Bellin Memorial Hospital

We herein present a prospective multicentre experience of long-acting injectable (LAI) cabotegravir/rilpivirine from 11 different HIV clinics in northern Italy, focusing on the regimen's effectiveness, durability and safety in a real-life setting. We included all people who received at least one dose of LAI cabotegravir/rilpivirine, recording clinical data, and assessing factors associated with treatment discontinuation (TD) for any cause. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to estimate the probability of TD, and Cox regression models identified significant predictors of TD. A sub-analysis was conducted focusing on TD due to virological failure (VF, defined as two consecutive HIV-RNA values >200 copies/mL or a single value over 200 copies/mL leading to treatment withdrawal). We included 483 participants (81.6% males) with a median age of 49 (IQR: 40-58) years. In 74.1% of participants, the LA regimen was started by choice, with 51.8% coming from a dual oral antiretroviral regimen. During a median follow-up time of 22 (IQR: 13-26) months, 54 (11.1%) participants had TD (incidence = 0.627 per 100 person-months of follow-up), mostly due to side effects (31, 6.4%) but with 7 (1.4%) due to VF [with people reporting major integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI) and NNRTI resistance mutations in 71.4% cases]. When multivariable analysis was performed, age, years with HIV, CD4/CD8 ratio and BMI were significantly associated with TD. Also, we detected that the number of previous antiretroviral regimens was significantly associated with VF. Despite the overall effectiveness, TD was observed in a specific subset of people, primarily due to side effects, with a smaller proportion experiencing VF. Factors associated with both TD and VF underscore the importance of personalized selection to optimize LAI cabotegravir/rilpivirine outcomes and to improve regimen persistence.

Concealed conduction is a common electrocardiographic phenomenon whereby a series of events may occur as a result of incomplete propagation of an impulse. The occurrence, maintenance, and resolution (termination) of several events such as functional block and cardiac arrhythmias are linked to concealed conduction. This phenomenon should be suspected on the surface electrocardiogram whenever an arrhythmic event occurs unexpectedly. Several electrophysiological concepts such as transseptal conduction and linking phenomenon are close allies of concealed conduction. His-bundle electrocardiography and comprehensive electrophysiology may be needed to verify this phenomenon.

The business philosophy of total quality management is saturating the healthcare arena, and with it brings new meaning to the old concept of team. Nurses are not exempt from this concept, and will be expected to become effective team leaders and team members. The author reviews the literature on teams to define the concept of teams in the context of group process, and discuss effective team characteristics and barriers that often impede the success of teams. Whether the nurse carries the hat of educator, administrator, practitioner, or staff nurse, all will be part of a team within the changing healthcare environment.

After observing the results of continuous quality improvement, no one would argue against its value in the workplace. However, learning to apply the concepts requires change on everyone's part, and the challenge lies in effecting this change. Not everyone will want to work in this type of environment and, if the organization is truly committed to continuous quality improvement, those individuals may have to make hard decisions as to whether the organization is the right place for them to work. Certain skills are required for staff empowerment to be successful, and training in these skills is essential. The medical record department staff learned early in this process that, although the group possessed job skills, interaction and team skills were lacking. The Development Dimensions International program helped the managers and staff identify the weaknesses of the group and provided educational tools for improvement. The changes often are so subtle, the group does not realize anything has changed. It was not until recently, when the medical record department staff was requested by administration to identify department quality improvement projects, that the group looked back at where the process started and realized how different things are today from three years ago--now staff members lead team meetings, work-groups are redesigning their job processes, and teams update the rest of the department staff on its progress at department meetings. Everyone expressed a sense of pride and accomplishment that the group had indeed responded to the challenge. The experiences of the medical record department thus far clearly support empowerment of employees.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Nrse Manager, Advanced Care Department Bellin Memorial Hosital Critical Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Bellin Memorial Hospital Green Bay, Wisconsin