| 1. |
- Agborsangaya, Calypse, et al.
(författare)
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The effects of storage time and sampling season on the stability of serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D and androstenedione
- 2010
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Ingår i: Nutrition and Cancer. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0163-5581 .- 1532-7914. ; 62:1, s. 51-57
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Knowledge of the stability of serum samples stored in large biobanks is pivotal for reliable assessment of hormone-dependent disease risks. We studied the effects of sample storage time and season of serum sampling on the stability of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OHD) and androstenedione in a stratified random sample of 402 women, using paired sera from the Finnish Maternity Cohort. Serum samples selected were donated between 6 and 24 yr ago. The storage time did not affect serum 25-OHD and androstenedione levels. However, there was a significant mean difference in the 25-OHD levels of sera withdrawn during winter (first sample) vs. during summer (second sample; -18.4 nmol/l, P ≤ 0.001). Also at the individual level, there were significant differences in average 25-OHD levels between individuals with the paired sera taken at winter–winter compared with other alternatives (summer–winter, winter–summer, and summer–summer). The androstenedione levels showed no such differences. Long-term storage does not affect serum 25-OHD and androstenedione levels, but sampling season is an important determinant of 25-OHD levels. Stored serum samples can be used to study disease associations with both hormones. However, sampling season needs to be taken into account for 25-OHD by considering matching and stratification and, if possible, serial sampling.
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| 4. |
- Behnam-Motlagh, Parviz, et al.
(författare)
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Verotoxin-1 Treatment or Manipulation of its Receptor Globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) for Reversal of Multidrug Resistance to Cancer Chemotherapy
- 2010
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Ingår i: Toxins. - Basel : MDPI. - 2072-6651. ; 2:10, s. 2467-2477
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- A major problem with anti-cancer drug treatment is the development of acquired multidrug resistance (MDR) of the tumor cells. Verotoxin-1 (VT-1) exerts its cytotoxicity by targeting the globotriaosylceramide membrane receptor (Gb3), a glycolipid associated with multidrug resistance. Gb3 is overexpressed in many human tumors and tumor cell lines with inherent or acquired MDR. Gb3 is co-expressed and interplays with the membrane efflux transporter P-gp encoded by the MDR1 gene. P-gp could act as a lipid flippase and stimulate Gb3 induction when tumor cells are exposed to cancer chemotherapy. Recent work has shown that apoptosis and inherent or acquired multidrug resistance in Gb3-expressing tumors could be affected by VT-1 holotoxin, a sub-toxic concentration of the holotoxin concomitant with chemotherapy or its Gb3-binding B-subunit coupled to cytotoxic or immunomodulatory drug, as well as chemical manipulation of Gb3 expression. The interplay between Gb3 and P-gp thus gives a possible physiological approach to augment the chemotherapeutic effect in multidrug resistant tumors.
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| 5. |
- Bölenius, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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A content validated questionnaire for assessment of self reported venous blood sampling practices
- 2012
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Ingår i: BMC Research Notes. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1756-0500. ; 5, s. 39-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Venous blood sampling is a common procedure in health care. It is strictly regulated by national and international guidelines. Deviations from guidelines due to human mistakes can cause patient harm. Validated questionnaires for health care personnel can be used to assess preventable "near misses"--i.e. potential errors and nonconformities during venous blood sampling practices that could transform into adverse events. However, no validated questionnaire that assesses nonconformities in venous blood sampling has previously been presented. The aim was to test a recently developed questionnaire in self reported venous blood sampling practices for validity and reliability.FINDINGS: We developed a questionnaire to assess deviations from best practices during venous blood sampling. The questionnaire contained questions about patient identification, test request management, test tube labeling, test tube handling, information search procedures and frequencies of error reporting. For content validity, the questionnaire was confirmed by experts on questionnaires and venous blood sampling. For reliability, test-retest statistics were used on the questionnaire answered twice. The final venous blood sampling questionnaire included 19 questions out of which 9 had in total 34 underlying items. It was found to have content validity. The test-retest analysis demonstrated that the items were generally stable. In total, 82% of the items fulfilled the reliability acceptance criteria.CONCLUSIONS: The questionnaire could be used for assessment of "near miss" practices that could jeopardize patient safety and gives several benefits instead of assessing rare adverse events only. The higher frequencies of "near miss" practices allows for quantitative analysis of the effect of corrective interventions and to benchmark preanalytical quality not only at the laboratory/hospital level but also at the health care unit/hospital ward.
