Characterization of patients aged 45 or under admitted with hypertensive emergencies in the Hospital do Prenda.

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García, Geovedy Martínez; Miúdo, Venâncio; Manuel Lopes, Conceição da Graça Alves; Vassuelela Gomes, Juliana

2014-01-01

The incidence and prevalence of hypertensive emergency have been little addressed in the literature. However, over the last decade increasing numbers of young patients with different forms of hypertensive crisis have been observed in emergency departments. We performed this study to ascertain the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients aged ≤ 45 years admitted with a diagnosis of hypertensive emergency. We conducted an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional prospective study of 123 patients hospitalized for hypertensive emergency in the Hospital do Prenda, Luanda, between May 2011 and June 2012. Mean age was 36.62 ± 5.49 years, and most were male (52.85%). The main risk factor was hypertension (65.9%), with 17.3% complying with therapy. The most frequent forms of presentation were hypertensive encephalopathy and hemorrhagic stroke (9.8% and 82.1%, respectively). The main drugs used were diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium channel blockers. Mortality during hospitalization was 25.2% (31 patients), hemorrhagic stroke being the most common cause. There was a significant association between age and in-hospital mortality. Of patients admitted with hypertensive emergency, 30.1% were aged ≤ 45 years. Hemorrhagic stroke was the most common presentation. There was a significant relationship between mode of presentation, age and in-hospital mortality. Copyright © 2013 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Emergency department boarding times for patients admitted to intensive care unit: Patient and organizational influences.

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Montgomery, Phyllis; Godfrey, Michelle; Mossey, Sharolyn; Conlon, Michael; Bailey, Patricia

2014-04-01

Critically ill patients can be subject to prolonged stays in the emergency department following receipt of an order to admit to an intensive care unit. The purpose of this study was to explore patient and organizational influences on the duration of boarding times for intensive care bound patients. This exploratory descriptive study was situated in a Canadian hospital in northern Ontario. Through a six-month retrospective review of three data sources, information was collected pertaining to 16 patient and organizational variables detailing the emergency department boarding time of adults awaiting transfer to the intensive care unit. Data analysis involved descriptive and non-parametric methods. The majority of the 122 critically ill patients boarded in the ED were male, 55 years of age or older, arriving by ground ambulance on a weekday, and had an admitting diagnosis of trauma. The median boarding time was 34 min, with a range of 0-1549 min. Patients designated as most acute, intubated, and undergoing multiple diagnostic procedures had statistically significantly shorter boarding times. The study results provide a profile that may assist clinicians in understanding the complex and site-specific interplay of variables contributing to boarding of critically ill patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Trauma in elderly patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey: a retrospective study

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Kara H

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Hasan Kara,1 Aysegul Bayir,1 Ahmet Ak,1 Murat Akinci,1 Necmettin Tufekci,1 Selim Degirmenci,1 Melih Azap21Department of Emergency Medicine, Selçuk University, Konya, Turkey; 2Department of Emergency Medicine, Konya Numune Hospital, Konya, TurkeyPurpose: Trauma is a common cause of admission to the hospital emergency department. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cause of admission, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of patients aged ≥65 years admitted to an emergency department in Turkey because of blunt trauma.Materials and methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for 568 patients (314 women and 254 men aged ≥65 years who were admitted to an emergency department of a tertiary care hospital.Results: Trauma was caused by low-energy fall in 379 patients (67%, traffic accident in 79 patients (14%, high-energy fall in 69 patients (12%, and other causes in 41 patients (7%. The most frequent sites of injury were the lower extremity, thorax, upper extremity, and head. The femur was the most frequent fracture site. After evaluation in the emergency department, 377 patients (66% were hospitalized. There were 31 patients (5% who died. Risk of hospitalization after trauma was significantly associated with trauma to the lower extremity, thorax, and spine; fractures of the femur and rib; and intracranial injury.Conclusion: Emergency department admission after trauma in patients aged $65 years is common after low-energy falls, and most injuries occur to the extremities. It is important to focus on prevention of falls to decrease the frequency of trauma in the elderly.Keywords: fall, femur, fracture, injury

Pattern of Leukaemia Patients Admitted in Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad

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Khan, T. M.

2016-01-01

Background: Any tissue of the body can give rise to cancer. However, those tissues which multiply rapidly are at high risk of developing cancer and haematopoietic system is one of them. Neoplasms of this system are known as leukaemia and lymphoma, according to the types of white cells involved.Study of cancer patterns in different societies, however can contribute a substantial knowledge about the aetiology of cancer. The present Study was designed and aimed to estimate the frequency of different types of leukaemia in patients admitted in Ayub Teaching hospital Abbottabad. Methods: Data from the patients admitted at oncology Department of Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad from 2010 to 2015 was collected and analysed to calculate cumulative and year-wise frequency of leukaemia and its major types. Frequency distribution with reference to gender and age was also calculated. Results: In our analysis about 16 percent patients had acute myelocytic leukaemia and 32 percent patients had acute lymphocytic leukaemia; while chronic myeloid leukaemia outnumbered chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (11 percent and 3 percent); Hodgkin lymphoma was seen in 18 percent cases while Non Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was present in 20 percent cases. Out of the total, 150 cases (75 percent) belonged to mountainous areas of Hazara, i.e., 40 cases belonged to Kohistan, another 40 cases were residents of Battagram, 45 cases belonged to hilly areas of Mansehra and 25 cases to Kaghan valley, while only 50 (25 percent) cases were from the plain areas of Abbottabad and Haripur districts, i.e., 20 and 30 cases respectively. Conclusion: Leukaemia is more common in hilly areas of Hazara, since majority of the cases belonged to well-known mountainous regions of Kohistan, Battagram, Kaghan or Mansehra and only few cases belonged to the plain areas of Abbottabad and Haripur districts. (author)

Comparison of mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction accidentally admitted to non-cardiology departments versus that in patients admitted to coronary care units

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D'Souza, Maria; Saaby, Lotte; Poulsen, Tina S

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate the clinical characteristics including symptoms and long-term mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) accidentally admitted to non-cardiology departments (NCDs). For comparison, similar observations in patients admitted...

Medical charge of asthma care in admitted Thai children.

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Visitsunthorn, Nualanong; Durongpisitkul, Worawan; Uoonpan, Srisakul; Jirapongsananuruk, Orathai; Vichyanond, Pakit

2005-11-01

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children. Due to high admission rate for acute asthmatic attack, children often miss their schools and parents have to stop working to take care of them. These affect both mental and physical health as well as socioeconomic status of the family and the country. To evaluate medical charge of asthma care in children admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University. The study was a retrospective and descriptive study. Data were collected from children with asthmatic attack admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand from January 1st, 2000 to June 30th, 2003. Cost of room, food, drugs, devices, laboratory study and service charge were recorded. Total medical charges per year, per patient per admission and per patient per day were calculated. Data were analyzed with Chi square test, ANOVA and Post Hoc test. A p value of attack admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Siriraj Hospital increased between 2000-2002 (113,147 and 176 in 2000, 2001, and 2002). Seventy two percent of the patients were asthma. The average duration of hospitalization was 4 days (95% CI, 3.6-4.3). Average medical charge per patient per admission and per day was 3236.20 and 998.60 Bahts respectively. There was no significant difference in the medical charge per patient among the admitted years. Medical charge of admission was significantly associated with the asthma severity. (p attack in children at Siriraj Hospital and the total medical charge per year increased between 2000-2002. Nevertheless, medical charge of asthma admission per person was unchanged. Main expense in medical charge of asthma admission was the cost of medication and room. Severity of asthma was related directly to medical charge.

Reduced in-hospital mortality after improved management of children under 5 years admitted to hospital with malaria

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Biai, Sidu; Rodrigues, Amabelia; Gomes, Melba

2007-01-01

in the use of the standardised guidelines for the management of malaria, including strict follow-up procedures. Nurses and doctors were randomised to work on intervention or control wards. Personnel in the intervention ward received a small financial incentive ($50 (25 pounds sterling; 35 euros......OBJECTIVE: To test whether strict implementation of a standardised protocol for the management of malaria and provision of a financial incentive for health workers reduced mortality. DESIGN: Randomised controlled intervention trial. SETTING: Paediatric ward at the national hospital in Guinea......-Bissau. All children admitted to hospital with severe malaria received free drug kits. PARTICIPANTS: 951 children aged 3 months to 5 years admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of malaria randomised to normal or intervention wards. INTERVENTIONS: Before the start of the study, all personnel were trained...

The nutritional intake of elderly patients with dysphagia admitted to the internal medical department of the emergency hospital was analyzed. The Fujishima dysphagia scale after care and treatment by the Nutrition Support Team was assessed.

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Niwano, Mototaka

2016-01-01

The Nutrition Support Team (NST) assessed the severity of dysphagia in elderly patients admitted to the internal medical department, and the appropriate nutritional treatment was determined. Patients were treated with either oral nutrition (enteral nutrition, EN) or artificial alimentation (parenteral nutrition, PN). The goal of this study was to analyze whether or not the route of nutrition affected the patient discharge rates. We divided 290 elderly inpatients with dysphagia into 2 groups, the pneumonia group (200 patients) and the non-pneumonia group (90 patients). The NST estimated the swallowing function using the Fujishima dysphagia scale. Monitoring was continued until the NST care and treatment had been finalized. We further divided the pneumonia patients into two subgroups: those with a Fujishima dysphagia scale score ≤3 or ≥4 at the beginning of NST intervention. The changes in the swallowing function were analyzed.The swallowing function in the patients with a score ≥4 was significantly improved compared with that in the patients with a score ≤3. This difference, however, was not observed in the non-pneumonia group. In both the pneumonia and non-pneumonia groups, the ratio of patients discharged on oral nutrition was one-third, and the ratio of death in hospital was one-quarter, the remaining patients required artificial alimentation. Among elderly patients admitted to the internal medical department of the emergency hospital with dysphagia, one-third left the hospital with oral nutritional intake, one-quarter died in hospital, and the remaining required artificial alimentation.

Dementia in older people admitted to hospital: a regional multi-hospital observational study of prevalence, associations and case recognition

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Timmons, Suzanne; Manning, Edmund; Barrett, Aoife; Brady, Noeleen M.; Browne, Vanessa; O’Shea, Emma; Molloy, David William; O'Regan, Niamh A.; Trawley, Steven; Cahill, Suzanne; O'Sullivan, Kathleen; Woods, Noel; Meagher, David; Ni Chorcorain, Aoife M.; Linehan, John G.

2015-01-01

Background: previous studies have indicated a prevalence of dementia in older admissions of ∼42% in a single London teaching hospital, and 21% in four Queensland hospitals. However, there is a lack of published data from any European country on the prevalence of dementia across hospitals and between patient groups. Objective: to determine the prevalence and associations of dementia in older patients admitted to acute hospitals in Ireland. Methods: six hundred and six patients aged ≥70 years were recruited on admission to six hospitals in Cork County. Screening consisted of Standardised Mini-Mental State Examination (SMMSE); patients with scores dementia; with 29% in public hospitals. Prevalence varied between hospitals (P dementia had a previous diagnosis. Patients with dementia were older and frailer, with higher co-morbidity, malnutrition and lower functional status (P dementia (57%) on admission. Conclusion: dementia is common in older people admitted to acute hospitals, particularly in acute medical admissions, and rural hospitals, where services may be less available. Most dementia is not previously diagnosed, emphasising the necessity for cognitive assessment in older people on presentation to hospital. PMID:26420638

Patient’s Satisfaction of Emergency Department Affiliated Hospital of Babol University of Medical Sciences in 2013 -14

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H Datobar

2016-04-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Patient satisfaction in emergency departments is an indicator of healthcare quality, evaluation of which can promote awareness of the relevant authorities regarding its status. This study aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction in emergency departments in hospitals affiliated to Babol University of Medical Sciences. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in patients admitted to emergency departments in hospitals affiliated to Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran, during a period of eight months (2013-2014. The participants were chosen through convenience sampling. Information regarding hospital environment, facilities, and nursing team was collected using a standard questionnaire. Standard questionnaire responses were classified to” don’t happen, dissatisfied, low, medium and high satisfaction”. Then medium and high responses classified to favorable satisfaction (above average and low or dissatisfied responses were classified to unfavorable satisfaction. In case the patients were unable to fill-out the questionnaire, their companion completed it for them. FINDINGS: Overall, 444 (87.9% patients expressed optimum satisfaction. The highest rate of dissatisfaction (14.8%, n=74 was related to environment and services, while the highest rate of satisfaction (49.3%, n=246 was pertinent to nursing staff. The results indicated that the rate of satisfaction in residents of rural areas was 0.55 times higher than in urban residents (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.12-2.70, p=0.02, 50% lower in patients compared to companions (OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.36-0.83, p=0.05,and  in the evening shift was 0.65 times higher than in those admitted in the morning (OR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.06-2.58, p=0.03. Moreover, this rate in patients admitted at night shift was 0.74 times higher than in those admitted in the morning (OR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.12-2.70, p=0.01. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated optimum patient satisfaction in emergency

Causes of poisoning in patients evaluated in a hospital emergency department in Konya, Turkey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kara, H.; Bayir, A.; Degirmenci, S.; Akinci, M.; Ak, A.; Azap, M.

2014-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with poisoning at a community hospital. Methods: The retrospective study comprised records of patients who were admitted to the emergency department of Konya Numune Hospital, Turkey, because of poisoning between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2011. Data was evaluated for age, gender, educational status, occupation, arrival time, mechanism of intoxication , body temperature, pulse, respiratory rate, Glasgow Coma Scale score, treatment applied, duration of hospital stay, duration of follow-up, test results, final diagnosis, clinical disposition, and outcome. Agents causing the poisoning were also determined. Results: Records of 1036 patients were evaluated. Of them, 764(74%) were female and 272(26%) were male. The predominant age range was 15-24 years in 617(60%) patients. The median time from substance exposure to admission to the emergency department was 2 hours. The most common cause of poisoning was attempted suicide in 955 (92%) patients and drug intoxication was the agent involved in 932 (90%). In the 15-24 year age range, there were 469(76%) female patients. Of the total female population in the study, 716(94%) attempted suicide. The median hospital stay was 24 hours. There were 908(88%) patients who were advised to seek further evaluation at the psychiatry clinic, and 9 (0.9%) patients were admitted to the psychiatry inpatient units after medical treatment. In patients who were hospitalized and followed up, 1 (0.1%) died because of multiple drug poisoning. Conclusion: Most admissions to the emergency department for poisoning related to young women had used drugs during a suicide attempt. (author)

The Impact of Hospital and Patient Factors on the Emergency Department Decision to Admit.

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Warner, Leah S Honigman; Galarraga, Jessica E; Litvak, Ori; Davis, Samuel; Granovsky, Michael; Pines, Jesse M

2018-02-01

Substantial variation exists in rates of emergency department (ED) admission. We examine this variation after accounting for local and community characteristics. Elucidate the factors that contribute to admission variation that are amenable to intervention with the goal of reducing variation and health care costs. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 1,412,340 patient encounters across 18 sites from 2012-2013. We calculated the adjusted hospital-level admission rates using multivariate logistic regression. We adjusted for patient, provider, hospital, and community factors to compare admission rate variation and determine the influence of these characteristics on admission rates. The average adjusted admission rate was 22.9%, ranging from 16.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 11.5-22%) to 32% (95% CI 26.0-38.8). There were higher odds of hospital admission with advancing age, male sex (odds ratio [OR] 1.20, 95% CI 1.91-1.21), and patients seen by a physician vs. mid-level provider (OR 2.26, 95% CI 2.23-2.30). There were increased odds of admission with rising ED volume, at academic institutions (OR 2.23, 95% CI 2.20-2.26) and at for-profit hospitals (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.12-1.18). Admission rates were lower in communities with a higher per capita income, a higher rate of uninsured patients, and in more urban hospitals. In communities with the most primary providers, there were lower odds of admission (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.57-0.68). Variation in hospital-level admission rates is associated with a number of local and community characteristics. However, the presence of persistent variation after adjustment suggests there are other unmeasured variables that also affect admission rates that deserve further study, particularly in an era of cost containment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

In-hospital mortality and treatment patterns in acute myocardial infarction patients admitted during national cardiology meeting dates.

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Mizuno, Seiko; Kunisawa, Susumu; Sasaki, Noriko; Fushimi, Kiyohide; Imanaka, Yuichi

2016-10-01

Many hospitals experience a reduction in the number of available physicians on days when national scientific meetings are conducted. This study investigates the relationship between in-hospital mortality in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and admission during national cardiology meeting dates. Using an administrative database, we analyzed patients with AMI admitted to acute care hospitals in Japan from 2011 to 2013. There were 3 major national cardiology meetings held each year. A hierarchical logistic regression model was used to compare in-hospital mortality and treatment patterns between patients admitted on meeting dates and those admitted on identical days during the week before and after the meeting dates. We identified 6,332 eligible patients, with 1,985 patients admitted during 26 meeting days and 4,347 patients admitted during 52 non-meeting days. No significant differences between meeting and non-meeting dates were observed for in-hospital mortality (7.4% vs. 8.5%, respectively; p=0.151, unadjusted odds ratio: 0.861, 95% confidence interval: 0.704-1.054) and the proportion of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) performed on the day of admission (75.9% vs. 76.2%, respectively; p=0.824). We also found that some low-staffed hospitals did not treat AMI patients during meeting dates. Little or no "national meeting effect" was observed on in-hospital mortality in AMI patients, and PCI rates were similar for both meeting and non-meeting dates. Our findings also indicated that during meeting dates, AMI patients may have been consolidated to high-performance and sufficiently staffed hospitals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

ANEMIA PREVALANCE AND RELATED FACTORS IN PREGNANT WOMEN ADMITTED TO STATE HOSPITAL

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Riza Citil

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Aim: This study was performed to determine the prevalance of anemia and related nutrition and other risk factors in pregnant women who admitted to the hospital for prenatal care. Material and Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study to receive prenatal care to the hospital admitted 311 women participated. The data on socio-demographic characteristics of pregnant women, pregnancy information and dietary habits using a questionnaire that was collected using face to face interviews. To determine anemia in pregnant women in the hospital laboratory records made during routine pregnancy examination hemoglobin (Hb values were used. Hb values of 0.05. Similarly, pregnancy, abortion and curettage with the numbers there is no significant difference between the prevalance of anemia (p> 0.05. Using iron-multivitamin preparations in pregnant women (32.9% than those using (20.4% were seen significantly more anemia, and anemia among pregnants who drank dark tea was more prevalent than pregnants who drank light tea and the difference was significant (33,9% vs 17,2% (p<0,05. Conclusion: As a conclusion, admitted to the hospital for routine prenatal care, anemia seen in one of every four pregnant women, and not taking iron-multivitamin preparations regularly and consumption of dark tea seemed to be related with gestational anemia. Thus, anemia should be diagnosed earlier in pregnant and iron and vitamin supplements must be started; and women must be informed about the risk factors of anemia by the health stuff. [J Contemp Med 2014; 4(2.000: 76-83

The epidemiological profile of pediatric patients admitted to the general intensive care unit in an Ethiopian university hospital

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Abebe T

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Teshome Abebe, Mullu Girmay, Girma G/Michael, Million Tesfaye Department of Anesthesia, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia Background: In least developing countries, there are few data on children's critical care. This makes the provision of aid and improvement of outcome difficult. Objectives: To describe admission and outcome patterns of children managed in a general intensive care unit at Jimma University Specialized Hospital (JUSH, Ethiopia, over a 5-year period. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study design was used. All children from birth to 14 years of age who were admitted to the general ICU of the hospital from 2009–2013 were included. Patient charts and ICU documentation log were reviewed. Results: A total of 170 children were admitted to the ICU of JUSH over the study period. The greater share was taken by males (54.7%, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.2:1. The overall mortality rate was 40%. The majority of the children were in the age range of 10–14 years (38.8%. Of the total number of patients admitted, 34.7% were trauma cases, 45.8% of whom died. The highest percentage, 69.5%, of trauma patients were admitted for head injuries. Among the trauma cases, burn and polytrauma were the second and third leading causes (15.3% of admission. Postoperative patients and medical patients accounted for the rest of the admitted cases (28.2% and 27.6% of the cases respectively. Conclusion: The leading cause of admission and death was trauma. Postoperative and medical causes of admission were also significant. The mortality rate in the ICU was very high, and this could be due to various factors. Further research benchmarking and interventions are highly recommended. Keywords: trauma, critical care, pediatric, ICU, ventilation, oxygenation

Application of the new Sepsis-3 definition in a cohort of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to Intensive Care Unit from the Emergency Department.

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García-Gigorro, Renata; Molina-Collado, Zaira; Sáez-de la Fuente, Ignacio; Sanchez-Izquierdo, José Ángel; Montejo González, Juan Carlos

2018-04-18

After the publication of the new definition for sepsis and septic shock, our objective is to analyse the evolution of patients admitted to ICU with an infection process using the previous and new recommendations. This is a sub-analysis of a previous observational prospective study. We included 98 patients admitted to ICU from the emergency department due to infection during an 18-month period. We studied the clinical evolution during ICU admission and hospital mortality. According to Sepsis-2 definition, 78% percent had septic shock and using Sepsis-3 criteria, 52%; hospital mortality was 29 and 41%, respectively. The RR of hospital mortality of septic shock was 10.3 (95% CI: 2.8-37.5) compared to patients without shock. The 30-day probability survival of patients with sepsis and septic shock were 78% and 68%, respectively (long rank definition could help improve the evaluation of risk of hospital death. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Risk profile of young people admitted to hospital for suicidal behaviour in Melbourne, Australia.

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Borschmann, Rohan; Stark, Patrick; Prakash, Chidambaram; Sawyer, Susan M

2018-05-20

Self-harm and suicidal behaviour is most prevalent during adolescence, but little is known about the risk profile of adolescents admitted to hospital for suicidal behaviour. Young people who self-harm are at an increased risk of mortality compared to those who do not self-harm; adolescents admitted to hospital for suicidal behaviour are particularly at risk. The aim of this study was to generate a risk profile of adolescents admitted to hospital with suicidal behaviour. We conducted a 12-month retrospective audit of adolescent admissions to the mental health inpatient unit at a tertiary children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Routinely collected data were used to generate a risk profile. We found that 212 of 271 (78.2%) admissions were due to suicidal behaviour. Of these, 107 (51%) adolescents were diagnosed with one or more mental disorders at discharge, most commonly major depressive disorder. Beyond known distal determinants of health risk, the proximal risk profile of these adolescents included factors relating to gender, substance use, prior mental health diagnoses and prior admission to hospital. Poor sleep was also a risk factor, with 159 (75%) reporting a recent history of sleeping problems. The very high proportion of admissions to the mental health inpatient unit due to suicidal behaviour reinforces the importance of finding effective methods of identification of the risk processes underpinning suicidal behaviours to reduce the unnecessary waste of young lives by suicide. © 2018 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (The Royal Australasian College of Physicians).

Neonatal Outcomes of Infants Admitted to a Large Government Hospital in Amman, Jordan

Science.gov (United States)

Sivasubramaniam, Priya G.; Quinn, Cristin E.; Blevins, Meridith; Hajajra, Ahmand Al; Khuri-Bulos, Najwa; Faouri, Samir; Halasa, Natasha

2015-01-01

Objective: To describe characteristics and outcomes of Jordanian newborns admitted to a large governmental neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: Newborns born at the government hospital, Al Bashir, in Amman, Jordan were prospectively enrolled. The study focused on newborns admitted to the NICU and a retrospective chart review was performed. Abstraction included in-hospital mortality, antibiotic days, ventilation, oxygen use, and CRP levels. Rank sum and chi-squared tests were used to compare across outcomes. Logistic regression of hypothesized risk factors with death adjusted for gestational age. Results: Of the 5,466 neonates enrolled from 2/10-2/11, medical records were available for 321/378(84.9%) infants admitted to the NICU. The median gestational age was 36 weeks, median birth weight was 2.3 kg, and 28(8.7%) infants died. The two most common reasons for admission and mortality were respiratory distress syndrome and prematurity. Low Apgar scores and positive CRP were predictors of mortality. Risk factors associated with increased use of antibiotics, oxygen hood, and mechanical ventilation included lower gestational age and prematurity. Conclusion: Infants admitted to the Jordanian NICU have significantly higher median gestational age and birth weights than in developed countries and were associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Continuations of global efforts to prevent prematurity are needed. PMID:25946927

[Length of stay in patients admitted for acute heart failure].

Science.gov (United States)

Martín-Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Carbajosa, Virginia; Llorens, Pere; Herrero, Pablo; Jacob, Javier; Miró, Òscar; Fernández, Cristina; Bueno, Héctor; Calvo, Elpidio; Ribera Casado, José Manuel

2016-01-01

To identify the factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay in patients admitted for acute heart failure. Multipurpose observational cohort study including patients from the EAHFE registry admitted for acute heart failure in 25 Spanish hospitals. Data were collected on demographic and clinical variables and on the day and place of admission. The primary outcome was length of hospital stay longer than the median. We included 2,400 patients with a mean age of 79.5 (9.9) years; of these, 1,334 (55.6%) were women. Five hundred and ninety (24.6%) were admitted to the short stay unit (SSU), 606 (25.2%) to cardiology, and 1,204 (50.2%) to internal medicine or gerontology. The mean length of hospital stay was 7.0 (RIC 4-11) days. Fifty-eight (2.4%) patients died and 562 (23.9%) were readmitted within 30 days after discharge. The factors associated with prolonged length of hospital stay were chronic pulmonary disease; being a device carrier; having an unknown or uncommon triggering factor; the presence of renal insufficiency, hyponatremia and anaemia in the emergency department; not being admitted to an SSU or the lack of this facility in the hospital; and being admitted on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. The factors associated with length of hospital stay≤7days were hypertension, having a hypertensive episode, or a lack of treatment adherence. The area under the curve of the mixed model adjusted to the center was 0.78 (95% CI: 0.76-0.80; p<0.001). A series of factors is associated with prolonged length of hospital stay and should be taken into account in the management of acute heart failure. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Cranial computed tomography findings in patients admitted to the emergency unit of Hospital Universitario Cajuru; Achados tomograficos de pacientes submetidos a tomografia de cranio no pronto-socorro do Hospital Universitario Cajuru

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Lara Filho, Lauro Aparecido; Omar, Samir Sari; Biguelini, Rodrigo Foletto; Santos, Rony Augusto de Oliveira, E-mail: samir176@gmail.com [Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Parana (PUCPR), Curitiba, PR (Brazil). Cuso de Medicina

2013-05-15

Objective: to identify and analyze the prevalence of cranial computed tomography findings in patients admitted to the emergency unit of Hospital Universitario Cajuru. Materials and methods: cross-sectional study analyzing 200 consecutive non contrast-enhanced cranial computed tomography reports of patients admitted to the emergency unit of Hospital Universitario Cajuru. Results: alterations were observed in 76.5% of the patients. Among them, the following findings were most frequently observed: extracranial soft tissue swelling (22%), bone fracture (16.5%), subarachnoid hemorrhage (15%), nonspecific hypodensity (14.5%), paranasal sinuses opacification (11.5%), diffuse cerebral edema (10.5%), subdural hematoma (9.5%), cerebral contusion (8.5%), hydrocephalus (8%), retractable hypodensity /gliosis/ encephalomalacia (8%). Conclusion: the authors recognize that the most common findings in emergency departments reported in the literature are similar to the ones described in the present study. This information is important for professionals to recognize the main changes to be identified at cranial computed tomography, and for future planning and hospital screening aiming at achieving efficiency and improvement in services. (author)

[Causes of lymphocytic meningitis in people with HIV admitted to the Infectious Disease department of Conakry].

