Randomised, pragmatic, waitlist controlled trial of cannabis added to prescription opioid support on opioid dose reduction and pain in adults with chronic non-cancer pain: study protocol

Introduction
Chronic, non-cancer pain impacts approximately 50 million adults in the USA (20%), approximately 25% of whom receive chronic prescription opioids for pain despite limited empirical efficacy data and strong dose-related risk for opioid use disorder and opioid overdose. Also despite lack of efficacy data, there are many reports of people using cannabis products to manage chronic pain and replace or reduce chronic opioids. Here we describe the protocol for a randomised trial of the effect of cannabis, when added to a behavioural pain management and prescription opioid taper support programme, on opioid utilisation, pain intensity and pain interference.

Methods
This is a pragmatic, single-blind, randomised, wait-list controlled trial that aims to enrol 250 adults taking prescription opioids at stable doses of ≥25 morphine milligram equivalents per day for chronic non-cancer pain who express interest in using cannabis to reduce their pain, their opioid dose or both. All participants will be offered a weekly, 24-session Prescription Opioid Taper Support group behavioural pain management intervention. Participants will be randomly assigned in 1:1 ratio to use cannabis products, primarily from commercial cannabis dispensaries or to abstain from cannabis use for 6 months. Coprimary outcomes are change in prescription monitoring programme-verified opioid dose and change in Pain, Enjoyment, General Activity scale scores. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, depression, anxiety, self-reported opioid dose and opioid and cannabis use disorder symptoms. All other outcomes will be exploratory. We will record adverse events.

Ethics and dissemination
This study has ethical approval by the Massachusetts General Brigham Institutional Review Board (#2021P000871). Results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences.

Trial registration number
NCT04827992.

Leggi
Giugno 2022

Economic evaluation of pan-genotypic generic direct-acting antiviral regimens for treatment of chronic hepatitis C in Iran: a cost-effectiveness study

Introduction
Low-cost generic direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens for treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are available in several low-income/middle-income countries, important for treatment scale-up. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of genotype-dependent and pan-genotypic DAA regimens in Iran as an example of a resource-limited setting.

Methods
A Markov model was developed to simulate HCV natural history. A decision tree was developed for HCV treatment, assuming four scenarios, including scenario 1: genotyping, sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (SOF/LDV) for genotype 1, and sofosbuvir/daclatasvir (SOF/DCV) for genotype 3; scenario 2: genotyping, SOF/LDV for genotype 1, and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (SOF/VEL) for genotype 3; scenario 3: no genotyping and SOF/DCV for all; and scenario 4: no genotyping and SOF/VEL for all. A 1-year cycle length was used to calculate the cumulative cost and effectiveness over a lifetime time horizon. We calculated quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) using a health system perspective. Costs were converted to US dollars using purchasing power parity exchange rate ($PPP). All costs and outcomes were discounted at an annual rate of 3%.

Results
Among people with no cirrhosis, scenario 3 had the minimum cost, compared with which scenario 4 was cost-effective with an ICER of 4583 $PPP per QALY (willingness-to-pay threshold: 9,311 $PPP per QALY). Among both people with compensated or decompensated cirrhosis, scenario 4 was cost saving. In sensitivity analysis, scenario 4 would be also cost-saving among people with no cirrhosis provided a 39% reduction in the cost of 12 weeks SOF/VEL.

Conclusion
Initiating all patients on pan-genotypic generic DAA regimens with no pretreatment genotyping was cost-effective compared with scenarios requiring pretreatment HCV genotype tests. Among generic pan-genotypic DAA regimens, SOF/VEL was cost-effective, for people with no cirrhosis and cost-saving for those with cirrhosis.

Leggi
Giugno 2022

Association of Chlamydia trachomatis infection with cervical atypia in adolescent women with short-term or long-term use of oral contraceptives: a longitudinal study in HPV vaccinated women

Objective
We assessed the relationship between Chlamydia trachomatis infection, duration of oral contraceptive (OC) use and cervical atypia among young adult Finnish women.

Design
A longitudinal study.

Setting and participants
Women who were included in this study participated in a community-randomised trial on the effectiveness of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and C. trachomatis screening at ages 18.5 and 22 years in Finland. They completed questionnaires on both visits about sexual behaviours. The cytology test results at age 18.5 and 22 years were also available for those women. The total number of participants in this study at 18.5 years of age were 11 701 and at 22 years of age were 6618.

