XI. STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING DIABETES CARE D iabetes is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Diabetes care is complex and requires that many issues, beyond glycemic control, be addressed. A large body of evidence exists that supports a range of interventions to improve diabetes outcomes. These standards of care are intended to provide clinicians, patients, researchers, payors, and other interested individuals with the components of diabetes care, treatment goals, and tools to evaluate the quality of care. While individual preferences, comorbidities, and other patient factors may require modification of goals, targets that are desirable for most patients with diabetes are provided. These standards are not intended to preclude more extensive evaluation and management of the patient by other specialists as needed. For more detailed information, refer to Bode (Ed.): Medical Management of Type 1 Diabetes (1), Burant (Ed): Medical Management of Type 2 Diabetes (2), and Klingensmith (Ed): Intensive Diabetes Management (3). The recommendations included are diagnostic and therapeutic actions that are known or believed to favorably affect health outcomes of patients with diabetes. A grading system (Table 1), developed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and modeled after existing methods, was utilized to clarify and codify the evidence that forms the basis for the recommendations. The level of evidence that supports each recommendation is listed after each recommendation using the letters A, B, C, or E.

Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes

Background and Purpose—The authors present an overview of the current evidence and management recommendations for evaluation and treatment of adults with acute ischemic stroke. The intended audienc...

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Guidelines for the Early Management of Patients With Acute Ischemic Stroke A Guideline for Healthcare Professionals From the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

Methods We randomly assigned eligible patients to either intraarterial treatment plus usual care or usual care alone. Eligible patients had a proximal arterial occlusion in the anterior cerebral circulation that was confirmed on vessel imaging and that could be treated intraarterially within 6 hours after symptom onset. The primary outcome was the modified Rankin scale score at 90 days; this categorical scale measures functional outcome, with scores ranging from 0 (no symptoms) to 6 (death). The treatment effect was estimated with ordinal logistic regression as a common odds ratio, adjusted for prespecified prognostic factors. The adjusted common odds ratio measured the likelihood that intraarterial treatment would lead to lower modified Rankin scores, as compared with usual care alone (shift analysis). Results We enrolled 500 patients at 16 medical centers in the Netherlands (233 assigned to intraarterial treatment and 267 to usual care alone). The mean age was 65 years (range, 23 to 96), and 445 patients (89.0%) were treated with intravenous alteplase before randomization. Retrievable stents were used in 190 of the 233 patients (81.5%) assigned to intraarterial treatment. The adjusted common odds ratio was 1.67 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21 to 2.30). There was an absolute difference of 13.5 percentage points (95% CI, 5.9 to 21.2) in the rate of functional independence (modified Rankin score, 0 to 2) in favor of the intervention (32.6% vs. 19.1%). There were no significant differences in mortality or the occurrence of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Conclusions In patients with acute ischemic stroke caused by a proximal intracranial occlusion of the anterior circulation, intraarterial treatment administered within 6 hours after stroke onset was effective and safe. (Funded by the Dutch Heart Foundation and others; MR CLEAN Netherlands Trial Registry number, NTR1804, and Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN10888758.)

/pdf/a-randomized-trial-of-intraarterial-treatment-for-acute-142q60k83t.pdf

A Randomized Trial of Intraarterial Treatment for Acute Ischemic Stroke

https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(16)00163-X.pdf

Endovascular thrombectomy after large-vessel ischaemic stroke: a meta-analysis of individual patient data from five randomised trials

The aim of this updated guideline is to provide comprehensive and timely evidence-based recommendations on the prevention of future stroke among survivors of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. The guideline is addressed to all clinicians who manage secondary prevention for these patients. Evidence-based recommendations are provided for control of risk factors, intervention for vascular obstruction, antithrombotic therapy for cardioembolism, and antiplatelet therapy for noncardioembolic stroke. Recommendations are also provided for the prevention of recurrent stroke in a variety of specific circumstances, including aortic arch atherosclerosis, arterial dissection, patent foramen ovale, hyperhomocysteinemia, hypercoagulable states, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, sickle cell disease, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, and pregnancy. Special sections address use of antithrombotic and anticoagulation therapy after an intracranial hemorrhage and implementation of guidelines.

/pdf/guidelines-for-the-prevention-of-stroke-in-patients-with-4s66xf1dte.pdf

Guidelines for the prevention of stroke in patients with stroke and transient ischemic attack: a guideline for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association