Science.gov (United States)

Traoré, F A; Cissoko, Y; Tounkara, T M; Sako, F B; Mouelle, A D; Kpami, D O; Traoré, M; Doumbouya, M

2015-01-01

The advent of HIV infection has significantly changed the distribution of the causes of lymphocytic meningitis. The objective of this study was to identify these causes among persons with HIV hospitalized in the infectious disease department of the CHU of Conakry. This retrospective study examined hospital records of patients with HIV infection admitted for lymphocytic meningitis over a 10-year period. Of the 8649 hospitalizations in the department during the study period, 3167 patients had HIV infection, and 85 of the latter were diagnosed with lymphocytic meningitis. Slightly more than half were male (sex ratio M/F = 1.1). Their mean age was 32 years. Of these 85 patients, 73 were positive for HIV-1 only and 12 for HIV1+2. A CD4 count was performed only in 13/85 patients and averaged 140 cells/mm3. The main causes associated with lymphocytic meningitis were cryptococcosis (58%), toxoplasmosis (5%), and tuberculosis (2%). Streptococcus pneumoniae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Hæmophilus influenzae were also identified in 16% of cases. In 18% of cases no microbe was identified. The overall lethality rate was 68%; it reached 100% for tuberculous meningitis and for the cases without any identified cause and was 75%-76% for the patients with toxoplasmosis and cryptococcosis. The survival rate was 100% for all bacterial causes. A cause for lymphocytic meningitis was identified in more than 81% of the patients in our series, and the most common microbe was Cryptococcus neoformans. A better microbiological technical platform and improved accessibility to treatment would enable us to provide more relevant results and treatment.

Bacteriology in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in patients admitted to hospital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Mette V; Janner, Julie H; Nielsen, Susanne D

2009-01-01

patients admitted to Hvidovre hospital with the diagnosis AECOPD during 2004. A total of 118 patients were included. Microscopy, culture and sensitivity testing investigated their sputums. Clinical and paraclinical features were collected from the patients' files. Among the 118 patients, 59 (50%) had....... pneumonia, mostly H. influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. Patients with low FEV(1)sensitivity patterns of the bacteria showed that the majority were resistant to penicillin. If antibiotics are initiated empirically......We investigated the bacterial flora and antimicrobial sensitivity in sputum from patients admitted to hospital with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in order to recommend the best empirical treatment for these patients. The survey was a retrospective study of all...

The effect of hospital volume on mortality in patients admitted with severe sepsis.

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Sajid Shahul

Full Text Available IMPORTANCE: The association between hospital volume and inpatient mortality for severe sepsis is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of severe sepsis case volume and inpatient mortality. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective cohort study from 646,988 patient discharges with severe sepsis from 3,487 hospitals in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2002 to 2011. EXPOSURES: The exposure of interest was the mean yearly sepsis case volume per hospital divided into tertiles. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Inpatient mortality. RESULTS: Compared with the highest tertile of severe sepsis volume (>60 cases per year, the odds ratio for inpatient mortality among persons admitted to hospitals in the lowest tertile (≤10 severe sepsis cases per year was 1.188 (95% CI: 1.074-1.315, while the odds ratio was 1.090 (95% CI: 1.031-1.152 for patients admitted to hospitals in the middle tertile. Similarly, improved survival was seen across the tertiles with an adjusted inpatient mortality incidence of 35.81 (95% CI: 33.64-38.03 for hospitals with the lowest volume of severe sepsis cases and a drop to 32.07 (95% CI: 31.51-32.64 for hospitals with the highest volume. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: We demonstrate an association between a higher severe sepsis case volume and decreased mortality. The need for a systems-based approach for improved outcomes may require a high volume of severely septic patients.

[Loyal frequent users of hospital emergency departments: the FIDUR project].

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández Alonso, Cesáreo; Romero Pareja, Rodolfo; Rivas García, Aristides; Jiménez Gallego, Rosa; Majo Carbajo, Yolanda; Aguilar Mulet, Juan Mariano

2016-02-01

To describe the characteristics of frequent users of hospital emergency departments and analyze whether characteristics varied in relation to how revisits were distributed over the course of the year studied. Retrospective study of patients over the age of 14 years who were treated in a hospital emergency department at least 10 times in 2013. Patients were identified in 17 public hospitals in the Spanish autonomous community of Madrid. Data related to the first and successive visits were gathered and analyzed by quarter year. We included 2340 patients with a mean (SD) age of 54 (21) years. A total of 1361 (58.%) were women, 1160 (50%) had no concomitant diseases, 1366 (58.2%) were substance abusers, and 25 (1.1%) were homeless. During the first visit, 2038 (87.1%) complained of a recent health problem, and 289 (12.4%) were admitted. Sixty (2.6%) patients concentrated their revisits in a single quarters 335 (14.3%) in 2 quarters, 914 (39.1%) in 3, and 1005 (42.9%) in 4. Patients whose revisits were distributed over more quarters were older (> 65 years), had more concomitant conditions, were on more medications (P women (P = .012) and more likely to have a specific diagnosis (P loyally comes to the same emergency department over the course of a year. Patients whose revisits are dispersed over a longer period have more complex problems and use more resources during their initial visit.

Use of antibiotics in patients admitted to the hospital due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, S K.; Weis, N; Almdal, T

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess to what extent symptoms and signs of bacterial infection are present and evaluated in patients admitted to the hospital for exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in relation to initiation of antibiotic treatment. METHODS......: All adult patients (>18 years of age) discharged from a department of internal medicine in Copenhagen in 1997 with a diagnosis of exacerbation of COPD were included in our study and their reports were retrospectively reviewed. Gender, age, number of admissions and length of hospital stay, use...... was the initial antibiotic of choice. The median hospital stay was 6 days for the entire group of patients. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that, in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD, a relatively high number of patients with only weak symptoms or signs of bacterial infection are treated with antibiotics....

Increasing Throughput: Results from a 42-Hospital Collaborative to Improve Emergency Department Flow.

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Zocchi, Mark S; McClelland, Mark S; Pines, Jesse M

2015-12-01

An 18-month collaborative in 42 hospitals across 16 communities in the United States to improve emergency department (ED) flow was conducted from October 2010 through March 2012. Hospitals were invited to participate through the Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) program. Each participating hospital identified one or more interventions to improve ED flow and submitted data on four measures of ED flow: discharged length of stay (LOS), admitted LOS, boarding time, and left without being seen (LWBS) rates. Participating hospitals also provided quarterly progress reports on challenges encountered and lessons learned. Univariate linear regression was used to assess the effectiveness of interventions at the hospital level, where an improvement was defined as a negative slope in one or more of the throughput indicators. Challenges and lessons learned were tabulated and described. A total of 172 interventions were implemented across the 42 hospitals. Two thirds (n = 28) demonstrated improvement on at least one measure of ED flow. Among hospitals demonstrating improvement, the average reduction in discharged LOS was 26 minutes (95% confidence interval [CI] 11 to 41); admitted LOS, 36.5 minutes (95% CI 20 to 53), boarding time, 20.9 minutes (95% CI 12 to 30), and LWBS seen rates decreased by 1.4 absolute percentage points (95% CI 0.2 to 2.7). Teams were frequently challenged by issues related to leadership, staff buy-in, and resource constraints. The majority of hospitals in this collaborative improved on one or more ED flow measures. Many challenges were shared across hospitals, demonstrating that successful approaches to ED flow improvement require certain fundamental elements, including engaged leadership and staff, and sufficient resources.

Hospital Related Stress Among Patients Admitted to a Psychiatric In-patient Unit in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Latha KS

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The psychiatric patient’s attitudes towards hospitalization have found an association between patient perceptions of the ward atmosphere and dissatisfaction. The aim of the study was to determine the aspects of stress related to hospitalization in inpatients admitted to a psychiatric facility. Fifty in-patients of both sexes admitted consecutively to a psychiatric unit in a General Hospital were asked to rate the importance of, and their satisfaction with, 38 different aspects of in-patient care and treatment. Results showed that the major sources of stress were related to having a violent patient near to his/her bed; being away from family; having to stay in closed wards; having to eat cold and tasteless food; losing income or job due to illness, being hospitalized away from home; not able to understand the jargons used by the clinical staff and not getting medication for sleep. A well-differentiated assessment of stress and satisfaction has implications for the evaluation of the quality of psychiatric care and for the improvement of in-patient psychiatric care.

Occupational therapy for stroke patients not admitted to hospital: a randomised controlled trial.

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Walker, M F; Gladman, J R; Lincoln, N B; Siemonsma, P; Whiteley, T

1999-07-24

Patients who have a stroke are not always admitted to hospital, and 22-60% remain in the community, frequently without coordinated rehabilitation. We aimed to assess the efficacy of an occupational therapy intervention for patients with stroke who were not admitted to hospital. In this single-blind randomised controlled trial, consecutive stroke patients on a UK community register in Nottingham and Derbyshire were allocated randomly to up to 5 months of occupational therapy at home or to no intervention (control group) 1 month after their stroke. The aim of the occupational therapy was to encourage independence in personal and instrumental activities of daily living. Patients were assessed on outcome measures at baseline (before randomisation) and at 6 months. The primary outcome measure was the score on the extended activities of daily living (EADL) scale at 6 months. Other outcome measures included the Barthel index, the general health questionnaire 28, the carer strain index, and the London handicap scale. All assessments were done by an independent assessor who was unaware of treatment allocation. The analysis included only data from completed questionnaires. 185 patients were included: 94 in the occupational therapy group and 91 in the control group. 22 patients were not assessed at 6 months. At follow-up, patients who had occupational therapy had significantly higher median scores than the controls on: the EADL scale (16 vs 12, pstroke who were not admitted to hospital.

[Pediatric victims of traffic accidents admitted to a university hospital: epidemiological and clinical aspects].

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Feitas, Juliana Pontes Pinto; Ribeiro, Lindioneza Adriano; Jorge, Miguel Tanús

2007-12-01

This study analyzes epidemiological and clinic characteristics of victims of traffic accidents. Data were obtained from medical records of children under 15 years of age (n = 1,123) admitted to a university hospital in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, from 1999 to 2003. Mean age was eight years, 65.7% were boys, 76.6% were cyclists or pedestrians, 45.9% suffered head injuries, and 9% remained in hospital for more than two weeks. Fourteen (1.2%) died, 78.6% of these within 48 hours of hospitalization, and 85.7% with brain injuries. Among the passengers of motorcycles and larger vehicles, 58.8% were not using security devices properly at the time of the accident. Among the cyclists, 61% suffered isolated limb injuries. Meanwhile, pedestrians tended to suffer multiple lesions (57.5%) and be admitted to intensive care (7.1%), and represented 66.7% of the deaths. Epidemiological data on pediatric traffic victims can be useful for accident prevention programs.

Under-five protein energy malnutrition admitted at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu: a 10 year retrospective review.

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Ubesie, Agozie C; Ibeziako, Ngozi S; Ndiokwelu, Chika I; Uzoka, Chinyeaka M; Nwafor, Chinelo A

2012-06-14

To determine the prevalence, risk factors, co-morbidities and case fatality rates of Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) admissions at the paediatric ward of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Enugu, South-east Nigeria over a 10 year period. A retrospective study using case Notes, admission and mortality registers retrieved from the Hospital's Medical Records Department. All children aged 0 to 59 months admitted into the hospital on account of PEM between 1996 and 2005. A total of 212 children with PEM were admitted during the period under review comprising of 127 (59.9%) males and 85 (40.1%) females. The most common age groups with PEM were 6 to 12 months (55.7%) and 13 to 24 months (36.8%). Marasmus (34.9%) was the most common form of PEM noted in this review. Diarrhea and malaria were the most common associated co-morbidities. Majority (64.9%) of the patients were from the lower socio-economic class. The overall case fatality rate was 40.1% which was slightly higher among males (50.9%). Mortality in those with marasmic-kwashiokor and in the unclassified group was 53.3% and 54.5% respectively. Most of the admissions and case fatality were noted in those aged 6 to 24 months which coincides with the weaning period. Marasmic-kwashiokor is associated with higher case fatality rate than other forms of PEM. We suggest strengthening of the infant feeding practices by promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, followed by appropriate weaning with continued breast feeding. Under-five children should be screened for PEM at the community level for early diagnosis and prompt management as a way of reducing the high mortality associated with admitted severe cases.

Does drinking water influence hospital-admitted sialolithiasis on an epidemiological level in Denmark?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schrøder, Stine; Homøe, Preben; Wagner, Niels

2015-01-01

variables with sialolithiasis incidence as the outcome in search of possible relations among the variables tested. RESULTS: The nationwide incidence of hospital-admitted sialolithiasis was 5.5 cases per 100,000 citizens per year in Denmark. Strong relations were found between the incidence of sialolithiasis...

Clinical and laboratory profile of dengue fever patients admitted in combined military hospital rawalpindi in year 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rehman, M. M. U.; Zakaria, M.; Mustafvi, S. A.

2017-01-01

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the pattern of clinical presentations, haematological and biochemical abnormalities, and outcome of dengue fever patients admitted in Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Rawalpindi in year 2015. Study Design: A descriptive cross sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine, CMH Rawalpindi, from January 2015 to December 2015. Material and Methods: Patients meeting the inclusion criteria were admitted at CMH Rawalpindi and blood serology was done to confirm the diagnosis of dengue fever. Cases with positive dengue serology were included in the study. Clinical symptoms, signs, investigations and outcome of these patients were recorded on a proforma. Blood samples were taken for analysis. Chest X-Ray and ultrasound abdomen were done on required basis. Results: Out of forty confirmed cases of dengue fever, there were 25 (62.5 percent) males and 15 (37.5 percent) females. Mean age was 40 years. There were 39 cases (97.5 percent) of dengue fever and one case (2.5 percent) of dengue shock syndrome.There was no case of dengue haemorrhagic syndrome. Maximum cases were seen in the month of October 2015.The clinical features noted were: headache and myalgias 62.5 percent, chills and rigors 57.5 percent, retro-orbital pain 42.5 percent, vomiting 35.0 percent, pruritus 27 percent, skin rash 20 percent, abdominal pain 20 percent, diarrhoea 10 percent, bleeding 2.5 percent, ascites and pleural effusion 2.5 percent, and hepatomegaly 15 percent. The laboratory findings were: leucopenia 85 percent and thrombocytopenia 92.5 percent. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT), urea, and creatinine were raised in 30 percent, 2.5 percent and 7.5 percent cases respectively. Mortality was 2.5 percent. Conclusion: This study showed that patients admitted to CMH hospital had a milder presentation of dengue fever in the year 2015. (author)

Effect of casemix funding on outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with suspected unstable angina.

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Kerr, G D; Dunt, D; Gordon, I R

1998-01-19

To determine the effect of the introduction of casemix funding on resource utilisation and clinical outcomes in patients admitted to hospital with suspected unstable angina. A prospective cohort study with a 6-month follow-up. A suburban community hospital in Melbourne, Victoria. 336 consecutive patients admitted to the coronary care unit with suspected unstable angina before (156) and after (180) the introduction of casemix funding. Introduction of casemix funding in July 1993. Indices of resource utilisation: length of stay in hospital, length of stay in the coronary care unit, and total cost of investigations (pathology and radiology). Rates of serious cardiac events during hospital stay and after discharge. Readmissions within 28 days and 6 months of discharge. After the introduction of casemix funding there was a 1% increase in duration of hospital stay and a 5% increase in time spent in the coronary care unit, but neither of these increases was statistically significant. However, there was a significant reduction in total cost of investigations (39% decrease; 95% confidence interval, 14%-70%; P Casemix funding had no effect on short term clinical outcomes but resulted in significantly reduced investigation costs.

A Cohort Study to Analyze the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism Mortality in Patients Admitted to the General Medicine Department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore

OpenAIRE

Sule, Ashish Anil; Chin, Tay Jam; Sinnathamby, Letchumi; Lee, Hwei Khien; Earnest, Arul

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients admitted to the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), Singapore during October and November 2009. The primary outcome assessed was mortality due to VTE, or development of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (PE) within 3 months from the day of admission. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for all-cause mortality and deaths associated with PE. Seven hundred twenty-one patients adm...

Is hospital care of major importance for outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest? Experience acquired from patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest resuscitated by the same Emergency Medical Service and admitted to one of two hospitals over a 16-year period in the municipality of Göteborg.

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Engdahl, J; Abrahamsson, P; Bång, A; Lindqvist, J; Karlsson, T; Herlitz, J

2000-02-01

To describe patient characteristics, hospital investigations and interventions and early mortality among patients being hospitalized after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in two hospitals. Municipality of Göteborg, Sweden. All patients suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest who were successfully resuscitated and admitted to hospital between 1 October 1980 and 31 December 1996. All patients were resuscitated by the same Emergency Medical Service and admitted alive to one of the two city hospitals in Göteborg. Of 579 patients admitted to Sahlgrenska Hospital, 253 (44%) were discharged alive and of 459 patients admitted to Ostra Hospital, 152 (33%) were discharged alive (P percentage of patients admitted to Sahlgrenska Hospital underwent coronary angiography (P < 0.001), electrophysiological testing (P < 0.001), Holter recording (P < 0.001), echocardiography (P = 0.004), percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA, P = 0.009), implantation of automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD, P = 0.03) and exercise stress tests (P = 0.003). Inhabitants in the catchment area of Ostra Hospital had a less favourable socio-economic profile. Survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest may be affected by the course of hospital management. Other variables that might influence survival are socio-economic factors and cardiorespiratory status on admission to hospital. Further investigation is called for as more patients are being hospitalised alive after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Characterizing and predicting rates of delirium across general hospital settings.

Science.gov (United States)

McCoy, Thomas H; Hart, Kamber L; Perlis, Roy H

2017-05-01

To better understand variation in reported rates of delirium, this study characterized delirium occurrence rate by department of service and primary admitting diagnosis. Nine consecutive years (2005-2013) of general hospital admissions (N=831,348) were identified across two academic medical centers using electronic health records. The primary admitting diagnosis and the treating clinical department were used to calculate occurrence rates of a previously published delirium definition composed of billing codes and natural language processing of discharge summaries. Delirium rates varied significantly across both admitting diagnosis group (X 2 10 =12786, pdelirium (86/109764; 0.08%) and neurological admissions the greatest (2851/25450; 11.2%). Although the rate of delirium varied across the two hospitals the relative rates within departments (r=0.96, pdelirium varies significantly across admitting diagnosis and hospital department. Both admitting diagnosis and department of care are even stronger predictors of risk than age; as such, simple risk stratification may offer avenues for targeted prevention and treatment efforts. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Counterregulatory hormones in insulin-treated diabetic patients admitted to an accident and emergency department with hypoglycaemia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hvidberg, A; Christensen, N J; Hilsted, Jannik

1998-01-01

The aim of the study was (1) to describe hormone responses in insulin-induced hypoglycaemia and (2) to investigate if a combined treatment with intravenous glucose and intramuscular glucagon (group A) would improve glucose recovery as compared to treatment with intravenous glucose alone (group B)...... significantly elevated concentrations of adrenaline and glucagon were found in diabetic patients admitted with severe hypoglycaemia to an Accident and Emergency Department.......). Eighteen adult patients with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus admitted to the Accident and Emergency Department with hypoglycaemia (plasma glucose 1.23 +/- 0.15 mmol l(-1) on admission) were randomized to one of the above treatments and plasma glucose and counterregulatory hormones were measured before...

Prevalence of protein-energy malnutrition in hospital patients over 75 years of age admitted for hip fracture.

Science.gov (United States)

Drevet, S; Bioteau, C; Mazière, S; Couturier, P; Merloz, P; Tonetti, J; Gavazzi, G

2014-10-01

One percent of falls in over-75 years old cause hip fracture (HF). Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is associated with falls and fracture. PEM screening and perioperative nutritional management are recommended by the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, yet data on nutritional status in elderly HF patients are sparse. The Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) score is presently the most effective screening tool for PEM in over-75 years old. The principal objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence on MNA of PEM in patients aged over 75 years admitted for HF. Secondary objectives were to identify factors associated with PEM and its role as a factor of evolution. A prospective observational epidemiological study included 50 patients aged over 75 years admitted for HF in an 8-bed orthopedic surgery department with a geriatric follow-up unit. PEM was defined by MNApatients was 86.1 years (range, 77-94 years). Prevalence of PEM was 28%; a further 58% of patients were at risk for PEM. PEM was associated with elevated CIRS-G (Ppatients aged over 75 years, supporting longer hospital stay. MNA is a diagnostic gold standard, not to be replaced by albuminemia or body-mass index in this perioperative clinical situation. Given the present economic stakes relating to geriatric trauma patients' hospital stay, it is essential to prevent, diagnose and treat PEM in elderly subjects. Level IV; prospective cohort study. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Reduction of admit wait times: the effect of a leadership-based program.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Pankaj B; Combs, Mary A; Vinson, David R

2014-03-01

Prolonged admit wait times in the emergency department (ED) for patients who require hospitalization lead to increased boarding time in the ED, a significant cause of ED congestion. This is associated with decreased quality of care, higher morbidity and mortality, decreased patient satisfaction, increased costs for care, ambulance diversion, higher numbers of patients who leave without being seen (LWBS), and delayed care with longer lengths of stay (LOS) for other ED patients. The objective was to assess the effect of a leadership-based program to expedite hospital admissions from the ED. This before-and-after observational study was undertaken from 2006 through 2011 at one community hospital ED. A team of ED and hospital leaders implemented a program to reduce admit wait times, using a computerized hospital-wide tracking system to monitor inpatient and ED bed status. The team collaboratively and consistently moved ED patients to their inpatient beds within an established goal of 60 minutes after an admission decision was reached. Top leadership actively intervened in real time by contacting staff whenever delays occurred to expedite immediate solutions to achieve the 60-minute goal. The primary outcome measures were the percentage of ED patients who were admitted to inpatient beds within 60 minutes from the time the beds were requested and ED boarding time. LOS, patient satisfaction, LWBS rate, and ambulance diversion hours were also measured. After ED census, hospital admission rates, and ED bed capacity were controlled for using a multivariable linear regression analysis, the admit wait time reduction program contributed to an increase in patients being admitted to the hospital within 60 minutes by 16 percentage points (95% confidence intervals [CI] = 10 to 22 points; p leadership-based program to reduce admit wait times and boarding times was associated with a significant increase in the percentage of patients admitted to the hospital within 60 minutes and a

Predictors of Hospitalization Among Newly Admitted Skilled Nursing Facility Residents: Rethinking the Role of Functional Decline

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sun J. Kim

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Hospital transfer from a skilled nursing facility (SNF is costly, and many are potentially preventable. This study examines: 1 whether functional decline is a predictor of hospital transfer, and 2 the magnitude of relationships between predictors (functional impairment and chronic medical illness and hospital transfer from SNFs. Methods: We used Minimum Data Set (MDS Version 2.0 in the state of Michigan between 2007 and 2009. In total, 196,662 new SNF admissions were observed. Multilevel generalized estimating equations and regression models were performed for each functional and clinical domain while adjusting for demographic variables and change in activities of daily living (ADL. Results: 65% of recently admitted SNF residents experienced functional decline after SNF admission, and 58% were readmitted to a hospital. Residents who needed extensive assistance or were completely dependent in their functional domains had pressure ulcers, deteriorated mood or lower cognitive performance scale scores. These residents experienced higher chances of hospital transfer. However, a deteriorated ADL played a significant role in all multivariate models, indicating that a decline in ADL is a stronger predictor of hospital transfer than other functional or clinical predictors. Conclusion: Although all functional impairments and chronic medical illness can be associated with hospital transfer, functional decline may be the most important predictor of hospital transfer in patients newly admitted to an SNF.

Early prevention of pressure ulcers among elderly patients admitted through emergency departments: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

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Pham, Ba'; Teague, Laura; Mahoney, James; Goodman, Laurie; Paulden, Mike; Poss, Jeff; Li, Jianli; Ieraci, Luciano; Carcone, Steven; Krahn, Murray

2011-11-01

Every year, approximately 6.2 million hospital admissions through emergency departments (ED) involve elderly patients who are at risk of developing pressure ulcers. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of pressure-redistribution foam mattresses on ED stretchers and beds for early prevention of pressure ulcers in elderly admitted ED patients. Using a Markov model, we evaluated the incremental effectiveness (quality-adjusted life-days) and incremental cost (hospital and home care costs) between early prevention and current practice (with standard hospital mattresses) from a health care payer perspective during a 1-year time horizon. The projected incidence of ED-acquired pressure ulcers was 1.90% with current practice and 1.48% with early prevention, corresponding to a number needed to treat of 238 patients. The average upgrading cost from standard to pressure-redistribution mattresses was $0.30 per patient. Compared with current practice, early prevention was more effective, with 0.0015 quality-adjusted life-days gained, and less costly, with a mean cost saving of $32 per patient. If decisionmakers are willing to pay $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, early prevention was cost-effective even for short ED stay (ie, 1 hour), low hospital-acquired pressure ulcer risk (1% prevalence), and high unit price of pressure-redistribution mattresses ($3,775). Taking input uncertainty into account, early prevention was 81% likely to be cost-effective. Expected value-of-information estimates supported additional randomized controlled trials of pressure-redistribution mattresses to eliminate the remaining decision uncertainty. The economic evidence supports early prevention with pressure-redistribution foam mattresses in the ED. Early prevention is likely to improve health for elderly patients and save hospital costs. Copyright © 2011 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Malnutrition in patients admitted to the medical wards of the Douala General Hospital: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Luma, Henry Namme; Eloumou, Servais Albert Fiacre Bagnaka; Mboligong, Franklin Ngu; Temfack, Elvis; Donfack, Olivier-Tresor; Doualla, Marie-Solange

2017-07-03

Malnutrition is common in acutely ill patients occurring in 30-50% of hospitalized patients. Awareness and screening for malnutrition is lacking in most health institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed at screening for malnutrition using anthropometric and laboratory indices in patients admitted to the internal medicine wards. A cross-sectional study. We screened for malnutrition in 251 consecutive patients admitted from January to March 2013 in the internal medicine wards. Malnutrition defined as body mass index (BMI) less than 18.5 kg/m 2 and/or mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) less than 22 cm in women and 23 cm in men. Weight loss greater than 10% in the last 6 months prior to admission, relevant laboratory data, diagnosis at discharge and length of hospital stay (LOS) were also recorded. Mean age was 47 (SD 16) years. 52.6% were male. Mean BMI was 24.44 (SD 5.79) kg/m 2 and MUAC was 27.8 (SD 5.0) cm. Median LOS was 7 (IQR 5-12) days. 42.4% of patients reported weight loss greater than 10% in the 6 months before hospitalization. MUAC and BMI correlated significantly (r = 0.78; p malnutrition by the two methods showed moderate agreement (κ = 0.56; p malnutrition was 19.34% (35/251). Blood albumin and hemoglobin were significantly lower in malnourished patients. Malnourished patients had a significantly longer LOS (p = 0.019) when compared to those with no malnutrition. Malnutrition was most common amongst patients with malignancy. Malnutrition is common in patients admitted to the medical wards of the Douala General Hospital. Nutritional screening and assessment should be integrated in the care package of all admitted patients.

Efficacy of nebulized fluticasone propionate in adult patients admitted to the emergency department due to bronchial asthma attack.

Science.gov (United States)

Starobin, Daniel; Bolotinsky, Ludmila; Or, Jack; Fink, Gershon; Shtoeger, Zev

2008-01-01

Locally delivered steroids by inhalers or nebulizers have been shown in small trials to be effective in acute asthma attack, but evidence-based data are insufficient to establish their place as routine management of adult asthma attacks. To determine the efficacy of nebulized compared to systemic steroids in adult asthmatics admitted to the emergency department following an acute attack. Adult asthmatics admitted to the ED were assigned in random consecutive case fashion to one of three protocol groups: group 1--nebulized steroid fluticasone (Flixotide Nebules), group 2--intravenous methylprednisolone, group 3--combined treatment by both routes. Objective and subjective parameters, such as peak expiratory flow, oxygen saturation, heart rate and dyspnea score, were registered before and 2 hours after ED treatment was initiated. Steroids were continued for 1 week following the ED visit according to the protocol arm. Data on hospital admission/discharge rate, ED readmissions in the week after enrollment and other major events related to asthma were registered. Altogether, 73 adult asthmatics were assigned to receive treatment: 24 patients in group 1, 23 in group 2 and 26 in group 3. Mean age was 44.4 +/- 16.8 years (range 17-75 years). Peak expiratory flow and dyspnea score significantly improved in group 1 patients compared with patients in the other groups after 2 hours of ED treatment (P = 0.021 and 0.009, respectively). The discharge rate after ED treatment was significantly higher in groups 1 and 3 than in group 2 (P = 0.05). All 73 patients were alive a week after enrollment. Five patients (20.8%) in the Flixotide treatment arm were hospitalized and required additional systemic steroids. Multivariate analysis of factors affecting hospitalization rate demonstrated that severity of asthma (odds ratio 8.11) and group 2 (OD 4.17) had a negative effect, whereas adherence to chronic anti-asthma therapy (OD 0.49) reduced the hospitalization rate. Our study cohort

Analysis of combat casualties admitted to the emergency department during the negotiation of the comprehensive Colombian process of peace.

