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Abstract Background The loss of alveolar walls is a hallmark of emphysema. As fibroblasts play an important role in the maintenance of alveolar structure, a change in fibroblast phenotype could be involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. In a previous study we found a reduced in vitro proliferation rate and number of population doublings of parenchymal lung fibroblasts from patients with emphysema and we hypothesized that these findings could be related to a premature cellular aging of these cells. In this study, we therefore compared cellular senescence markers and expression of respective genes between lung fibroblasts from patients with emphysema and control patients without COPD. Methods Primary lung fibroblasts were obtained from 13 patients with moderate to severe lung emphysema (E) and 15 controls (C) undergoing surgery for lung tumor resection or volume reduction (n = 2). Fibroblasts (8E/9C) were stained for senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal). In independent cultures, DNA from lung fibroblasts (7E/8C) was assessed for mean telomere length. Two exploratory 12 k cDNA microarrays were used to assess gene expression in pooled fibroblasts (3E/3C). Subsequently, expression of selected genes was evaluated by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in fibroblasts of individual patients (10E/9C) and protein concentration was analyzed in the cell culture supernatant. Results The median (quartiles) percentage of fibroblasts positive for SA-β-Gal was 4.4 (3.2;4.7) % in controls and 16.0 (10.0;24.8) % in emphysema (p = 0.001), while telomere length was not different. Among the candidates for differentially expressed genes in the array (factor ≥ 3), 15 were upregulated and 121 downregulated in emphysema. qPCR confirmed the upregulation of insulin-like growth factor-binding protein (IGFBP)-3 and IGFBP-rP1 (p = 0.029, p = 0.0002), while expression of IGFBP-5, -rP2 (CTGF), -rP4 (Cyr61), FOSL1, LOXL2, OAZ1 and CDK4 was not different between groups. In line with the gene expression we found increased cell culture supernatant concentrations of IGFBP-3 (p = 0.006) in emphysema. Conclusion These data support the hypothesis that premature aging of lung fibroblasts occurs in emphysema, via a telomere-independent mechanism. The upregulation of the senescence-associated IGFBP-3 and -rP1 in emphysema suggests that inhibition of the action of insulin and insulin-like growth factors could be involved in the reduced in vitro-proliferation rate.

The guideline of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) on quality assessment measures for the care of patients with hip fracture makes it mandatory for hospitals to use an appropriate geriatric screening instrument in the context of acute inpatient care. After systematic application of GeriNOT and data collection in the admission process with integration into the Hospital Information System (HIS), it is possible to identify potential risks in geriatric patients with other diagnoses as well.With the integration of GeriNOT into the acute inpatient admission process, it was examined whether vulnerable geriatric patients with other diagnoses could benefit from the early initiation of risk identification.The data base for the present study was a retrospective bicentric collection of electronic case records (May 2014 to April 2015, n = 3,443). From this primary data set, the subgroup of inpatient acute admissions (n = 821) in the orthopaedic/trauma surgery of a study centre was analysed and evaluated with respect to the endpoints "utilisation of needs-based post-inpatient care services" and "new admission to inpatient permanent/short-term care". The predictive power and classification accuracy of GeriNOT of these patients who were 70 years and older to the endpoints were assessed for several groups: total acute admissions, total fractures, hip fracture, and spinal disorders including spinal fractures.A total of 821 patients were admitted as acute inpatients during the study period. The mean age of the patients was 81.4 ± 6.8 years (n = 821; 68.1% women, 31.9% men). The following subgroups were formed and analysed: total fractures (n = 490), spinal disorders (n = 265) including spinal fractures (n = 174), and hip fracture (n = 108). Both in the overall group (n = 821; M = 4.279; SD = 2.180) and in the subgroups, the mean GeriNOT score was above the threshold ≥ 4. The highest score was found in the hip fracture group (M = 4.852; SD = 2.022), and the lowest in the spine fracture group (M = 4.177; SD = 2.171). At admission, if the terms of variables for requiring treatment were "polypharmacy" and "nursing services already used as needed", there were only slight differences in the diagnostic groups. Admissions from short-term and long-term care occurred in the total group in 16.44% of cases, most frequently with 31.48% in the group of hip fractures, compared to spinal diseases with 6.79%. For this group, GeriNOT detected an elevated risk with respect to the defined endpoints. However, only 4.26% of all patients with identified geriatric risk potential received further geriatric care.The results showed increased geriatric risk in all analysed groups, but most pronouncedly within the group