Hospital practice (1995)最新文献

Background: Sepsis and septic shock have high mortality rates and often require a prolonged hospital stay. Patient outcomes may vary according to multiple factors. We aim to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and factors associated with mortality and hospital stay.

Methods: Clinical and microbiological data of patients with sepsis or septic shock were retrospectively collected for 15 months. Patients with negative blood cultures and patients that did not meet the SEPSIS 3 criteria were excluded.

Results: We included 48 septic shock and 28 septic patients (mean APACHE II 20.32 ± 5.61 and mean SOFA 9.41 ± 3.17), with a mean age of 60.5 ± 16.8 years and 56.6% males. WBCs, neutrophils, INR, and fibrinogen levels were significantly associated with mortality. 59.5% of the cultured bacteria were gram-negative (most common E. coli) and 27.8% were gram-positive (most common S. aureus), while 7.6% were other types of bacteria and 5.1% were fungi. Resistance patterns to gram-negative were varying, and resistance to piperacillin/tazobactam, carbapenems, and aminoglycosides were from 60% to 100% (A. baumanii), while they were highly sensitive to Colistin. E. coli was also resistant to ceftriaxone (77.8%) and sulbactam/cefoperazone (44.4%). Resistance rates for Gram-positives were high, from 86% to 100% for oxacillin, while for vancomycin, teicoplanin, and linezolid, they were often low but arrived up to 42.8%. According to our logistic regression analysis, patients over 65 year-old and those who received corticosteroids had a significantly increased risk of in-hospital mortality (OR: 4.0; OR: 4.8).

Conclusion: Sepsis still poses a significant threat to patients' health, even when positive blood culture results allow the administration of specific antibiotic treatment.

Objectives: In centers which routinely perform single fiber electromyography (SFEMG) for suspected myasthenia gravis (MG), the additional benefit of other neurophysiologic investigations and the frequency of myasthenia mimics has not been ascertained. We aimed to illustrate the range of neurological and non-neurological myasthenia mimics referred for evaluation, and contrast features of their electrophysiologic evaluation with confirmed MG.

Methods: We reviewed all SFEMG studies performed at our center between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2020. Patient demographics, clinical phenotype, antibody status and final diagnosis were recorded. Electrophysiologic findings were correlated with clinical features and sensitivity analyses performed.

Results: A total of 528 SFEMG studies were performed, of which 213 (41%) were abnormal. A diagnosis of MG was made in 101 individuals, including 46 with ocular MG and 35 with seronegative disease. Compared to myasthenia mimics with an abnormal SFEMG, individuals with MG had higher median jitter (mean consecutive difference 61 μs vs. 42 μs, p < 0.001) and a greater percentage of abnormal pairs (61% vs. 33%, p < 0.001) on SFEMG. Repetitive nerve stimulation was abnormal in 27.1% of people with MG and was associated with a generalized clinical phenotype (OR 4.17; 95% CI 1.67-10.48). Thirteen (2%) individuals with MG had normal SFEMG, of whom 10 were in clinical remission. Functional neurological disorders, cranial nerve palsies, primary ocular disease and myopathy were frequent myasthenia mimics.

Conclusion: SFEMG can be abnormal in a number of myasthenia mimics, and routine nerve conduction studies and electromyography should always be undertaken. In centers where SFEMG is performed routinely for the investigation of suspected MG, extensive proximal repetitive nerve stimulation can be foregone without substantially affecting diagnostic evaluation. Normal SFEMG in those with confirmed myasthenia gravis may help indicate clinical remission.

Background: In Pakistan, there are a total of 160 neurosurgeons that constitute a ratio of one neurosurgeon for a 5.5 million population. Gilgit Baltistan being a backward region does not have a single tertiary care facility. A new department of neurosurgery was established at Regional Headquarter City Hospital (RHQ) Gilgit with only one neurosurgeon. This study aimed to determine which neurosurgical diagnoses are common and which surgical interventions were performed at RHQ.

Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at Regional Headquarter Hospital (RHQ) Gilgit in which data of patients operated for neurosurgical diseases between January 2020 and January 2022 was collected from patient record books.

Results: Of the total of 223 patients, 148 (66.3%) were males and 75 (33.6%) were females. A total of 92(41.2%) belonged to the pediatric age group. The top most diagnosis included Neurotrauma (46.6%), NTDs (13.9%) and CSDH (10.3%) while the most routinely performed procedures were craniotomy & hematoma evacuation (22.9%), debridement & elevation of DSF (20.6%), and burrhole evacuation (13.9%). In the pediatric age group, the top diagnosis was Neurotrauma (43.5%), NTDs (32.6%), and Hydrocephalus (19.6%) while in adults, neurotrauma (48.9%) was the leading diagnosis followed by CSDH (17.6%). In the pediatric age group, repair of NTDs (32.6%) was the most frequently performed procedure.

Conclusion: This study shows different kinds of neurosurgical cases but because of a lack of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities, very limited operations were performed and many cases were referred to metropolitan cities. The hospitals in the region need further up-gradation to cater to the presenting burden.

Introduction: Clinical implications of readmission following initial hospitalization for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) are not known. We examined predictors of readmissions and impact of readmissions on subsequent mortality after first-ever AIS.

Materials and methods: Adults aged ≥18 years who survived to discharge after hospitalization for first-ever AIS from 2003 to 2019 were included in the study. For each patient, the overall burden of hospitalizations was measured as total number of hospitalizations and aggregate days spent hospitalized during follow-up. We used Poisson regression to estimate incident rate ratios (IRR) for predictors of re-hospitalization and time-dependent Cox regression to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for mortality.

Results: Of 908 AIS survivors, 537 died, 669 had 2,645 readmissions over 4,535 person-years follow-up. Adjusted independent predictors of cumulative readmission inlcuded being white (IRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03-1.42), dependency on discharge (IRR 1.27, 95% CI 1.17-1.38), cardio-embolism (IRR 1.35, 95% CI 1.18-1.45), smoking (IRR 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.35), anemia (IRR 1.40, 95% CI 1.24-1.57), arthritis (IRR 1.20, 95% CI 1.10-1.31), coronary artery disease (IRR 1.34, 95% CI 1.23-1.47), cancer (IRR 1.96, 95% CI 1.64-2.30), chronic kidney disease (IRR 1.36, 95% CI 1.21-1.57), COPD (IRR 1.18, 95% CI 1.04-1.34), depression (IRR 1.50, 95% CI 1.37-1.66), diabetes mellitus (IRR 1.48, 95% CI 1.36-1.48), and heart failure (IRR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03-1.34). Conversely, hyperlipidemia was associated with a lower risk of readmission (IRR 0.79, 95% CI 0.71-0.88). Mortality was significantly increased with each hospitalization and cumulative days spent in hospital.

Conclusions: Among survivors of AIS hospitalization, certain sociodemographic indicators, stroke-specific features, and several key comorbid conditions were associated with increased risk of readmissions, which in turn correlated with increased mortality. Therefore, lifestyle modification and optimal treatment of comorbidities are likely to improve the outcome after AIS.

Background: Preoperative blood transfusion for patients with sickle cell disease is a debatable topic and it can be lifesaving. Sickle cell disease patients are at high risk for vaso-occlusive crisis due to the large concentration of sickle hemoglobin (HgbS) in their blood. Despite the current extensive research into this disease, there is still no consensus over whether blood transfusion is a preferable preoperative modality among patients undergoing elective surgical procedures.

Method: A retrospective observational study, which enrolled 204 patients with Sickle cell disease who underwent surgery at King Fahad Hospital of the University (KFHU) over the last five years. The primary objective was to determine whether there is evidence that preoperative blood transfusion for SCD patients undergoing surgical procedures will reduce postoperative complications related to SCD.

