Education for sustainability (EfS) in higher education is an emerging specialisation within the general field of EfS. EfS encompasses cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects, and aims at enhancing a variety of learning outcomes in these domains and reaching students from all programmes. One of the main challenges for higher education educators is to design courses in a way that will effectively promote the various learning outcomes of EfS. A central question is how sustainability should be integrated into the curriculum; which topics should be taught and which pedagogies ought to be applied to improve students’ knowledge, skills and motivation to promote sustainable living. The present study aimed to contribute to the knowledge about students’ learning outcomes yielded by different designs of EfS courses. This multiple-case study of three courses used a mixed-methods design. For each course, we identified its characteristics and analysed students’ self-reported learning outcomes. We found that: (1) a course with a higher degree of participatory learning, employing a system approach, promoted the highest and most varied learning outcomes; (2) the lecture-based course yielded the fewest learning outcomes; and (3) field trips promoted learning outcomes only when accompanied by more advanced pedagogies.