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Background: Transitioning home from the structured hospital setting poses challenges for people with stroke (PWS) and their caregivers (CGs), as they navigate through complex uncertainties. There are gaps in our understanding of appropriate support interventions for managing the transition home. In this qualitative study, we explored the perspectives of PWS and their CGs regarding their support experiences and preferences during this period., Methods: Between November 2022 and March 2023, and within six months of hospital discharge, audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews were conducted with PWS and CGs. All interviews were transcribed, imported into NVivo software, and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis., Results: Sixteen interviews were conducted, nine with PWS and seven with CGs. Four themes relevant to their collective experiences and preferences were identified: (i) Need for tailored information-sharing, at the right time, and in the right setting; (ii) The importance of emotional support; (iii) Left in limbo, (iv) Inequity of access. Experiences depict issues such as insufficient information-sharing, communication gaps, and fragmented and inequitable care; while a multi-faceted approach is desired to ease anxiety and uncertainty, minimise delays, and optimise recovery and participation during transition., Conclusions: Our findings highlight that regardless of the discharge route, and even with formal support systems in place, PWS and families encounter challenges during the transition period. The experiences of support at this transition and the preferences of PWS and CGs during this important period highlights the need for better care co-ordination, early and ongoing emotional support, and equitable access to tailored services and support. Experiences are likely to be improved by implementing a partnership approach with improved collaboration, including joint goal-setting, between PWS, CGs, healthcare professionals and support organisations., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The study aimed to investigate differences in hypertensive- and cardio-preventive pharmacotherapy depending on if patients with hypertension received lifestyle counseling or not, including the difference between men and women. Data from the Region Stockholm VAL database was used to identify all patients with a hypertension diagnosis and had visited a primary health care center within the past five years. Data included registered diagnoses, pharmacotherapy, and codes for lifestyle counseling. Logistic regression adjusted for age and comorbidity (diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, gout, obesity, heart failure) was used, presenting results as odds ratios (OR) with 99% confidence interval (CI). The study included 130,030 patients with hypertension; 63,402 men and 66,628 women. Patients receiving recommended lifestyle counseling were more frequently treated with three or more hypertensive drugs: women OR 1.38 (1.31, 1.45) and men = 1.36 (1.30, 1.43); certain drug classes: calcium antagonists: women 1.09 (1.04, 1.14) and men 1.11 (1.06, 1.16); thiazide diuretics: women 1.26 (1.20, 1.34) and men 1.25 (1.19, 1.32); and aldosterone antagonists: women 1.25 (1.12, 1.41) and men 1.49 (1.34, 1.65). Patients receiving recommended level of lifestyle counseling with concomitant coronary heart disease, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, or stroke were more frequently treated with statins than those who did not. Further, recommended lifestyle counseling was significantly associated with anticoagulant treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation. Lifestyle counseling according to recommendations in national guidelines was significantly associated with a more thorough pharmacological treatment of hypertension, statins, and antithrombotic drugs as well as anticoagulants, in both men and women., (© 2024 The Author(s). The Journal of Clinical Hypertension published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Many individuals with hypertension remain undiagnosed. We aimed to develop a predictive model for hypertension using diagnostic codes from prevailing electronic medical records in Swedish primary care., Methods: This sex- and age-matched case-control (1:5) study included patients aged 30-65 years living in the Stockholm Region, Sweden, with a newly recorded diagnosis of hypertension during 2010-19 (cases) and individuals without a recorded hypertension diagnosis during 2010-19 (controls), in total 507,618 individuals. Patients with diagnoses of cardiovascular diseases or diabetes were excluded. A stochastic gradient boosting machine learning model was constructed using the 1,309 most registered ICD-10 codes from primary care for three years prior the hypertension diagnosis., Results: The model showed an area under the curve (95 % confidence interval) of 0.748 (0.742-0.753) for females and 0.745 (0.740-0.751) for males for predicting diagnosis of hypertension within three years. The sensitivity was 63 % and 68 %, and the specificity 76 % and 73 %, for females and males, respectively. The 25 diagnoses that contributed the most to the model for females and males all exhibited a normalized relative influence >1 %. The codes contributing most to the model, all with an odds ratio of marginal effects >1 for both sexes, were dyslipidaemia, obesity, and encountering health services in other circumstances., Conclusions: This machine learning model, using prevailing recorded diagnoses within primary health care, may contribute to the identification of patients at risk of unrecognized hypertension. The added value of this predictive model beyond information of blood pressure warrants further study., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Purpose: After hospitalization, older persons may face a decline in physical function and daily independence. In-hospital exercise interventions can mitigate this decline, and continued support from primary healthcare post-discharge may enhance sustainability. This study aimed to explore home rehabilitation therapists' experiences of supporting physical exercise after acute hospitalization, including exercise programs initiated during hospital stay., Methods: This qualitative study was conducted alongside a randomized-controlled trial to investigate prerequisites for a transitional care intervention. Twelve interviews were conducted with physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and managers across seven rehabilitation therapy services in Stockholm, Sweden. