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Welcome to the East Midlands Evidence Repository.
The East Midlands Evidence Repository (EMER) is the official institutional research repository for; Derbyshire Community Health Services, Leicester Partnership Trust, NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, Nottinghamshire Healthcare, Sherwood Forest Hospitals, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton and the University Hospitals Of Leicester
EMER is intended to make NHS research more visible and discoverable by capturing, storing and preserving the East Midlands research output and making it available to the research community through open access protocols.
Wherever possible, full-text content is provided for all research publications in the repository. Content grows daily as new collections are added.
Communities in East Midlands Evidence Repository
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Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2Purpose of review: The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has had a wide-ranging and profound impact on how we think about the transmission of respiratory viruses This review outlines the basis on which we should consider all respiratory viruses as aerosol-transmissible infections, in order to improve our control of these pathogens in both healthcare and community settings. Recent findings: We present recent studies to support the aerosol transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, and some older studies to demonstrate the aerosol transmissibility of other, more familiar seasonal respiratory viruses. Summary: Current knowledge on how these respiratory viruses are transmitted, and the way we control their spread, is changing. We need to embrace these changes to improve the care of patients in hospitals and care homes including others who are vulnerable to severe disease in community settings.
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The role of the autonomic nervous system in cerebral blood flow regulation in stroke: A reviewStroke is a pathophysiological condition which results in alterations in cerebral blood flow (CBF). The mechanism by which the brain maintains adequate CBF in presence of fluctuating cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) is known as cerebral autoregulation (CA). Disturbances in CA may be influenced by a number of physiological pathways including the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The cerebrovascular system is innervated by adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibers. The role of the ANS in regulating CBF is widely disputed owing to several factors including the complexity of the ANS and cerebrovascular interactions, limitations to measurements, variation in methods to assess the ANS in relation to CBF as well as experimental approaches that can or cannot provide insight into the sympathetic control of CBF. CA is known to be impaired in stroke however the number of studies investigating the mechanisms by which this occurs are limited. This literature review will focus on highlighting the assessment of the ANS and CBF via indices derived from the analyses of heart rate variability (HRV), and baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), and providing a summary of both clinical and animal model studies investigating the role of the ANS in influencing CA in stroke. Understanding the mechanisms by which the ANS influences CBF in stroke patients may provide the foundation for novel therapeutic approaches to improve functional outcomes in stroke patients.
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Virtual keratoconus monitoring clinic in a tertiary university hospital in the United KingdomPurpose: To describe a new pathway for virtual keratoconus (KC) monitoring in the corneal department of a tertiary referral center in the UK during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: A virtual outpatient clinic to monitor KC patients (KC PHOTO clinic) was created. All patients from the KC database in our department were included. At each hospital visit, patients' visual acuity and tomography (Pentacam; Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany) were collected by a health-care assistant and an ophthalmic technician, respectively. The results were virtually reviewed by a corneal optometrist to identify stability or progression of KC and discussed with a consultant if needed. Those with progression were contacted by telephone and listed for corneal crosslinking (CXL). Results: From July 2020 until May 2021, 802 patients were invited to attend the virtual KC outpatient clinic. Of them, 536 patients (66.8%) attended and 266 (33.2%) did not attend. After corneal tomography analysis, 351 (65.5%) were stable, 121 (22.6%) showed no definite evidence of progression, and 64 (11.9%) showed progression. Forty-one (64%) patients with progressive KC were listed for CXL and the remaining 23 patients deferred treatment after the pandemic. By converting a face-to-face clinic to a virtual clinic, we were able to increase our capacity by nearly 500 appointments per year. Conclusion: In pandemic times, hospitals have developed novel methods of delivering safe patient care. KC PHOTO is a safe, effective, and innovative method of monitoring KC patients and diagnosing progression. In addition, virtual clinics can increase the clinic capacity tremendously and reduce the need of face-to-face appointments, which is beneficial in pandemic conditions.
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Sarcopenia: An assessment into the prevalence and disease burden in chronic pancreatitis patientsObjectives: To evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients referred to a Multidisciplinary Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) Clinic at the University Hospitals of Leicester. Methods: All patients who had undergone CT scans were identified. Controls were identified from CT colonograms with no features of malignancy or pancreatic pathology. The psoas muscle index (PMI) was calculated using the formula: total psoas muscle cross-sectional area at the third lumbar vertebral level (cm2)/ the patient's height squared (m2). PMI cut-offs were <6.31cm2/m2 and <3.91cm2/m2 for males and females, respectively. Results: 58 CP CT scans were available for analysis along with 62 control scans. 71.9% of CP patients had a PMI below the cut-off for their gender, compared to 45.2% of the controls. The mean PMI (±SD) for male CP patients and male controls were 5.54cm2/m2 (±1.60) and 6.73 cm2/m2 (±1.54), (P=0.0023). The mean PMI (±SD) for female CP patients and female controls were 3.82 cm2/m2 (+/-1.46) and 4.98 cm2/m2 (+/-1.43), (P=0.0021). Conclusions: CP patients had a mean PMI below the cut-off value, suggesting that CP patients are largely sarcopenic. As malnutrition is a significant feature of CP, optimisation of nutrition may help to ameliorate sarcopenia in CP patients.