Science.gov (United States)

Ordoñez, Carlos A; Manzano Nunez, Ramiro; Parra, Michael W; Herrera, Juan Pablo; Naranjo, Maria Paula; Escobar, Sara Sofia; Badiel, Marisol; Morales, Monica; Cevallos, Cecibel; Bayona, Juan G; Sanchez, Alvaro Ignacio; Puyana, Juan Carlos; García, Alberto F

2017-12-30

Our objective was to describe the variations in casualties admitted to the emergency department during the period of the negotiation of the comprehensive peace agreement in Colombia between 2011 and 2016. A retrospective study of all hostile military casualties managed at a regional Level I trauma center from January 2011 to December 2016. Patients were subsequently divided into two groups: those seen before the declaration of the process of peace truce (November 2012) and those after (negotiation period). Variables were compared with respect to periods. A total of 448 hostile casualties were registered. There was a gradual decline in the number of admissions to the emergency department during the negotiation period. The number of soldiers suffering blast and rifle injuries also decreased over this period. In 2012 there were nearly 150 hostile casualties' admissions to the ER. This number decreased to 84, 63, 32 and 6 in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. Both, the proportion of patients with an ISS ≥9 and admitted to the intensive care unit were significantly higher in the period before peace negotiation. From August to December/2016 no admissions of war casualties were registered. We describe a series of soldiers wounded in combat that were admitted to the emergency department before and during the negotiation of the Colombian process of peace. Overall, we found a trend toward a decrease in the number of casualties admitted to the emergency department possibly in part, as a result of the period of peace negotiation.

The relationship of air pollution and asthma patients admitted to hospitals in Kermanshah (2008-2009

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razieh Khamutian

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Industrialization and urbanization have had a devastating impact on public health. Asthma is considered as one of the major challenges of public health. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between air pollution and the number of asthma patients admitted to hospitals in Kermanshah, Iran. Methods: In this cross-sectional and ecological study, the data on the number of asthma patients, the concentration levels of air pollutants and weather conditions were collected from the city of Kermanshah. To determine the association between asthma patients admitted to hospitals and air pollutants, Poisson regression was used (P<0.05. Results: according to the statistical analysis, air pollutants had significant correlation with each other. Based on the results of multiple Poisson regression, among air pollutants CO and O3 were significantly correlated with the number of asthma patients referred to hospitals, with relative risk of 1.18 and 1.016, respectively, and based on the results of single Poisson regression, among air pollutants NOx, NO, NO2 and CO were significantly correlated with the number of asthma patients referred to hospitals with relative risk of 1.011, 1.012, 1.054 and 1.247, respectively. Conclusion: according to the results of the present study, there was a significant association between air pollutants (mainly carbon monoxide and ozone and the total number of asthma patients referred to the hospitals in Kermanshah.

The pattern of neurological disorders in patients admitted to El shaab teaching hospital

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mohamed, Taj Eldin Hag Osman [Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum (Sudan)

1999-07-01

This thesis was designed to study the pattern of neurological disorders of admitted patients to the neurology centre at El shaab teaching hospital in the period from january 1997 to december 1998. 402 cases were admitted. (35%) were in the age group 21-40, 30% in 41-60, 20% in 61-80, 14% in 0-20 and 1% in >81 males constituted 72% and females 28%. Cerebrovascular diseases top the list with 18.9%, followed by paraplegia's with 17.4%, peripheral neuropathies 11.7, (guillain barre was the most common). Brain space occupying lesions 10.4% (tumors and tuberculomas was the most common),movement disorders with 10% (Parkinson's disease was the most encountered), muscle disorders 6.2% (myasthenia gravis was the commonest). Ataxias 5.5%, headache and migraine was the least group of disorders.

The pattern of neurological disorders in patients admitted to El shaab teaching hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamed, Taj Eldin Hag Osman

1999-01-01

This thesis was designed to study the pattern of neurological disorders of admitted patients to the neurology centre at El shaab teaching hospital in the period from january 1997 to december 1998. 402 cases were admitted. (35%) were in the age group 21-40, 30% in 41-60, 20% in 61-80, 14% in 0-20 and 1% in >81 males constituted 72% and females 28%. Cerebrovascular diseases top the list with 18.9%, followed by paraplegia's with 17.4%, peripheral neuropathies 11.7, (guillain barre was the most common). Brain space occupying lesions 10.4% (tumors and tuberculomas was the most common),movement disorders with 10% (Parkinson's disease was the most encountered), muscle disorders 6.2% (myasthenia gravis was the commonest). Ataxias 5.5%, headache and migraine was the least group of disorders

A new ambulatory classification and funding model for radiation oncology: non-admitted patients in Victorian hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Antioch, K M; Walsh, M K; Anderson, D; Wilson, R; Chambers, C; Willmer, P

1998-01-01

The Victorian Department of Human Services has developed a classification and funding model for non-admitted radiation oncology patients. Agencies were previously funded on an historical cost input basis. For 1996-97, payments were made according to the new Non-admitted Radiation Oncology Classification System and include four key components. Fixed grants are based on Weighted Radiation Therapy Services targets for megavoltage courses, planning procedures (dosimetry and simulation) and consultations. The additional throughput pool covers additional Weighted Radiation Therapy Services once targets are reached, with access conditional on the utilisation of a minimum number of megavoltage fields by each hospital. Block grants cover specialised treatments, such as brachytherapy, allied health payments and other support services. Compensation grants were available to bring payments up to the level of the previous year. There is potential to provide incentives to promote best practice in Australia through linking appropriate practice to funding models. Key Australian and international developments should be monitored, including economic evaluation studies, classification and funding models, and the deliberations of the American College of Radiology, the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, the Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group and the Council of Oncology Societies of Australia. National impact on clinical practice guidelines in Australia can be achieved through the Quality of Care and Health Outcomes Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council.

Determinants and time to blood transfusion among thermal burn patients admitted to Mulago Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilyewala, C; Alenyo, R; Ssentongo, R

2017-07-06

Blood transfusion, a practice under re-evaluation in general, remains common among thermal burn patients due to the hematological alterations associated with burns that manifest as anemia. Today advocacy is for restrictive blood transfusion taking into account individual patient characteristics. We went out to identify the parameters that may determine transfusion requirement and the time to blood transfusion for thermal burn patients in Mulago Hospital in order to build statistics and a basis to standardize future practice and Hospital protocol. 112 patients with thermal burns were enrolled into a prospective cohort study conducted in the Surgical Unit of the Accidents and Emergency Department and Burns Unit of Mulago Hospital. Relevant data on pre-injury, injury and post-injury factors was collected including relevant laboratory investigations and treatment modalities like surgical intervention. Patients were clinically followed up for a maximum period of 28 days and we identified those that were transfused. 22.3% of patients were transfused. The median time to transfusion was 17 days from time of injury and varied with different patient characteristics. The median pre-transfusion hemoglobin (Hb) level was 8.2 g/dL. Transfusion was significantly related to; admission to the intensive care unit (p = 0.001), a body mass index (BMI) burn surface area (TBSA) >20 (p = 0.049), pre-existing illness (p = 0.046), and white blood cell (WBC) count 12,000/μL (p = 0.05). Pre-existing illnesses, a low BMI, TBSA of >20%, admission to the intensive care unit and abnormalities in the WBC count are useful predictors of blood transfusion among thermal burns patients admitted to Mulago Hospital. The precise time to transfusion from time of burns injury cannot be generalized. With close monitoring of each individual patient lies the appropriateness and timeliness of their management.

Characteristics of patients with measles admitted to allied hospital rawalpindi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sultana, A.; Sabir, S.A.; Awan, A.

2015-01-01

Measles, a virus borne droplet infection, is one of the leading causes of death among young children worldwide despite presence of a safe and cost-effective vaccine. Objective of our study was to identify the characteristics of measles patients admitted to Allied Hospitals, Rawalpindi. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted amongst patients admitted with measles in paediatric units of Rawalpindi Medical College Allied Hospitals, Rawalpindi. A standard proforma was used to collect data from the respondents. Results: A total of 55 patients (mean age-29.36 months) with measles were included in the study. 65.5% children were vaccinated while 34.5% were not vaccinated. Among those vaccinated 14 were male. Out of the vaccinated children 52.6% were residents of middle class areas, 31.6% lower middle class area, 10.5% upper middle class areas and 5.3% rural areas. In 55.0% of patients who were vaccinated with at least one dose of measles at nine month of age the estimated calendar months of vaccination was March to April while in 30% the overall climatic period of vaccination was of summer (May to September). Twenty one study subjects were exposed to a case of measles in the family and thirty five out of all developed at least one known complication of the disease. Pneumonia was the most common complication reported in patients (63.6%) followed by diarrhoea (27.3%). Conclusion: Majority of the patients suffering from measles were not vaccinated and the most common reason for failure to immunize children was lack of awareness. Educated and well off fathers were more likely to get their children immunized. The vaccinated children who developed measles majority were vaccinated during months of March, April and May. (author)

Education and training circumstances of radiology for residents in qualified hospitals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imamura, Keiko; Nakajima, Yasuo; Kiba, Ritsuko; Mizunuma, Kimiyoshi; Ida, Masahiro; Kawabuchi, Koichi

2005-01-01

This report is a summary of investigations on the title from the aspect of human resources. Data were collected from databases of websites of Residency Electronic Information System, www.reisjp.org, and Foundation for Promotion of Medical training, www.pmet.org.jp, and from Hospital List (February, 2003) where Japanese radiology physicians were actually working. Investigations were performed on: qualification criteria of hospitals for training, their bed number, number of residents to be admitted, number of physicians and supervising doctors, presence/absence of independent radiology department, number of physicians, supervising doctors and expert physicians in the department. The number rate of physicians in the department is identified to be 64.7% and 84.3% of general and university hospitals, respectively; number of residents to be admitted per one supervisor in the university hospitals is 1.5-2.6 times as high as that in general hospitals; and about 1/4 of residents to be admitted may be in circumstances poor for radiology training. (author)

Meta-analysis of recent studies on patients admitted to hospital due to adverse drug effects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Atiqi, R.; Cleophas, T. J.; van Bommel, E.; Zwinderman, A. H.

2009-01-01

The use of drugs has expanded during the previous decade. However, earlier studies oil patients admitted for adverse drugs effects (ADEs) have been heterogeneous. The objectives of this Study were to assess the number of recent admissions to hospital Clue to ADEs and to assess the degree of

Comparison Between Emergency Department and Inpatient Nurses’ Perceptions of Boarding of Admitted Patients

Science.gov (United States)

Pulliam, Bryce C.; Liao, Mark Y.; Geissler, Theodore M.; Richards, John R.

2013-01-01

Introduction: The boarding of admitted patients in the emergency department (ED) is a major cause of crowding and access block. One solution is boarding admitted patients in inpatient ward (W) hallways. This study queried and compared ED and W nurses’ opinions toward ED and W boarding. It also assessed their preferred boarding location if they were patients. Methods: A survey administered to a convenience sample of ED and W nurses was performed in a 631-bed academic medical center (30,000 admissions/year) with a 68-bed ED (70,000 visits/ year). We identified nurses as ED or W, and if W, whether they had previously worked in the ED. The nurses were asked if there were any circumstances where admitted patients should be boarded in ED or W hallways. They were also asked their preferred location if they were admitted as a patient. Six clinical scenarios were then presented, and the nurses’ opinions on boarding based on each scenario were queried. Results: Ninety nurses completed the survey, with a response rate of 60%; 35 (39%) were current ED nurses (cED), 40 (44%) had previously worked in the ED (pED). For all nurses surveyed 46 (52%) believed admitted patients should board in the ED. Overall, 52 (58%) were opposed to W boarding, with 20% of cED versus 83% of current W (cW) nurses (P boarding, with 82% of cED versus 33% of cW nurses (P boarding were lack of monitoring and patient privacy. For the 6 clinical scenarios, significant differences in opinion regarding W boarding existed in all but 2 cases: a patient with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but requiring oxygen, and an intubated, unstable sepsis patient. Conclusion: Inpatient nurses and those who have never worked in the ED are more opposed to inpatient boarding than ED nurses and nurses who have worked previously in the ED. Primary nursing concerns about boarding are lack of monitoring and privacy in hallway beds. Nurses admitted as patients seemed to prefer not being boarded where they work

Comparison between emergency department and inpatient nurses' perceptions of boarding of admitted patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulliam, Bryce C; Liao, Mark Y; Geissler, Theodore M; Richards, John R

2013-03-01

The boarding of admitted patients in the emergency department (ED) is a major cause of crowding and access block. One solution is boarding admitted patients in inpatient ward (W) hallways. This study queried and compared ED and W nurses' opinions toward ED and W boarding. It also assessed their preferred boarding location if they were patients. A survey administered to a convenience sample of ED and W nurses was performed in a 631-bed academic medical center (30,000 admissions/year) with a 68-bed ED (70,000 visits/ year). We identified nurses as ED or W, and if W, whether they had previously worked in the ED. The nurses were asked if there were any circumstances where admitted patients should be boarded in ED or W hallways. They were also asked their preferred location if they were admitted as a patient. Six clinical scenarios were then presented, and the nurses' opinions on boarding based on each scenario were queried. Ninety nurses completed the survey, with a response rate of 60%; 35 (39%) were current ED nurses (cED), 40 (44%) had previously worked in the ED (pED). For all nurses surveyed 46 (52%) believed admitted patients should board in the ED. Overall, 52 (58%) were opposed to W boarding, with 20% of cED versus 83% of current W (cW) nurses (P boarding, with 82% of cED versus 33% of cW nurses (P boarding were lack of monitoring and patient privacy. For the 6 clinical scenarios, significant differences in opinion regarding W boarding existed in all but 2 cases: a patient with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but requiring oxygen, and an intubated, unstable sepsis patient. Inpatient nurses and those who have never worked in the ED are more opposed to inpatient boarding than ED nurses and nurses who have worked previously in the ED. Primary nursing concerns about boarding are lack of monitoring and privacy in hallway beds. Nurses admitted as patients seemed to prefer not being boarded where they work. ED and inpatient nurses seemed to agree that

Development and validation of an ICD-10-based disability predictive index for patients admitted to hospitals with trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Tomoki; Yasunaga, Hideo; Yamana, Hayato; Matsui, Hiroki; Fushimi, Kiyohide; Morimura, Naoto

2018-03-01

There was no established disability predictive measurement for patients with trauma that could be used in administrative claims databases. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a diagnosis-based disability predictive index for severe physical disability at discharge using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) coding. This retrospective observational study used the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database in Japan. Patients who were admitted to hospitals with trauma and discharged alive from 01 April 2010 to 31 March 2015 were included. Pediatric patients under 15 years old were excluded. Data for patients admitted to hospitals from 01 April 2010 to 31 March 2013 was used for development of a disability predictive index (derivation cohort), while data for patients admitted to hospitals from 01 April 2013 to 31 March 2015 was used for the internal validation (validation cohort). The outcome of interest was severe physical disability defined as the Barthel Index score of predictive index for each patient was defined as the sum of the scores. The predictive performance of the index was validated using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in the validation cohort. The derivation cohort included 1,475,158 patients, while the validation cohort included 939,659 patients. Of the 939,659 patients, 235,382 (25.0%) were discharged with severe physical disability. The c-statistics of the disability predictive index was 0.795 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.794-0.795), while that of a model using the disability predictive index and patient baseline characteristics was 0.856 (95% CI 0.855-0.857). Severe physical disability at discharge may be well predicted with patient age, sex, CCI score, and the diagnosis-based disability predictive index in patients admitted to hospitals with trauma. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Focused cardiac ultrasound in the emergency department for patients admitted with respiratory symptoms

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, C. B.

2015-01-01

In patients admitted with respiratory failure, a large proportion is diagnosed incorrectly in the emergency department and an even larger proportion seems to receive inappropriate treatment. Inappropriate initial treatment of these patients in the emergency department is associated with increased...... triage, patients with cardiac arrest, patients with undifferentiated shock, patients with cardiopulmonary instability, patients with respiratory symptoms, trauma patients with suspected cardiac injuries, and assessment of the fluid status before fluid loading. When using focused cardiac ultrasound (US......) in patients with respiratory symptoms, the typical objectives would be to identify pericardial effusion and enlargement of cardiac cavities, to estimate global systolic left-ventricular function, and to assess the volume status. The routine use of focused cardiac US in patients with respiratory symptoms may...

Prognosis and risk factors for deterioration in patients admitted to a medical emergency department

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Daniel Pilsgaard; Brabrand, Mikkel; Lassen, Annmarie Touborg

2014-01-01

vital signs at arrival to a medical emergency department (MED). DESIGN AND SETTING: Single-centre, retrospective cohort study of all patients admitted to the MED from September 2010-August 2011. SUBJECTS: Patients were included when their vital signs (systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, respiratory.......2-3.0%) among the non-deteriorating, hazard ratio 4.11 (95% CI: 2.38-7.10). CONCLUSIONS: Among acutely admitted medical patients who arrive with normal vital signs, 31.0% showed signs of deterioration within 24 hours. Risk factors included old age, Do-not-attempt-to-resuscitate order, admission from the open...... general ED. Thirty-day mortality among patients with deterioration was four times higher than among non-deteriorating patients. Further research is needed to determine whether intensified monitoring of vital signs can help to prevent deterioration or mortality among medical emergency patients....

[Medico-economic analysis of a neurosurgery department at a university hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Lemaire, J-J; Delom, C; Coste, A; Khalil, T; Jourdy, J-C; Pontier, B; Gabrillargues, J; Sinardet, D; Chabanne, A; Achim, V; Sakka, L; Coste, J; Chazal, J; Salagnac, A; Coll, G; Irthum, B

2015-02-01

Economic and societal constraints require to take into account the economic dimension and medical performance of hospital departments. We carried out a self-assessment study, which we thought could be useful to share with the neurosurgical community. Care and research activities were assessed from 2009 to 2013. We used institutional and assessment-body parameters in order to describe activities and perform a financial evaluation. It was a retrospective descriptive study based on the guidelines of the DHOS/O4 circular No. 2007/390 of October 29, 2007. The average annual, analytic income statement was +1.39 millions euros, for 63 beds with a 92% occupancy rate, including 6.7 full-time equivalent neurosurgeons (and assistants), for 2553 patients and 1975 surgeries. The average mortality rate was 2.74%. The annual mean length of stay was 6.82 days. Per year, on average 15.6% of patients were admitted in emergency and 76.9% returned home. The annual, act-related-pricing and publication-related incomes represented 77% and 0.6%, respectively of the total funding. Difficulties to find downstream beds for the most severe patients induced 1401 "waiting days" in 2012. Medico-economic analysis of a neurosurgery department at a university hospital was useful in order to take into account the care, teaching and research activities, as well as its related financial value. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Outcomes of Nulliparous Women with Spontaneous Labor Onset Admitted to Hospitals in Pre-active versus Active Labor

Science.gov (United States)

NEAL, Jeremy L.; LAMP, Jane M.; BUCK, Jacalyn S.; LOWE, Nancy K.; GILLESPIE, Shannon L.; RYAN, Sharon L.

2014-01-01

Introduction The timing of when a woman is admitted to the hospital for labor care following spontaneous contraction onset may be among the most important decisions that labor attendants make as it can influence care patterns and birth outcomes. The aims of this study were to estimate the percentage of low-risk, nulliparous women at term who are admitted to labor units prior to active labor and to evaluate the effects of the timing of admission (i.e., pre-active versus active labor) on labor interventions and mode of birth. Methods Obstetrics data from low-risk, nulliparous women with spontaneous labor onset at term gestation (N = 216) were merged from two prospective studies conducted at three large, Midwestern hospitals. Baseline characteristics, labor interventions, and outcomes were compared between groups using Fisher’s exact and Mann-Whitney U tests, as appropriate. Likelihoods for oxytocin augmentation, amniotomy, and cesarean delivery were assessed by logistic regression. Results Of the sample of 216 low-risk nulliparous women, 114 (52.8%) were admitted in pre-active labor and 102 (47.2%) were admitted in active labor. Women admitted in pre-active labor were more likely to undergo oxytocin augmentation (84.2% and 45.1%, respectively; odds ratio (OR) 6.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.43–12.27) but not amniotomy (55.3% and 61.8%, respectively; OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.44–1.32) when compared to women admitted in active labor. The likelihood of cesarean delivery was higher for women admitted before active labor onset (15.8% and 6.9%, respectively; OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.02–6.37). Discussion Many low-risk nulliparous women with regular, spontaneous uterine contractions are admitted to labor units before active labor onset, which increases their likelihood of receiving oxytocin and being delivered via cesarean section. An evidence-based, standardized approach for labor admission decision-making is recommended to decrease inadvertent admissions of women in pre

Significance of clay art therapy for psychiatric patients admitted in a day hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aquiléia Helena de Morais

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Objective. To understand the significance of clay art therapy for psychiatric patients admitted in a day hospital. Methodology. Qualitative, descriptive and exploratory research, undertaken with 16 patients in a day hospital in Londrina, in the state of Parana, Brazil, who participated in seven clay therapy sessions. Data collection took place from January to July 2012 through interviews guided by a semi structured questionnaire and the data were submitted to content analysis. Results. Three themes emerged: Becoming familiar with clay art therapy; Feeling clay therapy; and Realizing the effect of clay therapy. Conclusion. The use of clay as a therapeutic method by psychiatric patients promoted creativity, self-consciousness, and benefited those who sought anxiety relief.

Sexual Behavior in Patients with Psychosis Admitted to a Hospital Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Mar Baños-Martín, María; Márquez-Hernández, Verónica V; Gutiérrez-Puertas, Lorena; Aguilera-Manrique, Gabriel; Gutiérrez-Puertas, Vanesa; Granados-Gámez, Genoveva

2017-06-01

The sexual dimension is part of a person's functionality. Patients with mental disorders have the same sexual needs as any other person, although they may not always be recognized. This is a retrospective observational study to describe the information on sexuality of patients with mental disorders, admitted to an acute short-stay inpatient unit between 2011 and 2015. We analyzed 293 clinical histories of patients, comprising diagnoses in the ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases) between F20 and F29, inclusively. The information collected corresponded to the beginning of hospitalization, its duration and discharge. The results showed that 24% of the patients had sexual delusions. These delusions were more frequent in women, who in turn had more emotional symptoms, persecutory deception being the most common. There were few reports found on sexual dysfunction. In conclusion, the lack of data in the reports shows little recognition of sexuality in hospitalized patients with mental disorder, highlighting the need to promote the training of health personnel.

Evaluation of Total Daily Dose and Glycemic Control for Patients on U-500 Insulin Admitted to the Hospital

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-20

regular insulin has significantly increased in recent years. These patients are severely insulin resistant requiring high doses of insulin to achieve...on U-500 Insulin Admitted to the Hospital presented at SURF Conference, San Antonio, TX 20 May 201 6 with MDWI 41-108, and has been assigned local...59th CSPG/SGVU) C.201 4 . I 52d PROTOCOL TITLE Evaluation of Total Dai ly Dose and Glycemic Control for Patients on U-500 Insulin Admitted to the

Hospitalisation in an emergency department short-stay unit compared to an internal medicine department is associated with fewer complications in older patients - an observational study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strøm, Camilla; Mollerup, Talie Khadem; Kromberg, Laurits Schou

2017-01-01

Medicine Department (IMD). METHODS: Observational study evaluating adverse events during hospitalisation in non-emergent, age-matched, internal medicine patients ≥75 years, acutely admitted to either the SSU or the IMD at Holbaek Hospital, Denmark, from January to August, 2014. Medical records were......, unplanned readmission, and nosocomial infection. CONCLUSIONS: Adverse events of hospitalisation were significantly less common in older patients acutely admitted to an Emergency Department Short-stay Unit as compared to admission to an Internal Medicine Department.......BACKGROUND: Older patients are at particular risk of experiencing adverse events during hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE: To compare the frequencies and types of adverse events during hospitalisation in older persons acutely admitted to either an Emergency Department Short-stay Unit (SSU) or an Internal...

Cost Analyses after a single intervention using a computer application (DIAGETHER in the treatment of diabetic patients admitted to a third level hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

César Carballo Cardona

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Goals: To quantify the savings that could be made by the hospital implementation of a computer application (DIAGETHER®, which advises the treatment of hyperglycemia of the diabetic patient in the emergency department when this patient is admitted to a third level hospital. Methods: A multicenter interventional study was designed, including patients in two arms, one in the conventional treatment prescribed by the physician and the other applied the treatment indicated by the computer application DIAGETHER®. The days of hospitalization were collected in the two arms of intervention. Results: A total of 183 patients were included, 86 received treatment with the computer application, and 97 received conventional treatment. The mean blood glucose level on the first day of admission in the GLIKAL group was 178.56 (59.53, compared to 212.93 (62.23 in the conventional group (p <0.001 and on the second day 173.86 (58.86 versus 196.37 (66.60 (p = 0.017. There was no difference in the frequency of hypoglycemia reported in each group (p = 0.555. A reduction in mean stay was observed in patients treated with DIAGETHER. The days of admission were 7 (2-39 days for the GLIKAL group and 10 (2-53 days for the PCH group (p <0.001. Conclusions: The annual savings that could be generated with the use of the computer tool (DIAGETHER®, with the volume of diabetic patients admitted to the hospital, could decrease hospitalization days by 26,147 (14,134 patients for 1.85 days of stay reduction, this would generate a saving of 8,811,842 million euros per year (cost of stay / day of the diabetic patient, for the savings days generated.

[Evaluation of hospital admissions: admission guidelines implementation in a pediatric emergency department].

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Manuel; Warshawsky, Sheila S; Rosen, Shirley; Barak, Nurit; Press, Joseph

2004-10-01

To develop and implement locally tailored pediatric admission guidelines for use in a pediatric emergency department and evaluate the appropriateness of admissions based on these guidelines. Our Study was based on the development of admission guidelines by senior physicians, using the Delphi Consensus Process, for use in the Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) at Soroka University Medical Center (Soroka). We evaluated the appropriateness of admissions to the pediatric departments of Soroka on 33 randomly selected days in 1999 and 2000 prior to guideline implementation and 30 randomly selected days in 2001, after guideline implementation. A total of 1037 files were evaluated. A rate of 12.4% inappropriate admissions to the pediatric departments was found based on locally tailored admission guidelines. There was no change in the rate of inappropriate admissions after implementation of admission guidelines in PED. Inappropriate admissions were associated with age above 3 years, hospital stay of two days or less and the season. The main reasons for evaluating an admission as inappropriate were that the admission did not comply with the guidelines and that the case could be managed in an ambulatory setting. There were distinctive differences in the characteristics of the Bedouin and Jewish populations admitted to the pediatric departments, although no difference was found in the rate of inappropriate admissions between these populations. Patient management in Soroka PED is tailored to the conditions of this medical center and to the characteristics of the population it serves. The admission guidelines developed reflect these special conditions. Lack of change in the rate of inappropriate admissions following implementation of the guidelines indicates that the guidelines reflect the physicians' approach to patient management that existed in Soroka PED prior to guideline implementation. Hospital admission guidelines have a role in the health management system; however

Changes in the in-hospital mortality and 30-day post-discharge mortality in acutely admitted older patients : retrospective observational study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rijn, Marjon; Buurman, Bianca M.; Vroomen, Janet L. Macneil; Suijker, Jacqueline J.; ter Riet, Gerben; van Charante, Eric P. Moll; de Rooij, Sophia E.

