Abstract WP238: Association of pre-thrombectomy infarct topography and hemorrhagic transformation in patients with acute ischemic stroke: A multicenter Bayesian analysis

Stroke, Volume 56, Issue Suppl_1, Page AWP238-AWP238, February 1, 2025. Introduction:As more patients with stroke, including those with large cores, are treated with endovascular thrombectomy (EVT), understanding the pathophysiology of hemorrhagic transformation (HT) is becoming increasingly important. Pre-EVT infarct topography may have implications for treatment decisions acutely (e.g. stenting) and for post EVT care (e.g. antithrombotics and blood pressure goals). We sought to identify associations between HT and brain regions involved in ischemic lesions.Methods:Consecutive patients with LVO treated with EVT who underwent pre-EVT MRI were identified from two tertiary referral centers (2011-2019). Acute ischemic lesions were extracted through a deep learning enabled pipeline from DWI and spatially normalized. Individual lesions were parcellated (atlas-defined 94 cortical regions, 14 subcortical nuclei, 20 white matter tracts) and reduced to ten essential lesion patterns using unsupervised dimensionality reduction techniques. HT, defined as ECASS PH1 or PH2, was modeled via Bayesian regression, taking the ten lesion patterns as inputs, and controlling for total lesion volume, age, sex, initial NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), thrombolysis treatment, good reperfusion (TICI2b-3), acute stenting, last known well-to-puncture time, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, smoking, atrial fibrillation, and site of enrollment.Results:A total of 567 (mean age 69 ±15 years; 45% female) patients had pre-EVT DWI without significant artifacts that could undergo lesion segmentation and registration. The median NIHSS was 16 (IQR 11-20) and mean total infarct volume was 22.5 ±36.7ml. Thrombolysis was administered in 51% and good reperfusion was achieved in 83%. HT occurred in 10%. Lesion locations predictive of HT (Figure) involved bilateral caudate, putamen, pallidum, and anterior thalamic radiation; and, right more than left thalamus, corticospinal tract, and inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (area under the curve: 0.73).Conclusions:These data from a large, multicenter cohort with precise MRI-defined infarcts underscore the significance for HT of specific brain regions involved in ischemic lesions before EVT. An understanding of this pathophysiology can inform not only current clinical practice but also the development of future novel therapeutic strategies to prevent HT and reperfusion injury as more patients with large infarct cores are treated with EVT.

Leggi
Gennaio 2025

Healthy lifestyle before and during pregnancy to prevent childhood obesity: study protocol for a parallel group randomised trial — the PRE-STORK trial

Introduction
The global prevalence of people living with overweight has tripled since 1975 and more than 40% of Danish women enter pregnancy being overweight. With the increasing rates of obesity observed in children, adolescents and adults, there is an urgent need for preventive measures. Risk factors for childhood obesity include maternal overweight or obesity before conception and excessive weight gain during pregnancy. Interventions aimed at modifying maternal lifestyle during pregnancy have demonstrated minimal positive or no impact on the health of the children. The ‘healthy lifestyle before and during pregnancy to prevent childhood obesity — the PRE-STORK trial’ aims to provide insights into the effect of a lifestyle intervention initiated before conception and continued during pregnancy in women with overweight or obesity, on neonatal adiposity in their children.

Methods and analysis
In this randomised, two-arm, parallel-group, controlled trial, we will include 360 women with overweight or obesity (aged 18–40; body mass index 25–44 kg/m2) and their partners. The women will be randomised to receive either standard of care or a lifestyle intervention focused on preconception body weight reduction, regular physical exercise, healthy diet and support from a mentor before and during pregnancy. The primary outcome is the difference in neonatal adiposity measured in their children at birth. Children conceived during the trial will constitute a birth cohort, monitoring the effects on their health until the age of 18 years.

Ethics and dissemination
The trial has been approved by the Regional Committee on Health Research Ethics in the Capital Region of Denmark (identification number H-22011403) and will be conducted in agreement with the Declaration of Helsinki. All results, whether positive, negative and inconclusive, will be disseminated at national or international scientific meetings and in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Trial registration number
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05578690 (October 2022).

Leggi
Gennaio 2025

Cross-sectional study measuring the level and relationship of awareness, attitude and willingness to use HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Davao City, Philippines

Objectives
To improve on the implementation and uses of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) programmes, factors affecting HIV PrEP willingness must be investigated. This study aims to determine not only the willingness to use HIV PrEP but also to establish whether awareness and attitude affect this.

Design
This study used a cross-sectional survey research design to examine the awareness, attitude and willingness to use HIV PrEP in Davao City. The survey was adapted from multiple studies and was validated and pilot tested. Statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics like correlation, linear regression and structural modelling.

Settings
This research was conducted in Davao City, Philippines. This is one of the regions in the country with a high HIV incidence. The survey was conducted from March to June 2024.

Participants
Participants were at least 18 years of age, currently living in Davao City and a permanent resident of the city.

Results
A total of 258 respondents were gathered in this study, of which 53.10% of all respondents were fully aware of HIV PrEP, while 27.13% were partially aware. The study found the mean attitude and willingness to be 4.21±0.686 and 4.08±0.685, respectively. There was a significant difference in the awareness when grouped according to identity category (X2=24.428; p value=0.002) and highest education attained (X2=15.919; p value=0.044). Being fully aware positively affected willingness to use HIV PrEP by indirectly contributing positively to attitude towards HIV PrEP (β=0.180; p value=0.012).

Conclusion
Generally, the awareness, attitude and willingness to use HIV PrEP is high. However, some respondents are hesitant to use HIV PrEP if it is not a hundred percent effective and unable to adhere to it. The results imply a need for action programmes involving various multidisciplinary stakeholders to ensure that the community possesses full awareness, positive attitudes and increased willingness to use HIV PrEP.

Leggi
Gennaio 2025

Understanding good communication in ambulance pre-alerts to the emergency department: findings from a qualitative study of UK emergency services

Objectives
Prehospital notifications (pre-alerts) enable emergency department (ED) staff to prepare for the arrival of patients requiring a time-critical response. Effective communication of the pre-alert is key to enabling the ED to prepare appropriately, but evidence on communication practices is lacking. We undertook qualitative research to understand how pre-alert communication may be improved to optimise the ED response for pre-alerted patients.

Design, setting and participants
Data collection took place within three UK Ambulance Services and six EDs between August 2022 and April 2023. We undertook semi-structured interviews with 34 ambulance and 40 ED staff and 156 hours non-participation observation of pre-alert practice (143 pre-alerts). Verbatim interview transcripts and observation notes were imported into NVivo and analysed using a thematic approach.

Results
We identified significant variation in how pre-alerts were communicated that influenced how effectively information was transferred. Ambulance and ED staff demonstrated a shared recognition that pre-alerts need to be communicated concisely, but both received minimal training in how to give and receive pre-alerts. Efficient pre-alerting was influenced by clinician experience and seniority. ED and ambulance clinicians following different information-sharing formats sometimes led to interruptions, information loss and tensions, particularly when an early ‘headline’ clinical concern had not been shared. Ambulance clinicians sometimes questioned the appropriateness of their pre-alert when ED clinicians did not explain the rationale for not giving the expected response (that is, being accepted into a high-priority area of the ED). Additional sources of frustration included technological problems and poor communication of estimated time of arrival and caller/responder identities.

Conclusions
Use of a shared format, including a headline ‘cause for concern’, may improve the clarity, usefulness and civility of pre-alerts, particularly when the clinician’s concern is not obvious from observations. Basic training on how to undertake pre-alerts for both ED and ambulance clinicians may improve understanding of the importance of pre-alert communication.

Trial registration number
ISRCTN12652860.

Leggi
Gennaio 2025

How can more women with pre-existing type 1 and type 2 diabetes be supported to prepare for pregnancy after a baby loss? A qualitative exploration of lived experiences in the UK

Objectives
Explore, understand and analyse how women with pre-existing diabetes can be better supported during the inter-pregnancy interval—the time after a baby loss and before a subsequent pregnancy.

Design
Qualitative, semi-structured online interviews took place between November 2020 and July 2021. Data were analysed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis.

Setting
Participants reflected on care received at primary and secondary centres across the UK.

Participants
Twelve predominantly White, British women with type 1 (n=9) and type 2 (n=3) diabetes with experience of baby loss and subsequent pregnancy were recruited through social media.

Results
Three interrelated themes: (1) decisions around becoming pregnant after baby loss, (2) the triple burden of baby loss, diabetes and preparing for pregnancy, (3) gaps in the inter-pregnancy interval. Most (n=10) participants wanted to become pregnant again as soon as possible. The short inter-pregnancy interval (median=7 months) highlights a potentially small window of opportunity to support women to grieve and prepare for pregnancy. Providing timely access to care and support in the inter-pregnancy interval without overburdening women might be challenging due to structural issues in services and gaps in referral pathways.