Main outcome measure
ORs with 95% CIs using univariable and multivariable logistic regression were used to assess the association between C. trachomatis infection, duration of OC and squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL).

Results
There were 940 cytological SIL cases at the first screening visit and 129 cytological SIL cases at the second screening visit. Among the 22 years old, more than fourfold adjusted risk of SIL was associated with C. trachomatis positivity. The HPV16/18, condom use, smoking and number of sexual partners adjusted joint effect of prolonged OC use and C. trachomatis was significantly increased (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.7 to 12.8) in the 22-year-old women. This observed joint effect was 1.6 times higher than expected on a multiplicative scale. On additive scale, the observed relative excess risk from interaction was 1.8.

Conclusion
The risk of SIL in HPV vaccinated women is significantly increased if they are C. trachomatis positive and have used OC for 5 or more years. The biological basis may be lack of condom facilitated protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Trial registration number
NCT00534638.

Leggi
Giugno 2022

Sex Differences in Short-term and Long-term Outcomes among Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients in China

Stroke, Ahead of Print. Background:Sex differences in stroke outcomes are crucial to secondary prevention but previous reports showed inconsistent results. We aimed to explore the sex differences in stroke outcomes in the Third China National Stroke Registry, a prospective multi-center registry study.Methods:Among the 15166 patients enrolled between 2015 and 2018, 9038 patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) were included. The primary outcomes were stroke recurrence, mortality, and unfavorable functional outcome (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] > 2) at 3, 6, and 12 months. Cox regression model was used for stroke recurrence and mortality and logistic regression was used for the unfavorable functional outcome, and adjusted as follows: (1) Model 1: without adjustment; (2) Model 2: adjusted for potential risk factors, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at admission, pre-stroke mRS, tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) treatment, TOAST classification, and onset-to-door time; (3) Model 3: adjusted for covariates from model 2 in addition to blood pressure and blood serum covariates. Multiple imputation was used for missing values, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to describe sex differences by age groups.Results:One-third (2802/9038) of the patients were women. Women were significantly older than men (64.78±10.84 vs. 61.26±11.42, p

Leggi
Febbraio 2022

Abstract WP118: Characteristics And Short-term Outcomes Of Delirium After Acute Ischemic Stroke

Stroke, Volume 53, Issue Suppl_1, Page AWP118-AWP118, February 1, 2022. Background:Delirium after acute ischemic stroke is a common clinical occurrence, associated with longer hospital admissions, worse functional outcomes, and increased mortality. We aim in a prospective study to assess the characteristics and risk factors for delirium after acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in a US population.Methods:Between September 2019 and June 2021, patients diagnosed with AIS within 48 hrs of stroke onset were prospectively evaluated for delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM)-ICU daily for the first eight days of their hospital stay. Patients with severe stroke and expected mortality within the first month at the time of admission or with severe aphasia unable to follow commands were excluded. Data regarding demographics, co-morbidities, hospital stay, stroke metrics, lab work, and medications were analyzed.Results:Over 12 non-consecutive months (due to pandemic interruptions), we evaluated 213 patients, of which 179 could be assessed with the CAM-ICU. Delirium was present in 89 (49.7%), occurring within the first 24 hours of admission in 33.6% and for longer than one day in 32.0%. There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, race, co-morbidities, or TOAST etiology among patients with and without delirium (Table 1). Patients with delirium had higher NIHSS and were more likely to receive tPA. Patients with delirium were more likely to be discharged to inpatient rehabilitation facilities than home (p=0.05). Only patients with delirium had unexpected mortality after admission, but this statistic failed to show significance.Conclusion:In a cohort of AIS patients without significant expected mortality on admission, the incidence of delirium is high. Our study confirms prior results demonstrating higher inpatient mortality, longer hospital admissions among patients with delirium, and more delirium in patients receiving tPA.