Objectives: to compare changes over time in the in-hospital mortality and the mortality from discharge to 30 days postdischarge for six highly prevalent discharge diagnoses in acutely admitted older patients as well as to assess the effect of separately analysing the in-hospital mortality and the

The tuberculosis hospital in Hohenkrug, Stettin. Department of Genitourinary Tuberculosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zajaczkowski, Tadeusz

2012-01-01

Towards the end of the 19th century, Europe turned particular attention to the problem of tuberculosis, at that time the most serious social disease. In the majority of cases, pulmonary tuberculosis had a fatal outcome owing to the lack of effective drugs and methods of treatment. Due to poor sanitary conditions, particularly as regards dwellings, pulmonary tuberculosis was able to spread rapidly. Hospital departments were reluctant to admit patients suffering from tuberculosis. It was only after the discoveries of Robert Koch (bacillus tubercle in 1882) that the cause of the disease became understood and methods of treatment began to be developed. A modern sanatorium and hospital with 270 beds was erected in Hohenkrug (today Szczecin-Zdunowo) between 1915 and 1930. Patients could now be treated with modern methods, surgically in most cases. After the Second World War, pulmonary tuberculosis was still an enormous epidemiologic problem. In 1949, the Polish authorities opened a 400-bed sanatoriumin Zdunowo. The methods of treatment were not much different from pre-war practice and it was only the routine introduction of antituberculotic drugs during the fifties of the past century that brought about a radical change in the fight against tuberculosis. The growing numbers of patients with tuberculosis of the genitourinary system led to the opening in 1958 of a 40-bed specialist ward at the Tuberculosis Sanatorium in Zdunowo. It should be emphasized that the Department of Genitourinary Tuberculosis in Szczecin-Zdunowo was a historical necessity and a salvation for thousands of patients from Northern Poland. The Department totally fulfilled its social duties thanks to the commitment of many outstanding persons dedicated to helping the patients. This unit was finally closed in 1987 because the demand for surgical treatment of tuberculosis was declining concurrently with the advent of new and potent antituberculotics and falling number of new cases of genitourinary

Diagnostic procedures, treatments, and outcomes in stroke patients admitted to different types of hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Asplund, Kjell; Sukhova, Maria; Wester, Per; Stegmayr, Birgitta

2015-03-01

In many countries, including Sweden, initiatives have been taken to reduce between-hospital differences in the quality of stroke services. We have explored to what extent hospital type (university, specialized nonuniversity, or community hospital) influences hospital performance. Riksstroke collects clinical data during hospital stay (national coverage 94%). Follow-up data at 3 months were collected using administrative registers and a questionnaire completed by surviving patients (response rate 88%). Structural data were collected from a questionnaire completed by hospital staff (response rate 100%). Multivariate analyses with adjustment for clustering were used to test differences between types of hospitals. The proportion of patients admitted directly to a stroke unit was highest in community hospitals and lowest in university hospitals. Magnetic resonance, carotid imaging, and thrombectomy were more frequently performed in university hospitals, and the door-to-needle time for thrombolysis was shorter. Secondary prevention with antihypertensive drugs was used less often, and outpatient follow-up was less frequent in university hospitals. Fewer patients in community hospitals were dissatisfied with their rehabilitation. After adjusting for possible confounders, poor outcome (dead or activities of daily living dependency 3 months after stroke) was not significantly different between the 3 types of hospital. In a setting with national stroke guidelines, stroke units in all hospitals, and measurement of hospital performance and benchmarking, outcome (after case-mix adjustment) is similar in university, specialized nonuniversity, and community hospitals. There seems to be fewer barriers to organizing well-functioning stroke services in community hospitals compared with university hospitals. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Assessment of post-operative pain management among acutely and electively admitted patients - a Swedish ward perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Magidy, Mahnaz; Warrén-Stomberg, Margareta; Bjerså, Kristofer

2016-04-01

Swedish health care is regulated to involve the patient in every intervention process. In the area of post-operative pain, it is therefore important to evaluate patient experience of the quality of pain management. Previous research has focused on mapping this area but not on comparing experiences between acutely and electively admitted patients. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the experiences of post-operative pain management quality among acutely and electively admitted patients at a Swedish surgical department performing soft-tissue surgery. A survey study design was used as a method based on a multidimensional instrument to assess post-operative pain management: Strategic and Clinical Quality Indicators in Postoperative Pain Management (SCQIPP). Consecutive patients at all wards of a university hospital's surgical department were included. Data collection was performed at hospital discharge. In total, 160 patients participated, of whom 40 patients were acutely admitted. A significant difference between acutely and electively admitted patients was observed in the SCQIPP area of environment, whereas acute patients rated the post-operative pain management quality lower compared with those who were electively admitted. There may be a need for improvement in the areas of post-operative pain management in Sweden, both specifically and generally. There may also be a difference in the experience of post-operative pain quality between acutely and electively admitted patients in this study, specifically in the area of environment. In addition, low levels of the perceived quality of post-operative pain management among the patients were consistent, but satisfaction with analgesic treatment was rated as good. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Changes in the in-hospital mortality and 30-day post-discharge mortality in acutely admitted older patients: retrospective observational study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rijn, Marjon; Buurman, Bianca M.; MacNeil-Vroomen, Janet L.; Suijker, Jacqueline J.; ter Riet, Gerben; van Charante, Eric P. Moll; de Rooij, Sophia E.

2016-01-01

to compare changes over time in the in-hospital mortality and the mortality from discharge to 30 days post-discharge for six highly prevalent discharge diagnoses in acutely admitted older patients as well as to assess the effect of separately analysing the in-hospital mortality and the mortality

Evaluation of Head Trauma Cases in the Emergency Department

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Alim Cokuk

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Aim: In this study, we aimed to determine the epidemiological characteristics, morbidity and mortality rates of patients admitted to the emergency department with head trauma. Material and Methods: In this study, ambulatory and hospitalized patients over the age of 18 brought to the Emergency Department because of head trauma between 01.12.2009 - 31.12.2010 were analyzed retrospectively. Patient data were recorded to standard data entry form. SPSS 17.0 package program was used for statistical analysis of data. The statistical significance level of all tests was p <0.05. Results: 5200 patients were included in this study. The average age of the patients was 39.97 ± 16.66 years. 4682'si patients (90 % were discharged from the emergency department. The most common reason for admission to the emergency department was falls (41.81 % in the discharged patients. 518 (10 % patients were hospitalized. Gender of these patients was 110 female (21:24% and 408 male (78.76%. 256 patients (48.35% were injured as a result of a traffic accident. 201(38.8% of the cerebral CT were reported as normal and 89 (17.2% of the cerebral CT were reported as traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH in hospitalized patients. The fracture of lumbar spine (12 % was detected as an additional pathological disease in patients. 75 patients hospitalized because of head trauma (14.5% had died (1.44 % of all patients. Cervical spine fracture was the most common (14 patients, 18.68 % additional pathology in patients who died. Thoracic trauma was detected as the second most common (13 patients, 17.33 % additional pathology. Conclusion: Most of the patients admitted to the emergency department with head injury had a minor trauma. Patients can be discharged from the emergency department after a thorough physical examination and simple medical intervention. Most of the head injury patients admitted to hospital were male. The most common reason of the patients with head injury admitted to

Measuring the opportunity loss of time spent boarding admitted patients in the emergency department: a multihospital analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, Raymond; Farley, Heather; Twanmoh, Joseph; Urumov, Andrej; Evans, Bruce; Olsen, Nils

2009-01-01

Emergency department (ED) crowding is an international crisis affecting the timeliness and quality of patient care. Boarding of admitted patients in the ED is recognized as a major contributor to ED crowding. The opportunity loss of this time is the benefit or value it could produce if it were used for something else. In crowded EDs, the typical alternative use of this time is to treat patients waiting to be seen. Various ED performance benchmarks related to inpatient boarding have been proposed, but they are not commonly reported and have yet to be evaluated to determine whether they correlate with the opportunity loss of time used for boarding. This study quantified several measures of ED boarding in a variety of hospital settings and looked for correlations between them and the opportunity loss of the time spent on boarding. In particular, average boarding time per admission was found to be easy to measure. Results revealed that it had a near-perfect linear correlation with opportunity loss. The opportunity loss of every 30 minutes of average boarding time equaled the time required to see 3.5 percent of the ED's daily census. For busy hospitals, the opportunity loss allowed sufficient time for staff to be able to see up to 36 additional patients per day. This correlation suggests that average boarding time per admission may be useful in evaluating efforts to reduce ED crowding and improve patient care.

Early lactate clearance in septic patients with elevated lactate levels admitted from the emergency department to intensive care: time to aim higher?

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Walker, Craig A; Griffith, David M; Gray, Alasdair J; Datta, Deepankar; Hay, Alasdair W

2013-10-01

Septic patients with hyperlactatemia have increased mortality rates, irrespective of hemodynamic and oxygen-derived variables. The aims of the study are the following: (1) to ascertain whether lactate clearance (LC) (percentage change in lactate over unit time) predicts mortality in septic patients admitted to intensive care directly from the emergency department and (2) to calculate the optimal "cut-off" value for mortality prediction. Three-year retrospective observational study of consecutive patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to intensive care from the emergency department of a tertiary UK hospital. We calculated 6-hour LC, performed receiver operating characteristic analyses to calculate optimal cut-off values for initial lactate and LC, dichotomized patients according to the LC cut-off, and calculated hazard ratios using a Cox proportional hazards model. One hundred six patients were identified; 78, after exclusions. Lactate clearance was independently associated with 30-day mortality (P<.04); optimal cut-off, 36%. Mortality rates were 61.1% and 10.7% for patients with 6-hour LC 36% or less and greater than 36%, respectively. Hazard ratio for death with LC 36% or less was 7.33 (95% confidence interval, 2.17-24.73; P<.001). Six-hour LC was independently associated with mortality, and the optimal cut-off value was 36%, significantly higher than previously reported. We would support further research investigating this higher LC as a distinct resuscitation end point in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hemispheric distribution of middle cerebral artery ischemic strokes in patients admitted to military hospital rawalpindi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tariq, M.; Ishtiaq, S.; Zulfiqar, S.O.

2016-01-01

Objective: To determine the difference in the frequency of middle cerebral artery (MCA) ischemic strokes between left and right cerebral hemispheres in the adult patients admitted to the Military Hospital (MH) Rawalpindi. Study Design: A descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: MH Rawalpindi from 01 Dec 2013 to 30 Mar 2014. Patients and Methods: Seventy eight adult patients admitted to MH Rawalpindi with neurologic deficits consistent with MCA strokes and having no evidence of intracerebral haemorrhage on Computed Tomographic (CT) scan of brain. Descriptive Statistics were calculated using SPSS version 17. Results: A total of 78 patients met the inclusion criteria of the study; 35 (45 percent) patients had right MCA stroke while 43 (55 percent) had left MCA stroke. Conclusion: Left MCA ischemic strokes are more common than right MCA ischemic strokes. (author)

Nosocomial Infections and Antibiotic Administration in Pediatric Department, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad-Iran

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Abdolkarim Hamedi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nosocomial Infections (NI are a frequent and relevant problem, in other hands; those are responsible of mortality especially in pediatric ICU( Intensive Care Unit and NICUs (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Healthcare-associated infections are important in wide-ranging concern in the medical field. The most cause of Nosocomial infection include: bloodstream infection, urinary tract infection, pneumonia, and wound infection. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiology of the three most common NI in the Pediatric department.        Materials and Methods: We performed a prospective study in a single Pediatric department during 12 months. Children were assessed for 3 NI: wound infections, pneumonia and urinary tract infections (UTI, as the same method as Center of Disease Control criteria. All patients were followed up and individuals who had have NI and their treatment was entered in this study.          Results: In this study 811 patients were hospitalized that 60% of them were male and were older than 60 months. The main causes of hospitalization include: toxicity, seizure, respiratory infection and fever. Among them 15 cases had NI (1.87%. The most NI occurred in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU and it was followed in aspect of intubation. The most cultured organism was pseudomonas that they suspected to ceftazidime and isolate from blood and endotracheal tube.           Conclusion:  NI presence was associated with increased mortality and length of stay in hospital. This study highlights the importance of NIs in children admitted to a pediatric department especially PICU in a developing country. Clinical monitoring of NIs and bacterial resistance profiles are required in all pediatric units.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

OpenAIRE

Ellis, G.; Whitehead, M.A.; Robinson, D.; O'Neill, D.; Langhorne, P.

2011-01-01

Objective - To evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive geriatric assessment in hospital for older adults admitted as an emergency.\\ud \\ud Search strategy - We searched the EPOC Register, Cochrane’s Controlled Trials Register, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Medline, Embase, CINAHL, AARP Ageline, and handsearched high yield journals.\\ud \\ud Selection criteria - Randomised controlled trials of comprehensive geriatric assessment (whether by mobile teams or in designat...

[Psychopathology of anxiety-phobic disorders that led to hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Chugunov, D A; Schmilovitch, A A

To study the psychopathology of anxiety-phobic disorders and motives of hospitalization of patients in a psychiatric hospital. One hundred and thirty-two patients were examined, 72 patients of the main group were admitted to general psychiatric departments, 60 patients of the control group in the sanatorium psychiatric departments. Clinical-psychopathological, follow-up, psychometric and statistical methods were used. Patients with hospital anxiety-phobic disorders had agoraphobia with panic disorder, social phobias, hypochondriacal phobias, specific phobias and multiple phobias. The main reasons for hospitalization were: the intensity of anxiety-phobic disorders, contrast content of phobias, multiplicity of anxiety-phobic disorders, ambulance calls, personality accentuations and rental aims.

Characteristics of the Traumatic Forensic Cases Admitted To Emergency Department and Errors in the Forensic Report Writing.

Science.gov (United States)

Aktas, Nurettin; Gulacti, Umut; Lok, Ugur; Aydin, İrfan; Borta, Tayfun; Celik, Murat

2018-01-01

To identify errors in forensic reports and to describe the characteristics of traumatic medico-legal cases presenting to the emergency department (ED) at a tertiary care hospital. This study is a retrospective cross-sectional study. The study includes cases resulting in a forensic report among all traumatic patients presenting to the ED of Adiyaman University Training and Research Hospital, Adiyaman, Turkey during a 1-year period. We recorded the demographic characteristics of all the cases, time of presentation to the ED, traumatic characteristics of medico-legal cases, forms of suicide attempt, suspected poisonous substance exposure, the result of follow-up and the type of forensic report. A total of 4300 traumatic medico-legal cases were included in the study and 72% of these cases were male. Traumatic medico-legal cases occurred at the greatest frequency in July (10.1%) and 28.9% of all cases occurred in summer. The most frequent causes of traumatic medico-legal cases in the ED were traffic accidents (43.4%), violent crime (30.5%), and suicide attempt (7.2%). The most common method of attempted suicide was drug intake (86.4%). 12.3% of traumatic medico-legal cases were hospitalized and 24.2% of those hospitalized were admitted to the orthopedics service. The most common error in forensic reports was the incomplete recording of the patient's "cooperation" status (82.7%). Additionally, external traumatic lesions were not defined in 62.4% of forensic reports. The majority of traumatic medico-legal cases were male age 18-44 years, the most common source of trauma was traffic accidents and in the summer months. When writing a forensic report, emergency physicians made mistakes in noting physical examination findings and identifying external traumatic lesions. Physicians should make sure that the traumatic medico-legal patients they treat have adequate documentation for reference during legal proceedings. The legal duties and responsibilities of physicians should be

Evaluation of a Specialized Yoga Program for Persons Admitted to a Complex Continuing Care Hospital: A Pilot Study

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Kathryn Curtis

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a specialized yoga intervention for inpatients in a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital. Design. Single-cohort repeated measures design. Methods. Participants (N=10 admitted to a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital were recruited to participate in a 50–60 min Hatha Yoga class (modified for wheelchair users/seated position once a week for eight weeks, with assigned homework practice. Questionnaires on pain (pain, pain interference, and pain catastrophizing, psychological variables (depression, anxiety, and experiences with injustice, mindfulness, self-compassion, and spiritual well-being were collected at three intervals: pre-, mid-, and post-intervention. Results. Repeated measures ANOVAs revealed a significant main effect of time indicating improvements over the course of the yoga program on the (1 anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, F(2,18 = 4.74, p<.05, and ηp2 = .35, (2 Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form, F(2,18 = 3.71, p<.05, and ηp2 = .29, and (3 Magnification subscale of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale, F(2,18 = 3. 66, p<.05, and ηp2 = .29. Discussion. The results suggest that an 8-week Hatha Yoga program improves pain-related factors and psychological experiences in individuals admitted to a rehabilitation and complex continuing care hospital.

Comparison Between Emergency Department and Inpatient Nurses’ Perceptions of Boarding of Admitted Patients

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Bryce C. Pulliam

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The boarding of admitted patients in the emergency department (ED is a major causeof crowding and access block. One solution is boarding admitted patients in inpatient ward (Whallways. This study queried and compared ED and W nurses’ opinions toward ED and W boarding.It also assessed their preferred boarding location if they were patients.Methods: A survey administered to a convenience sample of ED and W nurses was performedin a 631-bed academic medical center (30,000 admissions/year with a 68-bed ED (70,000 visits/year. We identified nurses as ED or W, and if W, whether they had previously worked in the ED. Thenurses were asked if there were any circumstances where admitted patients should be boarded inED or W hallways. They were also asked their preferred location if they were admitted as a patient.Six clinical scenarios were then presented, and the nurses’ opinions on boarding based on eachscenario were queried.Results: Ninety nurses completed the survey, with a response rate of 60%; 35 (39% were currentED nurses (cED, 40 (44% had previously worked in the ED (pED. For all nurses surveyed 46(52% believed admitted patients should board in the ED. Overall, 52 (58% were opposed to Wboarding, with 20% of cED versus 83% of current W (cW nurses (P < 0.0001, and 28% of pEDversus 85% of nurses never having worked in the ED (nED were opposed (P < 0.001. If admittedas patients themselves, 43 (54% of all nurses preferred W boarding, with 82% of cED versus33% of cW nurses (P < 0.0001 and 74% of pED versus 34% nED nurses (P = 0.0007. The mostcommonly cited reasons for opposition to hallway boarding were lack of monitoring and patientprivacy. For the 6 clinical scenarios, significant differences in opinion regarding W boarding existedin all but 2 cases: a patient with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but requiring oxygen,and an intubated, unstable sepsis patient.Conclusion: Inpatient nurses and those who have never worked in

Clinical differences among the elderly admitted to the emergency department for accidental or unexplained falls and syncope

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Pasqualetti G

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Giuseppe Pasqualetti,1 Valeria Calsolaro,1 Giacomo Bini,1 Umberto Dell’Agnello,1 Marco Tuccori,2 Alessandra Marino,2 Alice Capogrosso-Sansone,2 Martina Rafanelli,3 Massimo Santini,4 Eugenio Orsitto,4 Andrea Ungar,3 Corrado Blandizzi,2 Fabio Monzani1 On behalf of the ANCESTRAL-ED study group 1Geriatrics Unit, 2Pharmacology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, 3Syncope Unit, Geriatric and Intensive Care Medicine, AOU Careggi and University of Florence, Florence, 4Emergency Department, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy Abstract: It is difficult to distinguish unexplained falls (UFs from accidental falls (AFs or syncope in older people. This study was designed to compare patients referred to the emergency department (ED for AFs, UFs or syncope. Data from a longitudinal study on adverse drug events diagnosed at the ED (ANCESTRAL-ED in older people were analyzed in order to select cases of AF, syncope, or UF. A total of 724 patients (median age: 81.0 [65–105] years, 66.3% female were consecutively admitted to the ED (403 AF, 210 syncope, and 111 UF. The number of psychotropic drugs was the only significant difference in patients with AF versus those with UF (odds ratio [OR] 1.44; 95% confidence interval 1.17–1.77. When comparing AF with syncope, female gender, musculoskeletal diseases, dementia, and systolic blood pressure >110 mmHg emerged as significantly associated with AF (OR 0.40 [0.27–0.58], 0.40 [0.24–0.68], 0.35 [0.14–0.82], and 0.31 [0.20–0.49], respectively, while valvulopathy and the number of antihypertensive drugs were significantly related to syncope (OR 2.51 [1.07–5.90] and 1.24 [1.07–1.44], respectively. Upon comparison of UF and syncope, the number of central nervous system drugs, female gender, musculoskeletal diseases, and SBP >110 mmHg were associated with UF (OR 0.65 [0.50–0.84], 0.52 [0.30–0.89], 0.40 [0.20–0.77], and 0.26 [0.13–0.55], respectively

The association of Emergency Department presentations in pregnancy with hospital admissions for postnatal depression (PND): a cohort study based on linked population data.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Fenglian; Sullivan, Elizabeth A; Forero, Roberto; Homer, Caroline S E

2017-03-23

To investigate the impact of presenting to an Emergency Department (ED) during pregnancy on postnatal depression (PND) in women in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. An epidemiological population-based study using linked data from the NSW Emergency Department Data Collection (EDDC), the NSW Perinatal Data Collection (PDC) and the NSW Admitted Patients Data Collection (APDC) was conducted. Women who gave birth to their first child in NSW between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2010 were followed up from pregnancy to the end of the first year after birth. The study population includes 154,328 women who gave birth to their first child in NSW between 2006 and 2010. Of these, 31,764 women (20.58%) presented to ED during pregnancy (95%CI = 20.38-20.78). Women who presented to ED during pregnancy were more likely to be admitted to hospital for the diagnosis of unipolar depression (the adjusted relative risk (RR) =1.86, 95%CI = 1.49-2.31) and the diagnosis of mild mental and behavioural disorders associated with the puerperium (the adjusted RR = 1.55, 95%CI = 1.29-1.87) than those without ED presentation. Women's hospital admissions for postnatal depression were associated with frequent ED presentations during pregnancy.

Positive predictive value and impact of misdiagnosis of a heart failure diagnosis in administrative registers among patients admitted to a University Hospital cardiac care unit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mard, Shan; Nielsen, Finn Erland

2010-01-01

To evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) of a diagnosis of heart failure (HF) in the Danish National Registry of Patients (NRP) among patients admitted to a University Hospital cardiac care unit, and to evaluate the impact of misdiagnosing HF.......To evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) of a diagnosis of heart failure (HF) in the Danish National Registry of Patients (NRP) among patients admitted to a University Hospital cardiac care unit, and to evaluate the impact of misdiagnosing HF....

Emergency Department (ED, ED Observation, Day Hospital, and Hospital Admissions for Adults with Sickle Cell Disease

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Susan Silva

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Use of alternative venues to manage uncomplicated vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC, such as a day hospital (DH or ED observation unit, for patients with sickle cell anemia, may significantly reduce admission rates, which may subsequently reduce 30-day readmission rates. Methods: In the context of a two-institution quality improvement project to implement best practices for management of patients with sickle cell disease (SCD VOC, we prospectively compared acute care encounters for utilization of 1 emergency department (ED; 2 ED observation unit; 3 DH, and 4 hospital admission, of two different patient cohorts with SCD presenting to our two study sites. Using a representative sample of patients from each institution, we also tabulated SCD patient visits or admissions to outside hospitals within 20 miles of the patients’ home institutions. Results: Over 30 months 427 patients (297 at Site 1 and 130 at Site 2 initiated 4,740 institutional visits, totaling 6,627 different acute care encounters, including combinations of encounters. The range of encounters varied from a low of 0 (203 of 500 patients [40.6%] at Site 1; 65 of 195 patients [33.3%] at Site 2, and a high of 152 (5/month acute care encounters for one patient at Site 2. Patients at Site 2 were more likely to be admitted to the hospital during the study period (88.4% vs. 74.4%, p=0.0011 and have an ED visit (96.9% vs. 85.5%, p=0.0002. DH was used more frequently at Site 1 (1.207 encounters for 297 patients at Site 1, vs. 199 encounters for 130 patients at Site 2, and ED observation was used at Site 1 only. Thirty-five percent of patients visited hospitals outside their home academic center. Conclusion: In this 30-month assessment of two sickle cell cohorts, healthcare utilization varied dramatically between individual patients. One cohort had more hospital admissions and ED encounters, while the other cohort had more day hospital encounters and used a sickle cell disease

Association of emergency department and hospital characteristics with elopements and length of stay.

Science.gov (United States)

Handel, Daniel A; Fu, Rongwei; Vu, Eugene; Augustine, James J; Hsia, Renee Y; Shufflebarger, Charles M; Sun, Benjamin

2014-06-01

As the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) core measures in 2013 compare Emergency Department (ED) treatment time intervals, it is important to identify ED and hospital characteristics associated with these metrics to facilitate accurate comparisons. The objective of this study is to assess differences in operational metrics by ED and hospital characteristics. ED-level characteristics included annual ED volume, percentage of patients admitted, percentage of patients presenting by ambulance, and percentage of pediatric patients. Hospital-level characteristics included teaching hospital status, trauma center status, hospital ownership (nonprofit or for-profit), inpatient bed capacity, critical access status, inpatient bed occupancy, and rural vs. urban location area. Data from the ED Benchmarking Alliance from 2004 to 2009 were merged with the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey Database to include hospital characteristics that may impact ED throughput. Overall median length of stay (LOS) and left before treatment is complete (LBTC) were the primary outcome variables, and a linear mixed model was used to assess the association between outcome variables and ED and hospital characteristics, while accounting for correlations among multiple observations within each hospital. All data were at the hospital level on a yearly basis. There were 445 EDs included in the analysis, from 2004 to 2009, with 850 observations over 6 years. Higher-volume EDs were associated with higher rates of LBTC and LOS. For-profit hospitals had lower LBTC and LOS. Higher inpatient bed occupancies were associated with a higher LOS. Increasing admission percentages were positively associated with overall LOS for EDs, but not with rates of LBTC. Higher-volume EDs are associated with higher LBTC and LOS, and for-profit hospitals appear more favorably in these metrics compared with their nonprofit counterparts. It is important to appreciate that hospitals have different baselines

Is routine pregnancy test necessary in women of reproductive age admitted to the emergency department?

Science.gov (United States)

Köksal, Ozlem; Ozdemir, Fatma; Armağan, Erol; Oner, Nuran; Sert, Pınar Çinar; Sigirli, Deniz

2013-01-01

This study aimed to determine the necessity of pregnancy test in women of reproductive age admitted to emergency department (ED) in routine practice. We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who presented to the ED between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2010 and received a pregnancy test. The median age of 1 586 patients enrolled into the study was 27 years. Of these patients, 19.55% had a positive result of pregnancy test. The most common complaint at admission was abdominal pain in 60.15% of the patients, and pregnancy test was prescribed. 15.83% of the patients with abdominal pain had a positive result of pregnancy test. Of the patients, 30.64% had nausea-vomiting at admission, and 11.52% had a positive result of pregnancy test. When other complaints were considered, the most commonly observed complaints were non-specific symptoms such as dizziness, malaise and respiratory problems. Of the patients, 70.93% were not remembering the date of last menstruation, and 9.51% showed a positive result of pregnancy test. Urinary tract infection (UTI) was commonly diagnosed with an incidence of 17.65%, which was followed by non-specific abdominal pain (NSAP) (16.77%) and gastrointestinal disorders such as gastritis and peptic ulcer (6.87%). Of the patients, 88.40% were discharged from ED, and 11.60% were hospitalized. Pregnancy test should be given to women of reproductive age as a routine practice in ED in developing countries like Turkey.