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| 6. |
- Bölenius, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Impact of a large-scale educational intervention program on venous blood specimen collection practices
- 2013
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Ingår i: BMC Health Services Research. - : BioMed Central. - 1472-6963. ; 13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Phlebotomy performed with poor adherence to venous blood specimen collection (VBSC) guidelines jeopardizes patient safety and may lead to patient suffering and adverse events. A first questionnaire study demonstrated low compliance to VBSC guidelines, motivating an educational intervention of all phlebotomists within a county council. The aim was to evaluate the impact of a large-scale educational intervention program (EIP) on primary health care phlebotomists' adherence to VBSC guidelines. We hypothesised that the EIP would improve phlebotomists' VBSC practical performance.METHODS: The present study comprise primary health care centres (n = 61) from two county councils in northern Sweden. The final selected study group consisted of phlebotomists divided into an intervention group (n = 84) and a corresponding control group (n = 79). Both groups responded to a validated self-reported VBSC questionnaire twice. The EIP included three parts: guideline studies, an oral presentation, and an examination. Non-parametric statistics were used for comparison within and between the groups.RESULTS: Evaluating the EIP, we found significant improvements in the intervention group compared to the control group on self-reported questionnaire responses regarding information search (ES = 0.23-0.33, p < 0.001-0.003), and patient rest prior to phlebotomy (ES = 0.27, p = 0.004). Test request management, patient identity control, release of venous stasis, and test tube labelling had significantly improved in the intervention group but did not significantly differ from the control group (ES = 0.22- 0.49, p = < 0.001- 0.006). The control group showed no significant improvements at all (ES = 0--0.39, p = 0.016-0.961).CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated several significant improvements on phlebotomists' adherence to VBSC practices. Still, guideline adherence improvement to several crucial phlebotomy practices is needed. We cannot conclude that the improvements are solely due to the EIP and suggest future efforts to improve VBSC. The program should provide time for reflections and discussions. Furthermore, a modular structure would allow directed educational intervention based on the specific VBSC guideline flaws existing at a specific unit. Such an approach is probably more effective at improving and sustaining adherence to VBSC guidelines than an EIP containing general pre-analytical practices.
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| 7. |
- Bölenius, Karin, 1973-
(författare)
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Improving venous blood specimen collection practices : method development and evaluation of an educational intervention program
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: About 60%–80% of decisions regarding diagnosis and treatment are based on laboratory test results. Low adherence to venous blood specimen collection (VBSC) guidelines may lead to erroneous or delayed test results, causing patient harm and high healthcare costs. Educational intervention programs (EIPs) to update, improve and sustain VBSC practices are seldom evaluated. After testing a self-reported venous blood sampling questionnaire, the overall aim of this thesis was to evaluate the impact of a large-scale EIP on healthcare personnel’s VBSC practices.Methods: The study settings were primary healthcare centres (PHCs) in northern Sweden. Participants were VBSC personnel. Data consisted of a VBSC questionnaire of self-reported practices, records of low-level haemolysis index in serum samples (specimen quality indicator), and interviews reflecting VBSC practices. First, experts on questionnaires and VBSC were consulted, and test-retest statistics were used when testing the VBSC questionnaire for validity and reliability. Thereafter, we evaluated the impact of a short, large-scale EIP with a before-after approach comparing self-reported VBSC questionnaire of two county councils. The personnel of the county councils (n = 61 PHCs) were divided into an intervention group (n = 84) and a corresponding control group (n = 79). In order to test changes in blood specimen quality we monitored haemolysis in serum samples (2008, n = 6652 samples and 2010, n = 6121 samples) from 11 PHCs. Finally, 30 VBSC personnel from 10 PHCs reported their experiences. The interview questions were open-ended with reflective elements and the interviews were analysed by qualitative content analysis.Results: The VBSC questionnaire was found to be valid and could be used to identify risk of errors (near misses) and evaluate the impact of an EIP emphasising VBSC guideline adherence. The intervention group demonstrated several significant improvements in self-reported practices after the EIP, such as information search, patient rest, test request management, patient identification, release of venous stasis, and test tube labelling. The control group showed no significant improvements. In total, PHCs showed minor differences in blood specimen quality. Interviews summarized VBSC personnel experiences in the overall theme: education opened up opportunities for reflection about safety. Conclusion: This thesis is, to our knowledge, the first to evaluate the impacts of a large-scale EIP on VBSC practices. The VBSC questionnaire and monitoring for low-level haemolysis reflected VBSC practices. The frequently occurring near-miss markers made it possible to compare and benchmark VBSC practices down to the healthcare unit and hospital ward. The short, general EIP opened up opportunities for reflection about safety and improved VBSC practices in PHCs with larger deviations from guidelines. EIPs that provide time for reflection and discussion could improve VBSC further. Directed EIPs focused on specific VBSC flaws might be more effective for some near misses in VBSC practices, while some near misses must be changed at a different level in the system.Clinical relevance: Our results indicate that monitoring and counteracting the near misses in VBSC practices is a well-functioning preventive action. We propose that the VBSC monitoring instruments (VBSC questionnaire & haemolysis index) we used and the EIP strategy proposed should be tested in additional countries with different healthcare settings. It is suggested that a national program intended to identify near misses and prevent VBSC errors be developed in the healthcare system. General e-learning programs may be cheaper than, and as effective as, the EIP program and may be performed everywhere and any time. Systematic planning, useful for reflection and with focus on the specific elements in a skill, together with VBSC guidelines, could probably increase improvements. Our studies have led to deeper and extended knowledge of the impact of an EIP on VBSC practices. Our results can be used when considering future VBSC practice interventions. Using a model for practical skills in nursing to describe VBSC in a more holistic and less technical way might highlight VBSC as a practical nursing skill.
