No abstract

The presented instrument offers a suitable and practical method of assessing IBD-related resource utilization. The prospectively obtained data for direct medical and non medical, as well as indirect costs allow a cost measurement from the societal perspective. The presented cost diary can be used for measuring costs for economic evaluations of medical interventions.

Aims Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the vessel wall controlled by local and systemic immune responses. The role of interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R), expressed in adaptive immune cells (mainly T helper 17 cells) and γδ T cells, in atherosclerosis is only incompletely understood. Here we investigated the vascular cell types expressing IL-23R and addressed the function of IL-23R and γδ T cells in atherosclerosis. Method and results IL-23R+ cells were frequently found in the aortic root in contrast to the aorta in low density lipoprotein receptor deficient IL-23R reporter mice (Ldlr-/-Il23rgfp/+), and mostly identified as γδ T cells that express IL-17 and GM-CSF. scRNA-seq confirmed γδ T cells as the main cell type expressing Il23r and Il17a in the aorta. Ldlr-/-Il23rgfp/gfp mice deficient in IL-23R showed a loss of IL-23R+ cells in the vasculature, and had reduced atherosclerotic lesion formation in the aortic root compared to Ldlr-/- controls after 6 weeks of high fat diet feeding. In contrast, Ldlr-/-Tcrδ-/- mice lacking all γδ T cells displayed unaltered early atherosclerotic lesion formation compared to Ldlr-/- mice. In both HFD-fed Ldlr-/-Il23rgfp/gfp and Ldlr-/-Tcrδ-/- mice a reduction in the plaque necrotic core area was noted as well as an expansion of splenic regulatory T cells. In vitro, exposure of bone marrow-derived macrophages to both IL-17A and GM-CSF induced cell necrosis, and necroptotic RIP3K and MLKL expression, as well as inflammatory mediators. Conclusions IL-23R+ γδ T cells are predominantly found in the aortic root rather than the aorta and promote early atherosclerotic lesion formation, plaque necrosis and inflammation at this site. Targeting IL-23R may thus be explored as a therapeutic approach to mitigate atherosclerotic lesion development. Translational Perspective The mechanisms and cell types contributing to early inflammation and lesion formation are incompletely understood. Here we demonstrate that the aortic root harbors a population of IL23R-dependent γδ T cells that can release IL-17 and GM-CSF, and both cytokines together induce macrophage inflammation and necroptosis. IL-23R+ γδ T cells locally promote early lesion formation in the aortic root and contribute to the expansion of the necrotic core, a hallmark of vulnerable atherosclerotic lesions. Targeting IL-23R or IL-23 itself could thus be further explored as a therapeutic option in early atherosclerosis.

The presented concept offers a good access to measure costs of outpatient treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. It is suitable for measuring costs in the economic evaluation of alternative treatments or diagnostic strategies in an outpatient setting. It furthermore may be used as a component in cost-of-illness studies. For transferring the concept to other hospitals, the availability of a routine documentation of services should be checked. For economic analysis, a further data management is required.

Current clinical management after multiple trauma is expensive. The aim of the present study was to quantify the actual costs of inpatient treatment after multiple trauma in a German university hospital, to compare the actual costs with the reimbursement rates, and to identify important determinants of costs. Routine documentation of hospital costs at a patient level was not available. Therefore a method for calculating the costs of resource utilization during clinical treatment of patients was developed. The concept was based on financial and utilization data provided by the hospital administration and patient-specific data. The average costs per case in the study group (mean ISS = 37) were 73.613 DM, maximal costs were up to 292.490 DM. The most costly components were intensive care, accounting for 60%, followed by procedures in the operating room (24%). A comparison with the reimbursement rates resulted in an average loss of 23.211 DM per case. Factors significantly associated with the costs of acute care hospitalization were outcome, injury severity, pattern of injury, blood volume replacement, length of mechanical ventilation, and number of operations. Whereas patient age, CNS state, mechanism of injury, pre-hospital care, and time between accident and hospital admission revealed no effect. Given the current reimbursement rates, multiple trauma care clearly belongs to those categories of care which have to be subsidized within the hospital. Any challenge to the optimal level of care resulting from this should be avoided.