Increased kidney disease mortality among people with AIDS versus the general population: a population-based cohort study in Italy, 2006-2018

Objectives
This study aimed to assess whether an excess mortality related to kidney and other urinary tract diseases exists among Italian people with AIDS (PWA), as compared with the general population without AIDS (non-PWA).

Design
Population-based, retrospective cohort study.

Setting and participants
We conducted a nationwide study including 9481 Italian PWA, aged 15–74 years, reported to the National AIDS Registry between 2006 and 2018.

Methods
Vital status and causes of death were retrieved by record linkage with the National Register of Causes of Death up to 2018. Excess mortality for PWA versus non-PWA was estimated through sex-standardised and age-standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) with corresponding 95% CIs.

Results
Among 2613 deceased PWA, 262 (10.0%) reported at least one urinary tract disease at death, including 254 (9.7%) non-cancer diseases—mostly renal failures (225 cases, 8.6%)—and 9 cancers (0.3%). The overall SMR for non-cancer urinary tract diseases was 15.3 (95% CI 13.4 to 17.3) with statistically significant SMRs for acute (SMR=22.3, 95% CI 18.0 to 27.4), chronic (SMR=8.4, 95% CI 6.0 to 11.3), and unspecified renal failure (SMR=13.8, 95% CI 11.2 to 16.8). No statistically significant excess mortality was detected for urinary tract cancers (SMR=1.7, 95% CI 0.8 to 3.3). The SMRs were particularly elevated among PWA aged 6 months before AIDS diagnosis.

Conclusions
The excess mortality related to non-cancer kidney and other urinary tract diseases reported among PWA highlights the importance of implementing the recommendation for screening, diagnosis and management of such conditions among this population.

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Dicembre 2022

Abstract 13392: 3D TEE Aids in Assessment of Embolic Stroke Due to Aortic Atherosclerotic Plaque

Circulation, Volume 146, Issue Suppl_1, Page A13392-A13392, November 8, 2022. Case Presentation:A 69-year-old right-handed man presented with new left-sided weakness and recurrent ischemic strokes. His had history of coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease stage 3, obstructive sleep apnea and obesity. Plasma low-density lipoprotein was 127 mg/dL. Brain MRI showed diffusion restriction in the left caudate head, left corona radiata, left anterior lentiform nucleus, and left periventricular white matter from acute to subacute infarction. CT angiogram showed diffuse atheromatous disease in the anterior and posterior circulation, bilateral mild cervical internal carotid artery stenosis, and calcifications in the aortic arch (Figure 1). Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) showed mild generalized left ventricular hypokinesis (ejection fraction 45%) without thrombus. Transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) showed complex mobile atherosclerotic plaques in the aortic arch (Figure 2) after which Apixaban & Clopidogrel were started and statins increased. At 1-year follow-up there was no recurrent stroke.Discussion:This case highlights the role of 3D TEE in the detection of complex aortic arch atherosclerotic plaque with mobile components as the etiology of recurrent embolic stroke. 2D TTE & TEE and CT chest were unable to show mobile components in the aortic arch plaque. Many patients identified as having “cryptogenic stroke” after 2D TTE & TEE may in fact have mobile aortic arch plaques which can only be delineated by 3D TEE, thus reducing the need for further workup and expediting appropriate treatment.

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Ottobre 2022

Decision aids for home and community care: a systematic review

Objectives
Decision aids (DAs) for clients in home and community care can support shared decision-making (SDM) with patients, healthcare teams and informal caregivers. We aimed to identify DAs developed for home and community care, verify their adherence to international DA criteria and explore the involvement of interprofessional teams in their development and use.

Design
Systematic review reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

Data sources
Six electronic bibliographic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and the Cochrane Library) from inception to November 2019, social media and grey literature websites up to January 2021.

Eligibility criteria
DAs designed for home and community care settings or including home care or community services as options.

Data extraction and synthesis
Two reviewers independently reviewed citations. Analysis consisted of a narrative synthesis of outcomes and a thematic analysis. DAs were appraised using the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS). We collected information on the involvement of interprofessional teams, including nurses, in their development and use.