Evaluation of Performance Indexes of Emergency Department

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Alireza Baratloo

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The importance of evaluating performance indicators in the emergency department, as one of the most important departments of hospital, is obvious to everyone. Therefore, in this study we aimed to appraise the five performance indicators, approved by the ministry of health, in Shohadaye Tajrish hospital, Tehran, Iran. Methods: In a descriptive cross-sectional study based on the profiles of all the patients admitted to the emergency department, performance indicators in the emergency department were evaluated. The study was divided into 2 parts about the establishment of emergency medicine system and training the medical staff: the first 6 months of 1392 and the second. Then these 2 periods were compared using Mann-Whitney U test while P< 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. Results: Of the studied indicators, mean triage time was 6.04 minutes in the first 6 months which was reduced to 1.5 minutes in the second 6 months (p=0.016. In addition, the percentage of patients who moved out of the department in 12 hours was lowered from 97.3% in the first period to 90.4% in the second (p=0.004. While, the percentage of patients who were decided upon in 6 hours (p=0.2, unsuccessful CPR percentage (p=0.34 and patients discharged against medical advice (p=0.42 showed no significant difference. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the establishment of the emergency medicine system in the emergency department could lead to more efficient triage. Due to the differences made after their establishment including: different pattern of the patients admitted, increased stay of the patients in the department due to their need for prolonged intensive care, a raise in patient referral to the hospital by pre-hospital services and a higher percentage of occupied hospital beds, other indicators have not shown a significant improvement.

Presentation, management, and outcomes of sepsis in adults and children admitted to a rural Ugandan hospital: A prospective observational cohort study.

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Kristina E Rudd

Full Text Available Limited data are available on sepsis in low-resource settings, particularly outside of urban referral centers. We conducted a prospective observational single-center cohort study in May 2013 to assess the presentation, management and outcomes of adult and pediatric patients admitted with sepsis to a community hospital in rural Uganda.We consecutively screened all patients admitted to medical wards who met sepsis criteria. We evaluated eligible patients within 24 hours of presentation and 24-48 hours after admission, and followed them until hospital discharge. In addition to chart review, mental status evaluation, peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, and point-of-care venous whole blood lactate and glucose testing were performed.Of 56 eligible patients, we analyzed data on 51 (20 adults and 31 children. Median age was 8 years (IQR 2-23 years. Sepsis accounted for a quarter of all adult and pediatric medical ward admissions during the study period. HIV prevalence among adults was 30%. On enrollment, over half of patients had elevated point-of-care whole blood lactate, few were hypoglycemic or had altered mental status, and one third were hypoxic. Over 80% of patients received at least one antibiotic, all severely hypoxic patients received supplemental oxygen, and half of patients with elevated lactate received fluid resuscitation. The most common causes of sepsis were malaria and pneumonia. In-hospital mortality was 3.9%.This study highlights the importance of sepsis among adult and pediatric patients admitted to a rural Ugandan hospital and underscores the need for continued research on sepsis in low resource settings.

Risk of venous thromboembolism in people admitted to hospital with selected immune-mediated diseases: record-linkage study

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Handel Adam E

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE is a common complication during and after a hospital admission. Although it is mainly considered a complication of surgery, it often occurs in people who have not undergone surgery, with recent evidence suggesting that immune-mediated diseases may play a role in VTE risk. We, therefore, decided to study the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE in people admitted to hospital with a range of immune-mediated diseases. Methods We analysed databases of linked statistical records of hospital admissions and death certificates for the Oxford Record Linkage Study area (ORLS1:1968 to 1998 and ORLS2:1999 to 2008 and the whole of England (1999 to 2008. Rate ratios for VTE were determined, comparing immune-mediated disease cohorts with comparison cohorts. Results Significantly elevated risks of VTE were found, in all three populations studied, in people with a hospital record of admission for autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, chronic active hepatitis, dermatomyositis/polymyositis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, myxoedema, pemphigus/pemphigoid, polyarteritis nodosa, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus. Rate ratios were considerably higher for some of these diseases than others: for example, for systemic lupus erythematosus the rate ratios were 3.61 (2.36 to 5.31 in the ORLS1 population, 4.60 (3.19 to 6.43 in ORLS2 and 3.71 (3.43 to 4.02 in the England dataset. Conclusions People admitted to hospital with immune-mediated diseases may be at an increased risk of subsequent VTE. Our findings need independent confirmation or refutation; but, if confirmed, there may be a role for thromboprophylaxis in some patients with these diseases.

Prevalence of Acute Kidney Injury in neonates admitted at a referral ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objectives: To determine prevalence of acute kidney injury and associated factors, among neonates admitted at a referral hospital. Design: Cross sectional study conducted 1 May to 31 July 2010. Setting: Harare Central Hospital, Neonatal Unit. Subjects: 270 neonates ≥ 37 weeks gestation admitted within 12 hours of birth.

Patient journey in decompensated heart failure: An analysis in departments of cardiology and geriatrics in the Greater Paris University Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Laveau, Florent; Hammoudi, Nadjib; Berthelot, Emmanuelle; Belmin, Joël; Assayag, Patrick; Cohen, Ariel; Damy, Thibaud; Duboc, Denis; Dubourg, Olivier; Hagege, Albert; Hanon, Olivier; Isnard, Richard; Jondeau, Guillaume; Labouree, Florian; Logeart, Damien; Mansencal, Nicolas; Meune, Christophe; Pautas, Eric; Wolmark, Yves; Komajda, Michel

2017-01-01

Hospitalization for worsening/acute heart failure is increasing in France, and limited data are available on referral/discharge modalities. To evaluate patients' journeys before and after hospitalization for this condition. On 1 day per week, between October 2014 and February 2015, this observational study enrolled 260 consecutive patients with acute/worsening heart failure in all 10 departments of cardiology and four of the departments of geriatrics in the Greater Paris University Hospitals. First medical contact was an emergency unit in 45% of cases, a general practitioner in 16% of cases, an emergency medical ambulance in 13% of cases and a cardiologist in 13% of cases; 78% of patients were admitted directly after first medical contact. In-hospital stay was 13.2±11.3 days; intensive care unit stay (38% of the population) was 6.4±5 days. In-hospital mortality was 2.7%. Overall, 63% of patients were discharged home, whereas 21% were transferred to rehabilitation units. A post-discharge outpatient visit was made by only 72% of patients within 3 months (after a mean of 45±28 days). Only 53% of outpatient appointments were with a cardiologist. Emergency departments, ambulances and general practitioners are the main points of entry before hospitalization for acute/worsening heart failure. Home discharge occurs in two of three cases. Time to first patient post-discharge visit is delayed. Therefore, actions to improve the patient journey should target primary care physicians and emergency structures, and efforts should be made to reduce the time to the first visit after discharge. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The Impact of Hospital Closures and Hospital and Population Characteristics on Increasing Emergency Department Volume: A Geographic Analysis.

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Lee, David C; Carr, Brendan G; Smith, Tony E; Tran, Van C; Polsky, Daniel; Branas, Charles C

2015-12-01

Emergency visits are rising nationally, whereas the number of emergency departments is shrinking. However, volume has not increased uniformly at all emergency departments. It is unclear what factors account for this variability in emergency volume growth rates. The objective of this study was to test the association of hospital and population characteristics and the effect of hospital closures with increases in emergency department volume. The study team analyzed emergency department volume at New York State hospitals from 2004 to 2010 using data from cost reports and administrative databases. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate characteristics associated with emergency volume growth. Spatial analytics and distances between hospitals were used in calculating the predicted impact of hospital closures on emergency department use. Among the 192 New York hospitals open from 2004 to 2010, the mean annual increase in emergency department visits was 2.7%, but the range was wide (-5.5% to 11.3%). Emergency volume increased nearly twice as fast at tertiary referral centers (4.8%) and nonurban hospitals (3.7% versus urban at 2.1%) after adjusting for other characteristics. The effect of hospital closures also strongly predicted variation in growth. Emergency volume is increasing faster at specific hospitals: tertiary referral centers, nonurban hospitals, and those near hospital closures. This study provides an understanding of how emergency volume varies among hospitals and predicts the effect of hospital closures in a statewide region. Understanding the impact of these factors on emergency department use is essential to ensure that these populations have access to critical emergency services.

Oiling the gate: a mobile application to improve the admissions process from the emergency department to an academic community hospital inpatient medicine service.

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Fung, Russell; Hyde, Jensen Hart; Davis, Mike

2018-01-01

The process of admitting patients from the emergency department (ED) to an academic internal medicine (AIM) service in a community teaching hospital is one fraught with variability and disorder. This results in an inconsistent volume of patients admitted to academic versus private hospitalist services and results in frustration of both ED and AIM clinicians. We postulated that implementation of a mobile application (app) would improve provider satisfaction and increase admissions to the academic service. The app was designed and implemented to be easily accessible to ED physicians, regularly updated by academic residents on call, and a real-time source of the number of open AIM admission spots. We found a significant improvement in ED and AIM provider satisfaction with the admission process. There was also a significant increase in admissions to the AIM service after implementation of the app. We submit that the implementation of a mobile app is a viable, cost-efficient, and effective method to streamline the admission process from the ED to AIM services at community-based hospitals.

Low-back pain at the emergency department: still not being managed?

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Rizzardo A

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Alessandro Rizzardo,1 Luca Miceli,1 Rym Bednarova,2 Giovanni Maria Guadagnin,1 Rodolfo Sbrojavacca,3 Giorgio Della Rocca11Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care, Academic Hospital of Udine, University of Udine, Udine, 2Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Health Company Number 2, Gorizia, 3Emergency Department, Academic Hospital of Udine, Udine, ItalyBackground: Low-back pain (LBP affects about 40% of people at some point in their lives. In the presence of “red flags”, further tests must be done to rule out underlying problems; however, biomedical imaging is currently overused. LBP involves large in-hospital and out-of-hospital economic costs, and it is also the most common musculoskeletal disorder seen in emergency departments (EDs.Patients and methods: This retrospective observational study enrolled 1,298 patients admitted to the ED, including all International Classification of Diseases 10 diagnosis codes for sciatica, lumbosciatica, and lumbago. We collected patients’ demographic data, medical history, lab workup and imaging performed at the ED, drugs administered at the ED, ED length of stay (LOS, numeric rating scale pain score, admission to ward, and ward LOS data. Thereafter, we performed a cost analysis.Results: Mean numeric rating scale scores were higher than 7/10. Home medication consisted of no drug consumption in up to 90% of patients. Oxycodone–naloxone was the strong opioid most frequently prescribed for the home. Once at the ED, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opiates were administered to up to 72% and 42% of patients, respectively. Imaging was performed in up to 56% of patients. Mean ED LOS was 4 hours, 14 minutes. A total of 43 patients were admitted to a ward. The expense for each non-ward-admitted patient was approximately €200 in the ED, while the mean expense for ward-admitted patients was €9,500, with a mean LOS of 15 days.Conclusion: There is not yet a defined therapeutic care process for the

Prevalence of epilepsy and seizure disorders as causes of apparent life- threatening event (ALTE) in children admitted to a tertiary hospital.

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Anjos, Alessandra Marques dos; Nunes, Magda Lahorgue

2009-09-01

To determine the prevalence and describe clinical characteristics of seizure disorders and epilepsy as causes of apparent life- threatening event (ALTE) in children admitted at the emergency and followed in a tertiary hospital. Cross-sectional study with prospective data collection using specific guidelines to determine the etiology of ALTE. During the study, 30 (4.2%) children admitted to the hospital had a diagnosis of ALTE. There was a predominance of males (73%) and term infants (70%). Neonatal neurological disorders and neuropsychomotor development delay were found respectively in 13.4% and 10% of the cases. Etiological investigation revealed that 50% of the cases were idiopathic, and 13.4% were caused by epilepsy or seizure disorders. Although all patients had recurrent ALTE events, epilepsy had not been previously suspected. Epilepsy should be included in the differential diagnosis of ALTE, particularly when events are recurrent.

Disease patterns and clinical outcomes of patients admitted in intensive care units of tertiary referral hospitals of Tanzania.

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Sawe, Hendry R; Mfinanga, Juma A; Lidenge, Salum J; Mpondo, Boniventura C T; Msangi, Silas; Lugazia, Edwin; Mwafongo, Victor; Runyon, Michael S; Reynolds, Teri A

2014-09-23

In sub-Saharan Africa the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) services is limited by a variety of factors, including lack of financial resources, lack of available technology and well-trained staff. Tanzania has four main referral hospitals, located in zones so as to serve as tertiary level referral centers. All the referral hospitals have some ICU services, operating at varying levels of equipment and qualified staff. We analyzed and describe the disease patterns and clinical outcomes of patients admitted in ICUs of the tertiary referral hospitals of Tanzania. This was a retrospective analysis of ICU patient records, for three years (2009 to 2011) from all tertiary referral hospitals of Tanzania, namely Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), Mbeya Referral Hospital (MRH) and Bugando Medical Centre (BMC). MNH is the largest of the four referral hospitals with 1300 beds, and MRH is the smallest with 480 beds. The ratio of hospital beds to ICU beds is 217:1 at MNH, 54:1 at BMC, 39:1 at KCMC, and 80:1 at MRH. KCMC had no infusion pumps. None of the ICUs had a point-of-care (POC) arterial blood gas (ABG) analyzer. None of the ICUs had an Intensive Care specialist or a nutritionist. A masters-trained critical care nurse was available only at MNH. From 2009-2011, the total number of patients admitted to the four ICUs was 5627, male to female ratio 1.4:1, median age of 34 years. Overall, Trauma (22.2%) was the main disease category followed by infectious disease (19.7%). Intracranial injury (12.5%) was the leading diagnosis in all age groups, while pneumonia (11.7%) was the leading diagnosis in pediatric patients (<18 years). Patients with tetanus (2.4%) had the longest median length ICU stay: 8 (5,13) days. The overall in-ICU mortality rate was 41.4%. The ICUs in tertiary referral hospitals of Tanzania are severely limited in infrastructure, personnel, and resources, making it difficult or impossible to provide optimum care

The effect of provider affiliation with a primary care network on emergency department visits and hospital admissions

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Bakal, Jeffrey A.; Green, Lee; Bahler, Brad; Lewanczuk, Richard

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: Primary care networks are designed to facilitate access to inter-professional, team-based care. We compared health outcomes associated with primary care networks versus conventional primary care. METHODS: We obtained data on all adult residents of Alberta who visited a primary care physician during fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and classified them as affiliated with a primary care network or not, based on the physician most involved in their care. The primary outcome was an emergency department visit or nonelective hospital admission for a Patient Medical Home indicator condition (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, coronary disease, hypertension and diabetes) within 12 months. RESULTS: Adults receiving care within a primary care network (n = 1 502 916) were older and had higher comorbidity burdens than those receiving conventional primary care (n = 1 109 941). Patients in a primary care network were less likely to visit the emergency department for an indicator condition (1.4% v. 1.7%, mean 0.031 v. 0.035 per patient, adjusted risk ratio [RR] 0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.96–0.99) or for any cause (25.5% v. 30.5%, mean 0.55 v. 0.72 per patient, adjusted RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.93–0.94), but were more likely to be admitted to hospital for an indicator condition (0.6% v. 0.6%, mean 0.018 v. 0.017 per patient, adjusted RR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03–1.11) or all-cause (9.3% v. 9.1%, mean 0.25 v. 0.23 per patient, adjusted RR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07–1.09). Patients in a primary care network had 169 fewer all-cause emergency department visits and 86 fewer days in hospital (owing to shorter lengths of stay) per 1000 patient-years. INTERPRETATION: Care within a primary care network was associated with fewer emergency department visits and fewer hospital days. PMID:29530868

Prediction of Mobility Limitations after Hospitalization in Older Medical Patients by Simple Measures of Physical Performance Obtained at Admission to the Emergency Department

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Bodilsen, Ann Christine; Hedegaard Klausen, Henrik; Petersen, Janne

2016-01-01

Objective: Mobility limitations relate to dependency in older adults. Identification of older patients with mobility limitations after hospital discharge may help stratify treatment and could potentially counteract dependency seen in older adults after hospitalization. We investigated the ability...... of four physical performance measures administered at hospital admission to identify older medical patients who manifest mobility limitations 30 days after discharge. Design: Prospective cohort study of patients (≥65 years) admitted to the emergency department for acute medical illness. During the first...... included. Of those, 128 (40%) patients had mobility limitations at follow-up. Univariate analyzes showed that each of the physical performance measures was strongly associated with mobility limitations at follow-up (handgrip strength(women), OR 0.86 (0.81–0.91), handgrip strength(men), OR 0.90 (0...

Factors Associated with Decision to Hospitalize Emergency Department Patients with Skin and Soft Tissue Infection

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Talan, David A.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Emergency department (ED hospitalizations for skin and soft tissue infection (SSTI have increased, while concern for costs has grown and outpatient parenteral antibiotic options have expanded. To identify opportunities to reduce admissions, we explored factors that influence the decision to hospitalize an ED patient with a SSTI. Methods: We conducted a prospective study of adults presenting to 12 U.S. EDs with a SSTI in which physicians were surveyed as to reason(s for admission, and clinical characteristics were correlated with disposition. We employed chi-square binary recursive partitioning to assess independent predictors of admission. Serious adverse events were recorded. Results: Among 619 patients, median age was 38.7 years. The median duration of symptoms was 4.0 days, 96 (15.5% had a history of fever, and 46 (7.5% had failed treatment. Median maximal length of erythema was 4.0cm (IQR, 2.0-7.0. Upon presentation, 39 (6.3% had temperature >38oC, 81 (13.1% tachycardia, 35 (5.7%, tachypnea, and 5 (0.8% hypotension; at the time of the ED disposition decision, these findings were present in 9 (1.5%, 11 (1.8%, 7 (1.1%, and 3 (0.5% patients, respectively. Ninety-four patients (15.2% were admitted, 3 (0.5% to the intensive care unit (ICU. Common reasons for admission were need for intravenous antibiotics in 80 (85.1%; the only reason in 41.5%, surgery in 23 (24.5%, and underlying disease in 11 (11.7%. Hospitalization was significantly associated with the following factors in decreasing order of importance: history of fever (present in 43.6% of those admitted, and 10.5% discharged; maximal length of erythema >10cm (43.6%, 11.3%; history of failed treatment (16.1%, 6.0%; any co-morbidity (61.7%, 27.2%; and age >65 years (5.4%, 1.3%. Two patients required amputation and none had ICU transfer or died. Conclusion: ED SSTI patients with fever, larger lesions, and co-morbidities tend to be hospitalized, almost all to non-critical areas

Outcomes and Costs of Poisoned Patients Admitted to an Adult Emergency Department of a Spanish Tertiary Hospital: Evaluation through a Toxicovigilance Program.

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Raúl Muñoz

Full Text Available Toxicovigilance is the active process of identifying and evaluating the toxic risks existing in a community, and evaluating the measures taken to reduce or eliminate them.Through a validated toxicovigilance program (SAT-HULP we examined the characteristics of acute poisoning cases (APC attended in the Emergency Department (ED of La Paz Hospital (Madrid, Spain and assessed their economic impact on the health system.The active poisoning surveillance system performs a daily search for cases in the hospital´s computerized case records. Found cases are entered into a database for recording of type of poisoning episode, reasons for exposure, causative agent, signs and symptoms and treatment. We carried out a cross-sectional epidemiological study with analytical projection, based on an impact study on cost per survivor. The data for the costs attributable to cases of APC observed at HULP (outpatients and inpatients was obtained from the based on the information provided by the diagnosis-related groups (DRG through the corresponding hospital discharge reports (available through SAT-HULP.During the first 30 month of SAT-HULP operation we found a total of 3,195 APC, a cumulative incidence rate of 1.75% of patients attended in the ED. The mean (SD patient age was 40.9 (17.8 years and 51.2% were men. Drug abuse accounted for 47.5% of the cases. Suicide attempt was the second most frequent category (38.1% and other causes accounted for 14.5% of APC. The total cost of hospital care for our hospital rose to €1,825,263.24 (approximately €730,105.30/year resulting in a permanent occupation of 4 beds/year.SAT-HULP constitutes a validated toxicovigilance tool, which continuously integrates available data in real-time and helps health services manage APC data flexibly, including the consumption of resources from the health system.

Investigating admitted patients' satisfaction with nursing care at Debre Berhan Referral Hospital in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

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Sharew, Nigussie Tadesse; Bizuneh, Hailegiorgis Teklegiorgis; Assefa, Hilina Ketema; Habtewold, Tesfa Dejenie

2018-05-17

The aims of the study were (1) to assess the level of patient satisfaction with nursing care and (2) to identify factors influencing patient satisfaction. A hospital-based, cross-sectional study was conducted with 252 admitted patients in the medical, surgical and paediatric wards. Debre Berhan Referral Hospital, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia, with a catchment population of 2.8 million. All patients admitted at least for 2 days and capable of independent communication were included. However, patients were excluded on any one of the following conditions: admitted for less than 2 days, cannot understand Amharic language, with critical illness or cognitive impairment that affects judgement, or inability to provide written informed consent. The mean age of the patients was 37.9 (SD=12.9) years, and half (50.4%) of them were male. Patient satisfaction with nursing care, measured by the Newcastle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale, was the outcome variable. Using a mean split approach, patient satisfaction scores were dichotomised into 'satisfied' and 'unsatisfied'. 49.2% of patients were satisfied with nursing care. Educational status and history of admission were significant factors influencing patient satisfaction with nursing care. Patients who had high educational status were 80% less satisfied compared with those who had no formal education (p=0.01, OR=0.2, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.7). Patients who had a history of admission were 2.2 times more satisfied compared with those who had no history of admission (p=0.02, OR=2.2, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.2). About half the admitted patients were satisfied with the nursing care. Satisfaction differed significantly by patients' educational attainment and history of admission. This study provided evidence on patient satisfaction with nursing care in Ethiopia. This information may be useful in comparative studies of patient satisfaction and in identifying characteristics that may explain or predict patient satisfaction. © Article author(s) (or

Ocular related emergencies in Zagreb University Hospital Centre--ten month analysis.

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Skegro, Ivan; Kordić, Rajko; Kuzman, Tomislav; Perić, Sanja; Kutija, Marija Barisić; Jandroković, Sonja; Jukić, Tomislav

2013-04-01

To determine number, demographic characteristics and presenting symptoms of patients admitted to Emergency ophthalmologic department of Zagreb University hospital centre. Prospective analysis of data of 743 patients admitted to Emergency ophthalmologic department of University hospital centre Zagreb during period of 10 month. Main presenting symptoms at admission were red eye, pain and foreign body sensation. 64% of all patients admitted to emergency unit were male. Almost 40% of them were between 20 and 40 years of age. In female population majority is between 50 and 60 years old (19.33%). The study shows that the most frequent reason for admission in emergency ophthalmic unit is red eye, pain and foreign body sensation. These symptoms were present most frequently in young male patients. Considering fact of their working ability, data can suggest that they don't comply with occupational safety measures. Further research in this direction is needed.

Solutions to emergency department 'boarding' and crowding are underused and may need to be legislated.

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Rabin, Elaine; Kocher, Keith; McClelland, Mark; Pines, Jesse; Hwang, Ula; Rathlev, Niels; Asplin, Brent; Trueger, N Seth; Weber, Ellen

2012-08-01

The practice of keeping admitted patients on stretchers in hospital emergency department hallways for hours or days, called "boarding," causes emergency department crowding and can be harmful to patients. Boarding increases patients' morbidity, lengths of hospital stay, and mortality. Strategies that optimize bed management reduce boarding by improving the efficiency of hospital patient flow, but these strategies are grossly underused. Convincing hospital leaders of the value of such solutions, and educating patients to advocate for such changes, may promote improvements. If these strategies do not work, legislation may be required to effect meaningful change.

The burden of co-existing dermatological disorders and their tendency of being overlooked among patients admitted to muhimbili national hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

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Chale Pauline NF

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Skin diseases are underestimated and overlooked by most clinicians despite being common in clinical practice. Many patients are hospitalized with co-existing dermatological conditions which may not be detected and managed by the attending physicians. The objective of this study was to determine the burden of co-existing and overlooked dermatological disorders among patients admitted to medical wards of Muhimbili National hospital in Dar es Salaam. Study design and settings A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at Muhimbili National hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methods Patients were consecutively recruited from the medical wards. Detailed interview to obtain clinico-demographic characteristics was followed by a complete physical examination. Dermatological diagnoses were made mainly clinically. Appropriate confirmatory laboratory investigations were performed where necessary. Data was analyzed using the 'Statistical Package for Social Sciences' (SPSS program version 10.0. A p-value of Results Three hundred and ninety patients admitted to medical wards were enrolled into the study of whom, 221(56.7% were females. The mean age was 36.7 ± 17.9 (range 7-84 years. Overall, 232/390 patients (59.5% had co-existing dermatological disorders with 49% (191/390 having one, 9% (36/390 two and 5 patients (1% three. A wide range of co-existing skin diseases was encountered, the most diverse being non-infectious conditions which together accounted for 36.4% (142/390 while infectious dermatoses accounted for 31.5% (123/390. The leading infectious skin diseases were superficial fungal infections accounting for 18%. Pruritic papular eruption of HIV/AIDS (PPE and seborrheic eczema were the most common non-infectious conditions, each accounting for 4.3%. Of the 232/390 patients with dermatological disorders, 191/232 (82.3% and 154/232 (66.3% had been overlooked by their referring and admitting doctors respectively

Administrative management of dental departments in hospitals in Taiwan: A field survey

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Tsang-Lie Cher

2012-12-01

Conclusion: For the overall administrative management of dental departments, medical centers were superior to regional hospitals, which were better than district hospitals. In order to elevate the quality, we suggest that dental department should be included in teaching hospital accreditation, and the criteria we used can be taken for reference for the dental department accreditation in the future.

Congenital malformations among newborns admitted in the neonatal unit of a tertiary hospital in Enugu, South-East Nigeria - a retrospective study

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2012-01-01

Background Congenital abnormalities are not uncommon among newborns and contribute to neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality. The prevalence and pattern of presentation vary from place to place. Many a time the exact etiology is unknown but genetic and environmental factors tend to be implicated. Methods The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of congenital malformations among newborns admitted in a tertiary hospital in Enugu, the nature of these abnormalities and the outcome/prognosis. For purposes of this study, congenital abnormalities are defined as obvious abnormality of structure or form which is present at birth or noticed within a few days after birth. A cross-sectional retrospective study in which a review of the records of all babies admitted in the Newborn Special Care Unit (NBSCU) of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu over a four year period (January 2007-April 2011) was undertaken. All babies admitted in the unit with the diagnosis of congenital abnormality were included in the study. Information extracted from the records included characteristics of the baby, maternal characteristics, nature/type of abnormalities and outcome. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS 13. Rates and proportions were calculated with 95% confidence interval. The proportions were compared using students T-test. Level of significance was set at P congenital abnormalities of various types, giving a prevalence of 2.8%. Common abnormalities seen in these babies were mainly surgical birth defects and included cleft lip/cleft palate, neural tube defects (occurring either singly or in combination with other abnormalities), limb abnormalities (often in combination with neural tube defects of various types), omphalocoele, umbilical herniae, ano-rectal malformations and dysmorphism associated with multiple congenital abnormalities. Conclusions The results of this study show that 2.8% of babies admitted to a Newborn Special

Congenital malformations among newborns admitted in the neonatal unit of a tertiary hospital in Enugu, South-East Nigeria--a retrospective study.

