Summary Background Since December, 2019, Wuhan, China, has experienced an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with COVID-19 have been reported but risk factors for mortality and a detailed clinical course of illness, including viral shedding, have not been well described. Methods In this retrospective, multicentre cohort study, we included all adult inpatients (≥18 years old) with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 from Jinyintan Hospital and Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital (Wuhan, China) who had been discharged or had died by Jan 31, 2020. Demographic, clinical, treatment, and laboratory data, including serial samples for viral RNA detection, were extracted from electronic medical records and compared between survivors and non-survivors. We used univariable and multivariable logistic regression methods to explore the risk factors associated with in-hospital death. Findings 191 patients (135 from Jinyintan Hospital and 56 from Wuhan Pulmonary Hospital) were included in this study, of whom 137 were discharged and 54 died in hospital. 91 (48%) patients had a comorbidity, with hypertension being the most common (58 [30%] patients), followed by diabetes (36 [19%] patients) and coronary heart disease (15 [8%] patients). Multivariable regression showed increasing odds of in-hospital death associated with older age (odds ratio 1·10, 95% CI 1·03–1·17, per year increase; p=0·0043), higher Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score (5·65, 2·61–12·23; p Interpretation The potential risk factors of older age, high SOFA score, and d-dimer greater than 1 μg/mL could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage. Prolonged viral shedding provides the rationale for a strategy of isolation of infected patients and optimal antiviral interventions in the future. Funding Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences; National Science Grant for Distinguished Young Scholars; National Key Research and Development Program of China; The Beijing Science and Technology Project; and Major Projects of National Science and Technology on New Drug Creation and Development.

Clinical course and risk factors for mortality of adult inpatients with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: a retrospective cohort study

Pedagosko i psiholosko testiranje i procjenjivanje spadaju među najvažnije doprinose znanosti o ponasanju nasem drustvu i pružaju temeljna i znacajna poboljsanja u odnosu na ranije postupke. Iako se ne može ustvrditi da su svi testovi dovoljno usavrseni niti da su sva testiranja razborita i korisna, postoji velika kolicina informacija koje ukazuju na ucinkovitost kvalitetnih instrumenata u onim situacijama u kojima je njihovo koristenje potkrijepljeno validacijskim podacima. Pravilna upotreba testova može dovesti do boljih odluka o pojedincima i programima nego sto bi to bio slucaj bez njihovog koristenja, a također i ukazati na put za siri i pravedniji pristup obrazovanju i zaposljavanju. Međutim, losa upotreba testova može dovesti do zamjetne stete nanesene ispitanicima i drugim sudionicima u procesu donosenja odluka na temelju testovnih podataka. Cilj Standarda je promoviranje kvalitetne i eticne upotrebe testova te uspostavljanje osnovice za ocjenu kvalitete postupaka testiranja. Svrha objavljivanja Standarda je uspostavljanje kriterija za evaluaciju testova, provedbe testiranja i posljedica upotrebe testova. Iako bi evaluacija prikladnosti testa ili njegove primjene trebala ovisiti prvenstveno o strucnim misljenjima, Standardi pružaju okvir koji osigurava obuhvacanje svih relevantnih pitanja. Bilo bi poželjno da svi autori, sponzori, nakladnici i korisnici profesionalnih testova usvoje Standarde te da poticu druge da ih također prihvate.

Standards for educational and psychological testing

2-D
: two-dimensional
3-D
: three-dimensional
5-FU
: 5-fluorouracil
ACE
: angiotensin-converting enzyme
ARB
: angiotensin II receptor blocker
ASE
: American Society of Echocardiography
BNP
: B-type natriuretic peptide
CABG
: coronary artery bypass graft
CAD
: coronary artery

/pdf/2016-esc-position-paper-on-cancer-treatments-and-1bzyne0xi3.pdf

2016 ESC Position Paper on cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity developed under the auspices of the ESC Committee for Practice Guidelines

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast represents a heterogeneous group of neoplastic lesions in the breast ducts. The goal for management of DCIS is to prevent the development of invasive breast cancer. This manuscript focuses on the NCCN Guidelines Panel recommendations for the workup, primary treatment, risk reduction strategies, and surveillance specific to DCIS.

https://www.unitypoint.org/desmoines/filesimages/Cancer%20Education/Oncology%20Nursing%20Conference/2015/2014%20NCCN%20Clin%20Pract%20Guidelines%20Male%20Sex%20Dysf.pdf

Clinical practice guidelines in oncology

No abstract available
Keywords: European Society of Cardiology; arrhythmias; cancer therapy; cardio-oncology; cardiotoxicity; chemotherapy; early detection; ischaemia; myocardial dysfunction; surveillance.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ejhf.654

