Insights from home parenteral nutrition infusion data

OBJECTIVE

Patients with chronic intestinal failure use home parenteral nutrition infusion support. Non-compliance of home parenteral nutrition treatment is well documented, especially if clinical resources are remote. Objective delivery data from Infusion Pump reports have the potential to support treatment progress and planning. The aim of this study was to report the efficacy and accuracy of the Eitan Insights digital health platform for home parenteral nutrition use (a platform providing data-driven insights from the pump-recorded data).

METHODS

A prospective, single-center observational study of 20 patients treated with home parenteral nutrition ≥3 d/wk was conducted over 2022. The patients recorded the pre- and postinfusion home parenteral nutrition bag weight, duration of infusion, and alarms. We compared manual records to the pump data. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 45 data sets were collected, with no adverse events noted. In multiple comparisons between patient factors and descriptive statistics, there was no significant difference between manually recorded and pump-recorded data for volume infused (mean values of manual versus pump were 1707 ± 362 mL and 1708 ± 405 mL; P = 0.939) and infusion duration (mean values of manual versus pump iwere 9h 43 min ± 2.48 SD versus 9h 45 min ± 2.41 SD; P = 0.858).

CONCLUSION

The data collected by the digital platform accurately reflect patients' infusion data. This connected device has the potential to allow clinicians to be more informed and assess treatment trends and proactive resource planning through the Infusion Pump data insights.

Incidence, diagnosis, management and outcome of acute mesenteric ischaemia: a prospective, multicentre observational study (AMESI Study)

BACKGROUND

The aim of this multicentre prospective observational study was to identify the incidence, patient characteristics, diagnostic pathway, management and outcome of acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI).

METHODS

All adult patients with clinical suspicion of AMI admitted or transferred to 32 participating hospitals from 06.06.2022 to 05.04.2023 were included. Participants who were subsequently shown not to have AMI or had localized intestinal gangrene due to strangulating bowel obstruction had only baseline and outcome data collected.

RESULTS

AMI occurred in 0.038% of adult admissions in participating acute care hospitals worldwide. From a total of 705 included patients, 418 patients had confirmed AMI. In 69% AMI was the primary reason for admission, while in 31% AMI occurred after having been admitted with another diagnosis. Median time from onset of symptoms to hospital admission in patients admitted due to AMI was 24 h (interquartile range 9-48h) and time from admission to diagnosis was 6h (1-12 h). Occlusive arterial AMI was diagnosed in 231 (55.3%), venous in 73 (17.5%), non-occlusive (NOMI) in 55 (13.2%), other type in 11 (2.6%) and the subtype could not be classified in 48 (11.5%) patients. Surgery was the initial management in 242 (58%) patients, of which 59 (24.4%) underwent revascularization. Endovascular revascularization alone was carried out in 54 (13%), conservative treatment in 76 (18%) and palliative care in 46 (11%) patients. From patients with occlusive arterial AMI, revascularization was undertaken in 104 (45%), with 40 (38%) of them in one site admitting selected patients. Overall in-hospital and 90-day mortality of AMI was 49% and 53.3%, respectively, and among subtypes was lowest for venous AMI (13.7% and 16.4%) and highest for NOMI (72.7% and 74.5%). There was a high variability between participating sites for most variables studied.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall incidence of AMI and AMI subtypes varies worldwide, and case ascertainment is challenging. Pre-hospital delay in presentation was greater than delays after arriving at hospital. Surgery without revascularization was the most common management approach. Nearly half of the patients with AMI died during their index hospitalization. Together, these findings suggest a need for greater awareness of AMI, and better guidance in diagnosis and management.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

NCT05218863 (registered 19.01.2022).

Risk of stroke and other thromboembolic complications after interruption of DOAC therapy compared with warfarin therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation: a retrospective cohort analysis

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have become the treatment of choice in thromboembolism prophylaxis for non-valvular atrial fibrillation, surpassing warfarin. While interruption of DOAC therapy for various reasons is a common eventuality, the body of data from real-world clinical practice on the implications of such interruptions in different clinical settings is still limited. We assessed complication rates from DOAC (apixaban, rivaroxaban, dabigatran) interruption compared with warfarin in hospitalized patients. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of electronic records of patients hospitalized in Rabin Medical Center between 2010 and 2017. Incidents of anticoagulation interruptions for various reasons (including unintended interruptions) were collected. DOAC-treated patients were excluded if they reported non-compliance, and warfarin-treated patients were excluded if their international normalized ratio measurement on admission was subtherapeutic. Outcomes included ischemic stroke, systemic thromboembolism, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality within 90 days of anticoagulation interruption. The median CHA2DS2-VASc score was 5.0 (IQR 4.0-6.0) in both treatment groups. The associated risk of stroke, thromboembolic complications, myocardial infarction, and all-cause mortality after interruption of anticoagulation was not significantly different between the 2 treatment groups. Selective comparison of patients who were well balanced on warfarin before treatment interruption to DOAC-treated patients did not significantly influence the outcomes. This study did not find a significant difference in the complication rate after interruption of DOAC therapy compared with interruption of warfarin therapy in hospitalized patients with a high risk of thromboembolism.

Advances in Medical Nutrition Therapy: Parenteral Nutrition

Parenteral nutrition has evolved tremendously, with parenteral formulas now safer and more accessible than ever. "All-in-one" admixtures are now available, which simplify parenteral nutrition usage and decrease line infection rates alongside other methods of infectious control. Recently published data on the benefits of parenteral nutrition versus enteral nutrition together with the widespread use of indirect calorimetry solve many safety issues that have emerged over the years. All these advances, alongside a better understanding of glycemic control and lipid and protein formulation improvements, make parenteral nutrition a safe alternative to enteral nutrition.