Cerebral angiography involves the antegrade injection of contrast media through a catheter into the vasculature to visualize the region of interest under X-ray imaging. Depending on the injection and blood flow parameters, the bolus of contrast can propagate in the upstream direction and proximal to the catheter tip, at which point contrast is said to have refluxed. In this in vitro study, we investigate the relationship of fundamental hemodynamic variables to this phenomenon. Contrast injections were carried out under steady and pulsatile flow using various vessel diameters, catheter sizes, working fluid flow rates, and injection rates. The distance from the catheter tip to the proximal edge of the contrast bolus, called reflux length, was measured on the angiograms; the relation of this reflux length to different hemodynamic parameters was evaluated. Results show that contrast reflux occurs when the pressure distal to the catheter tip increases to be greater than the pressure proximal to the catheter tip. The ratio of this pressure difference to the baseline flow rate, called reflux resistance here, was linearly correlated to the normalized reflux length (reflux length/vessel diameter). Further, the ratio of blood flow to contrast fluid momentums, called the Craya-Curtet number, was correlated to the normalized reflux length via a sigmoid function. A sigmoid function was also found to be representative of the relationship between the ratio of the Reynolds numbers of blood flow to contrast and the normalized reflux length. As described by previous reports, catheter based contrast injections cause substantial increases in local flow and pressure. Contrast reflux should generally be avoided during standard antegrade angiography. Our study shows two specific correlations between contrast reflux length and baseline and intra-injection parameters that have not been published previously. Further studies need to be conducted to fully characterize the phenomena and to extract reliable indicators of clinical utility. Parameters relevant to cerebral angiography are studied here, but the essential principles are applicable to all angiographic procedures involving antegrade catheter injections.

Pressure and Flow Rate Changes During Contrast Injections in Cerebral Angiography: Correlation to Reflux Length

Intrasaccular Flow Disruption with WEB Device: Current Place and Results in Management of Intracranial Aneurysms.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recently collaborated to author an article entitled ‘Sharing Clinical Trial Data—A Proposal from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’ which was simultaneously published in several major medical journals.1

In the article the ICMJE propose that, in the near future, publishers will mandate that researchers share de-identified patient level data (IPD) for all clinical trials published in their journals. Clinical trials are defined as ‘any research that prospectively assigns people or a group of people to an intervention, with or without a concurrent control group, to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a health-related intervention and a health outcome’.1 At the time of trial registration a plan for this data sharing must be pre-specified. The ICMJE argues from the unassailable position that their plan ‘… will help to fulfill a moral obligation to study participants …’ and believe ‘it will benefit patients, investigators, sponsors, and society’.1

Clinical researchers would have no recourse against such a policy since they are obligated to publish results in peer-reviewed journals. So, before enthusiastically moving ahead and accepting such a drastic and consequential policy change, we should examine the context and implications of this recommendation more closely.

Anyone who has searched PubMed for an article is intimately familiar with the scenario in which his or her academic library lacks a subscription to a journal from which a critical article is needed. The purchase price for viewing a single article is typically of the order of US$30–50. While this is an occasional annoyance to the academician, this charge creates a very real access barrier to the entire non-academic community and, in particular, to patients. If …

https://jnis.bmj.com/content/neurintsurg/early/2016/04/27/neurintsurg-2016-012435.full.pdf

Is data sharing the future of clinical trials

Wide-neck bifurcation aneurysms (WNBAs) make up 26-36% of all brain aneurysms. Intrasaccular flow disruption is an innovative technique for the treatment of WNBAs. The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device (Sequent Medical, Aliso Viejo, California USA) is the only United States Food and Drug Administration approved intrasaccular flow disruption device. In this video article, a few cases of intracranial aneurysms treated with the WEB device are presented and various aspects of treating WNBAs with the WEB device, including aneurysm/device selection strategies, and procedural technique, are discussed (video 1).

https://jnis.bmj.com/content/neurintsurg/12/9/924.full.pdf

Technical aspects of web device in aneurysm treatment.

Analyzer-based imaging (ABI) utilizes synchrotron radiation sources to create collimated monochromatic x-rays. In addition to x-ray absorption, this technique uses refraction and scatter rejection to create images. ABI provides dramatically improved contrast over standard imaging techniques. Twenty-one adult male Wistar rats were divided into four experimental groups to undergo the following interventions: (1) non-injured control, (2) decortication alone, (3) decortication with iliac crest bone grafting and (4) decortication with iliac crest bone grafting and interspinous wiring. Surgical procedures were performed at the L5-6 level. Animals were killed at 2, 4 and 6 weeks after the intervention and the spine muscle blocks were excised. Specimens were assessed for the presence of fusion by (1) manual testing, (2) conventional absorption radiography and (3) ABI. ABI showed no evidence of bone fusion in groups 1 and 2 and showed solid or possibly solid fusion in subjects from groups 3 and 4 at 6 weeks. Metal artifacts were not present in any of the ABI images. Conventional absorption radiographs did not provide diagnostic quality imaging of either the graft material or fusion masses in any of the specimens in any of the groups. Synchrotron-based ABI represents a novel imaging technique which can be used to assess spinal fusion in a small animal model. ABI produces superior image quality when compared to conventional radiographs.

David Fiorella

Papers

Pressure and Flow Rate Changes During Contrast Injections in Cerebral Angiography: Correlation to Reflux Length

Intrasaccular Flow Disruption with WEB Device: Current Place and Results in Management of Intracranial Aneurysms.

Is data sharing the future of clinical trials

Technical aspects of web device in aneurysm treatment.

Analyzer-based imaging of spinal fusion in an animal model.