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| 8. |
- Bölenius, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Minor improvement of venous blood specimen collection practices in primary health care after a large-scale educational intervention
- 2013
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Ingår i: Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1434-6621 .- 1437-4331. ; 51:2, s. 303-310
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Venous blood specimen collection is a common health care practice that has to follow strict guidelines, non-compliance among sampling staff may compromise patient safety. We evaluated a large-scale 2 h educational intervention that emphasised guideline adherence to assess possible improvements of venous blood specimen collection practices.Methods: Blood specimen haemolysis is usually caused by inadequate venous blood specimen collection and handling, reflecting overall pre-analytical handling. We monitored haemolysis of serum samples with haemolysis index corresponding to ≥150 mg/L of free haemoglobin for specimens sent from 11 primary health care centres and analysed on a Vitros 5,1 clinical chemistry analyser before (2008, n=6652 samples) and after (2010, n=6121 samples) the intervention.Results: The total percentage of haemolysed specimens was 11.8% compared to 10.5% (p=0.022) before the intervention. As groups, rural primary health care centres demonstrated a significant reduction [Odds ratios (OR)=0.744] of haemolysed specimens after intervention, whereas urban primary health care centres demonstrated a significant increase (OR=1.451) of haemolysis.Conclusions: A large-scale 2 h educational intervention to make venous blood specimen collection staff comply with guideline practices had minor effects on collection practices. Educational interventions may be effective in wards/care centres demonstrating venous blood specimen collection practices with larger deviations from guidelines.
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| 9. |
- Chen, Tianhui, et al.
(författare)
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Circulating sex steroids during pregnancy and maternal risk of non-epithelial ovarian cancer
- 2011
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Ingår i: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. - 1055-9965 .- 1538-7755. ; 20:2, s. 324-336
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This is the first prospective study providing initial evidence that elevated androgens play a role in the pathogenesis of SCST. Impact: Our study may note a particular need for larger confirmatory investigations on sex steroids and NEOC. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 20(2); 324-36. ©2010 AACR.
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| 10. |
- Chen, Tianhui, et al.
(författare)
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IGF-I during primiparous pregnancy and maternal risk of breast cancer
- 2010
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Ingår i: Breast Cancer Research and Treatment. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0167-6806 .- 1573-7217. ; 121:1, s. 169-175
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Previously, we reported that insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I during early pregnancy is positively associated with maternal risk of breast cancer. To further explore this association, we designed a new study limited to women who donated a blood sample during their first pregnancy ending with childbirth. A case-control study was nested within the Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort in which repository since 1975, serum specimens remaining after early pregnancy screening for infectious diseases had been preserved. Study subjects were selected among women who donated a blood sample during the full-term pregnancy that led to the birth of their first child. Two hundred and forty-four women with invasive breast cancer were eligible. Two controls, matching the index case for age and date at blood donation were selected (n = 453). IGF-I was measured in serum samples on an Immulite 2000 analyzer. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. A significant positive association of breast cancer with IGF-I was observed, with OR of 1.73 (95% CI: 1.14-2.63) for the top tertile, P < 0.009. Subgroup analyses did not indicate statistical heterogeneity of the association by ages at sampling and diagnosis or by lag time to cancer diagnosis, although somewhat stronger associations with risk were observed in women < or = age 25 at index pregnancy and for cases diagnosed within 15 years of blood donation. The results of the study add further evidence for an adverse effect of elevated IGF-I concentrations during early reproductive life on risk of breast cancer.
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