Search Results

This literature review aimed to identify the range of methods used in after action reviews (AARs) of public health emergencies and to develop appraisal tools to compare methodological reporting and validity standards.

A review of biomedical and gray literature identified key approaches from AAR methodological research, real-world AARs, and AAR reporting templates. We developed a 50-item tool to systematically document AAR methodological reporting and a linked 11-item summary tool to document validity. Both tools were used sequentially to appraise the literature included in this study.

This review included 24 highly diverse papers, reflecting the lack of a standardized approach. We observed significant divergence between the standards described in AAR and qualitative research literature, and real-world AAR practice. The lack of reporting of basic methods to ensure validity increases doubt about the methodological basis of an individual AAR and the validity of its conclusions.

The main limitations in current AAR methodology and reporting standards may be addressed through our 11 validity-enhancing recommendations. A minimum reporting standard for AARs could help ensure that findings are valid and clear for others to learn from. A registry of AARs, based on a common reporting structure, may further facilitate shared learning. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 8)

The objective of this study was to systematically review the published literature for risk factors associated with adverse outcomes in older adults sustaining blunt chest trauma.

EMBASE and MEDLINE were searched from inception until March 2017 for prognostic factors associated with adverse outcomes in older adults sustaining blunt chest trauma using a pre-specified search strategy. References were independently screened for inclusion by two reviewers. Study quality was assessed using the Quality in Prognostic Studies tool. Where appropriate, descriptive statistics were used to evaluate study characteristics and predictors of adverse outcomes.

Thirteen cohort studies representing 79,313 patients satisfied our selection criteria. Overall, 26 prognostic factors were examined across studies and were reported for morbidity (8 studies), length of stay (7 studies), mortality (6 studies), and loss of independence (1 study). No studies examined patient quality of life or emergency department recidivism. Prognostic factors associated with morbidity and mortality included age, number of rib fractures, and injury severity score. Although age and rib fractures were found to be associated with adverse outcomes in more than 3 studies, meta-analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity amongst included studies in how these variables were measured.

While blunt chest wall trauma in older adults is relatively common, the literature on prognostic factors for adverse outcomes in this patient population remains inadequate due to a paucity of high quality studies and lack of consistent reporting standards.

UK Biobank is a well-characterised cohort of over 500 000 participants that offers unique opportunities to investigate multiple diseases and risk factors.

An online mental health questionnaire completed by UK Biobank participants was expected to expand the potential for research into mental disorders.

An expert working group designed the questionnaire, using established measures where possible, and consulting with a patient group regarding acceptability. Case definitions were defined using operational criteria for lifetime depression, mania, anxiety disorder, psychotic-like experiences and self-harm, as well as current post-traumatic stress and alcohol use disorders.

157 366 completed online questionnaires were available by August 2017. Comparison of self-reported diagnosed mental disorder with a contemporary study shows a similar prevalence, despite respondents being of higher average socioeconomic status than the general population across a range of indicators. Thirty-five per cent (55 750) of participants had at least one defined syndrome, of which lifetime depression was the most common at 24% (37 434). There was extensive comorbidity among the syndromes. Mental disorders were associated with high neuroticism score, adverse life events and long-term illness; addiction and bipolar affective disorder in particular were associated with measures of deprivation.

The questionnaire represents a very large mental health survey in itself, and the results presented here show high face validity, although caution is needed owing to selection bias. Built into UK Biobank, these data intersect with other health data to offer unparalleled potential for crosscutting biomedical research involving mental health.

G.B. received grants from the National Institute for Health Research during the study; and support from Illumina Ltd. and the European Commission outside the submitted work. B.C. received grants from the Scottish Executive Chief Scientist Office and from The Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler Foundation during the study. C.S. received grants from the Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust during the study, and is the Chief Scientist for UK Biobank. M.H. received grants from the Innovative Medicines Initiative via the RADAR-CNS programme and personal fees as an expert witness outside the submitted work.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is an involuntary movement disorder that is often irreversible, can affect any body region, and can be debilitating. In the ARM-TDand AIM-TD studies, deutetrabenazine treatment demonstrated statistically and clinically significant reductions in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores at Week 12 compared with placebo (primary endpoint).

To evaluate the efficacy of deutetrabenazine, as measured by the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) scale, in patients with TD from the pooled ARM-TDand AIM-TD (24 and 36 mg/day doses) data sets, as compared with the pooled placebo cohort.

