Institut für Klinische Epidemiologie und Biometrie
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- asthma (2)
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- mental health (2)
- stroke (2)
- tinnitus (2)
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- Deutsches Zentrum für Herzinsuffizienz (DZHI) (8)
- Graduate School of Life Sciences (5)
- Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik I (4)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Anästhesiologie (ab 2004) (3)
- Neurologische Klinik und Poliklinik (3)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (2)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie (2)
- Institut für Informatik (1)
- Kinderklinik und Poliklinik (1)
- Klinik und Poliklinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie und Allergologie (1)
Sonstige beteiligte Institutionen
Die Erhebung der alltäglichen Funktionsfähigkeit mithilfe von Skalen zu instrumentellen
Aktivitäten des täglichen Lebens (IADL) ist essenziell zur Erfassung der individuellen und
gesellschaftlichen Konsequenzen von klinischen und subklinischen Erkrankungen. Im
deutschsprachigen Raum existieren jedoch nur wenige validierte Instrumente zur Erfassung von
IADL. Da all diese Skalen für ein geriatrisches Patientenkollektiv entwickelt wurden, haben sie
wichtige Schwächen in der Anwendung bei jüngeren Patientengruppen (insbesondere die
fehlende Erfassung beruflicher Funktionsfähigkeit). Aus diesem Grund wurde im Rahmen der
vorliegenden Arbeit mit dem Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST) ein bereits in
mehreren Sprachen validiertes, für erwachsene Patienten jedweden Alters konzipiertes
Instrument mit sehr guten psychometrischen Kennwerten ins Deutsche übertragen und
hinsichtlich Validität und Reliabilität untersucht. Die deutschsprachige Variante des FAST
wurde durch standardisierte vorwärts-rückwärts-Übersetzung aus dem Englischen erstellt und
ist als Selbstausfüllerfragebogen konzipiert. Die Skala enthält 23 ordinal skalierte Einzelitems,
aus denen sich ein Summenscore berechnen lässt, wobei höhere Werte für eine schlechtere
alltägliche Funktionsfähigkeit stehen. Der Fragebogen wurde zwischen 2017 und 2018 an
insgesamt 120 Teilnehmern in Würzburg und Münster getestet, von denen 60 aus
bevölkerungsbasierten Kohortenstudien stammten und je 30 Patienten aufgrund eines
ischämischen Schlaganfalls oder einer akuten Depression stationär behandelt wurden. Als Maß
für die Reliabilität des Instrumentes wurde die Übereinstimmung zwischen Selbst- und
Fremdeinschätzung der alltäglichen Funktionsfähigkeit (Fremdeinschätzung durch Angehörige
der Teilnehmer bzw. behandelnde Ärzte / Psychologen) mithilfe des FAST gewählt. Die
Validität der Skala wurde durch die Messung von Korrelationen des FAST Summenscores mit
gängigen Skalen zu Depressivität (PHQ-D-9, CES-D), Angstsymptomatik (PHQ-GAD-7),
gesundheitsbezogener Lebensqualität (SF-12, EQ-5D) und kognitiver Leistungsfähigkeit
(MOCA) erhoben. Daneben erfolgte eine uni- und multivariate Regression zur Erhebung des
Einflusses der o.g. Skalen und relevanter Vorerkrankungen auf den Summenscore des FAST.
Die Reliabilitätsanalyse zeigte für die Probanden aus der Allgemeinbevölkerung ein moderates
(ICC 0.50 (95%-CI 0.64 – 0.54), für die Patienten mit akutem ischämischem Schlaganfall ein
gutes (ICC 0.65 (95%-CI 0.55 – 0.75) und für die stationär behandelten Patienten mit
Depression ein schlechtes Ergebnis (ICC 0.11 (95%-CI 0.02 – 0.20). Hinsichtlich der
Konstruktvalidität zeigte sich in der bevölkerungsbasierten Stichprobe eine signifikante
Korrelation des FAST Summenscores mit PHQ-D-9, CES-D, PHQ-GAD-7 und psychischer
Summenskala der SF-12. In der univariablen Regression waren PHQ-D9, PHQ-GAD-7,
psychische Summenskala des SF-12 und das Vorliegen von chronischem Rückenschmerz
signifikante Prädiktoren für den FAST Summenscore. In der multivariablen Analyse verblieben
SF-12 und chronischer Rückenschmerz als signifikante Einflussfaktoren. In der Stichprobe von
Patienten mit akutem ischämischem Schlaganfall zeigte sich eine signifikante, negative
Korrelation des FAST Summenscores mit dem MOCA.
