Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33994445›Full record

ArticleInternal medicine (Tokyo, Japan)2021

Contradictory Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients and Their Families and Caregivers in Japan.

Masaru Yanagihashi, Tatsuki Sugisawa, Masaaki Fuchimoto, Yuuichi Saotome, Keiko Onozawa, Yukinori Matsumoto, Kota Bokuda, Junya Ebina, Mari Shibukawa, Takehisa Hirayama and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Masaru YanagihashiDepartment of Neurology, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Tatsuki SugisawaDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Toho University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Masaaki FuchimotoEmergency and Critical Care Center, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Japan.
Yuuichi SaotomeNutrition Therapy Center, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Japan.
Keiko OnozawaEmergency and Critical Care Center, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Japan.
Yukinori MatsumotoDepartment of Community Medical Support Center, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Japan.
Kota BokudaDepartment of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Neurological Hospital, Japan.
Junya EbinaDepartment of Neurology, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Mari ShibukawaDepartment of Neurology, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Takehisa HirayamaDepartment of Neurology, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Yoshitaka MurakamiDepartment of Medical Statistics, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Naohiro WashizawaNutrition Therapy Center, Toho University Omori Medical Center, Japan.
Satoru EbiharaDepartment of Rehabilitation Medicine, Toho University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Osamu KanoDepartment of Neurology, Toho University Faculty of Medicine, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a shortage of medical resources, including ventilators, personal protective equipment, medical staff, and hospital beds. We investigated the impact of COVID-19 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, their families, caregivers, and medical experts. Methods We conducted a nationwide ALS webinar about COVID-19 in May 2020 and sent a questionnaire to those enrolled. Results A total of 135 participants (31 ALS patients; 23 families and caregivers of ALS patients; 81 medical experts) responded to this cross-sectional self-report questionnaire. The results showed that tracheostomy and invasive ventilation (TIV) was used in 22.6% of ALS patients, whereas 77.4% of ALS patients were not under TIV. Among non-TIV patients (n=24), 79.2% did not want TIV in the future. However, 47.4% of non-TIV patients not wanting a tracheostomy in advanced stages replied that they would want an emergency tracheostomy if they developed COVID-19-related pneumonia. These results suggest that ALS patients may be receptive to emergency treatments for reasons other than ALS. In addition, approximately half of the ALS patients agreed with the policy of not ventilating the elderly or ALS patients in case of a ventilator shortage. Furthermore, compared with medical experts, few ALS patients reported that the chance for ALS patients to obtain work was higher due to the increasing availability of remote work. Conclusions This survey indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic might be associated with increased distress about access to care and work, inducing contradictory responses and potential hopelessness among ALS patients.

Indexed as

Amyotrophic Lateral SclerosisCOVID-19AgedCaregiversCross-Sectional StudiesHumansJapanPandemicsRespiration, ArtificialSARS-CoV-2amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)COVID-19percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomytracheostomy and invasive ventilationwebinar

Identifiers

PMID33994445
PMCPMC8188022

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.