Schroeder, Darrell R.

Objective: The purpose of this feasibility pilot study was to evaluate safety and adherence of a wearable brain sensing wellness device designed to reduce stress among healthcare professionals (HCP). Methods: A total of 40 HCP were invited to participate in an open-label pilot study. Participants were asked to use a brain sensing wearable device (MUSE-S™) on a daily basis to reduce their stress, for a total of 90 days. Total study participation duration was 180 days. Study enrollment began in August 2021 and ended December 2021. The exploratory outcomes included stress, depression, sleep, burn-out, resilience, quality of life, and cognition. Results: Among the 40 HCP in study, the majority were female (85%), white (87.5%) and with an average age of 41.3 ± 11.0 years (SD). Participants used the wearable device an average of 23.8 times over a 30-day period with a mean duration of 5.8 min with each use. Study results demonstrate the positive impact of guided mindfulness using the wearable device MUSE-S™ and its accompanying application (APP). A statistically significant improvement was found for a reduction in stress ( P < .001) and improvement in resilience ( P = .02), quality of life ( P = .003), and cognition ( P < .001). The majority (91.9%) of the participants indicated they felt more relaxed after using the device, and 73% indicated they would continue to use this device at end-of-study. No adverse effects were reported. Conclusion: Study results show that 3 to 10 min of guided meditation during work hours through the use of a brain sensing wearable device is safe and acceptable, with associated health benefits for HCP.

Background This study aims to assess the association of postoperative stroke with intraoperative hemodynamic variability and transfusion management. Methods In this case-control study, adult patients (≥ 18 years) who had a stroke within 72 hours of a surgical procedure were matched to 2 control patients according to age, sex, and procedure type. Primary risk factors assessed were intraoperative fluid administration, blood product transfusion, vasopressor use, and measures of variability in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate: maximum, minimum, range, SD, and average real variability. The variables were analyzed with conditional logistic regression, which accounted for the 1:2 matched case-control study design. Results Among 687 581 procedures, we identified 64 postoperative strokes (incidence, 9.3 [95% CI, 7.2-11.9] strokes per 100 000 procedures). These cases were matched with 128 controls. Stroke cases had higher Charlson cmorbidity index scores than did controls (P = .046). Blood pressure and heart rate variability measures were not associated with stroke. The risk of stroke was increased with red blood cell (RBC) transfusion (odds ratio [OR], 14.82; 95% CI, 3.40-64.66; P < .001), vasopressor use (OR, 3.91; 95% CI, 1.59-9.60; P = .003), and longer procedure duration (OR, 1.23/h; 95% CI, 1.01-1.51; P = .04). Multivariable analysis of procedure duration, RBC transfusion, and vasopressor use showed that only RBC transfusion was independently associated with an increased risk of stroke (OR, 10.10; 95% CI, 2.14-47.72; P = .004). Conclusions Blood pressure variability was not associated with an increased risk of postoperative stroke; however, RBC transfusion was an independent risk factor.

Objective. To determine the prevalence of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) in patients with PH as well as precapillary PH. Methods. Olmsted County residents with PH, diagnosed between 1/1/1995 and 9/30/2017, were identified, and age and sex were matched to a normal control group. The PH group and normal control group were then cross-referenced with the Mayo Clinic MGUS database. Charts were reviewed to verify MGUS and PH. Heart catheterization data were then analyzed in these patients for reference to the gold standard for diagnosis. Results. There were 3419 patients diagnosed with PH by echocardiography between 1995 and 2017 in Olmsted County that met the criteria of our study. When the PH group (N = 3313) was matched to a normal control group (3313), a diagnosis of MGUS was significantly associated with PH 10.2% (OR = l.84 [95% CI 1.5–2.2], p < 0.001 ), compared with controls 5.8% based on echo diagnosis. Using heart catheterization data (484 patients), a diagnosis of MGUS was associated with PH 13.0% (OR = 3.94 [95% CI 2.28–6.82], p < 0.001 ). For pulmonary artery hypertension (N = 222), a diagnosis of MGUS was associated with PH at similar 12.2% (OR = 4.50 [95%CI 1.86–10.90], p < 0.001 . Conclusions. There is a higher prevalence of MGUS in patients with PH and precapillary PH compared with normal controls. This association cannot be explained fully by other underlying diagnoses associated with PH. Assessing for this in patients with PH of unclear etiology may be reasonable in the workup of patients found to have PH.

AbstractPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive pulmonary vascular disease that negatively impacts health‐related quality of life (HRQOL). The PAH‐symptoms and impact (PAH‐SYMPACT) questionnaire is a validated disease‐specific patient‐reported outcome (PRO) instrument that assesses a patient's symptoms and the impact of PAH and its treatment on well‐being. We performed a single‐center prospective cohort study of patients with PAH to determine the feasibility of assessing PROs in clinical practice and to determine the association between PAH‐SYMPACT domains and clinical characteristics and outcomes. One hundred and ten patients completed the 1‐day version of the PAH‐SYMPACT questionnaire which consists of 22 Likert‐scale questions that assess HRQOL across four domains: cardiopulmonary (CP) symptoms, cardiovascular (CV) symptoms, physical impact (PI), and cognitive and emotional (CE) impact. Higher scores indicate worse HRQOL. Patients were predominantly female (n = 86, 78%) with a mean age of 57.8 ± 16.2 years. While several patient characteristics were associated with CP and PI domains, few were associated with CV and CE domains. PI and CE impact scores were associated with recent hospitalizations and mortality and CE impact score was independently associated with an increased risk of death after adjustment for disease severity (hazard ratio: 3.29, 95% confidence interval: 1.56–6.91, p = 0.002). In conclusion, the assessment of PROs in clinical practice using the PAH‐SYMPACT questionnaire is both feasible and valuable. PAH‐SYMPACT scores have independent prognostic value and are not adequately reflected by traditional measures of disease severity. These findings underscore the importance of assessing HRQOL in clinical practice.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased burnout and staff turnover for health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the safety and acceptability of a Stress Resilience Program (SRP) for reducing perceived stress and improving resilience among HCPs during a pandemic. Method: Of the 12 HCPs expressing interest in the study, 10 were enrolled in this study. Participants attended three in-person visits (consent/screen, baseline, and end-of-study). The SRP consisted of education related to resilience enhancement and a breathing device ( BreatherFit®) for combined respiratory muscle training (cRMT). Participants completed 4 weeks of cRMT and applied situational breathing strategies as needed. Outcomes measured were changes in stress (PSS-10), resilience (BRS), depression (PRIME-MD), and sleep (PSQI and Ōura Ring®). Findings: The majority of participants were male (60%) and White (60%) with an average age of 39.7 years. Changes from baseline to end-of-treatment indicated a positive trend with significant stress reduction (−3.2 ± 3.9, p = .028) and nonsignificant depression reduction (−0.5 ± 0.7, p = .05). Resilience was high at baseline and continued to stay high during the study with a nonsignificant increase at end-of-study (+0.07 ± 0.7, p = .77). No changes in overall sleep scores were noted. All participants agreed the study was worthwhile, 80% indicated they would repeat the experience, while 90% indicated they would recommend the study to others. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Because of its size and portability, SRP is an easily applicable and promising option for reducing stress among HCPs during a high-stress period, such as a pandemic. Larger studies are needed.

Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the safety and use of a nature-based virtual reality (VR) experience among health care providers (HCP) during a pandemic. Methods: Twenty-four frontline HCP participated in this crossover pilot where the viewing order of the experiences were randomized. All participants attended in-person consent, baseline, and end-of-study visits. The intervention consisted of viewing 2 nature-based scenes (“walk in the woods” and “forest of focus”) through 3-D VR and with computer 4K graphic imagery. Randomization took place with regards to the viewing order (VR vs 4K computer video, scene 1 and 2). Outcomes measured were safety, acceptability and changes in intensity of anxiety feelings, resilience, emotional distress, cognitive function, and self-efficacy. Results: Among the 26 HCP expressing interest in the study, 24 enrolled in this study. The majority were male (58.3%), white (66.7%) and of an average age of 46.3 ± 10.5 years (standard deviation (SD)). End of the study survey showed that almost all participants (96%) would participate in the study again and recommend it to others. Twenty-three of the 24 participants also felt relaxed after seeing the imagery. With respect to anxiety (as measured by the STAI Y1), the VR “walk in the woods” had the greatest reduction from pre to post (6.4 points, SD = 5.98) followed by VR “forest of focus” (5.8 points, SD = 9.29), computer screen “forest of focus” (5.0 points, SD = 8.89), and computer screen “walk in the woods” (4.1 points, SD = 6.22). All 4 sessions had a significant decrease in score from pre to post (P-values ≤.005), but there was no significant difference in the change from pre- to post-session between the 4 groups (P-value = .5835). Conclusion: The use of the VR among HCP has promise for reducing stress among health care providers during a high stress period, such as a pandemic but much larger studies are needed.

AbstractBackgroundThe early phase of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic had a negative impact on the wellness of hospitalists and hospital medicine advanced practice providers (APPs). However, the burden of the pandemic has evolved and the change in hospitalist and hospital medicine APP wellness is unknown.ObjectiveTo evaluate the longitudinal trend in wellness of hospitalists and hospital medicine APPs during the COVID‐19 pandemic and guide wellness interventions.Design, Setting and ParticipantsBetween May 4, 2020, and June 6, 2021, we administered three surveys to Internal Medicine hospitalists (physicians) and hospital medicine APPs (nurse practitioners and physician assistants) at 16 Mayo Clinic hospitals in four U.S. states.MeasurementsWe evaluated the association of hospitalist and hospital medicine APP characteristics with PROMIS® measures of global wellbeing‐mental health, global wellbeing‐social activities and relationships, anxiety, social isolation, and emotional support, using logistic and linear regression models.ResultsThe response rates were 52.2% (n=154/295; May 2020), 37.1% (n=111/299; October 2020) and 35.5% (n=114/321; May 2021). In mixed models that included hospitalist and hospital medicine APP characteristics and survey period, APPs, compared with physicians, had lower odds of top global wellbeing‐social activities and relationships (adjusted odds ratio 0.42 [0.22–0.82]; p = .01), whereas survey period showed no association. The survey period showed an independent association with higher anxiety (May 2020 vs. others) and higher social isolation (October 2020 vs. others), whereas profession showed no association. Concern about contracting COVID‐19 at work was significantly associated with lower odds of top global wellbeing‐mental health and global wellbeing‐social activities and relationships, and with higher anxiety and social isolation. Hospitalist and hospital medicine APP characteristics showed no association with levels of emotional support.ConclusionsIn this longitudinal assessment of hospitalists and hospital medicine APPs, concern about contracting COVID‐19 at work remained a determinant of wellness. The trend for global wellbeing, anxiety, and social isolation may guide wellness interventions.