Zusammenfassend zeigte die deutschsprachige Variante des FAST moderate bis gute
psychometrische Kennwerte in der Allgemeinbevölkerung und bei Patienten mit akutem
ischämischem Schlaganfall, während die Ergebnisse bei stationär behandelten Patienten mit
Depression schlecht waren. Aufgrund der kleinen Fallzahl der untersuchten Stichproben und
des fehlenden Assessment von Test-Retest-Reliabilität sollten vor der breiten Anwendung des
FAST im deutschsprachigen Raum weitere psychometrische Prüfungen des Instruments
erfolgen.
(1) Background: The aim of this study is to assess perioperative therapy in stage IA-III pancreatic cancer cross-validating the German Cancer Registry Group of the Society of German Tumor Centers — Network for Care, Quality, and Research in Oncology, Berlin (GCRG/ADT) and the National Cancer Database (NCDB). (2) Methods: Patients with clinical stage IA-III PDAC undergoing surgery alone (OP), neoadjuvant therapy (TX) + surgery (neo + OP), surgery+adjuvantTX (OP + adj) and neoadjuvantTX + surgery + adjuvantTX (neo + OP + adj) were identified. Baseline characteristics, histopathological parameters, and overall survival (OS) were evaluated. (3) Results: 1392 patients from the GCRG/ADT and 29,081 patients from the NCDB were included. Patient selection and strategies of perioperative therapy remained consistent across the registries for stage IA-III pancreatic cancer. Combined neo + OP + adj was associated with prolonged OS as compared to neo + OP alone (17.8 m vs. 21.3 m, p = 0.012) across all stages in the GCRG/ADT registry. Similarly, OS with neo + OP + adj was improved as compared to neo + OP in the NCDB registry (26.4 m vs. 35.4 m, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusion: The cross-validation study demonstrated similar concepts and patient selection criteria of perioperative therapy across clinical stages of PDAC. Neoadjuvant therapy combined with adjuvant therapy is associated with improved overall survival as compared to either therapy alone.
1 Summary
Left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) are the most commonly used measures of LV function. Yet, they are highly dependent on loading conditions since higher afterload yields lower systolic deformation and thereby a lower LVEF and GLS – despite presumably unchanged LV myocardial contractile strength. Invasive pressure-volume loop measurements represent the reference standard to assess LV function, also considering loading conditions. However, this procedure cannot be used in serial investigations or large sample populations due to its invasive nature. The novel concept of echocardiography-derived assessment of myocardial work (MyW) is based on LV pressure-strain loops, may be a valuable alternative to overcome these challenges, and may also be used with relative ease in large populations. As MyW also accounts for afterload, it is considered less load-dependent than LVEF and GLS.
The current PhD work addresses the application and clinical characterization of MyW, an innovative echocardiographic tool. As the method is new, we focused on four main topics:
(a) To establish reference values for MyW indices, i.e., Global Work Index (GWI), Global Constructive Work (GCW), Global Wasted Work (GWW), and Global Work Efficiency (GWE); we addressed a wide age range and evaluated the association of MyW indices with age, sex and other clinical and echocardiography parameters in apparently cardiovascular healthy individuals.
(b) To investigate the impact of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors on MyW indices and characterize the severity of subclinical LV deterioration in the general population.
(c) To assess the association of the LV geometry, i.e., LV mass and dimensions, with MyW indices.
(d) To evaluate in-hospital dynamics of MyW indices in patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (AHF).
For the PhD thesis, we could make use of two larger cohorts:
The STAAB population-based cohort study prospectively recruited and phenotyped a representative sample (5,000 individuals) of the general population of the City of Würzburg, aged 30-79 years and free from symptomatic heart failure at the time of inclusion. We focused on the first half of the study sample (n=2473 individuals), which fulfilled the anticipated strata regarding age and sex.
The Acute Heart Failure (AHF) Registry is a prospective clinical registry recruiting and phenotyping consecutive patients admitted for decompensated AHF to the Department of Medicine I, University Hospital Würzburg, and observing the natural course of the disease. The AHF Registry focuses on the pathophysiological understanding, particularly in relation to the early phase after cardiac decompensation, with the aim to improve diagnosis and better-tailored treatment of patients with AHF. For the current study, we concentrated on patients who provided pairs of echocardiograms acquired early after index hospital admission and prior to discharge.