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Obu, Herbert A; Chinawa, Josephat M; Uleanya, Nwachinemere D; Adimora, Gilbert N; Obi, Ikechukwu E

2012-07-10

Congenital abnormalities are not uncommon among newborns and contribute to neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality. The prevalence and pattern of presentation vary from place to place. Many a time the exact etiology is unknown but genetic and environmental factors tend to be implicated. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of congenital malformations among newborns admitted in a tertiary hospital in Enugu, the nature of these abnormalities and the outcome/prognosis. For purposes of this study, congenital abnormalities are defined as obvious abnormality of structure or form which is present at birth or noticed within a few days after birth. A cross-sectional retrospective study in which a review of the records of all babies admitted in the Newborn Special Care Unit (NBSCU) of the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku/Ozalla, Enugu over a four year period (January 2007-April 2011) was undertaken.All babies admitted in the unit with the diagnosis of congenital abnormality were included in the study. Information extracted from the records included characteristics of the baby, maternal characteristics, nature/type of abnormalities and outcome.Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS 13. Rates and proportions were calculated with 95% confidence interval. The proportions were compared using students T-test. Level of significance was set at P congenital abnormalities of various types, giving a prevalence of 2.8%. Common abnormalities seen in these babies were mainly surgical birth defects and included cleft lip/cleft palate, neural tube defects (occurring either singly or in combination with other abnormalities), limb abnormalities (often in combination with neural tube defects of various types), omphalocoele, umbilical herniae, ano-rectal malformations and dysmorphism associated with multiple congenital abnormalities. The results of this study show that 2.8% of babies admitted to a Newborn Special Care Unit in a teaching hospital

Pain Management and Its Related Factors in the Emergency Department of Besat Hospital in Sanadaj, 2016

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Behnam Movahedi

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Background: Pain is a distressing feeling as well as a discomfort which triggers as the result of a special stimulation of nerve endings.This study aimed to investigate the amount of sufficient pain management among patients referring to the emergency department in Besat Hospital in the city of Sanandaj in Iran. Material and Methods: in this descriptive-analytical study, 175 patients with severe pain intensity higher than 3 and definite causes of pain with physical origins admitted to the emergency department were included. Before and after analgesics injection, pain intensity was assessed by a 10-point scoring system. Results: No significant correlation showed between pain intensity in patients, administration of painkillers, and age (P>0.05.There was a statistically significant relationship between pain intensity, gender, and the type of analgesics received (P 0.05. Conclusion: Failure to control pain among patients can lead to physical, mental, psychological, and social health-related problems. Therefore, proper examination of pains can provide suitable interventions in order to control and manage pains among patients and consequently promote their quality of life.

Burden, causes, and outcomes of people with epilepsy admitted to a rural hospital in Kenya.

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Kariuki, Symon M; Chengo, Eddie; Ibinda, Fredrick; Odhiambo, Rachael; Etyang, Anthony; Ngugi, Anthony K; Newton, Charles R J C

2015-04-01

People with epilepsy (PWE) develop complications and comorbidities often requiring admission to hospital, which adds to the burden on the health system, particularly in low-income countries. We determined the incidence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), risk factors, and causes of admissions in PWE. We also examined the predictors of prolonged hospital stay and death using data from linked clinical and demographic surveillance system. We studied children and adults admitted to a Kenyan rural hospital, between January 2003 and December 2011, with a diagnosis of epilepsy. Poisson regression was used to compute incidence and rate ratios, logistic regression to determine associated factors, and the DALY package of the R-statistical software to calculate years lived with disability (YLD) and years of life lost (YLL). The overall incidence of admissions was 45.6/100,000 person-years of observation (PYO) (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 43.0-48.7) and decreased with age (p causes of admission were epilepsy-related complications: convulsive status epilepticus (CSE) (38%), and postictal coma (12%). Age was independently associated with prolonged hospital stay (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.00-1.04) and mortality (OR, 1.07, 95% CI 1.04-1.10). Epilepsy is associated with significant number of admissions to hospital, considerable duration of admission, and mortality. Improved supply of AEDs in the community, early initiation of treatment, and adherence would reduce hospitalization of PWE and thus the burden of epilepsy on the health system. © 2015 The Authors. Epilepsia published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy.

Socio-demographic and clinical factors related to mortality among the geriatric suicide attempters admitted to the emergency department

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Yılmaz Zengin

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Objective: The ratio of elderly people in Turkey is rapidly growing. Accordingly, psychiatric problems and suicidality among elderly people are growing concerns. In this study, we aimed to investigate the socio-demographic characteristics of older people who attempted suicide by drug and to identify risk factors affecting mortality. Methods: Patients who were over 65 years old and admitted to the emergency department of a university hospital due to drug-related suicide attempt between January 1, 2004 and December 30, 2014, were included into this retrospective cross-sectional study. Relationship between suicide attempt and mortality was investigated in regard to socio-demographic and clinical factors. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they survived or died. Results: Of the 107 patients included in the study, 68.2% were female and 31.8% were male; 34.6% were married. Common reasons for suicide attempt were depression (34.6% and domestic violence (30.8%. Analgesics (33.6% were the most common drugs used in suicide attempts. The analysis of the factors related to suicide attempt and mortality revealed that significant factors were loneliness, being widowed, being retired, having adjustment disorder and anxiety disorder. Conclusion: Loneliness, being widowed, being retired, adjustment disorder, and anxiety disorder were found as the risk factors affecting mortality in geriatric suicide attempts.

Community acquired pneumonia among children admitted in a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: To find out the hospital burden of pneumonia and preventable factors associated with the disease. Design: Prospective cross sectional study. Setting: The paediatric ward of Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Western Kenya. Subjects: All the children admitted to the paediatric wards and found to have clinical ...

SCI Hospital in Home Program: Bringing Hospital Care Home for Veterans With Spinal Cord Injury.

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Madaris, Linda L; Onyebueke, Mirian; Liebman, Janet; Martin, Allyson

2016-01-01

The complex nature of spinal cord injury (SCI) and the level of care required for health maintenance frequently result in repeated hospital admissions for recurrent medical complications. Prolonged hospitalizations of persons with SCI have been linked to the increased risk of hospital-acquired infections and development or worsening pressure ulcers. An evidence-based alternative for providing hospital-level care to patients with specific diagnoses who are willing to receive that level of care in the comfort of their home is being implemented in a Department of Veterans Affairs SCI Home Care Program. The SCI Hospital in Home (HiH) model is similar to a patient-centered interdisciplinary care model that was first introduced in Europe and later tested as part of a National Demonstration and Evaluation Study through Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and School of Public Health. This was funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The objectives of the program are to support veterans' choice and access to patient-centered care, reduce the reliance on inpatient medical care, allow for early discharge, and decrease medical costs. Veterans with SCI who are admitted to the HiH program receive daily oversight by a physician, daily visits by a registered nurse, access to laboratory services, oxygen, intravenous medications, and nursing care in the home setting. In this model, patients may typically access HiH services either as an "early discharge" from the hospital or as a direct admit to the program from the emergency department or SCI clinic. Similar programs providing acute hospital-equivalent care in the home have been previously implemented and are successfully demonstrating decreased length of stay, improved patient access, and increased patient satisfaction.

A Study Of Hospitalised Cases Of Acute Gastroenteritis Admitted In Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad During The Epidemic Of 1988.

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Kumar P

1990-01-01

Full Text Available An epidemic of gastroenteritis occurred between July and November 1988 in Ahmedabad City. The epidemic originated from Saijpur Bocha locality of the city and thereafter several new foci also development. The city has a number of Government and Municipal Corporation run hospitals as well as private treatment centers where these cases were treated. The Corporation also took measures to control this epidemic. The present study analysis the cases of gastroenteritis (2008 and cholera (112 admitted to the Civil Hospital during this period. The cases occurred in all age groups and both sexes. However, when compared with hospital records of previous non- epidemic years, more cases were found in the adult population and the case fatality rate was low during this epidemic. The study details the various control measures taken by the Municipal Corporation.

Clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with valvular heart disease admitted to the emergency department

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Moraes, Ricardo Casalino Sanches de [Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Katz, Marcelo [Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Tarasoutchi, Flávio [Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2014-07-01

To evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with valvular heart disease who arrived decompensated at the emergency department of a university hospital in Brazil. A descriptive analysis of clinical and echocardiographic data of 174 patients with severe valvular disease, who were clinically decompensated and went to the emergency department of a tertiary cardiology hospital, in the State of São Paulo, in 2009. The mean age of participants was 56±17 years and 54% were female. The main cause of valve disease was rheumatic in 60%, followed by 15% of degenerative aortic disease and mitral valve prolapse in 13%. Mitral regurgitation (27.5%) was the most common isolated valve disease, followed by aortic stenosis (23%), aortic regurgitation (13%) and mitral stenosis (11%). In echocardiographic data, the mean left atrial diameter was 48±12mm, 38±12mm for the left ventricular systolic diameter, and 54±12mm for the diastolic diameter; the mean ejection fraction was 56±13%, and the mean pulmonary artery pressure was 53±16mmHg. Approximately half of patients (44%) presented atrial fibrillation, and over one third of them (37%) had already undergone another cardiac surgery. Despite increased comorbidities and age-dependent risk factors commonly described in patients with valvular heart disease, the clinical profile of patients arriving at the emergency department represented a cohort of rheumatic patients in more advanced stages of disease. These patients require priority care in high complexity specialized hospitals.

Clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with valvular heart disease admitted to the emergency department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraes, Ricardo Casalino Sanches de; Katz, Marcelo; Tarasoutchi, Flávio

2014-01-01

To evaluate the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with valvular heart disease who arrived decompensated at the emergency department of a university hospital in Brazil. A descriptive analysis of clinical and echocardiographic data of 174 patients with severe valvular disease, who were clinically decompensated and went to the emergency department of a tertiary cardiology hospital, in the State of São Paulo, in 2009. The mean age of participants was 56±17 years and 54% were female. The main cause of valve disease was rheumatic in 60%, followed by 15% of degenerative aortic disease and mitral valve prolapse in 13%. Mitral regurgitation (27.5%) was the most common isolated valve disease, followed by aortic stenosis (23%), aortic regurgitation (13%) and mitral stenosis (11%). In echocardiographic data, the mean left atrial diameter was 48±12mm, 38±12mm for the left ventricular systolic diameter, and 54±12mm for the diastolic diameter; the mean ejection fraction was 56±13%, and the mean pulmonary artery pressure was 53±16mmHg. Approximately half of patients (44%) presented atrial fibrillation, and over one third of them (37%) had already undergone another cardiac surgery. Despite increased comorbidities and age-dependent risk factors commonly described in patients with valvular heart disease, the clinical profile of patients arriving at the emergency department represented a cohort of rheumatic patients in more advanced stages of disease. These patients require priority care in high complexity specialized hospitals

The association between length of emergency department boarding and mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Singer, Adam J; Thode, Henry C; Viccellio, Peter; Pines, Jesse M

2011-12-01

Emergency department (ED) boarding has been associated with several negative patient-oriented outcomes, from worse satisfaction to higher inpatient mortality rates. The current study evaluates the association between length of ED boarding and outcomes. The authors expected that prolonged ED boarding of admitted patients would be associated with higher mortality rates and longer hospital lengths of stay (LOS). This was a retrospective cohort study set at a suburban academic ED with an annual ED census of 90,000 visits. Consecutive patients admitted to the hospital from the ED and discharged between October 2005 and September 2008 were included. An electronic medical record (EMR) system was used to extract patient demographics, ED disposition (discharge, admit to floor), ED and hospital LOS, and in-hospital mortality. Boarding was defined as ED LOS 2 hours or more after decision for admission. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the association between length of ED boarding and hospital LOS, subsequent transfer to an intensive care unit (ICU), and mortality controlling for comorbidities. There were 41,256 admissions from the ED. Mortality generally increased with increasing boarding time, from 2.5% in patients boarded less than 2 hours to 4.5% in patients boarding 12 hours or more (p boarding time (p boarded for more than 24 hours. The increases were still apparent after adjustment for comorbid conditions and other factors. Hospital mortality and hospital LOS are associated with length of ED boarding. © 2011 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

A prospective study of the importance of enteric fever as a cause of non-malarial febrile illness in patients admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital, Bangladesh

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Maude, Rapeephan R.; Ghose, Aniruddha; Samad, Rasheda; de Jong, Hanna K.; Fukushima, Masako; Wijedoru, Lalith; Hassan, Mahtab Uddin; Hossain, Md Amir; Karim, Md Rezaul; Sayeed, Abdullah Abu; van den Ende, Stannie; Pal, Sujat; Zahed, A. S. M.; Rahman, Wahid; Karnain, Rifat; Islam, Rezina; Tran, Dung Thi Ngoc; Ha, Tuyen Thanh; Pham, Anh Hong; Campbell, James I.; van Doorn, H. Rogier; Maude, Richard J.; van der Poll, Tom; Wiersinga, W. Joost; Day, Nicholas P. J.; Baker, Stephen; Dondorp, Arjen M.; Parry, Christopher M.; Faiz, Md Abul

2016-01-01

Fever is a common cause of hospital admission in Bangladesh but causative agents, other than malaria, are not routinely investigated. Enteric fever is thought to be common. Adults and children admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital with a temperature of ≥38.0 °C were investigated using a

admission patterns and outcomes of paediatric patients admitted at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

OBJECTIVE To determine patterns of admissions due to diarrhea and their outcomes of paediatric patients at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). METHODOLOGY A hospital-based prospective study including all children admitted to the Diarrhea Unit during the study period. Data was collected using content analysis ...

Syndromic surveillance: hospital emergency department participation during the Kentucky Derby Festival.

Science.gov (United States)

Carrico, Ruth; Goss, Linda

2005-01-01

Electronic syndromic surveillance may have value in detecting emerging pathogens or a biological weapons release. Hospitals that have an agile process to evaluate chief complaints of patients seeking emergency care may be able to more quickly identify subtle changes in the community's health. An easily adaptable prototype system was developed to monitor emergency department patient visits during the Kentucky Derby Festival in Louisville, Kentucky, from April 16-May 14, 2002. Use of the system was continued during the same festival periods in 2003 and 2004. Twelve area hospitals in Louisville, Kentucky, participated in a prospective analysis of the chief symptoms of patients who sought care in the emergency department during the Kentucky Derby Festival during 2002. Six hospitals were classified as computer record groups (CRG) and used their existing computerized record capabilities. The other 6 hospitals used a personal digital assistant (PDA) with customized software (PDA group). Data were evaluated by the health department epidemiologist using SaTScan, a modified version of a cancer cluster detection program, to look for clusters of cases above baseline over time and by Zip code. All 12 hospitals were able to collect and provide data elements during the study period. The 6 CRG hospitals were able to perform daily data transmission; however, 3 CRG hospitals were unable to interpret their data because it was transmitted in pure text format. In contrast, data from all 6 PDA group hospitals were interpretable. Real-time data analysis was compared with post-event data, and it was found that the real-time evaluation correctly identified no unusual disease activity during the study period. The 12 hospitals participating in this study demonstrated that community-wide surveillance using computerized data was possible and that the 6 study hospitals using a PDA could quickly interpret emergency department patients' chief complaints. The emergency department chief complaints

Access to primary care and the route of emergency admission to hospital: retrospective analysis of national hospital administrative data.

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Cowling, Thomas E; Harris, Matthew; Watt, Hilary; Soljak, Michael; Richards, Emma; Gunning, Elinor; Bottle, Alex; Macinko, James; Majeed, Azeem

2016-06-01

The UK government is pursuing policies to improve primary care access, as many patients visit accident and emergency (A and E) departments after being unable to get suitable general practice appointments. Direct admission to hospital via a general practitioner (GP) averts A and E use, and may reduce total hospital costs. It could also enhance the continuity of information between GPs and hospital doctors, possibly improving healthcare outcomes. To determine whether primary care access is associated with the route of emergency admission-via a GP versus via an A and E department. Retrospective analysis of national administrative data from English hospitals for 2011-2012. Adults admitted in an emergency (unscheduled) for ≥1 night via a GP or an A and E department formed the study population. The measure of primary care access-the percentage of patients able to get a general practice appointment on their last attempt-was derived from a large, nationally representative patient survey. Multilevel logistic regression was used to estimate associations, adjusting for patient and admission characteristics. The analysis included 2 322 112 emergency admissions (81.9% via an A and E department). With a 5 unit increase in the percentage of patients able to get a general practice appointment on their last attempt, the adjusted odds of GP admission (vs A and E admission) was estimated to increase by 15% (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.17). The probability of GP admission if ≥95% of appointment attempts were successful in each general practice was estimated to be 19.6%. This probability reduced to 13.6% when <80% of appointment attempts were successful. This equates to 139 673 fewer GP admissions (456 232 vs 316 559) assuming no change in the total number of admissions. Associations were consistent in direction across geographical regions of England. Among hospital inpatients admitted as an emergency, patients registered to more accessible general practices were more

Impact of Superstorm Sandy on Medicare Patients’ Utilization of Hospitals and Emergency Departments

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Benoit Stryckman

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: National health security requires that healthcare facilities be prepared to provide rapid, effective emergency and trauma care to all patients affected by a catastrophic event. We sought to quantify changes in healthcare utilization patterns for an at-risk Medicare population before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy’s 2012 landfall in New Jersey (NJ. Methods: This study is a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries impacted by Superstorm Sandy. We compared hospital emergency department (ED and healthcare facility inpatient utilization in the weeks before and after Superstorm Sandy landfall using a 20% random sample of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries continuously enrolled in 2011 and 2012 (N=224,116. Outcome measures were pre-storm discharges (or transfers, average length of stay, service intensity weight, and post-storm ED visits resulting in either discharge or hospital admission. Results: In the pre-storm week, hospital transfers from skilled nursing facilities (SNF increased by 39% and inpatient discharges had a 0.3 day decreased mean length of stay compared to the prior year. In the post-storm week, ED visits increased by 14% statewide; of these additional “surge” patients, 20% were admitted to the hospital. The increase in ED demand was more than double the statewide average in the most highly impacted coastal regions (35% versus 14%. Conclusion: Superstorm Sandy impacted both pre- and post-storm patient movement in New Jersey; post-landfall ED surge was associated with overall storm impact, which was greatest in coastal counties. A significant increase in the number and severity of pre-storm transfer patients, in particular from SNF, as well as in post-storm ED visits and inpatient admissions, draws attention to the importance of collaborative regional approaches to healthcare in large-scale events.

Impact of Superstorm Sandy on Medicare Patients' Utilization of Hospitals and Emergency Departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Stryckman, Benoit; Walsh, Lauren; Carr, Brendan G; Hupert, Nathaniel; Lurie, Nicole

2017-10-01

National health security requires that healthcare facilities be prepared to provide rapid, effective emergency and trauma care to all patients affected by a catastrophic event. We sought to quantify changes in healthcare utilization patterns for an at-risk Medicare population before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy's 2012 landfall in New Jersey (NJ). This study is a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries impacted by Superstorm Sandy. We compared hospital emergency department (ED) and healthcare facility inpatient utilization in the weeks before and after Superstorm Sandy landfall using a 20% random sample of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries continuously enrolled in 2011 and 2012 (N=224,116). Outcome measures were pre-storm discharges (or transfers), average length of stay, service intensity weight, and post-storm ED visits resulting in either discharge or hospital admission. In the pre-storm week, hospital transfers from skilled nursing facilities (SNF) increased by 39% and inpatient discharges had a 0.3 day decreased mean length of stay compared to the prior year. In the post-storm week, ED visits increased by 14% statewide; of these additional "surge" patients, 20% were admitted to the hospital. The increase in ED demand was more than double the statewide average in the most highly impacted coastal regions (35% versus 14%). Superstorm Sandy impacted both pre- and post-storm patient movement in New Jersey; post-landfall ED surge was associated with overall storm impact, which was greatest in coastal counties. A significant increase in the number and severity of pre-storm transfer patients, in particular from SNF, as well as in post-storm ED visits and inpatient admissions, draws attention to the importance of collaborative regional approaches to healthcare in large-scale events.

Impact of Superstorm Sandy on Medicare Patients’ Utilization of Hospitals and Emergency Departments

Science.gov (United States)

Stryckman, Benoit; Walsh, Lauren; Carr, Brendan G.; Hupert, Nathaniel; Lurie, Nicole

2017-01-01

Introduction National health security requires that healthcare facilities be prepared to provide rapid, effective emergency and trauma care to all patients affected by a catastrophic event. We sought to quantify changes in healthcare utilization patterns for an at-risk Medicare population before, during, and after Superstorm Sandy’s 2012 landfall in New Jersey (NJ). Methods This study is a retrospective cohort study of Medicare beneficiaries impacted by Superstorm Sandy. We compared hospital emergency department (ED) and healthcare facility inpatient utilization in the weeks before and after Superstorm Sandy landfall using a 20% random sample of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries continuously enrolled in 2011 and 2012 (N=224,116). Outcome measures were pre-storm discharges (or transfers), average length of stay, service intensity weight, and post-storm ED visits resulting in either discharge or hospital admission. Results In the pre-storm week, hospital transfers from skilled nursing facilities (SNF) increased by 39% and inpatient discharges had a 0.3 day decreased mean length of stay compared to the prior year. In the post-storm week, ED visits increased by 14% statewide; of these additional “surge” patients, 20% were admitted to the hospital. The increase in ED demand was more than double the statewide average in the most highly impacted coastal regions (35% versus 14%). Conclusion Superstorm Sandy impacted both pre- and post-storm patient movement in New Jersey; post-landfall ED surge was associated with overall storm impact, which was greatest in coastal counties. A significant increase in the number and severity of pre-storm transfer patients, in particular from SNF, as well as in post-storm ED visits and inpatient admissions, draws attention to the importance of collaborative regional approaches to healthcare in large-scale events. PMID:29085534

Evaluating Emergency Department Asthma Management Practices in Florida Hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Nowakowski, Alexandra C H; Carretta, Henry J; Dudley, Julie K; Forrest, Jamie R; Folsom, Abbey N

2016-01-01

To assess gaps in emergency department (ED) asthma management at Florida hospitals. Survey instrument with open- and closed-ended questions. Topics included availability of specific asthma management modalities, compliance with national guidelines, employment of specialized asthma care personnel, and efforts toward performance improvement. Emergency departments at 10 large hospitals in the state of Florida. Clinical care providers and health administrators from participating hospitals. Compliance with national asthma care guideline standards, provision of specific recommended treatment modalities and resources, employment of specialized asthma care personnel, and engagement in performance improvement efforts. Our results suggest inconsistency among sampled Florida hospitals' adherence to national standards for treatment of asthma in EDs. Several hospitals were refining their emergency care protocols to incorporate guideline recommendations. Despite a lack of formal ED protocols in some hospitals, adherence to national guidelines for emergency care nonetheless remained robust for patient education and medication prescribing, but it was weaker for formal care planning and medical follow-up. Identified deficiencies in emergency asthma care present a number of opportunities for strategic mitigation of identified gaps. We conclude with suggestions to help Florida hospitals achieve success with ED asthma care reform. Team-based learning activities may offer an optimal strategy for sharing and implementing best practices.

The impact of `admit no bed` and long boarding times in the emergency department on stroke outcome.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Khathaami, Ali M; Abulaban, Ahmad A; Mohamed, Gamal E; Alamry, Ahmed M; Kojan, Suleiman M; Aljumah, Mohammed A

2014-09-01

To examine and test the possible association between boarding time and stroke patients` outcome. This study is a retrospective review of stroke patients presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2007-2010. We excluded thrombolysis cases and those deemed critically ill. We collected time of stroke onset, ED arrival, decision to admit, and arrival to ward. Boarding time (BT) was defined as time of arrival to ward minus time of decision to admit. Primary outcome (PO) was defined as a composite of mortality, and/or any of post-stroke complications. We included 300 patients with a mean age +/- standard deviation of 69 +/- 12 years, and 66.3% were men. The PO occurred in 37.7%. There was no association between BT and PO (odds ratio [OR]=0.9, p=0.3), or any of the secondary outcomes, such as, death (OR=0.97, p=0.5), severe disability (OR=0.97, p=0.3), pneumonia (OR=1, p=0.9), urinary tract infection (OR=1, p=0.9), or neurological deterioration (OR=0.8, p=0.1). Multivariate analysis included gender, age, stroke severity, subtype, hypertension, diabetes, coronary disease, atrial fibrillation, heart failure (HF), onset to ED, BT and ED wait time; only moderate to severe stroke, HF, and previous stroke predicted poor outcome. Although `admit no bed` was not associated with adverse effects, the results should be interpreted with caution, and early admission to the stroke unit should be encouraged.

Medical admissions through the emergency department: Who, how and how long?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arvidsen, Pernille; Pressel, Eckart

Objectives: The study aims to describe the clinical characteristics of elderly patients admitted to medical wards through the emergency department (ED).Methods: In a first part, we described demographic changes in the uptake area and ED visits of older patients in a 900 bed university hospital...... in Central Copenhagen from 2004-2014.In a second descriptive-retrospective part we studied clinical characteristics of patients >65 years admitted to the medical wards through the ED in January 2014 (n=132). We collected data on medication, comorbidities and admission rates to stationary wards .Results......: The number of ED visits of persons >65 years increased by 28.3% during the study period whereas the number of persons aged ≥65 years in the uptake area remained stable. 21.1 % of the patients admitted to the medical wardswere transferred to the geriatric department. Conclusion: •The growing number of older...

Causes of mortality and associated modifiable health care factors for children (< 5-years admitted at Onandjokwe Hospital, Namibia

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Johnface F. Mdala

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Many countries, especially those from sub-Saharan Africa, are unlikely to reach the Millennium Development Goal for under-5 mortality reduction by 2015. This study aimed to identify the causes of mortality and associated modifiable health care factors for under-5year-old children admitted to Onandjokwe Hospital, Namibia. Method: A descriptive retrospective review of the medical records of all children under fiveyears who died in the hospital for the period of 12 months during 2013, using two differentstructured questionnaires targeting perinatal deaths and post-perinatal deaths respectively. Results: The top five causes of 125 perinatal deaths were prematurity 22 (17.6%, birth asphyxia 19 (15.2%, congenital anomalies 16 (12.8%, unknown 13 (10.4% and abruptio placenta 11 (8.8%. The top five causes of 60 post-perinatal deaths were bacterial pneumonia 21 (35%, gastroenteritis 12 (20%, severe malnutrition 6 (10%, septicaemia 6 (10%, and tuberculosis 4 (6.7%. Sixty-nine (55% perinatal deaths and 42 (70% post-perinatal deaths were potentially avoidable. The modifiable factors were: late presentation to a health care facility, antenatal clinics not screening for danger signs, long distance referral, district hospitals not providing emergency obstetric care, poor monitoring of labour and admitted children in the wards, lack of screening for malnutrition, failure to repeat an HIV test in pregnant women in the third trimesteror during breastfeeding, and a lack of review of the urgent results of critically ill children. Conclusion: A significant number of deaths in children under 5-years of age could be avoided by paying attention to the modifiable factors identified in this study.

Association between anaemia and infections (HIV, malaria and hookworm) among children admitted at Muhimbili National Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Magesa, A S; Magesa, P M

2012-09-01

Anaemia is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in paediatric age with much aetiology. The magnitude of childhood anaemia has been inadequately studied at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). The study was aimed at determining the frequency of anaemia and associated infections in patients admitted in general paediatric wards at MNH in Dar es Salaam. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. This was conducted at MNH in general paediatric wards from 20th August, 2009 to 15th December, 2009. Patients, aged 1-84 months, consecutively admitted were recruited in the study. After informed verbal consent from the guardian or parent was obtained, information on demographic and clinical characteristics was collected from the parent or guardian. Physical examination and laboratory tests on blood ; stool samples for hookworm screening; blood slides for malaria parasites; Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) screening; and blood peripheral smears were done on all subjects. Additional information was taken from medical files. Data management: The prevalence of anemia was determined as a percentage of all paediatric patients recruited during the time of data collection. All information was recorded using questionnaires and analysis was done using SPSS version 13.0. A p value of 1.0, p > 0.05). Anaemia in paediatric patients admitted at MNH is a disease of high public health importance in Dar es Salaam and may well carry a high burden in the rest of the country. Other risk factors of anaemia should be investigated with a goal of reducing the burden of anaemia.

