ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9678-6420
Current Organisations
James Cook University
,
University of Peradeniya Faculty of Medicine
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Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-09-2020
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 19-05-2021
DOI: 10.1177/19322968211012456
Abstract: Diabetes-related foot disease (DFD) management requires input from multiple healthcare professionals, and has worse outcomes for people living in remote localities by comparison to urban areas. Remotely delivered healthcare may reduce this disparity. This overview summarizes current evidence on the effectiveness, stakeholder perceptions, and cost-effectiveness of remotely delivered healthcare for DFD. A search of 5 databases was conducted to identify systematic reviews published between January 2000 and June 2020. Eligible reviews were those evaluating remotely delivered monitoring or management of patients at risk of or with active DFD, or clinicians managing these patients. Risk of bias was assessed using the AMSTAR-2 tool. Eight reviews were eligible for inclusion, including 88 primary studies and 8509 participants, of which 36 studies involving 4357 participants evaluated remotely delivered monitoring or management of DFD. Only one review had a low risk of bias, with most reviews demonstrating limited search strategies and poor reporting of participants. Evidence on effectiveness was mixed, with meta-analyses demonstrating long-term ulcer healing and mortality were not significantly different between telehealth and standard care groups, although the lower-limb utation rate was significantly decreased in one meta-analysis. Perceptions of telehealth by patients and clinicians were generally positive, whilst acknowledging limitations relating to access and use. Cost-effectiveness data were limited, with poor reporting preventing clear conclusions. Remotely delivered healthcare of DFD is well received by patients and clinicians, but its effectiveness is unclear. High quality trials are needed to evaluate the risks and benefits of remotely delivered DFD management.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2020
DOI: 10.1111/DME.14323
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 15-01-2021
Abstract: The inter and intra-observer reproducibility of measuring the Wound Ischemia foot Infection (WIfI) score is unknown. The aims of this study were to compare the reproducibility, completion times and ability to predict 30-day utation of the WIfI, University of Texas Wound Classification System (UTWCS), Site, Ischemia, Neuropathy, Bacterial Infection and Depth (SINBAD) and Wagner classifications systems using photographs of diabetes-related foot ulcers. Three trained observers independently scored the diabetes-related foot ulcers of 45 participants on two separate occasions using photographs. The inter- and intra-observer reproducibility were calculated using Krippendorff’s α. The completion times were compared with Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s post-hoc tests. The ability of the scores to predict 30-day utation rates were assessed using receiver operator characteristic curves and area under the curves. There was excellent intra-observer agreement (α .900) and substantial agreement between observers (α=0.788) in WIfI scoring. There was moderate, substantial, or excellent agreement within the three observers (α .599 in all instances except one) and fair or moderate agreement between observers (α of UTWCS=0.306, α of SINBAD=0.516, α of Wagner=0.374) for the other three classification systems. The WIfI score took significantly longer ( P .001) to complete compared to the other three scores (medians and inter quartile ranges of the WIfI, UTWCS, SINBAD, and Wagner being 1.00 [0.88-1.00], 0.75 [0.50-0.75], 0.50 [0.50-0.50], and 0.25 [0.25-0.50] minutes). None of the classifications were predictive of 30-day utation ( P .05 in all instances). The WIfI score can be completed with substantial agreement between trained observers but was not predictive of 30-day utation.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEURO.2017.12.002
Abstract: Ingestion of organophosphorus insecticides (OPI) is a common method of deliberate self harm in the developing world. Deaths mainly follow as a result of the respiratory failure associated with both cholinergic crisis and the intermediate syndrome. Even though death can be prevented by early mechanical ventilation of these patients, limited studies are available regarding the prediction of intermediate syndrome and subsequent respiratory failure. To systematically review articles that are published with regard to possible prediction of intermediate syndrome using clinical, biochemical and electrophysiological parameters. A systematic review on literature published in English language was done in the PubMed database without a date limitation. Two sets of search terms were used. The first set consisted of MeSH Terms "organophosphates", "organophosphate poisoning", "op poisoning" "organophosphate insecticide poisoning" and "organophosphorus". The second set included the MeSH Terms "Intermediate syndrome", "proximal muscle weakness", "cranial nerve palsies", "respiratory depression" and "neck muscle weakness". Articles containing at least one word from each set were reviewed. At least one MeSH term from each set was incorporated in 179 articles. Of these, 69 were rejected as they were not related to organophosphate poisoning or intermediate syndrome. Clinical prediction is mostly based on ICU scoring systems. Biochemical markers such as reduced levels of serum and erythrocyte acetylcholine esterase have been studied many times. Both clinical and biochemical markers show a modest relationship in predicting IMS. Single fibre electromyography show promising results as it directly assesses neuromuscular junction. The intermediate syndrome which follows organophosphate poisoning still remains a significant problem with its high morbidity. Clinical and biochemical markers show modest results in predicting IMS. Neurophysiological markers such as single fibre EMG should be studied further as they measure activity of affected nicotinic receptors directly.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 27-09-2018
No related grants have been discovered for Chanika Alahakoon.