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis., Results: The analysis generated the theme Striving for individualized support for physical exercise, although limited resources and a fragmented home care risk to direct support away from those who need it the most. It was based on four subthemes: The starting point is always the patient's current needs, goals, and prerequisites, Continuing the exercise initiated during hospitalization by adapting it to the patient's situation at home, Work premises not tailored to patients with complex care needs, and A home care organization that lacks coordination and unified purpose., Conclusions: Interventions supporting older persons to physical exercise after acute hospitalization need to be tailored to the individual, support motivation, and be adapted to the patient's home situation. Challenges may arise when care recourses lack alignment with the patients' needs, and when the collaboration among care providers is limited. The findings contribute valuable insights for future studies incorporating transitional care interventions in similar context., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Nocardiosis typically requires a prolonged treatment duration of ≥6 months and initial combination therapy with 2-3 antibiotics. First-line regimens for nocardiosis are associated with considerable toxicity; therefore, alternative therapies are needed. Omadacycline is an aminomethylcycline with broad antimicrobial activity whose in vitro activity against Nocardia species has not been formally assessed. The in vitro potency of omadacycline was evaluated against 300 Nocardia clinical isolates by broth microdilution. The most common Nocardia species tested were N. cyriacigeorgica (21%), N. nova (20%), and N. farcinica (12%). The most common specimens were respiratory (178 isolates, 59%) and wound (57 isolates, 19%). Omadacycline minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) across all Nocardia species ranged from 0.06 µg/mL to 8 µg/mL, with an MIC 50 of 2 µg/mL and MIC 90 of 4 µg/mL. The lowest MICs were found among N. paucivorans (MIC 50 = 0.25 µg/mL, MIC 90 = 0.25 µg/mL), N. asiatica (MIC 50 = 0.25 µg/mL, MIC 90 = 1 µg/mL), N. abscessus complex (MIC 50 = 0.5 µg/mL, MIC 90 = 1 µg/mL), N. beijingensis (MIC 50 = 0.5 µg/mL, MIC 90 = 2 µg/mL), and N. otitidiscaviarum (MIC 50 = 1 µg/mL, MIC 90 = 2 µg/mL). The highest MICs were found among N. farcinica (MIC 50 = 4 µg/mL, MIC 90 = 8 µg/mL). In vitro potency differed by species among Nocardia clinical isolates. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the potential clinical utility of omadacycline for nocardiosis., Competing Interests: R.J.B. reports receiving prior research support from Rempex Pharmaceuticals. The other authors have no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose.

Stroke may affect physical functioning, cognition, and mental and social aspects of one's life. Health literacy and self-efficacy are associated with positive health outcomes and are important factors for managing the diverse consequences of a stroke. However, there is very little literature on the association between health literacy and self-efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the association between health literacy and self-efficacy among stroke survivors 1 year after discharge from hospital. Participants in this cross-sectional study were patients diagnosed with a stroke, mainly a mild stroke, who were referred to rehabilitation in primary care after discharge from hospital in Sweden. Data was collected using questionnaires, performance-based tests, and medical records. Ordinal logistic regression was used to analyze the association between general self-efficacy and health literacy in adjusted models. The analysis revealed that higher levels of general self-efficacy and higher levels of performing activities of daily living were associated with higher levels of health literacy. Stroke survivors with higher general self-efficacy also report higher health literacy 1-year post-discharge from hospital. Future studies should focus on the pathways by which health literacy and general self-efficacy work among stroke survivors and in populations with low health literacy, severe stroke or significant cognitive impairments., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Care transitions following a stroke call for integrated care approaches to reduce death and disability. The proposed research described in this study protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a person-centred multicomponent care transition support and the process in terms of contextual moderators, implementation aspects and mechanisms of impact., Methods: A non-randomized controlled trial design will be used. The intervention includes person-centred dialogue intended to permeate all patient-provider communication, various pedagogical modes of information, a person-centred care and rehabilitation plan, and a bridging e-meeting to prepare patients for homecoming. Patients with stroke or TIA who are to be discharged from the participating hospitals to home and referred to a neurorehabilitation team for continued rehabilitation will be included. Follow-ups will be conducted at one week, 3 months and 12 months. Data will be collected on the primary outcome of perceived quality of the care transition, and on the secondary outcomes of health literacy, medication adherence, and perceived person-centeredness. Data for process evaluation will be collected through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, participatory observations, and the Normalisation Measure Development Questionnaire., Discussion: The study will provide insights on implementation, mechanisms of impact, contextual moderators, and effectiveness of a care transition support, targeting a poorly functioning part of the care trajectory for people with stroke and TIA., Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05646589., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Lindblom et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)