A STUDY ON ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS INVOLVING CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM, ITS SEVERITY AND CAUSALITY ASSESSMENT IN PEDIATRIC PATIENTS ADMITTED TO A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

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Arati

2015-09-01

Full Text Available A retrospective study was conducted in Department of pediatrics SCB Medical College and SVPPGIP for a period of 2 years i.e. September 2012 to August 2014 . All the patients from birth to 14 years admitted to the pediatric ward in this study were under ADR surveillance. Patients admitted to our hospital with adverse drug reaction o r patients developing adverse drug reaction in our hospital were studied; only those cases where the central nervous system was involved were taken in our study. The cases were compiled and the causality of offending drugs was found using WHO - UMC causality assessment score. The severity of drug reaction in every case was determined by using HARTWIG’s severity scoring scale. Total 350 Adverse reactions were reported in this period with prevalence rate of 2.04% i.e. 20 out of 1000 children faced ADR due to dr ugs, with annual incidence rate of 0.9% and 1.14% over two years. Out of total 350 cases dermatological system was most commonly involved i.e. 207 cases (59.14%. This is followed by involvement of central nervous system 46 number of cases (13.14%. The GI system was involved in 34 cases i.e. (9.71%. Life threatening reactions like anaphylaxis, angioedema and shock like immediate life threatening ADRs were reported in 16 cases. Our study group was the patient in whom the ADR involved the CNS. Out of 46 suc h cases, there were 25 female and 21 male. Various reaction due to drug were encephalopathy , eps, febrile seizure, tremor, head reeling, ototoxicity, persistant cry, pseudotumor cerebri, psychosis, seizure, status epilepticus, toxic amblyopia, tremor, atax ia etc. The most common CNS manifestation was Extra pyramidal side effects (EPS involving 21% of cases. The most common Drug causing CNS manifestation was ATT (HRZE causing blindness, Eps, psychosis , toxic amblyopia blindness etc.

A Retrospective Analysis of Pediatric Patients Admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Service for Carbon Monoxide Intoxication

OpenAIRE

Metin Uysalol; Ezgi Paslı Uysalol; Gamze Varol Saraçoğlu; Semra Kayaoğlu

2011-01-01

Objective: The aim of the study is to analyze the general aspects of cases with carbon monoxide intoxication in order to improve the approach to future patients. Material and Methods: The hospital records of 84 children (mean age 4.71±2.64 years; 48 male, 36 female) who had been admitted to Paediatric Emergency Department for carbon monoxide intoxication between October 2007 and February 2009, were retrospectively evaluated in a descriptive analysis.Results: The source of carbon monoxide into...

Children and adolescents admitted to a university-level trauma centre in Denmark 2002-2011

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ekström, Danny Stefan; Hviid Larsen, Rasmus; Lauritsen, Jens Martin

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The epidemiology of children or adolescents admitted to a Scandinavian trauma centre is largely unknown. The aim of this paper was to describe the epidemiology and severity of potentially severely injured children and adolescents admitted to a university hospital trauma centre....... METHODS: This was a descriptive study of all children and adolescents aged 0-17 admitted to the university level trauma centre at Odense University Hospital, Denmark in the 2002-2011 period. Data were extracted from the Southern Danish Trauma Register and from medical records. RESULTS: A total of 950...

CLINICAL PROFILE OF CHILDREN PRESENTING WITH INTOXICATION ON EMERGENCY DEPARTEMENT SOETOMO HOSPITAL IN 2011

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Ira Dharmawati

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Acute poisoning in children is an important pediatric emergency and is a world wide problem, the majority of these poisoning incidents are unintentional and preventable. Based on data from WHO, the mortality of children under 4 years varies between 0.3–7% per 100,000 population in some countries in the world. The incidence, clinical profile and the type of poison and the output of poisoning cases in children in Surabaya until now there is no definitive data. The objective of the study was to study the clinical profile and outcome of childhood poisoning and intoxication in Soetomo hospital. Method: Design used in the study was a retrospective study done in children between 1 month and 18 years old of age who were admitted in emergency departement Soetomo hospital with diagnosis of acute poisoning between January until Desember 2012. Patients were profiled according to age, sex, poison consume and outcome. Result: There were 12 patients enrolled in the study. Male: female ratio was 2:1. The mean age of presentation was 53 months. Hydrocarbon poisoning was the commonest poisoning seen in (41.7% patients followed by organophospat (33.3% poisoning. During treatment, 58.3% received antibiotics, 25% patients who poisoning with organophosphat received antidots and 50% from all sample received antagonist histamin H2 because of stomached. Overall survival was 91,6%. Discussion: Hydrocarbon is the commonest agent involved in childhood poisoning. Overall, the outcome is good with 91,6% survival in our hospital.

PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGIC ANALYSIS OF ST-ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION REPERFUSION THERAPY AT SARATOV REGION HOSPITALS OF DIFFERENT TYPES

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O. V. Reshetko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. To evaluate the real practice of thrombolytic therapy of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI at cardiological departments of Saratov and Saratov region hospitals.Material and methods. Retrospective pharmacoepidemiologic study was carried out. Case histories of STEMI patients discharged from cardiologic departments of several central district hospitals (CDH of Saratov region, cardiologic department of one of Saratov general municipal hospitals (MH and urgent cardiology department of Saratov clinical hospital (CH in 2006 were analyzed.Results. In CH all patients received thrombolytic therapy given they did not have contraindications and were admitted to the hospital timely. Few patients received thrombolytic therapy in MH and CDH in 2006.Conclusion. Correlation between hospital type and quality of STEMI management has been revealed.

[Acute complicated and uncomplicated pyelonephritis in the emergency department: process-of-care indicators and outcomes].

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado Vicente, Miriam; Lecaroz Agara, Mª Concepción; Barrios Andrés, José Luis; Canut Blasco, Andrés

2017-02-01

To assess process-of-care indicators and outcomes in acute pyelonephritis (APN) in a general hospital emergency department, and compare them between uncomplicaed and complicated APN. Retrospective study of consecutive patients discharged with a diagnosis of APN. We studied health processof- care indicators (percentage admitted, avoidable hospitalization, appropriate initial antibiotic therapy, urine and blood cultures) and outcomes (hospital length of stay [LOS], discharge from the emergency department, revisits, mortality, yields of microbiological tests ordered). A total of 529 cases (59% of them complicated) were included. Patients with uncomplicated APN were significantly younger on average (mean, 39 years) than patients with complicated APN (56 years). Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen identified, although the percentage of E coli infection was lower in patients with complicated APN (78%) than in patients with uncomplicated APN (95%). The rates of admission and orders for urine and blood cultures were significantly higher and hospital LOS was longer in the group with complicated APN. Moreover, these patients had even longer stays if the initial antibiotic therapy was inappropriate. Significantly more patients with uncomplicated APN were discharged from the emergency department. Sixty-one percent of patients with uncomplicated APN were admitted; 9% of these cases were considered avoidable hospitalizations. Complicated APN is diagnosed more often in older patients, and E coli infection causes a smaller proportion of these cases. Hospital LOS is longer in complicated APN and more urine and blood cultures are ordered. Patients with uncomplicated APN are more often discharged from the emergency department, although the number of avoidable hospitalizations seems high based on the rate found in this study.

Blood lactate as a predictor for in-hospital mortality in patients admitted acutely to hospital: A systematic review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse, Ole; Grunnet, Niels; Barfod, Charlotte

2011-01-01

to the hospital, or serial lactate measurements. Furthermore there is no consensus whether the sample should be drawn from arterial, peripheral venous, or capillary blood. The aim of this review was: 1) To examine whether blood lactate levels are predictive for in-hospital mortality in patients in the acute...... setting, i.e. patients assessed pre-hospitally, in the trauma centre, emergency department, or intensive care unit. 2) To examine the agreement between arterial, peripheral venous, and capillary blood lactate levels in patients in the acute setting. METHODS: We performed a systematic search using Pub......Med, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and CINAHL up to April 2011. 66 articles were considered potentially relevant and evaluated in full text, of these ultimately 33 articles were selected. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The literature reviewed supported blood...

Adoption of medication alert systems in hospital outpatient departments in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Yu-Chun; Cheng, Shou-Hsia

2017-06-01

The adoption of medication alert systems in the health care sector varies among regions. In Taiwan, the health authority introduced policies in 2005 to encourage the adoption of medication alert systems in hospitals. This study aimed to understand the adoption of medication alert systems in the outpatient departments of hospitals in Taiwan using a nationwide survey. A questionnaire was developed and mailed to 380 accredited general hospitals in Taiwan in 2013. The information collected from the questionnaire concerning the outpatient department included (1) the time of adoption of a medication alert system; (2) the operation of individual alert functions: availability, management, and stability; and (3) hospital characteristics: accreditation level, teaching status, ownership, and number of beds. A total of 216 hospitals completed and returned the questionnaire, corresponding to a response rate of 56.8%. The adoption rate of medication alert systems in hospital outpatient departments increased from less than 10% in 1997-95.83% in 2012. Approximately two-thirds of the hospitals developed and maintained the alert systems independently or collaboratively with vendors. Teaching and large hospitals tended to develop more advanced alert functions such as drug-drug interaction functions. Improving the safety and quality of pharmaceutical services and meeting the policy requirements are reasons for hospitals to establish medication alert systems. The adoption rate of medication alert systems reached 95% in accredited general hospitals in Taiwan. Government policy and available health information professionals and vendors may somewhat contribute to the high adoption rate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An organizational metamodel for hospital emergency departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaptan, Kubilay

2014-10-01

I introduce an organizational model describing the response of the hospital emergency department. The hybrid simulation/analytical model (called a "metamodel") can estimate a hospital's capacity and dynamic response in real time and incorporate the influence of damage to structural and nonstructural components on the organizational ones. The waiting time is the main parameter of response and is used to evaluate the disaster resilience of health care facilities. Waiting time behavior is described by using a double exponential function and its parameters are calibrated based on simulated data. The metamodel covers a large range of hospital configurations and takes into account hospital resources in terms of staff and infrastructures, operational efficiency, and the possible existence of an emergency plan; maximum capacity; and behavior both in saturated and overcapacitated conditions. The sensitivity of the model to different arrival rates, hospital configurations, and capacities and the technical and organizational policies applied during and before a disaster were investigated. This model becomes an important tool in the decision process either for the engineering profession or for policy makers.

Department of Defense Timely & Effective Care Data – military hospitals

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This file contains U.S. military hospital data for timely & effective care (process of care) measures collected by the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD collects...

Estimating Uncompensated Care Charges at Rural Hospital Emergency Departments

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Kevin J.; Moore, Charity G.; Probst, Janice C.

2007-01-01

Context: Rural hospitals face multiple financial burdens. Due to federal law, emergency departments (ED) provide a gateway for uninsured and self-pay patients to gain access to treatment. It is unknown how much uncompensated care in rural hospitals is due to ED visits. Purpose: To develop a national estimate of uncompensated care from patients…

[Frequency and in vitro susceptibility antiparasitic of Blastocystis hominis from patients admitted to the Hospital Regional Lambayeque, Peru].

Science.gov (United States)

Silva-Díaz, Heber; Flores-Esqueche, Lorena; Llatas-Cancino, Dunalia; Guevara Vásquez, Génesis; Silva-García, Teresa

2016-01-01

To describe the frequency and antiparasitic in vitro susceptibility of Blastocystis hominis in patients admitted to theHospital Regional Lambayeque, Peru. A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to August 2015 at 313 patients of all ages. B. hominis detection was performed on serial fecal samples by direct microscopic examination and microculture in modified Locke solution. The in vitro susceptibility testing against the drug metronidazole, nitazoxanide, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and erythromycin was performed in 24 strains of B. hominis, which grew up (microculture method) in 10 double concentrations of each antimicrobial (from 256 ug/ml to 0.5 ug/mL) plus a control. 46.3% (145/313) of the sample had B. hominis, also the age between 12 to 17 years and 60 years was associated with higher frequency of parasites (OR: 2.93 and 2.62). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) 90 of metronidazole and nitazoxanide was 3.19 ug/mL and 11.19 ug/ml, respectively, whereas the MIC 90 of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and erythromycin were above 256 ug/mL. B. hominis occurs in high frequency in patients admitted to the Hospital Regional in Lambayeque, proving to be an important problem of public health in the region. Also B. hominis isolated from these patients were shown to be susceptible in vitro to low concentrations of metronidazole and nitazoxanide so they could be chosen for treatment of this parasite.

High nutrition risk is associated with higher risk of dysphagia in advanced age adults newly admitted to hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Popman, Amy; Richter, Marilize; Allen, Jacqueline; Wham, Carol

2018-02-01

To establish the prevalence of nutrition risk and associated risk factors among adults of advanced age newly admitted to hospital. A cross-sectional study was undertaken in adults aged over 85 years admitted to one of two hospital wards in Auckland within the previous 5 days. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to establish participant's socio-demographic and health characteristics. Markers of body composition and muscle strength were collected. Nutrition risk was assessed using the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF), dysphagia risk using the 10-Item Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) and level of cognition using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. A total of 88 participants with a mean age of 90.0 ± 3.7 years completed the assessments. A third (28.4%) of the participants were categorised by the MNA-SF as malnourished and 43.2% were classified at risk of malnutrition. A third (29.5%) were at risk of dysphagia as assessed by EAT-10. Malnourished participants were more likely to be at risk of dysphagia (P = 0.015). The MNA-SF score was positively correlated with body mass index (r = 0.484, P strength (r = 0.250, P = 0.026) and negatively correlated with risk of dysphagia (r = -0.383, P strength and negatively correlated with dysphagia risk. Findings highlight the importance of screening for dysphagia risk, especially in those identified to be malnourished or at nutrition risk. © 2017 Dietitians Association of Australia.

Does outsourcing paramedical departments of teaching hospitals affect educational status of the students?

Science.gov (United States)

Moslehi, Shandiz; Atefimanesh, Pezhman; Sarabi Asiabar, Ali; Ahmadzadeh, Nahal; Kafaeimehr, Mohamadhosein; Emamgholizadeh, Saeid

2016-01-01

There is an increasing trend of outsourcing public departments. Teaching hospitals also outsourced some of their departments to private sectors. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the educational status of students in public and outsourced departments of teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. This study was conducted in six teaching hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences, which had public and outsourced teaching departments in 2015. One hundred fifty students from the departments of radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory participated in this study and their perceptions about their educational status were assessed. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used; participation in the study was voluntary. Descriptive statistics such as mean (SD), t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov were used. No difference was detected between the educational status of students in public and outsourced departments of radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory (p>0.05). Based on the students' perception, the private sectors could maintain the educational level of the teaching departments similar to the public departments. It is recommended to involve all the stakeholders such as hospital administrators, academic staff and students in the decision- making process when changes in teaching environments are being considered.

Prognostic value of infrared thermography in an emergency department

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Jesper K; Kellett, John G; Jensen, Nadia H

2018-01-01

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to investigate the prognostic potential of infrared thermography in a population of medical patients admitted to the emergency department. Central-to-peripheral temperature gradients were analyzed for association with 30-day mortality. METHODS: This prospective...... as a marker for central temperature and the three others as markers for peripheral temperatures, resulting in three gradients per patient. Thirty-day follow-up was performed and 30-day mortality was reported. RESULTS: One hundred and ninety-eight patients were included and the number of events was nine...... observational study included 198 medical patients admitted to the Emergency Department, at Odense University Hospital. A standardized thermal picture was taken and temperatures of the inner canthus, the earlobe, the nose tip, and the tip of the third finger were reported. The inner canthus was chosen...

Severe malnutrition among children under the age of 5 years admitted to a rural district hospital in southern Mozambique.

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Nhampossa, Tacilta; Sigaúque, Betuel; Machevo, Sónia; Macete, Eusebio; Alonso, Pedro; Bassat, Quique; Menéndez, Clara; Fumadó, Victoria

2013-09-01

To describe the burden, clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of severe malnutrition in children under the age of 5 years. Retrospective study of hospital-based data systematically collected from January 2001 to December 2010. Rural Mozambican district hospital. All children aged malnutrition. During the 10-year long study surveillance, 274 813 children belonging to Manhiça’s Demographic Surveillance System were seen at out-patient clinics, almost half of whom (47 %) presented with some indication of malnutrition and 6% (17 188/274 813) with severe malnutrition. Of these, only 15% (2522/17 188) were eventually admitted. Case fatality rate of severe malnutrition was 7% (162/2274). Bacteraemia, hypoglycaemia, oral candidiasis, prostration, oedema, pallor and acute diarrhoea were independently associated with an increased risk of in-hospital mortality, while malaria parasitaemia and breast-feeding were independently associated with a lower risk of a poor outcome. Overall minimum communitybased incidence rate was 15 cases per 1000 child-years at risk and children aged 12–23 months had the highest incidence. Severe malnutrition among admitted children in this Mozambican setting was common but frequently went undetected, despite being associated with a high risk of death. Measures to improve its recognition by clinicians responsible for the first evaluation of patients at the out-patient level are urgently needed so as to improve their likelihood of survival. Together with this, the rapid management of complications such as hypoglycaemia and concomitant co-infections such as bacteraemia, acute diarrhoea, oral candidiasis and HIV/AIDS may contribute to reverse the intolerable toll that malnutrition poses in the health of children in rural African settings.

nutritional status of children admitted for diarrhoeal diseases in a ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2013-07-07

Jul 7, 2013 ... Objectives: To determine the prevalence of malnutrition among children admitted with acute diarrhoea disease at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital and to establish the effect of malnutrition on duration of hospital stay. Design: Prospective observational study. Setting: Paediatric wards of Moi Teaching and ...

Utilization of emergency medical transports and hospital admissions among persons with behavioral health conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuddeback, Gary; Patterson, P Daniel; Moore, Charity Galena; Brice, Jane H

2010-04-01

Emergency medical services transport and emergency department misuse among persons with behavioral health conditions is a concern. Administrative data were used to examine medical transports and hospital admissions among persons with behavioral health conditions. Data on 70,126 medical transports to emergency departments in three southeastern counties were analyzed. Compared with general medical transports, fewer behavioral health transports resulted in a hospital admission. Among behavioral health transports, persons with schizophrenia were 2.62 times more likely than those with substance use disorders to be admitted, and persons with mood disorders were 4.36 times more likely than those with substance use disorders to be admitted. Also, among behavioral health transports, rural transports were less likely than more urban transports to result in a hospital admission. More training of emergency medical services personnel and more behavioral health crisis resources, especially targeting rural areas and substance use disorders, are needed.

Constipation--prevalence and incidence among medical patients acutely admitted to hospital with a medical condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Noiesen, Eline; Trosborg, Ingelise; Bager, Louise; Herning, Margrethe; Lyngby, Christel; Konradsen, Hanne

2014-08-01

To examine the prevalence and incidence of patient-reported symptoms of constipation in acutely hospitalised medical patients. Constipation is a common medical problem with severe consequences, and most people suffer from constipation at some point in their lives. In the general population, constipation is one of the most common complaints and is a significant personal and public health burden. Alteration in patients' patterns of elimination while in hospital has long been identified as either a potential or an actual problem that requires attention. Knowledge of the prevalence and incidence of constipation during hospitalisation is only sporadic. The study was descriptive and a prospective cohort design was chosen. The Constipation Assessment Scale was translated into Danish and was used for the assessment of patient-reported bowel function. Five nurses made the assessments at admission to the acute medical ward and three days after admission. Three hundred and seventy-three patients participated in this study. Thirty-nine percent of the patients showed symptoms of constipation at admission. Of the patients who did not have the symptoms at admission, 43% developed the symptoms during the first three days of their stay in hospital. Significantly more of the older patients developed symptoms of moderate constipation. The incidence rate was 143 new cases per 1000 patient days. In this study, symptoms of constipation were common among patients acutely admitted to hospital due to different medical conditions. Symptoms of constipation were also developed during the first three days of the stay in hospital. The study highlights the need to develop both clinical guidelines towards treating constipation, and preventive measures to ensure that patients do not become constipated while staying in hospital. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Presentations and outcomes of patients with acute decompensated heart failure admitted in the winter season.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaneko, Hidehiro; Suzuki, Shinya; Goto, Masato; Arita, Takuto; Yuzawa, Yasufumi; Yagi, Naoharu; Murata, Nobuhiro; Yajima, Junji; Oikawa, Yuji; Sagara, Koichi; Otsuka, Takayuki; Matsuno, Shunsuke; Kano, Hiroto; Uejima, Tokuhisa; Nagashima, Kazuyuki; Kirigaya, Hajime; Sawada, Hitoshi; Aizawa, Tadanori; Yamashita, Takeshi

2014-12-01

Seasonal variations in cardiovascular disease is well recognized. However, little is known about the presentations and outcomes of Japanese heart failure (HF) patients in the winter season. We used a single hospital-based cohort from the Shinken Database 2004-2012, comprising all new patients (n=19,994) who visited the Cardiovascular Institute Hospital. A total of 375 patients who were admitted owing to acute decompensated HF were included in the analysis. Of these patients, 136 (36%) were admitted in winter. Winter was defined as the period between December and February. The HF patients admitted in winter were older, and had a higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus than the patients admitted in other seasons. Patients with conditions categorized as clinical scenario 1 tended to be admitted more commonly in winter. HF with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was more common in HF patients admitted in winter than in those admitted in other seasons. Beta-blocker use at hospital discharge was more common in the patients admitted in other seasons. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank test results indicated that the incidences of all-cause death, cardiovascular death, and HF admission were comparable between the patients admitted in winter and those admitted in other seasons. HF admission was frequently observed in the winter season and HF patients admitted in the winter season were older, and had higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus, and preserved LVEF suggesting that we might need to pay more attention for elderly patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and HF with preserved LVEF to decrease HF admissions in the winter season. Copyright © 2014 Japanese College of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Risk of maltreatment-related injury: a cross-sectional study of children under five years old admitted to hospital with a head or neck injury or fracture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Jonathan Lee

Full Text Available To determine the predictive value and sensitivity of demographic features and injuries (indicators for maltreatment-related codes in hospital discharge records of children admitted with a head or neck injury or fracture.Population-based, cross sectional study.NHS hospitals in England.Children under five years old admitted acutely to hospital with head or neck injury or fracture.Hospital Episodes Statistics, 1997 to 2009.Maltreatment-related injury admissions, defined by ICD10 codes, were used to calculate for each indicator (demographic feature and/or type of injury: i the predictive value (proportion of injury admissions that were maltreatment-related; ii sensitivity (proportion of all maltreatment-related injury admissions with the indicator.Of 260,294 childhood admissions for fracture or head or neck injury, 3.2% (8,337 were maltreatment-related. With increasing age of the child, the predictive value for maltreatment-related injury declined but sensitivity increased. Half of the maltreatment-related admissions occurred in children older than one year, and 63% occurred in children with head injuries without fractures or intracranial injury.Highly predictive injuries accounted for very few maltreatment-related admissions. Protocols that focus on high-risk injuries may miss the majority of maltreated children.

Knowledge and practice of malaria prevention among caregivers of children with malaria admitted to a teaching hospital in Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emmanuel Ameyaw

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess the knowledge and practice of malaria prevention among caregivers of children admitted to a teaching hospital in Ghana. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted on caregivers of children who were hospitalized at the paediatric wards of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital from March 2009 to June 2009. Data were analysed using StataTM version 8.2. Results: Nearly all caregivers (97.1% had heard of malaria. Of this proportion, 89.7% knew mosquito bite as a cause of malaria. The proportion of caregivers who were able to recognise the signs and symptoms of malaria were 87.6% (for fever, 47.1% (for vomiting and 28.1% (for headache. Radio and television were the major sources of information about malaria. Conclusions: Caregivers of children have adequate knowledge about malaria and its mode of transmission. Further education on the implementation of the preventive methods is still needed to help reduce the incidence of malaria among children.

Does outsourcing paramedical departments of teaching hospitals affect educational status of the students?

Science.gov (United States)

Moslehi, Shandiz; Atefimanesh, Pezhman; Sarabi Asiabar, Ali; Ahmadzadeh, Nahal; Kafaeimehr, Mohamadhosein; Emamgholizadeh, Saeid

2016-01-01

Background: There is an increasing trend of outsourcing public departments. Teaching hospitals also outsourced some of their departments to private sectors. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the educational status of students in public and outsourced departments of teaching hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This study was conducted in six teaching hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences, which had public and outsourced teaching departments in 2015. One hundred fifty students from the departments of radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory participated in this study and their perceptions about their educational status were assessed. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used; participation in the study was voluntary. Descriptive statistics such as mean (SD), t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov were used. Results: No difference was detected between the educational status of students in public and outsourced departments of radiology, physiotherapy and laboratory (p>0.05). Conclusion: Based on the students’ perception, the private sectors could maintain the educational level of the teaching departments similar to the public departments. It is recommended to involve all the stakeholders such as hospital administrators, academic staff and students in the decision- making process when changes in teaching environments are being considered. PMID:27683645

Hospital-Level Factors Associated with Pediatric Emergency Department Return Visits.

Science.gov (United States)

Pittsenbarger, Zachary; Thurm, Cary; Neuman, Mark; Spencer, Sandra; Simon, Harold; Gosdin, Craig; Shah, Samir; McClead, Richard; Stack, Anne; Alpern, Elizabeth

2017-07-01

Return visits (RVs) and RVs with admission (RVAs) are commonly used emergency department quality measures. Visit- and patient-level factors, including several social determinants of health, have been associated with RV rates, but hospital-specific factors have not been studied. To identify what hospital-level factors correspond with high RV and RVA rates. Multicenter mixed-methods study of hospital characteristics associated with RV and RVA rates. Pediatric Health Information System with survey of emergency department directors. Adjusted return rates were calculated with generalized linear mixed-effects models. Hospitals were categorized by adjusted RV and RVA rates for analysis. Twenty-four hospitals accounted for 1,456,377 patient visits with an overall adjusted RV rate of 3.7% and RVA rate of 0.7%. Hospitals with the highest RV rates served populations that were more likely to have government insurance and lower median household incomes and less likely to carry commercial insurance. Hospitals in the highest RV rate outlier group had lower pediatric emergency medicine specialist staffing, calculated as full-time equivalents per 10,000 patient visits: median (interquartile range) of 1.9 (1.5-2.1) versus 2.9 (2.2-3.6). There were no differences in hospital population characteristics or staffing by RVA groups. RV rates were associated with population social determinants of health and inversely related to staffing. Hospital-level variation may indicate population-level economic factors outside the control of the hospital and unrelated to quality of care. © 2017 Society of Hospital Medicine

Glycemic control and the outcomes of Hispanic patients with diabetes admitted to the general ward of a community hospital in Puerto Rico.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Torres, Nancy; Maldonado-Rodríguez, Miguel A; Pérez-López, Shirley; Sierra-Martínez, Kassandra; García, Astrid J

2011-06-01

Uncontrolled glucose, present in 40% of diabetic patients admitted to United States hospitals, has been associated with prolonged length of stay and poorer general outcomes in critically ill and surgical patients. However, past studies of general ward patients have shown there to be no consistent benefits of strict glucose control, and the Hispanic population has been underrepresented in such studies. This work evaluated the association between glycemic control and the outcomes of hospitalized Hispanics with diabetes and to describe physicians' interventions in the treatment of diabetes. This is a retrospective chart review of all patients with diabetes admitted over a period of six months in the general ward of a community hospital in Puerto Rico. We evaluated glucose levels during the first 72 hours, length of stay, and reported complications during admission. Outcomes were evaluated with crude odds ratios and multivariate logistic regression. Uncontrolled blood glucose was observed in 59.1% of the 875 patients whose records were revised; of that 59.1%, treatment modification was not prescribed for 43.2%. Patients with poorly controlled glucose were more likely to develop acute coronary syndrome (corrected OR: 11.46; 95% CI = 1.48-88.50) as a complication and less likely to develop hypoglycemia (corrected OR: 0.57; 95% = CI 0.37-0.88). Our results suggest that hospitalized but non-critically ill Hispanic patients with diabetes are prone to poor outcomes secondary to uncontrolled glucose levels; in addition, those results support the creation of standardized protocols for the management of diabetes in this population.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux: a mixed methods study of infants admitted to hospital in the first 12 months following birth in NSW (2000-2011).

