All those working with children should be able to assess safeguarding risks and potential harm (RCPCH, 2014).AimsWe conducted a quality improvement project looking at documentation in ED, assessing if basic assessment of risk was undertaken for all children seen and if safeguarding concerns were raised and referrals made appropriately. We then assessed if weekly feedback sessions given to the teams involved and a change in proforma improved the overall documentation of basic assessments of risk.Methodology97 notes were analysed over 7 weeks, selected at random from Paediatrics, Paediatric ED and Majors for 16–17 year olds looking at: Patient’s demographic details completedDocumentation at triage if patient has a social workerDoctor documenting about social care involvement and full social historyConcerns raised appropriatelyReferrals made appropriatelyShould concerns have been raised given the presentation? During the project we gave weekly 10 mins feedback sessions to ED and Paediatric teams highlighting our findings and explaining best practice guidelines. On week 7 only Paediatric notes, using a new clerking proforma with safeguarding questions pre-written, were analysed. ResultsThe most significant findings were:1617 year olds seen in Majors were triaged as adults triggering no questions on social care involvement.There was poor documentation by Doctors of social history and social care involvement across all 3 clinical areas for 86% of notes. This improved significantly after feedback sessions and the change in proforma.4 cases raised safeguarding concerns, 3 of those were 16–17 year olds. Only 1 triggered correct referral procedures. We identified further 6 cases that should have triggered further safeguarding assessment. Of those 4 were of 16–17 year olds. ConclusionWe have demonstrated that regular feedback and a change in proforma had a positive impact, improving documentation. However, the biggest concern remained about 16–17 years olds, who are a particularly vulnerable patient group. More work, including harmonisation of proformas for all children (under 18) seen in ED and further training needs to be undertaken to ensure full assessments are conducted on all children.
Introduction Intriguing rodent studies and epidemiological data suggest that iron metabolism and adipocytokines crosstalk to regulate glucose metabolism and fuel storage. Iron parameters have not been previously studied in patients with lipodystrophy whereas increased iron stores have been associated with type 2 diabetes. In this study, we sought to investigate the status of iron parameters in patients with partial lipodystrophy (PL) and to interrogate whether the adipocyte hormone leptin can modulate iron metabolism. Methods Serum samples of 19 patients with PL (age: 42, IQR: 34-57, M/F: 3/16) were used from an open-label study previously performed at the University of Michigan evaluating the efficacy of metreleptin in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NCT01679197) to measure ferritin, hepcidin, iron, and transferrin soluble receptor levels. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels were also determined as broader changes in inflammatory pathways may potentially impact circulating ferritin levels. Results were integrated into an existing database of metabolic parameters. Data are presented as median, IQR. Results At baseline, ferritin levels were positively correlated with fasting glucose (r = 0.533; p = 0.023) and HbA1c (r = 0.510; p = 0.031). During the 6 months of therapy period, HbA1c (9.2%, 7.3-10.3 vs. month-3: 8.6%, 7.7-9.6; p = 0.099; and month-6: 8.5%, 6.8-9.5; p = 0.264), triglyceride levels (346 mg/dL, 240-1771 vs. month-3: 346 mg/dl, 237-479; p = 0.047; and month-6: 295 mg/dl, 207-495; p = 0.091), and hepatic fat (12.7%, 9.8-20.6 vs. month-6: 8.9%, 7.0-11.0; p = 0.031)} decreased. Reductions were observed in serum ferritin after metreleptin treatment (83.23 ng/mL, 76.43-178.97 vs. month-3: 73.79 ng/ml, 68.30-78.59; p = 0.007; and month-6: 61.03 ng/mL, 46.45-157.74; p = 0.004). There was a tendency for hepcidin and iron to be decreased, but this did not reach statistical significance. On the other hand, there were notable reductions in hs-CRP levels at 6 months compared to baseline (2.94 mg/L, 1.30-4.80 vs. 1.6 mg/L, 1.00-6.30; p = 0.012). Baseline leptin level was inversely correlated with percent reduction in hs-CRP at month-6 (r = -0.685; p = 0.001). Also, modest correlations were observed between changes in serum iron and triglycerides (r = 0.491, p = 0.033) and hepatic fat (r = 0.412, p = 0.079). Conclusions We observed a significant relationship between ferritin and glucose control in a group of patients with PL. Metreleptin therapy was associated with improvements in triglycerides and hepatic fat and there were also significant decreases in ferritin and hs-CRP levels. These results raise the possibility that metreleptin therapy influences iron metabolism. However, whether the decrease in ferritin indicates a decrease in iron stores or is mediated by an effect on inflammation remains unknown.
Background: An 18-year-old patient with atypical partial lipodystrophy had a transient initial metabolic response to metreleptin that deteriorated when neutralizing antibodies against metreleptin developed. A therapeutic trial with setmelanotide did not result in any metabolic benefit as desired. Because her status continued to deteriorate, we attempted to treat her with REGN4461, a fully human monoclonal antibody that is an agonist to the human leptin receptor (LEPR). Clinical Case: A compassionate use protocol (IND No. 144013) was initiated to treat the patient with REGN4461. The treatment consisted of 5 mg/kg intravenous infusion followed by 300 mg weekly subcutaneous injections of REGN4461. The primary endpoint was achievement of fasting triglycerides < 500 mg/dL without the need for ongoing plasmapheresis. Treatment-emergent adverse events were also followed. Here, we report her first 21-week response to treatment with REGN4461. The treatment resulted in a reduction of triglycerides from 1288 mg/dL to 344 mg/dl and allowed her to discontinue plasmapheresis. She lost 3.4 kilograms so far, and her liver size reduced per liver span measured by physical examination. Also, the liver MRI at week 12 showed a significant reduction in liver size and fat content (from 29.9% to 16.6%). Although her glucose control is still challenging, a slight reduction in her HbA1c was observed at week 12 along with improvements in her average glucose levels and total daily insulin requirement so far. No untoward signals were detected in her safety measurements. Conclusion: To date, treatment with REGN4461 offered substantial clinical benefit by improving the metabolic abnormalities in this unique patient. This experience represents the longest human exposure with REGN4461. The improvements noted in metabolic parameters and hepatic steatosis are similar to previous observations in lipodystrophic humanized LEPR mice. Our results suggest that REGN4461 showed clinical benefit even in the presence of neutralizing antibodies to metreleptin.
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