The main findings of the PhD thesis were:
From the STAAB cohort study, we determined the feasibility of large-scale MyW derivation and the accuracy of the method. We established reference values for MyW indices based on 779 analyzable, apparently healthy participants (mean age 49 ± 10 years, 59% women), who were in sinus rhythm, free from CV risk factors or CV disease, and had no significant LV valve disease. Apart from GWI, there were no associations of other MyW indices with sex. Further, we found a disparate association with age, where MyW showed stable values until the age of 45 years, with an upward shift occurring beyond the age of 45. A higher age decade was associated with higher GWW and lower GWE, respectively. MyW indices only correlated weakly with common echocardiographic parameters, suggesting that MyW may add incremental information to clinically established parameters.
Further analyses from the STAAB cohort study contributed to a better understanding of the impact of CV risk factors on MyW indices and the association of LV geometry with LV performance. We demonstrated that CV risk factors impacted selectively on GCW and GWW. Hypertension appears to profoundly compromise the work of the myocardium, in particular, by increasing both GCW and GWW. The LV in hypertension seems to operate at a higher energy level yet lower efficiency. Other classical CV risk factors (Diabetes mellitus, Obesity, Dyslipidemia, Smoking) – independent of blood pressure – impacted consistently and adversely on GCW but did not affect GWW. Further, all CV risk factors affected GWE adversely.
We observed that any deviation from a normal LV geometric profile was associated with alterations on MyW. Of note, MyW was sensitive to early changes in LV mass and dimensions. Individuals with normal LV geometry yet established arterial hypertension exhibited a MyW pattern that is typically found in LV hypertrophy. Therefore, such a pattern might serve as an early sign of myocardial damage in hypertensive heart disease and might aid in risk stratification and primary prevention.
From the AHF Registry, we selected individuals with serial in-hospital echocardiograms and described in-hospital changes in myocardial performance during recompensation. In patients presenting with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), decreasing N-terminal pro-natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels as a surrogate of successful recompensation were associated with an improvement in GCW and GWI and consecutively in GWE. In contrast, in patients presenting with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), there was no significant change in GCW and GWI. However, unsuccessful recompensation, i.e., no change or an increase in NT-proBNP levels, was associated with an increase in GWW. This suggests a differential myocardial response to de- and recompensation depending on the HF phenotype.
Further, GWW as a surrogate of inappropriate LV energy consumption was elevated in all patients with AHF (compared to reference values) and was not associated with conventional markers as LVEF or NT-proBNP. In an exploratory analysis, GWW predicted the risk of death or rehospitalization within six months after discharge. Hence, GWW might carry incremental information beyond conventional markers of HF severity.
Für die Diagnose und Therapie von Brustkrebs existiert die nationale evidenz- und konsensbasierte S3-Leitlinie. Die klinischen Krebsregister stellen sektor- und facharztübergreifende Diagnose- und Therapiedaten zur Qualitätssicherung bereit. Bislang fehlen jedoch Daten bezüglich patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Aufgrund des demographischen Wandels werden Brustkrebserkrankungen vor allem in ländlichen Regionen weiter zunehmen, weshalb Versorgungsstrukturen für alle Patientinnen erreichbar sein sollten. Es wurde ein patientenorientiertes Registerkonzept (Breast Cancer Care for patients with metastatic disease (BRE-4-MED)) für den metastasierten Brustkrebs entwickelt und hinsichtlich vordefinierter Machbarkeitskriterien pilotiert. An der BRE-4-MED-Pilotstudie nahmen 31 Patientinnen (96.8% weiblich) teil. Die bayernweite Erreichbarkeit zu brustkrebsspezifischen Versorgungsstrukturen wurde mithilfe einer Geographic Information System (GIS)-Analyse untersucht. Anhand von Leitlinienempfehlungen und Ergebnissen der BRE-4-MED-Pilotstudie wurden relevante Versorgungsstrukturen identifiziert. Die Ergebnisse der Pilotstudie zeigen, dass die Integration von Primär- und Sekundärdaten aus verschiedenen Quellen in ein zentrales Studienregister machbar ist und die erforderlichen organisatorischen Prozesse (z. B. data linkage mit Krebsregister) funktionieren. Die Ergebnisse der Erreichbarkeitsanalyse verdeutlichen, dass es keine bayernweite Erreichbarkeit zu brustkrebsspezifischen Versorgungsstrukturen gibt. Am stärksten war dieser Zusammenhang in grenznahen Regionen ausgeprägt. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt Chancen für eine patientenorientierte, qualitätsgesicherte Brustkrebsversorgung unabhängig vom Wohnort auf.