2016 ESC Position Paper on cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity developed under the auspices of the ESC Committee for Practice Guidelines The Task Force for cancer treatments and cardiovascular toxicity of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)

Purpose Survivors of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are at increased risk of treatment-related cardiovascular (CV) events; whether exercise modifies this risk is unknown. Methods Survivors of HL (n = 1,187; median age, 31.2 years) completed a questionnaire evaluating vigorous-intensity exercise behavior. CV events were collected in follow-up questionnaires and graded according to Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (version 4.03). The primary end point was incidence of any major (grade 3 to 5) CV event. Poisson regression analyses were used to estimate the association between exercise exposure (metabolic equivalent [MET] hours/week−1) and risk of major CV events after adjustment for clinical covariates and cancer treatment. Results Median follow-up was 11.9 years (range, 1.7 to 14.3 years). Cumulative incidence of any CV event was 12.2% at 10 years for survivors reporting 0 MET hours/week−1 compared with 5.2% for those reporting ≥ 9 MET hours/week−1. In multivariable analyses, the incidence of any CV ev...

/pdf/exercise-and-risk-of-major-cardiovascular-events-in-adult-4tvusdrad8.pdf

Exercise and Risk of Major Cardiovascular Events in Adult Survivors of Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

A recent special issue of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology included papers focused on evidence-based assessment across several broad domains of assessment in pediatric psychology (e.g., adherence, pediatric pain, and quality of life). In one of these papers, Holmbeck et al. (2008) reviewed strengths and limitations of existing measures of psychosocial adjustment and psychopathology, concluding that many measures lacked supporting psychometric data (e.g., basic indices of reliability and validity) that would permit a complete evaluation of these measures. Given that measure development and validation papers are frequently published in JPP (Brown, 2007), it is important that we attend to guiding psychometric principles when developing and disseminating data on new measures to be employed with pediatric populations (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). Thus, the purpose of this paper is to present and describe a checklist for authors to use when submitting measure development papers to JPP. This checklist is included in the Appendix and is also included at the following link on the JPP website:

http://www.oxfordjournals.org/our_journals/jpepsy/for_authors/measure%20development%20checklist.pdf

Findings presented by Holmbeck et al. (2008) indicated that 34 of the 37 measures reviewed met pre-established “evidence-based assessment” (EBA) criteria for “well-established” measures (Cohen et al., 2008). To be considered “well-established,” a measure had to have been presented in at least two peer-reviewed journal articles by different investigatory teams, have demonstrated adequate levels of reliability and validity, and be accompanied by supporting information (e.g., a measure manual). Although most measures that we reviewed met these criteria, we also found that most of the 34 “well-established” measures were hampered by at least one major psychometric flaw and/or lacked important psychometric data. We concluded that a more fine-grained EBA classification system is needed.

One important distinction in this literature relates to differences between empirically supported assessment and evidence-based assessment. This type of distinction was first discussed in the literature on clinical interventions (e.g., Spring, 2007). An empirically supported intervention is one that has demonstrated efficacy in randomized clinical trials or clinic-based effectiveness trials. An evidence-based intervention has empirical support in the manner just described, but also “integrates research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient preferences and characteristics … empirically-supported treatments (ESTs) are an important component of evidence-based practice (EBP), but EBP cannot be reduced to ESTs” (Spring, 2007, p.611). Applying these terms to the field of assessment and measure development efforts, an empirically supported assessment measure would be one that demonstrates satisfactory psychometric characteristics, broadly defined. To be evidence based, the measure should also demonstrate utility in clinical settings, be useful in making diagnoses, be sensitive to treatment effects, and/or provide incremental validity above and beyond other similar measures. Although papers in the special issue of JPP frequently referred to “evidence-based assessment” (Cohen et al., 2009), the articles included in the issue tended to evaluate the degree to which the measures were empirically-supported rather than evidence based. To be “evidence-based,” our reviews would have needed to integrate an evaluation of clinical utility, diagnostic utility, and treatment sensitivity with the empirical psychometric data presented in each review. As noted, the published reviews were more likely to focus on the latter rather than on the former.

As suggested by Mash and Hunsley (2005), detailed EBA profiles would provide a complete evaluation of evidence across each of several psychometric and clinically relevant dimensions, including: (a) internal consistency, (b) test–retest reliability, (c) the availability of normative data, (d) content validity, (e) construct validity, (f) convergent and discriminant validity, (g) criterion-related validity, (h) incremental validity, (i) clinical utility, (j) diagnostic utility, and (k) treatment sensitivity. The focus on incremental validity and clinical and diagnostic utility raises the bar from a focus on “empirical support” (i.e., where the focus would tend to be primarily on psychometric data) to a broad focus on the “evidence base” for a measure. In developing the checklist that is the focus of this article, we attempted to provide a list of criteria relevant to establishing the evidence base (and not just empirical support) for a measure. In addition to shifting the focus from providing “empirical support” for a measure to providing an “evidence base” for our instruments, a checklist for measure development papers would permit JPP reviewers to evaluate such papers in the same way that reviewers of randomized clinical trials make use of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist and flowchart (Altman et al., 2001). The CONSORT checklist contains reporting standards with respect to methodological features of and the manner in which results are reported in clinical trials. Moreover, authors are required to provide a flowchart that describes details of sample recruitment and attrition during the course of the study.