Results: A total of 204 patients were included, of which 30% had preoperative blood transfusion. Majority of patient 44% had undergone cholecystectomy. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, patients who did not undergo blood transfusion had significantly higher risk to develop post-operative SCD complications (OR = 3.07, P value = 0.002). In addition, they had significantly prolonged hospitalization (OR = 2.22, P value = 0.08). In contrast, patients who received blood transfusion had lower risk for developing post-operative SCD-related complications (OR = 1.87, P value = 0.29), and decrease in the duration of hospitalization by (OR = 0.49, P value = 0.045).

Conclusion: Our study showed that patients who had not undergone preoperative blood transfusion had higher risk to develop postoperative complications and prolonged hospital stay compared to those who underwent blood transfusion.

Objectives: Emerging adults transitioning from pediatric to adult care experience worse outcomes including increased mortality. Improved patient experience (PEX) correlates with decreased inpatient mortality and better adherence to quality guidelines. We aimed to evaluate trends in the PEX of inpatients aged 14-29 years in the United States (US).

Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study using a national, de-identified PEX survey obtained from hospitalized patients aged 14-29 years between 2017 and 2019. We described and compared survey responses across 10 domains. Composite mean scores for each health facility were converted to percentile rankings, which were then compared by age group to determine differences in percentile ranking (ΔPR).

Results: We evaluated the results of 174,174 PEX surveys across a national sample of 1519 US hospitals. The PEX percentile rankings for ages 18-21 were lower than ages 14-17 in almost every domain including experience with nurses (ΔPR = 43.4, p < 0.001), physicians (ΔPR = 31.1, p < 0.001), treatment (ΔPR = 12.3, p < 0.001), and overall experience (ΔPR = 26.5, p < 0.001). Similarly, 22-25-year-olds reported a worse PEX across nearly all domains when compared to 26-29-year-olds.

Conclusion: In a national sample of PEX surveys, hospitalized emerging adults aged 18-25 reported worse PEX when compared to both older children and established adults. These lower ratings were most strongly attributed to people, processes, and relationships as opposed to differences in the hospital environment. By ages 26-29, PEX returned to levels similar to those reported by ages 14-17. These results suggest that further investigation to elucidate the unique needs of hospitalized emerging adults may be warranted.

Objective: Critically ill patients boarding in the ED have higher mortality rates. Several strategies have been implemented to deliver care to boarding patients. Our institution opted for a strategy consisting on deploying an Intensive Care team in the ED. This article reports outcomes before-and-after implementation of that team.

Methods: On November 2020, a Medical Intensive Care Team was deployed in the ED. The team performed consultations for ICU patients boarding in the ED. A retrospective analysis of critically ill patients arriving to the ED before-and-after team implementation was performed. Outcome data were reviewed. Direct hospitalization costs per patient, and direct costs per department were assessed. Wilcoxon rank sum and Chisq-test were utilized to compare differences pre- and post-implementation. Multivariate analyses to model outcomes toward pre- and post-implementation and other variables were performed.

Results: 1,828 and 3,272 patients were included in the pre- and post-intervention groups. ICU LOS (days) pre- and post-intervention were 3 (1,6) and 3 (1,6), respectively (p = 0.41). ICU readmission rates were 6.7% pre-intervention and 7.4% post-intervention (p = 0.37). Total direct costs were US$ 19,928 (11,006, 37,815) and US$ 15,795 (9016, 28,993), respectively (p < 0.01). Multivariate analysis showed no association between team deployment and ICU LOS or readmission. However, there was association between its implementation and hospitalization cost reduction per patient of US$ 7,171.

Conclusion: The implementation of a Medical Intensive Care team in the ED is not associated with a reduction of ICU LOS or ICU readmission. Nevertheless, its implementation is associated with a reduction of hospitalization costs.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the availability and accessibility of outpatient care following hospital discharge. Hospitalists (physicians) and hospital medicine advanced practice providers (HM-APPs) coordinate discharge care of hospitalized patients; however, it is unknown if they can deliver post-discharge virtual care and overcome barriers to outpatient care. The objective was to develop and provide post-discharge virtual care for patients discharged from hospital medicine services.