Impact of cardiovascular risk factors on myocardial work-insights from the STAAB cohort study
(2022)
Myocardial work is a new echocardiography-based diagnostic tool, which allows to quantify left ventricular performance based on pressure-strain loops, and has been validated against invasively derived pressure-volume measurements. Myocardial work is described by its components (global constructive work [GCW], global wasted work [GWW]) and indices (global work index [GWI], global work efficiency [GWE]). Applying this innovative concept, we characterized the prevalence and severity of subclinical left ventricular compromise in the general population and estimated its association with cardiovascular (CV) risk factors. Within the Characteristics and Course of Heart Failure STAges A/B and Determinants of Progression (STAAB) cohort study we comprehensively phenotyped a representative sample of the population of Würzburg, Germany, aged 30-79 years. Indices of myocardial work were determined in 1929 individuals (49.3% female, mean age 54 ± 12 years). In multivariable analysis, hypertension was associated with a mild increase in GCW, but a profound increase in GWW, resulting in higher GWI and lower GWE. All other CV risk factors were associated with lower GCW and GWI, but not with GWW. The association of hypertension and obesity with GWI was stronger in women. We conclude that traditional CV risk factors impact selectively and gender-specifically on left ventricular myocardial performance, independent of systolic blood pressure. Quantifying active systolic and diastolic compromise by derivation of myocardial work advances our understanding of pathophysiological processes in health and cardiac disease.
Risk prediction in patients with heart failure (HF) is essential to improve the tailoring of preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies for the individual patient, and effectively use health care resources. Risk scores derived from controlled clinical studies can be used to calculate the risk of mortality and HF hospitalizations. However, these scores are poorly implemented into routine care, predominantly because their calculation requires considerable efforts in practice and necessary data often are not available in an interoperable format. In this work, we demonstrate the feasibility of a multi-site solution to derive and calculate two exemplary HF scores from clinical routine data (MAGGIC score with six continuous and eight categorical variables; Barcelona Bio-HF score with five continuous and six categorical variables). Within HiGHmed, a German Medical Informatics Initiative consortium, we implemented an interoperable solution, collecting a harmonized HF-phenotypic core data set (CDS) within the openEHR framework. Our approach minimizes the need for manual data entry by automatically retrieving data from primary systems. We show, across five participating medical centers, that the implemented structures to execute dedicated data queries, followed by harmonized data processing and score calculation, work well in practice. In summary, we demonstrated the feasibility of clinical routine data usage across multiple partner sites to compute HF risk scores. This solution can be extended to a large spectrum of applications in clinical care.
Background
Long-term support of stroke patients living at home is often delivered by family caregivers (FC). We identified characteristics of stroke patients being associated with receiving care by a FC 3-months (3 M) after stroke, assessed positive and negative experiences and individual burden of FC caring for stroke patients and determined factors associated with caregiving experiences and burden of FC 3 M after stroke.
Methods
Data were collected within TRANSIT-Stroke, a regional telemedical stroke-network comprising 12 hospitals in Germany. Patients with stroke/TIA providing informed consent were followed up 3 M after the index event. The postal patient-questionnaire was accompanied by an anonymous questionnaire for FC comprising information on positive and negative experiences of FC as well as on burden of caregiving operationalized by the Caregiver Reaction Assessment and a self-rated burden-scale, respectively. Multivariable logistic and linear regression analyses were performed.
Results
Between 01/2016 and 06/2019, 3532 patients provided baseline and 3 M-follow-up- data and 1044 FC responded to questionnaires regarding positive and negative caregiving experiences and caregiving burden. 74.4% of FC were older than 55 years, 70.1% were women and 67.5% were spouses. Older age, diabetes and lower Barthel-Index in patients were significantly associated with a higher probability of receiving care by a FC at 3 M. Positive experiences of FC comprised the importance (81.5%) and the privilege (70.0%) of caring for their relative; negative experiences of FC included financial difficulties associated with caregiving (20.4%). Median overall self-rated burden was 30 (IQR: 0–50; range 0–100). Older age of stroke patients was associated with a lower caregiver burden, whereas younger age of FC led to higher burden. More than half of the stroke patients in whom a FC questionnaire was completed did self-report that they are not being cared by a FC. This stroke patient group tended to be younger, more often male with less severe stroke and less comorbidities who lived more often with a partner.
Conclusions
The majority of caregivers wanted to care for their relatives but experienced burden at the same time. Elderly patients, patients with a lower Barthel Index at discharge and diabetes are at higher risk of needing care by a family caregiver.
Trial registration
The study was registered at “German Clinical Trial Register”: DRKS00011696. https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00011696
Background
Cancer patients' mental health and quality of life can be improved through professional support according to their needs. In previous analyses of the UNSAID study, we showed that a relevant proportion of cancer patients did not express their needs during the admission interview of inpatient rehabilitation. We now examine trajectories of mental health, quality of life, and utilization of professional help in cancer patients with unexpressed needs.
