Point-of-care measurement of C-reactive protein promotes de-escalation of treatment decisions and strengthens the perceived clinical confidence of physicians in out-of-hours outpatient emergency medical services

Objectives
Out-of-hours outpatient emergency medical services (OEMS) provide healthcare for patients with non-life-threatening conditions in need for urgent care when outpatient practices are closed. We studied the use of point-of-care-testing of C-reactive protein (CRP-POCT) at OEMS.

Design
Cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey.

Setting
Single centre OEMS practice in Hildesheim, Germany (October 2021 to March 2022).

Participants
OEMS physicians answering a questionnaire immediately after performing CRP-POCTs (CUBE-S Analyzer, Hitado) on any patients.

Primary and secondary outcomes
Impact of CRP-POCTs on clinical decision-making and perceived usefulness.

Results
In the 6-month study period, 114 valid CRP-POCTs were performed in the OEMS practice by 18 physicians and the questionnaire was answered in 112 cases (response rate: 98.2%). CRP-POCTs were used in the diagnosis of inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (60.0%), respiratory tract infections (17.0%), urinary tract infections (9.0%) and other non-gastrointestinal/non-specified infections (11.0%). The use of a CRP-POCT resulted in a change of the physicians’ clinical decision in 83.3% of the cases. Specifically, in 13.6% and 35.1% of the cases, rapid CRP measurements led to decision changes in the (1) initiation of antimicrobial therapy and (2) other drug treatment, respectively. Notably, in 60% of all cases, the use of a CRP-POCT reportedly changed the decision on hospitalisation/non-hospitalisation of OEMS patients. In respect of antimicrobial therapy and hospitalisation, these decision changes primarily (≥73%) promoted ‘step-down’ decisions, that is, no antibiotic therapy and no hospital admission. In the great majority of CRP-POCT applications (≥95%), OEMS physicians reported that rapid CRP measurements increased the confidence in their diagnostic and therapeutic decision. In almost all cases (97%), physicians rated the CRP-POCT use as useful in the treatment situation.

Conclusion
Quantitative CRP-POCT promotes step-down clinical decisions and strengthens the clinical confidence of physicians in out-of-hours OEMS.

Leggi
Maggio 2023

Distinct single-cell immune ecosystems distinguish true and de novo HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma recurrences

Objective
Revealing the single-cell immune ecosystems in true versus de novo hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) recurrences could help the optimal development of immunotherapies.

Design
We performed 5’and VDJ single-cell RNA-sequencing on 34 samples from 20 recurrent HCC patients. Bulk RNA-sequencing, flow cytometry, multiplexed immunofluorescence, and in vitro functional analyses were performed on samples from two validation cohorts.

Results
Analyses of mutational profiles and evolutionary trajectories in paired primary and recurrent HCC samples using whole-exome sequencing identified de novo versus true recurrences, some of which occurred before clinical diagnosis. The tumour immune microenvironment (TIME) of truly recurrent HCCs was characterised by an increased abundance in KLRB1+CD8+ T cells with memory phenotype and low cytotoxicity. In contrast, we found an enrichment in cytotoxic and exhausted CD8+ T cells in the TIME of de novo recurrent HCCs. Transcriptomic and interaction analyses showed elevated GDF15 expression on HCC cells in proximity to dendritic cells, which may have dampened antigen presentation and inhibited antitumour immunity in truly recurrent lesions. In contrast, myeloid cells’ cross talk with T cells-mediated T cell exhaustion and immunosuppression in the TIME of de novo recurrent HCCs. Consistent with these findings, a phase 2 trial of neoadjuvant anti-PD-1 immunotherapy showed more responses in de novo recurrent HCC patients.

Conclusion
True and de novo HCC recurrences occur early, have distinct TIME and may require different immunotherapy strategies. Our study provides a source for genomic diagnosis and immune profiling for guiding immunotherapy based on the type of HCC recurrence and the specific TIME.

Leggi
Maggio 2023

Farmaci: semplificare la prescrizione per quelli con piano terapeutico. Il position paper Fnomceo-Fism

Semplificare le procedure prescrittive per i farmaci attualmente sottoposti a registro di monitoraggio e a piano terapeutico. A chiederlo, la Federazione Nazionale degli Ordini dei Medici Chirurghi e degli Odontoiatri (FNOMCeO) e la Federazione Italiana delle Società Medico-Scientifiche (FISM), che hanno siglato oggi a Roma un Documento di posizione condivisa

Leggi
Aprile 2023