Thus, a checklist for measure development papers would serve two interrelated purposes: (a) it would provide guidance to authors as they embark on the measure development process and would provide a list of criteria authors can use as they develop an evidence base for their measures, and (b) it would begin to standardize the manner in which psychometric and other assessment-related data are presented in measure development papers for this journal. Before providing a more detailed overview of the checklist, it is important to note that this checklist is rather exhaustive (see Appendix). As such, it represents what would “ideally” be expected for a measure development or validation manuscript rather than minimal criteria for such papers. No one paper can provide a complete evaluation of all important psychometric and clinically relevant dimensions that will establish once-and-for-all the evidence base for a measure.

Instrument refinement is part of a measure development process that gradually builds an evidence base for a scale (see Smith & McCarthy, 1995, for suggestions on measure refinement). Indeed, the validation of any measure is a cumulative process that occurs across many different types of research studies and across research programs.

/pdf/editorial-an-author-s-checklist-for-measure-development-and-38pswhnl87.pdf

Editorial: An Author's Checklist for Measure Development and Validation Manuscripts

Objective To review selected measures of stress and coping in pediatric populations. Stress and coping are presented within a risk and resiliency framework. Methods The Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP) surveyed the membership to identify the most frequently used assessment instruments. Twelve measures of coping and three measures of stress were reviewed. These instruments were evaluated using the Stress and Coping workgroup's modification of the criteria developed by the SPP Assessment Task Force (SPP-ATF). Results One of the three measures of stress and five of the 12 measures of coping were Well-established measures that broaden understanding. Additionally, one of the coping measures was categorized as a Well-established measure that guides treatment. Merits of the individual measures are discussed. Conclusions Recommendations for future research are provided, including suggestions for the construction and use of measures to inform treatment research.

/pdf/evidence-based-assessment-of-coping-and-stress-in-pediatric-2m4giv5is1.pdf

Evidence-based Assessment of Coping and Stress in Pediatric Psychology

A developmentally-oriented bio-neuropsychosocial model is introduced to explain variation in family functioning and psychosocial adjustment in youth and young adults with spina bifida (SB). Research on the family functioning and psychosocial adjustment of individuals with SB is reviewed. The findings of past research on families of youth with SB support a resilience-disruption view of family functioning. That is, the presence of a child with SB disrupts normative family functioning, but many families adapt to such disruption and exhibit considerable resilience in the face of adversity. Parents of youth with SB, and particularly those from lower SES homes, are at-risk for psychosocial difficulties. Individuals with SB are at-risk for developing internalizing symptoms, attention problems, educational difficulties, social maladjustment, and delays in the development of independent functioning. Emerging adults are often delayed in achieving milestones related to this stage of development (e.g., vocational and educational achievements). Methodologically-sound, longitudinal, and theory-driven studies of family and psychosocial functioning are needed, as are randomized family-based intervention trials, to promote adaptive functioning and better psychosocial outcomes in families of individuals with SB.

/pdf/psychosocial-and-family-functioning-in-spina-bifida-10b25bplf5.pdf

Psychosocial and Family Functioning in Spina Bifida.

This narrative review describes the evidence regarding digital health interventions targeting adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. We reviewed the published literature for studies involving Internet, mHealth, social media, telehealth, and other digital interventions for AYA survivors. We highlight selected studies to illustrate the state of the research in this unique patient population. Interventions have used various digital modalities to improve health behaviors (eg, physical activity, nutrition, tobacco cessation), enhance emotional well-being, track and intervene on cancer-related symptoms, and improve survivorship care delivery. The majority of studies have demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of digital health interventions for AYA survivors, but few efficacy studies have been conducted. Digital health interventions are promising to address unmet psychosocial and health information needs of AYA survivors. Researchers should use rigorous development and evaluation methods to demonstrate the efficacy of these approaches to improve health outcomes for AYA survivors.

https://ascopubs.org/doi/pdf/10.1200/CCI.17.00138

Katie A. Devine

Papers

Exercise and Risk of Major Cardiovascular Events in Adult Survivors of Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Report From the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study

Editorial: An Author's Checklist for Measure Development and Validation Manuscripts

Evidence-based Assessment of Coping and Stress in Pediatric Psychology

Psychosocial and Family Functioning in Spina Bifida.

Digital Health Interventions for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors.