Obtaining the patient's perspective on frailty: a mini-review of qualitative studies.

There is a small, but growing, evidence base on obtaining the patient's perspective on frailty, which can help guide future research and clinical management strategies. This mini-review provides a brief summary of some qualitative studies on the patient's perspective on frailty with a focus on the study design and emerging findings to date. We reviewed seven studies in total, examining how they approached the research question and their main findings.

A primer on incorporating sex as a biological variable into the conduct and reporting of basic and clinical research studies.

The recent move to require sex as a biological variable (SABV), which includes gender, into the reporting of research published by the follows a growing, and much-needed, trend by journals. Understandably, there is concern over how to do this without adding considerable work, especially if one's primary research focus is not on elucidating sex/gender differences. The purpose of this article is to provide additional guidance and examples on how to incorporate SABV into the conduct and reporting of basic and clinical research.

Development and Initial Validation of the PROMIS®-Plus-HF Profile Measure.

Background Bringing together generic and heart failure (HF)-specific items in a publicly available, patient-reported outcome measure may facilitate routine health status assessment for improving clinical care and shared decision-making, assessing quality of care, evaluating new interventions, and comparing groups with different conditions. Methods and Results We performed a mixed-methods study to develop and validate the PROMIS®-Plus-HF (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System®-Plus-Heart Failure) profile measure-a HF-specific instrument based on the generic PROMIS. We conducted 8 focus groups with 61 patients with HF and phone interviews with 10 HF clinicians.

Patient and Caregiver Determinants of Patient Quality of Life and Caregiver Strain in Left Ventricular Assist Device Therapy.

Background: Although current guidelines emphasize the importance of social support to the success of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy, few studies examine the influence of the caregiver on patient outcomes or quantify the impact of LVAD caregiving on caregiver outcomes. The purpose of this analysis was to identify patient and caregiver determinants of patient quality of life (QOL) and caregiver strain in response to LVAD therapy.

Methods And Results: Data on patients receiving LVAD therapy and their caregivers (n=50 dyads) were prospectively collected pre-implantation and 1, 3, and 6 months post-implantation.

Frequency of and Significance of Physical Frailty in Patients With Heart Failure.

Physical frailty is an important prognostic indicator in heart failure (HF); however, few studies have examined the relation between physical frailty and invasive hemodynamics among adults with HF. The purpose of this study was to characterize physical frailty in HF in relation to invasive hemodynamics. We enrolled 49 patients with New York Heart Association class II to IV HF when participants were scheduled for a right-sided cardiac heart catheterization procedure.

Induction bortezomib in Al amyloidosis followed by high dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation: a single institution retrospective study.

Introduction/background: High-dose melphalan (HDM) followed by autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) for light chain amyloidosis (AL) was performed in 31 patients at Oregon Health and Science University between 2005 and 2012. Fifteen patients had cardiac involvement.

Patients And Methods: Patients received melphalan 200 mg/m(2) or dose-adjusted HDM (100-140 mg/m(2)) depending on high risk features.