of spinal diseases. The HIS-supported use of GeriNOT offers the possibility of systematic risk identification in acute inpatient admission management. The continuous visualisation of results at HIS workstations throughout the workflow could be used as a starting point for the subsequent application of standardized assessment tools and risk-adjusted treatment pathways. These findings could potentially improve outcomes., Competing Interests: Die Autorinnen/Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Background: In older multimorbid orthopedic and rheumatic patients, data on symptoms besides pain or reduced mobility are rarely published., Objective: We investigated patients' perspectives on their symptoms after hospital discharge., Material and Methods: Orthopedic and rheumatic patients aged over 70 years were asked via telephone interviews about (i) their symptoms, (ii) communication, (iii) treatment, and (iv) support., Results: (i) The 60 participants (35 women and 25 men) reported a median of 6 (min-max: 1-14) different symptoms, of which 86% (356 of 415) had existed before hospitalization, (ii) patients did not communicate 28% (117) of symptoms to either healthcare professionals, family or friends and (iii) 52 (87%) patients desired improvement. Of the 280 most impairing symptoms, 19% (52) were not treated at all. (iv) Almost all patients (59; 98%) considered it easy to obtain support., Conclusion: Remarkably, many symptoms were not communicated or treated despite the patients having been hospitalized., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Geriatric-specific characteristics influence patient-relevant outcomes of inpatient hospital care in patients aged 70 years and older: prolonged length of stay, complications, increase in utilization of required services as well as mortality rates., Objective: The screening tool GeriNOT, identification of geriatric risk potential with 7 items, of which mobility and cognition are double-weighted, score 9 points, was tested for its predictive content and diagnostic quality., Material and Methods: Diagnostic study from a retrospective, bicentric complete survey in all types of admission from 70 years with 2541 patient cases. Regression analyses in linked samples of the 7 items in GeriNOT and as noncombined end points: prolonged length of stay, complications, increase in need-based service at discharge and death., Results: Mean age ± SD: 77.0 ± 6.4 years. ROC analyses report at a cut-off value calculated using the Youden index of ≥ 4 points in 2541 cases: increase in need-based service at discharge (AUC = 0.693, 95% CI = 0.663-0.723, sensitivity 75.2%, specificity 59.7%), complications (AUC = 0.662, 95% CI = 0.636-0.688, sensitivity 64.2%, specificity 61.6%) and death (AUC = 0.734, 95% CI = 0.682-0.786, sensitivity 76.4%, specificity 57.5%). Possibly suitable for use as screening to identify geriatric risk potentials at a cut-off of ≥ 4 points., Discussion: Provide an initial filter screening with regard to mobility. Such identification could provide the involved persons with the opportunity for an improved treatment outcome by adapting the inpatient process. Prospective validation of GeriNOT needed., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

This article examines the risk of falls of orthopaedic surgery patients on admission to hospital. For this purpose, an internal clinical fall risk score was developed, which divides the patients into three risk categories. Subsequently, the validity of the score was recorded and possibilities for reducing the individual risk of falling were pointed out. The results show that the score can identify patients at high risk of falling on admission., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest./Die Autoren geben an, dass kein Interessenkonflikt besteht., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Smoking is known to be linked to skin ageing and there is evidence for premature senescence of parenchymal lung fibroblasts in emphysema. To reveal whether the emphysema-related changes in cellular phenotype extend beyond the lung, we compared the proliferation characteristics of lung and skin fibroblasts between patients with and without emphysema. Parenchymal lung fibroblasts and skin fibroblasts from the upper torso (thus limiting sun exposure bias) were obtained from patients without, or with mild, or with moderate to severe emphysema undergoing lung surgery. We analysed proliferation rate, population doublings (PD), staining for senescence-associated beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) and gene expression of IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-rP1. Population doubling time of lung fibroblasts differed between control, mild, and moderate to severe emphysema (median (IQR) 29.7(10.0), 33.4(6.1), 44.4(21.2) h; p=0.012) and staining for beta-gal was elevated in moderate to severe emphysema. Compared to control subjects, skin fibroblasts from patients with emphysema did not differ with respect to proliferation rate, PD and beta-gal staining, and showed a lower abundance of mRNA for IGFBP-3 and -rP1 (p<0.05, each). These results suggest that the induction of a senescent fibroblast phenotype by cigarette smoke, as observed in emphysema, primarily occurs in the lung.