Empowering health care innovations:A look forward into 2024

As we unveil the first issue of Health Care Science in 2024,it's a moment of reflection and anticipation.Under the astute guidance of our leadership and the collective wisdom of our distinguished Editorial Board Members,we've journeyed through an extraordinary year,marking significant milestones and embracing challenges with resilience and innovation.We believe our progress reflects not just a testament to our commitment but also an indication of our role in driving healthcare innovation and excellence.

Cost-benefit and discriminant validity of a stepwise dementia case-finding approach in an Asian older adult community

Background Case-finding is a recommended approach for dementia early detection in the community.Aims To investigate the discriminant validity and cost-effectiveness of a stepwise dementia case-finding approach in a Singaporean older adult community.Methods The two-phase study was conducted in the community from 2009 to 2015 in Singapore.A total of 3780 participants(age≥60 years)completed phase I(a brief cognitive screening);918 completed phase II and were included in the final analysis.In phase I,all participants were administered the Abbreviated Mental Test(AMT)and the Progressive Forgetfulness Question(PFQ).Those who screened positive on either test were invited to phase II,whereby the Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE),Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)and a formal neuropsychological battery were administered,followed by the research diagnosis of no cognitive impairment,cognitive impairment no dementia(CIND)-Mild(≤2 impaired cognitive domains),CIND-Moderate(>2 impaired domains)or dementia.Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were conducted for the different cognitive instruments.All discriminant indices were calculated,including sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive values(NPV)and accuracy.Cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted by estimating the amount of screening time needed and the number of older adults requiring re-evaluation in two case-finding scenarios,ie,with or without preselection by the PFQ.Results The stepwise case-finding approach(preselection by the PFQ,then MMSE or MoCA or AMT)showed an excellent NPV(>99%)and accuracy(>86%)for excluding dementia-free cases.Without preselection by the PFQ,screening time for the three cognitive tools were 317.5,317.5 and 254 hours,with 159,302 and 175 screen-positive older adults involved in further evaluation.By adopting the stepwise case-finding approach,total screening time were 156.5,156.5 and 126.2 hours,which decreased by 50.7%,50.7% and 50.3% as compared with those without preselection.Furthermore,after preselection,only 98,167 and 145 screen-positive older adults required further evaluation,corresponding to a reduction of 38.4%,44.7% and 17.1% in the numbers compared with those without preselection.Conclusions A stepwise approach for dementia case-finding should be implemented in the community to minimise the time and resources needed for large-scale early detection of dementia.

Health CareScience-Why anotherjournalandwhywe will bedifferent?

Why another journal?As of 2021,there are over 7000 SCIE(The Science Citation Index Expanded)or ESCI(The Emerging Sources Citation Index)indexed journals listed under the category of Clinical Medicine in Clarivate Journal Citation Reports,of which 263 journals are featuring health care sciences,policy,and services.How would another journal help?What gaps are we trying to fill?

Real-world evidence on the efficacy and safety of vonoprazanamoxicillin dual therapy for Helicobacter pylori treatment in elderly patients

BACKGROUND A dual therapy regimen containing amoxicillin is a common treatment option for the eradication of Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori).While substantial research supports the efficacy and safety of vonoprazan and amoxicillin(VA)dual therapy in the general population,there is still a lack of studies specifically focusing on its safety in elderly patients.AIM To evaluate efficacy and safety of VA dual therapy as first-line or rescue treatment for H.pylori in elderly patients.METHODS As a real-world retrospective study,data were collected from elderly patients aged 60 years and above who accepted VA dual therapy(vonoprazan 20 mg twice daily+amoxicillin 1000 mg thrice daily for 14 days)for H.pylori eradication in the Department of Gastroenterology at Peking University First Hospital between June 2020 and January 2024.H.pylori status was evaluated by^(13)C-urease breath test 6 weeks after treatment.All adverse events(AEs)during treatment were recorded.RESULTS In total,401 cases were screened.Twenty-one cases were excluded due to loss to follow-up,lack of re-examination,or unwillingness to take medication.The total of 380 included cases comprised 250 who received VA dual therapy as first-line treatment and 130 who received VA dual therapy as rescue treatment.H.pylori was successfully eradicated in 239 cases(95.6%)in the first-line treatment group and 116 cases(89.2%)in the rescue treatment group.The overall incidence of AEs was 9.5%for both groups.Specifically,9.2%of patients experienced an AE in the first-line treatment group and 10.0%in the rescue treatment group.Five patients discontinued treatment due to AE,with a discontinuation rate of 1.3%.No serious AE occurred.CONCLUSION The VA dual therapy regimen as a first-line treatment and a rescue therapy was effective and safe for elderly patients aged 60 and older.

COVID-19 vaccine updates for people under different conditions

SARS-CoV-2 has caused global waves of infection since December 2019 and continues to persist today.The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants with strong immune evasion capabilities has compromised the effectiveness of existing vaccines against breakthrough infections.Therefore,it is important to determine the best utilization strategies for different demographic groups given the variety of vaccine options available.In this review,we will discuss the protective efficacy of vaccines during different stages of the epidemic and emphasize the importance of timely updates to target prevalent variants,which can significantly improve immune protection.While it is recognized that vaccine effectiveness may be lower in certain populations such as the elderly,individuals with chronic comorbidities(e.g.,diabetes with poor blood glucose control,those on maintenance dialysis),or those who are immunocompromised compared to the general population,administering multiple doses can result in a strong protective immune response that outweighs potential risks.However,caution should be exercised when considering vaccines that might trigger an intense immune response in populations prone to inflammatory flare or other complications.In conclusion,individuals with special conditions require enhanced and more effective immunization strategies to prevent infection or reinfection,as well as to avoid the potential development of long COVID.

基于大语言模型的糖尿病管理:潜力与展望

The increasing prevalence of diabetes has become a global public health concern in the 21st century.In 2021,it was estimated that 537 million people had diabetes,and this number is projected to reach 643 million by 2030,and 783 million by 2045[1].Such a huge burden of diabetes brings great challenges in its prevention and management,including early diagnosis,timely interventions,and regular monitoring of risk factor control and complications screening.Continuous self-care support and patient empowerment can enhance clinical and psychobehavioural outcomes[2],although these require additional resources including manpower,infrastructure(hard and technology),and finances.The emergence of digital health technologies(DHTs),especially artificial intelligence(AI),may help address these obstacles and alleviate the burden of diabetes[3].Large language models(LLMs),a generative AI that can accept image and text inputs and produce text outputs,have shown promise in various aspects of medical care.