Methods: We developed the Post-discharge Early Assessment with Remote video Link (PEARL) initiative for HM-APPs to conduct a post-discharge video visit (to review recommendations) and telephone follow-up (to evaluate adherence) with patients 2-6 days following hospital discharge. Participants included patients discharged from hospital medicine services at an institution's hospitals in Rochester (May 2020-August 2020) and Austin (November 2020-February 2021) in Minnesota, US. HM-APPs also interviewed patients about their experience with the video visit and completed a survey on their experience with PEARL.

Results: Of 386 eligible patients, 61.4% were enrolled (n = 237/386) including 48.1% women (n = 114/237). In patients with complete video visit and telephone follow-up (n = 141/237), most were prescribed new medications (83.7%) and took them as prescribed (93.2%). Among five classes of chronic medications, patient-reported adherence ranged from 59.2% (narcotics) to 91.5% (anti-hypertensives). Patient-reported self-management of 12 discharge recommendations ranged from 40% (smoking cessation) to 100% (checking rashes). Patients reported benefit from the video visit (agree: 77.3%) with an equivocal preference for video visits over clinic visits. Among HM-APPs who responded to the survey (88.2%; n = 15/17), 73.3% reported benefit from visual contact with patients but were uncertain if video visits would reduce emergency department visits.

Conclusion: In this novel initiative, HM-APPs used video visits to provide care beyond their hospital role, reinforce discharge recommendations for patients, and reduce barriers to outpatient care. The effect of this initiative is under evaluation in a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the viewpoints of the main stakeholders of the Iranian healthcare system about the overutilization of hospital services and strategies to eliminate or reduce it in Iran.

Methods: This is a qualitative study and thematic data analysis using face-to-face semi-structured interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). We conducted eight interviewers and two FGDs with hospital stakeholders including faculty members, insurance organizations' authorities, experienced hospital administrative staff, hospital managers, and health-care providers.

Results: The factors leading to the overutilization of hospital services were categorized into four main themes including site of service, quality, supplier push, and demand pull. Strategies for eliminating or reducing the overutilization of hospital services are also identified based on the influential factors.

Conclusion: Addressing overutilization of hospital services in the health system and adherence to policies for reducing or eliminating overutilization is a way to make preventive strategies to overcome overutilization. Developing a national plan to integrate utilization management into health system programs is a strategy to combat overutilization in various levels of the health system including hospital setting.

Objectives: Currently, there are limited data available about patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer following an emergency department (ED) visit. This study sought to define the demographics, symptoms profile, staging, and prognosis of this cohort of patients.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of patients diagnosed with a primary lung malignancy at a lung cancer multidisciplinary meeting between January 2018 and January 2020. Medical records were reviewed to collect data around demographics, presenting symptoms, investigations, admission, cancer stage, and mortality.

Results: During the study period, 890 patients were diagnosed with a primary lung malignancy of which 209 (23.5%) presented to ED prompting diagnostic work-up. Of these 209 patients, 89% were hospitalized for a median duration of 6 days. Also, 104 (50%) were female and the average age of the cohort was 70 years. Dyspnea (38%) was the most common presenting symptom. Radiological staging and tissue biopsy were performed as an outpatient procedure in 46% and 41% of patients, respectively. A total of 188 patients had non-small cell lung cancer of whom 68% had ztage IV disease. A total of 53 (25%) patients died within 3 months of ED presentation. These patients were older with more advanced disease compared to patients who were alive at 3 months.

Conclusion: Emergent diagnosed patients are a significant proportion of the lung cancer population, presenting with advanced stage disease and increased short-term mortality. Future research should be directed at interventions, such as lung cancer screening program and/or community education, to reduce the need for patients to present to the ED with disabling lung cancer symptoms.