ARM-TD and AIM-TD were 12-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies that evaluated the safety and efficacy of deutetrabenazine for thetreatment of TD. The key secondary endpoint of each study was the proportion of patients “much improved” or “very much improved” (treatment success) at Week 12 on theCGIC.

At Week 12, the odds of treatment success among patients treated with deutetrabenazine (n=152) was more than double that of patients given placebo (n=107; odds ratio: 2.12; P=0.005). In a categorical analysis of CGIC ratings, patients treated with deutetrabenazine showed greater improvement than patients given placebo (P=0.003). Patients treated with deutetrabenazine also had a significantly better treatment response than those given placebo (least-squares mean CGIC score treatment difference: –0.4; P=0.006).

Deutetrabenazine treatment led to statistically and clinically significant improvements in TD symptoms based on the CGIC result, suggesting that clinicians were able to recognize the benefit in patients treated with deutetrabenazine.

Presented at: The International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders; June 4–8, 2017; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

These studies were funded by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Petach Tikva, Israel.

In the 12-week ARM-TD and AIM-TD studies, deutetrabenazine showed clinically significant improvements in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores at Week 12 compared with placebo, and was generally well tolerated.

To evaluate the long-term safety/tolerability and efficacy of deutetrabenazine in patients with TD. Week 54 open-labelresults are reported in this interim analysis.

Patients with TD who completed ARM-TD or AIM-TD were included in this open-label, single-arm extension study, in which all patients restarted/started deutetrabenazine 12 mg/day, titrating up to a maximum total daily dose of 48 mg/day based on dyskinesia control and tolerability. The study comprised a 6-week titration period and a long-term maintenance phase. Safetymeasures included incidence of adverse events (AEs), serious AEs (SAEs), drug-related AEs, and AEs leading to withdrawal, dose reduction, or dose suspension. This analysis reports results up to Week 54.

304 patients enrolled in the extension study. There were 215 patient-years of exposure in this analysis, and exposure-adjusted incidence rates (EAIRs) of AEs (incidence/patient-years) were comparable to or lower than those observed with short-term deutetrabenazine treatment and placebo. The frequency of SAEs (EAIR 0.14) was similar to rates observed with short-termplacebo (EAIR 0.33) and deutetrabenazine (EAIR range 0.06–0.33) treatment. AEs leading to study discontinuation (EAIR 0.08), dose reduction (EAIR 0.17), and dose suspension (EAIR 0.09) were uncommon.

Long-term treatment with deutetrabenazine was generally safe and well tolerated in patients with TD, and did not result in cumulative toxicity.

Presented at: The American Psychiatric Association 2017 Annual Meeting; May 20–24, 2017; San Diego, California, USA.

This study was funded by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Petach Tikva, Israel.

Tardive dyskinesia (TD) is an involuntary movement disorder resulting from exposure to dopamine-receptor antagonists. In the 12-week ARM-TD and AIM-TD studies, deutetrabenazine demonstrated significant improvements in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) scores at Week 12 compared with placebo, and was generally well tolerated.

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of long-term deutetrabenazine therapy in patients with TD.

Patients with TD who completed the ARM-TD or AIM-TD studies were eligible to enter this open-label, single-arm, long-term safety study after they completed the 1-week washout period and final evaluation in the blinded portion of the trial. Efficacy endpoints included the change in AIMS score from baseline, and treatment success (defined as “much improved” or “very much improved”) on the Clinical Global Impression of Change (CGIC) and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC). This analysis reports results up to Week 54.

304 patients enrolled in the extension study. At Week 54, the mean (standard error) change in AIMS score was –5.1 (0.52). After 6 weeks of deutetrabenazine treatment, the proportion of patients who achieved treatment success was 58% per the CGIC and 53% per the PGIC, and by Week 54 was 72% per the CGIC and 59% per the PGIC, thus demonstrating maintenance or enhancement of benefit over time. Deutetrabenazine was well tolerated for up to 54 weeks, and compared with the ARM-TD and AIM-TD studies, no new safety signals were detected.

54 weeks of deutetrabenazine treatment was generally efficacious, safe, and well tolerated in patients with TD.

Presented at: The American Psychiatric Association 2017 Annual Meeting; May 20–24, 2017; San Diego, California, USA.

This study was funded by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Petach Tikva, Israel.