Conclusion
Women with pre-existing diabetes may experience challenges in accessing appropriate pre-pregnancy care in the inter-pregnancy interval. Our findings suggest that one-size-fits-all approaches are likely to be less effective in meeting diverse needs of this group and that more personalised, targeted support is needed. All healthcare professionals across the different parts of the care provision structure need greater awareness of the issues faced by this group to maximise timely access to the appropriate pre-pregnancy care and support.

Leggi
Gennaio 2025

Pre-diabetes virtual health management community (VHMC) intervention and group interaction management model in China: a randomised clinical trial protocol

Introduction
Individuals with pre-diabetes are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), which makes them prone to serious complications such as stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower-limb amputation. Pre-diabetes can be reversed, and lifestyle modification is considered the best intervention method for diabetes prevention. However, it is difficult for individuals with pre-diabetes to maintain a long-term modified healthy lifestyle owing to psychological burnout in daily management over time due to poor adherence. We developed a novel virtual health management community (VHMC) model based on group interaction management. We present the protocol for the VHMC model applied to the pre-diabetic population—a randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Methods and analysis
This study will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of the pre-diabetes VHMC–group interaction management model on improving long-term lifestyle intervention adherence to reduce the incidence of T2DM in China. We will conduct a prospective, multicentre, single-blinded, two-arm, RCT, and a total of 706 patients will be recruited. Those randomly assigned to the intervention group will receive group interaction management based on the VHMC platform. Measures of incidence of T2DM, diabetes outcomes, lifestyle modification and psychosocial outcomes will be assessed at baseline, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months. If the VHMC–group interaction management model shows efficacy in improving the self-management of pre-diabetes or metabolic control, similar interventions may be applied to other chronic conditions. The cost-utility analysis of this model may indicate that this platform could be a potentially cost-effective and efficient way to integrate the VHMC platform into the health management of patients with pre-diabetes.

Ethics and dissemination
The Ethics Committee of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University approved this study (No. RG2023-262-02). The results of this study will be disseminated through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.

Trial registration number
ChiCTR2400081268. Study start: 1 July 2024, completion: 1 December 2026.

Leggi
Dicembre 2024

Basic ENT training for enhanced healthcare worker knowledge, attitudes and practices in a resource-limited setting: a pre-post and post-post cross-sectional study

Introduction
Diagnostic errors in ear, nose and throat (ENT) diseases are prevalent among healthcare workers (HCWs) in resource-limited settings, yet comprehensive data that describe HCW knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) regarding ENT disease management remains scarce. Further, the impact of basic ENT training on HCW KAP in such settings is largely undetermined.

Objective
We assessed HCW KAP before and after basic training in ENT disease management.

Methods
This questionnaire-based pre-post-test cross-sectional survey employed HCW training in public hospitals in a resource-limited setting. We conducted a 2-day training, preceded by a pretraining survey, followed by immediate and 5-month post-training assessments using a prevalidated questionnaire. 416 HCWs participated and were selected through probability-proportionate-to-size random sampling. Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to assess pre-post training KAP variations.

Results
At baseline, the median (IQR) percentage knowledge scores for HCWs in general ENT, ear, sinonasal and head and neck disease management were 60 (40), 55 (18), 58.3 (25) and 56 (22.6), respectively. Only 33.8% (133/394) of HCWs had access to an otoscope, 25.5% (101/396) to a headlight and 12.1% (48/397) to a nasal speculum. While 99.2% (390/393) of HCWs considered ENT important, 57.8% (226/391) of them lacked the confidence to correctly diagnose and manage most ENT conditions. At the immediate post-training assessment, HCWs’ median knowledge scores increased by 20%, 18%, 25% and 33% for general ENT, ear, sinonasal and head and neck disease management, respectively (p

Leggi
Dicembre 2024

Uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and contraception in South African hair salons: a study protocol for a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial

Introduction
Young women are disproportionately affected by HIV in South Africa and have a high incidence of unintended pregnancies. Access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, including HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), contraception and screening for seally transmitted infections (STIs), remains limited in South Africa, in part due to inadequate infrastructure and individual barriers to care. Integrated, community-based SRH services have the potential to overcome barriers to clinic-based care for women at risk of HIV, unintended pregnancy and STIs. We are evaluating the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary effectiveness of a novel intervention offering PrEP, contraception and STI screening in hair salons.