Results
After reviewing 10 337 database citations and 924 grey literature citations, we extracted characteristics of 33 included DAs. DAs addressed a variety of decision points. Nearly half (42%) were relevant to older adults. Several DAs did not meet IPDAS criteria. Involvement of nurses and interprofessional teams in the development and use of DAs was minimal (33.3% of DAs).

Conclusion
DAs concerned a variety of decisions, especially those related to older people. This reflects the complexity of decisions and need for better support in this sector. There is little evidence about the involvement of interprofessional teams in the development and use of DAs in home and community care settings. An interprofessional approach to designing DAs for home care could facilitate SDM with people being cared for by teams.

PROSPERO registration number
CRD42020169450.

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Agosto 2022

What factors are important to whom in what context, when adults are prescribed hearing aids for hearing loss? A realist review protocol

Introduction
Hearing aids are the gold standard treatment to help manage hearing loss. However, not everyone who needs them has them, and of those who do, a significant proportion of people do not use them at all, or use them infrequently. Despite literature reviews listing key barriers and enablers to the uptake and use of hearing aids, there is little evidence to describe how this varies by population and context. This review will describe what factors are important to whom in what context when considering the provision of hearing aids for hearing loss in adults.

Methods and analysis
The aims of this review are as follows: (1) To iteratively review and synthesise evidence surrounding the provision of hearing aids for hearing loss in adults. (2) To generate a theory-driven understanding of factors that are important, for whom, and in what context. (3) To develop a programme theory describing contexts that can support the provision of hearing aids to result in improved outcomes for adults with hearing loss. A scoping literature search will aid the development of programme theories, to explain how the intervention is expect to work, for whom, in what circumstances and in which contexts. We will locate evidence in the following databases: CINAHL, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMED, Web of Science with no date restrictions. A realist analytic approach will be used to refute and refine these initial programme theories. Throughout the review, relevant key stakeholders (eg, patients and clinicians) will be consulted to test and refine the programme theories.

Ethics and dissemination
This study was approved by the University of Nottingham Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Research Ethics Committee: (FMHS 95-0820) and the London Brent NHS Research Ethics Committee (Ref: 21/PR/0259). The review will be reported according to the RAMESES guidelines and published in a peer-reviewed journal.

PROSPERO registration number
CRD42021282049.

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Luglio 2022

Tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS-attributed mortalities and associated sociodemographic factors in Papua New Guinea: evidence from the comprehensive health and epidemiological surveillance system

Objective
Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS are public health concerns in Papua New Guinea (PNG). This study examines TB and HIV/AIDS mortalities and associated sociodemographic factors in PNG.

Method
As part of a longitudinal study, verbal autopsy (VA) interviews were conducted using the WHO 2016 VA Instrument to collect data of 926 deaths occurred in the communities within the catchment areas of the Comprehensive Health and Epidemiological Surveillance System from 2018 to 2020.
InterVA-5 cause of deaths analytical tool was used to assign specific causes of death (COD). Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify associated sociodemographic factors, estimate adjusted ORs (AOR), 95% CIs and p values.

Result
TB and HIV/AIDS were the leading CODs from infectious diseases, attributed to 9% and 8% of the total deaths, respectively.
Young adults (25–34 years) had the highest proportion of deaths from TB (20%) and the risk of dying from TB among this age group was five times more likely than those aged 75+ years (AOR: 5.5 (95% CI 1.4 to 21.7)). Urban populations were 46% less likely to die from this disease compared rural ones although the difference was not significant (AOR: 0.54 (95% CI 0.3 to 1.0)). People from middle household wealth quintile were three times more likely to die from TB than those in the richest quintile (AOR: 3.0 (95% CI 1.3 to 7.4)).
Young adults also had the highest proportion of deaths to HIV/AIDS (18%) and were nearly seven times more likely to die from this disease compared with those aged 75+years (AOR: 6.7 (95% CI 1.7 to 25.4)). Males were 48% less likely to die from HIV/AIDS than females (AOR: 0.52 (95% CI 0.3 to 0.9)). The risk of dying from HIV/AIDS in urban population was 54% less likely than their rural counterparts (AOR: 0.46 (95% CI 0.2 to 0.9)).

Conclusion
TB and HIV/AIDS interventions are needed to target vulnerable populations to reduce premature mortality from these diseases in PNG.

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Giugno 2022