Methods
We enrolled 449 patients with breast, prostate, and colon cancer at beginning (T0) and end (T1) of a 3-week inpatient rehabilitation and 3 (T2) and 9 (T3) months after discharge. We explored depression (PHQ-2), anxiety (GAD-2), emotional functioning (EORTC QLQ-C30), fear of progression (FoP-Q-SF), and global quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C30) using structuring equation models. Furthermore, we evaluated self-reports about expressing needs and utilization of professional help at follow-up.
Results
Patients with unexpressed needs (24.3%, n = 107) showed decreased mental health compared to other patients (e.g., depression: d T0 = 0.32, d T1-T3 = 0.39). They showed a significant decline in global quality of life at discharge and follow-up (d = 0.28). Furthermore, they had a higher need for support (Cramer's V T2 = 0.10, T3 = 0.15), talked less about their needs (Cramer’s V T2 = 0.18), and made less use of different health care services at follow-up.
Conclusion
Unexpressed needs in cancer patients may be a risk factor for decreased mental health, quality of life, and non-utilization of professional help in the long term. Further research should clarify causal relationships and focus on this specific group of patients to improve cancer care.
Background and purpose
Impaired kidney function is associated with an increased risk of vascular events in acute stroke patients, when assessed by single measurements of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). It is unknown whether repeated measurements provide additional information for risk prediction.
Methods
The MonDAFIS (Systematic Monitoring for Detection of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke) study randomly assigned 3465 acute ischemic stroke patients to either standard procedures or an additive Holter electrocardiogram. Baseline eGFR (CKD‐EPI formula) were dichotomized into values of < versus ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m\(^{2}\). eGFR dynamics were classified based on two in‐hospital values as “stable normal” (≥60 ml/min/1.73 m\(^{2}\)), “increasing” (by at least 15% from baseline, second value ≥ 60 ml/min/1.73 m\(^{2}\)), “decreasing” (by at least 15% from baseline of ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m\(^{2}\)), and “stable decreased” (<60 ml/min/1.73 m\(^{2}\)). The composite endpoint (stroke, major bleeding, myocardial infarction, all‐cause death) was assessed after 24 months. We estimated hazard ratios in confounder‐adjusted models.
Results
Estimated glomerular filtration rate at baseline was available in 2947 and a second value in 1623 patients. After adjusting for age, stroke severity, cardiovascular risk factors, and randomization, eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73 m\(^{2}\) at baseline (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.40–3.54) as well as decreasing (HR = 1.79, 95% CI = 1.07–2.99) and stable decreased eGFR (HR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.20–2.24) were independently associated with the composite endpoint. In addition, eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.732 at baseline (HR = 3.02, 95% CI = 1.51–6.10) and decreasing eGFR were associated with all‐cause death (HR = 3.12, 95% CI = 1.63–5.98).
Conclusions
In addition to patients with low eGFR levels at baseline, also those with decreasing eGFR have increased risk for vascular events and death; hence, repeated estimates of eGFR might add relevant information to risk prediction.
A systematic overview of mental and physical disorders of informal caregivers based on population-based studies with good methodological quality is lacking. Therefore, our aim was to systematically summarize mortality, incidence, and prevalence estimates of chronic diseases in informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers. Following PRISMA recommendations, we searched major healthcare databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE and Web of Science) systematically for relevant studies published in the last 10 years (without language restrictions) (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020200314). We included only observational cross-sectional and cohort studies with low risk of bias (risk scores 0–2 out of max 8) that reported the prevalence, incidence, odds ratio (OR), hazard ratio (HR), mean- or sum-scores for health-related outcomes in informal caregivers and non-caregivers. For a thorough methodological quality assessment, we used a validated checklist. The synthesis of the results was conducted by grouping outcomes. We included 22 studies, which came predominately from the USA and Europe. Informal caregivers had a significantly lower mortality than non-caregivers. Regarding chronic morbidity outcomes, the results from a large longitudinal German health-insurance evaluation showed increased and statistically significant incidences of severe stress, adjustment disorders, depression, diseases of the spine and pain conditions among informal caregivers compared to non-caregivers. In cross-sectional evaluations, informal caregiving seemed to be associated with a higher occurrence of depression and of anxiety (ranging from 4 to 51% and 2 to 38%, respectively), pain, hypertension, diabetes and reduced quality of life. Results from our systematic review suggest that informal caregiving may be associated with several mental and physical disorders. However, these results need to be interpreted with caution, as the cross-sectional studies cannot determine temporal relationships. The lower mortality rates compared to non-caregivers may be due to a healthy-carer bias in longitudinal observational studies; however, these and other potential benefits of informal caregiving deserve further attention by researchers.