Methods and analysis
We will conduct a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial in hair salons in urban KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Salons serving primarily female clients will be randomised either to an SRH service package (offer of PrEP, contraception, STI screening and health education) or to health education only. Interested female salon clients≥18 years old will be referred by trained stylists. In intervention salons, women who meet inclusion criteria will be offered HIV and pregnancy testing; if eligible, they will be offered oral PrEP, contraception (oral or injectable) and STI screening. Follow-up visits including monitoring side effects will be conducted at baseline and 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. We will measure intervention uptake as the proportion of eligible women who agree to salon-based PrEP and separately to salon-based contraception. We will assess feasibility by collecting process measures and evaluate retention as continued use of PrEP and contraception separately, defined as one additional visit within 6 months with continued use of PrEP and/or contraception.

Ethics and dissemination
The study has been approved by the University of KwaZulu-Natal Biomedical Research Ethics Committee and the Massachusetts General Brigham Institutional Review Board. The results will be disseminated to local and provincial Departments of Health, at scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Trial registration number
NCT04222504. Registered January 2020.

Leggi
Dicembre 2024

Pre-eclampsia as a predictor of early-onset cardiovascular impairment among young women (PREECARDIA study): protocol for a prospective cohort study

Introduction
Pre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-related complication estimated to affect up to 8% of pregnancies worldwide. It is associated with an increased risk of postpartum sustained hypertension, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease and cardiovascular-related mortality. Nevertheless, these associations have seldom been addressed in younger women from sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Hence, this study aims to assess the association between pre-eclampsia and cardiovascular impairment within the first year after delivery, among younger women in SSA.

Methods and analysis
This is a prospective cohort study conducted at Hospital Nacional Simão Mendes in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. A total of 230 pregnant women aged below 25 years (115 diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and 115 normotensive age-matched pregnancies), will be enrolled after their 20th gestational week. Exclusion criteria include diabetes, hypertension or other serious maternal diseases present before pregnancy. Participants will be assessed at baseline (pre-labour period), 4 and 12 months after delivery; evaluations started in March 2023 and are expected to end in December 2026. At each follow-up assessment, the women will have their blood pressure measured with a digital sphygmomanometer and a 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitor. Cardiac and renal function will be assessed using echocardiography and laboratory testing, respectively. Primary outcomes include the mean differences in cardiovascular and renal parameters between women who had pre-eclampsia and those who had normotensive pregnancies. Age, parity, age at first pregnancy, family history of cardiovascular diseases, smoking habits, gestational diabetes diagnosed before pre-eclampsia, body mass index and labour complications will be considered a priori as potential confounders of the association between pre-eclampsia and postpartum cardiovascular impairment.

Ethics and dissemination
This study was approved by the Comité Nacional de Ética em Pesquisa na Saúde, Guinea-Bissau (008/CNES/INASA/2023), and participants provide written informed consent. Results will be disseminated among the scientific community and the public.

Leggi
Dicembre 2024

Identifying pre-diabetes 'hotspots in Northern California using geospatial analysis: opportunities to target diabetes prevention strategies and improve health equity

Objectives
The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening of adults aged 35–70 with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 for type 2 diabetes and referral of individuals who screen positive for pre-diabetes to evidence-based prevention strategies. The diabetes burden in the USA is predicted to triple by 2060 necessitating strategic diabetes prevention efforts, particularly in areas of highest need. This study aimed to identify pre-diabetes hotspots using geospatial mapping to inform targeted diabetes prevention strategies. A ‘hotspot’ is defined as a cluster of 3 or more neighbouring census tracts with elevated pre-diabetes prevalence.

Design
A cross-sectional study using ArcGIS software to geospatially map pre-diabetes prevalence hotspots. We used health system and census data to identify pre-diabetes hotspots using a systematic five-step geoprocessing approach that made use of incremental spatial autocorrelation and Getis-Ord Gi*.

Setting
This study was set in Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC), an integrated health delivery system with over four million members.

Participants
KPNC adults ages 35–70 who underwent a haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) or fasting plasma glucose (FPG) screening test in 2019 were mapped to census tracts in Northern California. People were considered to have pre-diabetes with an HbA1c of 5.7%–6.4% (39–46 mmol/mol) or FPG 100–125 mg/dL.

Primary and secondary outcome measures
Individual and census-level characteristics were compared between hotspots and non-hotspots using 2 and Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as well as risk differences (RDs) and Hodges-Lehmann (HL) estimates of location shift. Individual-level characteristics were derived from electronic health records and administrative data, while census-level characteristics were derived from the 2019 American Community Survey.

Results
A total of 760 044 adults met the study inclusion criteria and 40% had pre-diabetes. Individuals in pre-diabetes hotspots were less likely to be non-Hispanic white (33.6% vs 50.6%, RD: –17.04%, 95% CI –17.26% to –16.81%, p

Leggi
Dicembre 2024