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Febbraio 2022

Abstract WMP55: Short-term Stroke Risk After Emergency Department Treat-and-release Headache Visit

Stroke, Volume 53, Issue Suppl_1, Page AWMP55-AWMP55, February 1, 2022. Introduction:When a stroke hospitalization follows soon after an Emergency Department (ED) treat-and-release visit for non-specific neurological complaints, a diagnostic error may have occurred. In this study, we sought to evaluate potential stroke misdiagnoses after ED treat-and-release headache visits.Methods:We conducted a retrospective cohort study using state-wide administrative claims data for all ED visits and admissions at nonfederal hospitals in Florida 2005-2018 and New York 2005-2016. Using standardICDcodes, we identified adult patients discharged home from the ED with a benign headache diagnosis (cohort of interest) as well as those with a diagnosis of back pain or renal colic (negative control cohorts). The primary study outcome was hospitalization within 30 days for stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic), defined using validatedICDcodes. We used Cox proportional hazards modeling to assess the relationship between the index ED visit reason and stroke hospitalization adjusting for demographics and vascular risk factors.Results:We identified 1,458,904 patients with an ED treat-and-release headache visit; mean age was 41 (SD: 17) and 70% were female. A total of 2,636 (0.18%) headache patients were hospitalized for stroke within 30 days. Stroke risk was higher among headache patients compared to patients diagnosed with renal colic (HR: 2.7; 95% CI, 2.3-3.1) or back pain (HR: 3.8; 95% CI, 3.6-4.1; Figure). Among patients

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Febbraio 2022

Abstract TP228: Sex Specific Predictors Of Short Term Stroke Readmission After Hypertensive Urgency: Insights From National Readmission Database

Stroke, Volume 53, Issue Suppl_1, Page ATP228-ATP228, February 1, 2022. Background:Short term outcomes of patients hospitalized with hypertension urgency defined as sudden elevation of Blood pressure above 180 systolic or 110 diastolic is poorly studied in literature. Uncontrolled Hypertension is a major risk factor of stroke. Sex differences exist in stroke presentation and risk factors.Objective:To evaluate the sex specific predictors of short term (90-day) readmission with stroke in patients hospitalized with hypertension urgency.Methods:The study is a retrospective analysis of National Readmission Database (NRD) of years 2016-2018. Adult patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of hypertension urgency were included. Patients were excluded if they had stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) in index admission. October to December admissions were excluded to allow for 90 day follow up. Univariate logistic regression was performed on each variable. Variables with a p value >0.2 were included in multivariate logistic regression model (figure1).Results:A total of 104813 patients (58% female) included in our cohort of whom 1057 (1%) were readmitted with ischemic stroke or TIA within 90 days. Mean age of stroke readmissions was higher in female (68±16 vs 61±14 years, p

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Febbraio 2022

Abstract 92: Delirium In-hospital Leads To Poor Short And Long-term Outcomes Among Treated And Non-treated Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke

Stroke, Volume 53, Issue Suppl_1, Page A92-A92, February 1, 2022. Background:Delirium in-hospital (DIH) is common among the critically ill. However, DIH incidence and outcomes are not well characterized among ischemic stroke (IS) patients, particularly those treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and / or mechanical thrombectomy (MT).Methods:Utilizing data from a healthcare system with standardized delirium screening protocols, DIH was determined by a positive 4AT / CAM-ICU screen or diagnosis codes. IS patients with tPA or MT were flagged and a subset with available 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were analyzed for shifts in mRS scores associated with DIH, via ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for age, stroke severity, tPA or MT, Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI], prior stroke and sepsis / infections. Common odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported.Results:Between May 2016 and June 2021, IS was the primary discharge diagnosis in 12,415 encounters (10,878 unique patients). DIH was documented in 41.6% of IS encounters, compared to 20.0% of non-IS encounters. Stroke-DIH patients (vs no-DIH Stroke) were older (median: 75 vs 65 years), more frequently female (53.3% vs 48.7%), with higher comorbidity burden (median CCI: 7 vs 5), longer hospital stays (median: 6 vs 3 days), higher in-hospital mortality (3.1% vs 0.5%), and fewer home discharges (36.2% vs 75.2%). Among a sub-cohort of 2,785 IS patients with 90-day mRS, fully adjusted model indicated lower mRS (OR, CI: 0.48, 0.41-0.57) for those with tPA or MT, and worse outcomes for DIH patients (OR, CI: 2.70, 2.26-3.23). Among 948 treated IS patients, DIH remained a significant risk for worse outcomes (OR, CI: 2.54, 1.89-3.43).Conclusion:Delirium was twice as common in IS patients and was a negative prognostic indicator of short and long-term outcomes among non-treated and treated IS patients. Active screening and management of DIH is critically important to improve stroke outcomes.

Leggi
Febbraio 2022