Science.gov (United States)

Dahlen, Hannah Grace; Foster, Jann P; Psaila, Kim; Spence, Kaye; Badawi, Nadia; Fowler, Cathrine; Schmied, Virginia; Thornton, Charlene

2018-02-12

Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is common in infants. When the condition causes pathological symptoms and/or complications it is considered gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). It appears to be increasingly diagnosed and causes great distress in the first year of infancy. In New South Wales (NSW), residential parenting services support families with early parenting difficulties. These services report a large number of babies admitted with a label of GOR/GORD. The aim of this study was to explore the maternal and infant characteristics, obstetric interventions, and reasons for clinical reporting of GOR/GORD in NSW in the first 12 months following birth (2000-2011). A three phase, mixed method sequential design was used. Phase 1 included a linked data population based study (n = 869,188 admitted babies). Phase 2 included a random audit of 326 medical records from admissions to residential parenting centres in NSW (2013). Phase 3 included eight focus groups undertaken with 45 nurses and doctors working in residential parenting centres in NSW. There were a total of 1,156,020 admissions recorded of babies in the first year following birth, with 11,513 containing a diagnostic code for GOR/GORD (1% of infants admitted to hospitals in the first 12 months following birth). Babies with GOR/GORD were also more likely to be admitted with other disorders such as feeding difficulties, sleep problems, and excessive crying. The mothers of babies admitted with a diagnostic code of GOR/GORD were more likely to be primiparous, Australian born, give birth in a private hospital and have: a psychiatric condition; a preterm or early term infant (37-or-38 weeks); a caesarean section; an admission of the baby to SCN/NICU; and a male infant. Thirty six percent of infants admitted to residential parenting centres in NSW had been given a diagnosis of GOR/GORD. Focus group data revealed two themes: "It is over diagnosed" and "A medical label is a quick fix, but what else could be

The 'unnecessary' use of emergency departments by older people: findings from hospital data, hospital staff and older people.

Science.gov (United States)

Faulkner, Debbie; Law, Julia

2015-11-01

Increasing demands are being placed on emergency departments in Australia and there is a view that older Australians are more likely than other age groups to attend for non-urgent conditions. The objective of this paper is to compare and contrast administrative data with the views of hospital staff and older people with regard to their presentation at two emergency departments in metropolitan Adelaide and how this aligns with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare definition of 'potentially avoidable general practitioner-type presentations'. The study used three sources of data from two emergency departments: hospital data for the financial year 2010-11 for patients aged 65 years and over and identified as triage category four or five; three focus groups with medical, nursing and allied staff from these two hospitals; and interviews with 58 older people who presented at the two emergency departments over a two-week period. The hospital administrative data provided a very limited insight into why older people attended the emergency department, other than the medical diagnosis. Professional staff identified individual determinants, societal determinants and the health services system as explanations. Older people attended the emergency department for a range of reasons that may not necessarily reflect the opinions of health professionals. For many older people the emergency department was an appropriate place to attend considering their condition, though some presentations could be circumvented with appropriate and increased services in the community. However, as many older people suffer comorbidities, careful consideration needs to be given as to the best possible practices to achieve this.

[Efficacy of a multidisciplinary care management program for patients admitted at hospital because of heart failure (ProMIC)].

Science.gov (United States)

Domingo, Cristina; Aros, Fernando; Otxandategi, Agurtzane; Beistegui, Idoia; Besga, Ariadna; Latorre, Pedro María

2018-02-26

To assess the efficacy of the ProMIC, multidisciplinary program for patients admitted at hospital because of heart failure (HF) programme, in reducing the HF-related readmission rate. Quasi-experimental research with control group. Twelve primary health care centres and 3 hospitals from the Basque Country. Aged 40 years old or above patients admitted for HF with a New York Heart Association functional class II to IV. Patients in the intervention group carried out the ProMIC programme, a structured clinical intervention based on clinical guidelines and on the chronic care model. Control group received usual care. The rate of readmission for HF and health-related quality of life RESULTS: One hundred fifty five patients were included in ProMIC group and 129 in control group. 45 rehospitalisation due to heart failure happened in ProMIC versus 75 in control group (adjusted hazard ratio=0.59, CI 95%: 0.36-0.98; P=.049). There were significant differences in specific quality of life al 6 months. No significant differences were found in rehospitalisation due to all causes, due to cardiovascular causes, visits to emergency room, mortality, the combined variable of these events, the functional capacity or quality of life at 12 months of follow up. ProMIC reduces significantly heart failure rehospitalisation and improve quality of life al 6 months of follow up. No significant differences were found in the rests of variables. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

On-Year Study on Pattern of Acute Pharmaceutical and Chemical Poisoning Cases Admitted to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Thrissur, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Padmakumar Krishnankutty Nair

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Identification of regional pattern of poisoning is essential for health care authorities for proper planning on prevention programs and optimized management of antidote stockpiles. This study was designed to evaluate one-year epidemiologic pattern of acute poisoning cases treated at a tertiary care hospital in Thrissur, India. Methods: In this retrospective cross sectional study, medical records of patients with the diagnosis of acute pharmaceutical and chemical poisoning admitted to Jubilee Mission Hospital (JMH, during 1st October 2012 to 30th September 2013 were reviewed. Results: During the study period, 168 poisoned patients (59.5% women were treated at emergency department of JMH. Married patients outnumbered unmarried ones (55.4% vs. 44.6%. The highest number of patients aged 21 to 30 years (31.5% followed by patients with 11-20 years of age (17.3%. Most of the poisonings occurred following suicidal ideation (72.6%. Familial disharmony (14.3% was the most common reason behind suicidal ingestions, followed by mental disorders (11.3%. Drug poisoning made up the largest proportion of poisoning-related admissions (43.5% followed by pesticide poisoning (37.5%. Among poisoning with pharmaceutical agents, most cases were due to paracetamol (13.7% followed by anti-psychotics and sedatives (5.4%. In pesticide poisonings, the most common classes ingested by the patients were rodenticides and organophosphates. The most common household items ingested by the patients were petroleum products. The average length of hospital stay was 5.5 days. Seven patients (4.2% died, of which 4 were due to organophosphates followed by 2 due to carbamates and one due to rodenticide ingestion. Conclusion: Pharmaceutical and pesticide products were identified as the main cause of poisoning. This finding warrants educational programs for adequate safety measures on storage and use of these substances.

Mortality and hospitalization at the end of life in newly admitted nursing home residents with and without dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Allers, Katharina; Hoffmann, Falk

2018-05-02

The proportion of deaths occurring in nursing homes is increasing and end of life hospitalizations in residents are common. This study aimed to obtain the time from nursing home admission to death and the frequency of hospitalizations prior to death among residents with and without dementia. This retrospective cohort study analyzed claims data of 127,227 nursing home residents aged 65 years and older newly admitted to a nursing home between 2010 and 2014. We analyzed hospitalizations during the last year of life and assessed mortality rates per 100 person-years. Factors potentially associated with time to death were analyzed in Cox proportional hazard models. The median time from nursing home admission to death was 777 and 635 days in residents with and without dementia, respectively. Being male, older age and a higher level of care decreased the survival time. Sex and age had a higher influence on survival time in residents with dementia, whereas level of care was found to have a higher influence in residents without dementia. Half of the residents of both groups were hospitalized during the last month and about 37% during the last week before death. Leading causes of hospitalizations were infections (with dementia: 20.6% vs. without dementia: 17.2%) and cardiovascular diseases (with dementia: 16.6% vs. without dementia: 19.0%). A high proportion of residents with and without dementia are hospitalized shortly before death. There should be an open debate about the appropriateness of hospitalizing nursing home residents especially those with dementia near death.

[Acute ethanol intoxication among children and adolescents. A retrospective analysis of 173 patients admitted to a university children hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Schöberl, S; Nickel, P; Schmutzer, G; Siekmeyer, W; Kiess, W

2008-01-01

In the last time the alcohol consumption among children and adolescents is a big theme in all kind of media. The ethanol consumption among children and adolescents has risen during the last years, but also new hazardous drinking patterns like "binge-drinking" are increasing. These drinking episodes are responsible for many hospital presentations of children and adolescents with acute ethanol intoxication. This study is a retrospective analysis of 173 patients admitted to the university children hospital of Leipzig due to acute ethanol intoxication during the period 1998-2004. Investigated parameters were: socio-demographic factors, clinical presentation and management as well as quantity and type of alcohol. During the years 1998-2004 the rate of alcohol intoxicated patients in this study increased, from 1998-2003 at about 171.4%. Totally 173 patients with an average age of 14.5 years were admitted to the university children hospital. There were significantly more boys than girls. The mean blood alcohol concentration of these patients was 1.77%. Some of the patients had severe symptoms. 62 were unconscious, 2 were in coma and at least 3 patients had to be ventilated. A difference between socioeconomic groups could be observed by comparing the different school types. 44.8% of the patients went to the middle school. Furthermore 17 patients of this study had mental disorders or psychosocial problems and were therefore in psychological or psychiatric treatment. In this study a significant influence of social classes or psychosocial problems on alcohol consumption such as binge-drinking leading to acute ethanol intoxication could not be found. Alarming is the increasing number of ethanol intoxicated patients, the young age, the high measured blood ethanol concentrations and the severe symptoms of these patients. This is the reason why early and intensive prevention strategies are required.

Human resources management for a hospital pharmacy department.

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Chase, P A

1989-06-01

The concepts of human resources management (HRM) are presented, and the application of HRM concepts to a hospital pharmacy department is described. Low salaries and poor working conditions had precipitated a mass exodus of pharmacists from a 650-bed, tertiary-care medical center. The newly hired director of pharmacy sought to rebuild the department by developing a three-stage HRM model consisting of needs forecasting, performance management, and advanced management systems. In the needs-forecasting stage, the strengths and weaknesses of departmental programs were determined through analysis of existing standards of practice, situational analysis, and financial analyses; the strengths and weaknesses of departmental employees were determined through the use of talent inventories, turnover analysis, analysis of time and leave records, reevaluation of the department's job classifications, performance and productivity evaluations, and productivity evaluations, and development of a philosophy of practice and mission statement. Needs and problems were addressed by examining each existing program and developing new policies and procedures, performance standards, quality assurance mechanisms, and productivity expectations. Personnel needs and problems were addressed by designing a system of differentiated career ladders, contracting with pharmacists for career moves, developing the skills of currently employed pharmacists, and implementing a succession planning model. The model has been in place for approximately three years and is beginning to yield the desired results. Application of HRM concepts to a hospital pharmacy department appears to have been successful in improving employee morale and in helping the department to meet goals of expanded and improved services.

A decentralised model of psychiatric care: Profile, length of stay and outcome of mental healthcare users admitted to a district-level public hospital in the Western Cape

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Eileen Thomas

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background. There is a lack of studies assessing the profile and outcome of psychiatric patients at entry-level public hospitals that are prescribed by the Mental Health Care Act to provide a decentralised model of psychiatric care. Objective. To assess the demographic and clinical profile as well as length of stay and outcomes of mental healthcare users admitted to a district-level public hospital in the Western Cape.  Method. Demographic data, clinical diagnosis, length of stay, referral profile and outcomes of patients (N=487 admitted to Helderberg Hospital during the period 1 January 2011 - 31 December 2011 were collected.  Results. Psychotic disorders were the most prevalent (n=287, 59% diagnoses, while 228 (47% of admission episodes had comorbid/secondary diagnoses. Substance use disorders were present in 184 (38% of admission episodes, 37 (57% of readmissions and 19 (61% of abscondments. Most admission episodes (n=372, 76% were discharged without referral to specialist/tertiary care.  Conclusion. Methamphetamine use places a significant burden on the provision of mental healthcare services at entry-level care. Recommendations for improving service delivery at this district-level public hospital are provided.

Functional changes during hospital stay in older patients admitted to an acute care ward: a multicenter observational study.

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Stefanie L De Buyser

Full Text Available Changes in physical performance during hospital stay have rarely been evaluated. In this study, we examined functional changes during hospital stay by assessing both physical performance and activities of daily living. Additionally, we investigated characteristics of older patients associated with meaningful in-hospital improvement in physical performance.The CRiteria to assess appropriate Medication use among Elderly complex patients project recruited 1123 patients aged ≥65 years, consecutively admitted to geriatric or internal medicine acute care wards of seven Italian hospitals. We analyzed data from 639 participating participants with a Mini Mental State Examination score ≥18/30. Physical performance was assessed by walking speed and grip strength, and functional status by activities of daily living at hospital admission and at discharge. Meaningful improvement was defined as a measured change of at least 1 standard deviation. Multivariable logistic regression models predicting meaningful improvement, included age, gender, type of admission (through emergency room or elective, and physical performance at admission.Mean age of the study participants was 79 years (range 65-98, 52% were female. Overall, mean walking speed and grip strength performance improved during hospital stay (walking speed improvement: 0.04±0.20 m/s, p<0.001; grip strength improvement: 0.43±5.66 kg, p = 0.001, no significant change was observed in activities of daily living. Patients with poor physical performance at admission had higher odds for in-hospital improvement.Overall, physical performance measurements show an improvement during hospital stay. The margin for meaningful functional improvement is larger in patients with poor physical function at admission. Nevertheless, most of these patients continue to have poor performance at discharge.

First World War and Mental Health: a retrospective comparative study of veterans admitted to a psychiatric hospital between 1915 and 1918.

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Lagonia, Paolo; Aloi, Matteo; Magliocco, Fabio; Cerminara, Gregorio; Segura-Garcia, Cristina; Del Vecchio, Valeria; Luciano, Mario; Fiorillo, Andrea; De Fazio, Pasquale

2017-01-01

The association between mental illness and war has been repeatedly investigated. Higher levels of depressive symptoms and an increased suicidal risk have been found in veterans. In this study we investigated the mental health conditions among Italian soldiers during the “Great War”, who were hospitalized in a mental health hospital in Italy. The study sample consists of 498 soldiers who were admitted during the World War I between 1915 and 1918, and 498 civilian patients admitted in two different periods (1898-1914, 1919- 1932). Psychiatric diagnoses have been recorded retrospectively by a detailed examination of clinical records. Socio-demographic informations, diagnosis at first admission, number of admissions, and deployment in war zones were collected. A logistic regression analysis was performed, the diagnosis of depression was considered as dependent variable while clinical and demographic variables as independent predictors. Soldiers deployed in war zones were more likely to have a diagnosis of depression compared to those not serving on the frontline. The logistic regression analysis showed that the diagnosis of depression is predicted by being a soldier and being deployed in a war area. Our data confirm that soldiers engaged in war are at higher risk of developing depression compared to non-deployed soldiers.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital.

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Ellis, Graham; Whitehead, Martin A; O'Neill, Desmond; Langhorne, Peter; Robinson, David

2011-07-06

Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is a multidimensional, interdisciplinary diagnostic process to determine the medical, psychological and functional capabilities of a frail elderly person in order to develop a co-ordinated and integrated plan for treatment and long-term follow up. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of CGA in hospital for older adults admitted as an emergency. We searched the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) Group Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library), the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and AARP Ageline, and handsearched high-yield journals. We searched for randomised controlled trials comparing CGA (whether by mobile teams or in designated wards) to usual care. Two review authors initially assessed eligibility and trial quality and extracted published data. Twenty-two trials evaluating 10,315 participants in six countries were identified. Patients in receipt of CGA were more likely to be alive and in their own homes at up to six months (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.42, P = 0.0002) and at the end of scheduled follow up (median 12 months) (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.05 to 1.28, P = 0.003) when compared to general medical care. In addition, patients were less likely to be institutionalised (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.88, P P = 0.001), and were more likely to experience improved cognition in the CGA group (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.20 to 2.01, P = 0.02). Subgroup interaction in the primary outcomes suggests that the effects of CGA are primarily the result of CGA wards. Comprehensive geriatric assessment increases a patient's likelihood of being alive and in their own home at up to 12 months.

Department of Defense TRICARE Inpatient Satisfaction Survey (TRISS) Data– military hospitals

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This file contains U.S. military hospital data from the TRICARE Inpatient Satisfaction Survey (TRISS) administered by the Department of Defense (DoD). TRISS data do...

[Impact of an emergency department short-stay unit on clinical management and quality of hospital care indicators].

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Richard Espiga, Fernando; Mòdol Deltell, Josep María; Martín-Sánchez, Francisco Javier; Fernández Sierra, Abel; Fernández Pérez, Cristina; Pastor, Antoni Juan

2017-06-01

The primary aim was to study the impact that creating a short-stay unit (SSU) had on clinical management and quality of care indicators of a hospital overall and its conventional wards. The secondary aim was to establish values for those indicators and determine the level of satisfaction of patients admitted to the SSU. Quasi-experimental before-after study of the impact of establishing a SSU in a tertiary care teaching hospital. The first period (without the SSU) was in 2012, the second (with the SSU) was from 2013 through 2015. To meet the first objective we selected cases in 2012 in which patients were hospitalized for problems related to the 5 diagnosis-related groups most often admitted to the SSU in the second period. To meet the second objective, we studied all patients admitted to the SSU in the second period Data related to quality of care and clinical management were analyzed retrospectively. and asked them to complete a questionnaire on patient satisfaction. A total of 76 241 admissions were included: 19 090 in the first period and 57 151 in the second (2705 admissions were to the SSU). The mean hospital stay decreased in the second period (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.91-0.95); the mean stay also decreased on medical wards (IRR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96) with no impact on adverse outcomes. The mean stay in the SSU was under 3 days in spite of an increase in the weighted mean (IRR,1.08; 95% CI, 1.05-1.11). A total of 320 questionnaires were received (11.8% response rate); all aspects were assessed very highly. Our experience suggests that opening a SSU could improve clinical management and quality of care indicators for a hospital overall and for its conventional wards in the context of the GRDs that most frequently lead to admissions.

Networks in the radiology department and the hospital

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Pelikan, E.; Timmermann, U. [Hospital Computer Center, University Hospital Freiburg (Germany); Kotter, E. [Freiburg Univ. (Germany). Radiologische Universitaetsklinik

2001-02-01

Data networks are a basic technology with regard to an appropriate design of the information technology (IT) infrastructure for the hospital. Due to the distributed workflow within the hospital, an integrated Hospital Information System (HIS) is based mostly on a set of network applications facing specific items. Medical communication standards, i. e., HL 7, DICOM, and in the near future the migration towards XML, support the interoperability between the IT subsystems and pave the way to patient information systems with access to unified and complete electronic medical records (EMR). Furthermore, with standardized communication techniques, such as CORBAmed, an object-oriented design of Healthcare applications will be possible in the near future. The intent of this paper is to give an overview of which basic technologies are suitable for building comprehensive, flexible, and reliable hospital networks and which also meet the special demands of the radiology department. (orig.)

Networks in the radiology department and the hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pelikan, E.; Timmermann, U.; Kotter, E.

2001-01-01

Data networks are a basic technology with regard to an appropriate design of the information technology (IT) infrastructure for the hospital. Due to the distributed workflow within the hospital, an integrated Hospital Information System (HIS) is based mostly on a set of network applications facing specific items. Medical communication standards, i. e., HL 7, DICOM, and in the near future the migration towards XML, support the interoperability between the IT subsystems and pave the way to patient information systems with access to unified and complete electronic medical records (EMR). Furthermore, with standardized communication techniques, such as CORBAmed, an object-oriented design of Healthcare applications will be possible in the near future. The intent of this paper is to give an overview of which basic technologies are suitable for building comprehensive, flexible, and reliable hospital networks and which also meet the special demands of the radiology department. (orig.)

Validation of a Novel Molecular Host Response Assay to Diagnose Infection in Hospitalized Patients Admitted to the ICU With Acute Respiratory Failure.

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Koster-Brouwer, Maria E; Verboom, Diana M; Scicluna, Brendon P; van de Groep, Kirsten; Frencken, Jos F; Janssen, Davy; Schuurman, Rob; Schultz, Marcus J; van der Poll, Tom; Bonten, Marc J M; Cremer, Olaf L

2018-03-01

Discrimination between infectious and noninfectious causes of acute respiratory failure is difficult in patients admitted to the ICU after a period of hospitalization. Using a novel biomarker test (SeptiCyte LAB), we aimed to distinguish between infection and inflammation in this population. Nested cohort study. Two tertiary mixed ICUs in the Netherlands. Hospitalized patients with acute respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation upon ICU admission from 2011 to 2013. Patients having an established infection diagnosis or an evidently noninfectious reason for intubation were excluded. None. Blood samples were collected upon ICU admission. Test results were categorized into four probability bands (higher bands indicating higher infection probability) and compared with the infection plausibility as rated by post hoc assessment using strict definitions. Of 467 included patients, 373 (80%) were treated for a suspected infection at admission. Infection plausibility was classified as ruled out, undetermined, or confirmed in 135 (29%), 135 (29%), and 197 (42%) patients, respectively. Test results correlated with infection plausibility (Spearman's rho 0.332; p < 0.001). After exclusion of undetermined cases, positive predictive values were 29%, 54%, and 76% for probability bands 2, 3, and 4, respectively, whereas the negative predictive value for band 1 was 76%. Diagnostic discrimination of SeptiCyte LAB and C-reactive protein was similar (p = 0.919). Among hospitalized patients admitted to the ICU with clinical uncertainty regarding the etiology of acute respiratory failure, the diagnostic value of SeptiCyte LAB was limited.

Delayed neuropsychological sequelae after carbon monoxide poisoning: predictive risk factors in the Emergency Department. A retrospective study

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Botti Primo

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Delayed neuropsychological sequelae (DNS commonly occur after recovery from acute carbon monoxide (CO poisoning. The preventive role and the indications for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the acute setting are still controversial. Early identification of patients at risk in the Emergency Department might permit an improvement in quality of care. We conducted a retrospective study to identify predictive risk factors for DNS development in the Emergency Department. Methods We retrospectively considered all CO-poisoned patients admitted to the Emergency Department of Careggi University General Hospital (Florence, Italy from 1992 to 2007. Patients were invited to participate in three follow-up visits at one, six and twelve months from hospital discharge. Clinical and biohumoral data were collected; univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to identify predictive risk factors for DNS. Results Three hundred forty seven patients were admitted to the Emergency Department for acute CO poisoning from 1992 to 2007; 141/347 patients participated in the follow-up visit at one month from hospital discharge. Thirty four/141 patients were diagnosed with DNS (24.1%. Five/34 patients previously diagnosed as having DNS presented to the follow-up visit at six months, reporting a complete recovery. The following variables (collected before or upon Emergency Department admission were associated to DNS development at one month from hospital discharge in the univariate analysis: CO exposure duration >6 hours, a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS score Conclusions Our study identified several potential predictive risk factors for DNS. Treatment algorithms based on an appropriate risk-stratification of patients in the Emergency Department might reduce DNS incidence; however, more studies are needed. Adequate follow-up after hospital discharge, aimed at correct recognition of DNS, is also important.

Epidemiology and burden of rotavirus-associated hospitalizations in Ferrara, Italy.

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Gabutti, G; Marsella, M; Lazzara, C; Fiumana, E; Cavallaro, A; Borgna-Pignatti, C

2007-03-01

Objective of this study was to provide data on hospitalizations for rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) in Ferrara, Italy. The study was conducted analyzing the hospital discharge forms of all children admitted to the Pediatric Department of the University of Ferrara, Arcispedale Sant'Anna, from January 2001 through December 2005. The database was searched for all gastrointestinal diseases and in particular RVGE. During the period under study 3277 children, of which 2038 <60 months of age, were hospitalized; 247 children < 5 years old were admitted for acute gastroenteritis and 89 (4.4% of all and 36% of gastroenteritis-related hospitalizations) had rapid screening tests positive for rotavirus. A seasonal pattern was observed for RVGE with an increase in winter and early spring. The average length of hospital stay was 5.7 days. The median cost of each hospitalized case of RVGE ranged between 1417 and 1595 Euros. The present research confirms that rotavirus gastroenteritis represents an important cause of hospitalization in children and is responsible for significant costs for the Public Health Care System. An effective vaccination program could significantly reduce the incidence of hospitalization and the associated costs.

Positive predictive value and impact of misdiagnosis of a heart failure diagnosis in administrative registers among patients admitted to a University Hospital cardiac care unit

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mard, Shan; Nielsen, Finn Erland

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the positive predictive value (PPV) of a diagnosis of heart failure (HF) in the Danish National Registry of Patients (NRP) among patients admitted to a University Hospital cardiac care unit, and to evaluate the impact of misdiagnosing HF. DESIGN: The NRP was used to identify...

[Hospitality for elderly patients in the emergency department].

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Boulet, Marie-Claude; Dami, Fabrice; Hugli, Olivier; Renard, Delphine; Foucault, Eliane; Carron, Pierre-Nicolas

2015-12-09

Demographic evolution results in a growing use of emergency department by elderly patients. They require special care to avoid any further degradation of cognitive and functional abilities already compromised by the disease or injury that led them to hospital in the first place. Through a clinical case, we list the risks related to the care of these particular patients in the emergency department. Early recognition of those risks and careful management of these patients' specific needs can significantly contribute to reduce lengths of stay, an important outcome from both the individual patient's and society's perspective.

Rehospitalizations and Emergency Department Visits after Hospital Discharge in Patients Receiving Maintenance Hemodialysis.

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Harel, Ziv; Wald, Ron; McArthur, Eric; Chertow, Glenn M; Harel, Shai; Gruneir, Andrea; Fischer, Hadas D; Garg, Amit X; Perl, Jeffrey; Nash, Danielle M; Silver, Samuel; Bell, Chaim M

2015-12-01

Clinical outcomes after a hospital discharge are poorly defined for patients receiving maintenance in-center (outpatient) hemodialysis. To describe the proportion and characteristics of these patients who are rehospitalized, visit an emergency department, or die within 30 days after discharge from an acute hospitalization, we conducted a population-based study of all adult patients receiving maintenance in-center hemodialysis who were discharged between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2011, from 157 acute care hospitals in Ontario, Canada. For patients with more than one hospitalization, we randomly selected a single hospitalization as the index hospitalization. Of the 11,177 patients included in the final cohort, 1926 (17%) were rehospitalized, 2971 (27%) were treated in the emergency department, and 840 (7.5%) died within 30 days of discharge. Complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus were the most common reason for rehospitalization, whereas heart failure was the most common reason for an emergency department visit. In multivariable analysis using a cause-specific Cox proportional hazards model, the following characteristics were associated with 30-day rehospitalization: older age, the number of hospital admissions in the preceding 6 months, the number of emergency department visits in the preceding 6 months, higher Charlson comorbidity index score, and the receipt of mechanical ventilation during the index hospitalization. Thus, a large proportion of patients receiving maintenance in-center hemodialysis will be readmitted or visit an emergency room within 30 days of an acute hospitalization. A focus on improving care transitions from the inpatient setting to the outpatient dialysis unit may improve outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Management of headache disorders in the Emergency Department setting.

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Pari, Elisa; Rinaldi, Fabrizio; Gipponi, Stefano; Venturelli, Elisabetta; Liberini, Paolo; Rao, Renata; Padovani, Alessandro

2015-07-01

Headache is a common presenting complaint in the Emergency Department. The aim of this study was to delineate the demographic profile of patients presenting a chief complaint of headache and to assess the application of diagnostic algorithms for the management of these patients. We examined patients admitted to the Spedali Civili Hospital ED between January 2005 and December 2009 who complained of headache not related to trauma and all patients hospitalized for headache in Neurological Clinic, from ED, between January 2008 and December 2009. 7495 patients were examined at ED for headaches. 72 % of patients were discharged, 22 % were admitted. From 2005 to 2009, there was a definite decrease in the rate of hospitalization due to headache (15 vs 9.9 % in Department of Neurology and 26 vs 18.9 % in all Departments). Considering the decrease year by year, this reduction was significant from 2007 to 2008, when the algorithms were adopted. The most common diagnosis in the ED was "Non-specific headache" (41 %), followed by "Primary headaches and complications of primary headaches" (20.8 %), "Secondary headaches not associated with risk of serious disease" (20.4 %) and "Secondary headache associated with risk of serious disease" (5 %). Over 2-year period (2008-2009) we found an increase in the diagnosis of "Primary headaches and complications of primary headaches" and "Secondary headaches associated with risk of serious disease" compared with a decrease of "nonspecific headache" and "secondary headaches not associated with risk of serious disease". The use of the diagnostic algorithms and collaborative network between the ED and the Headache Center can improve the management of patients with headache in ED.

Epidemiological and Clinical Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Leprosy Admitted Over 16 Years at a Rural Hospital in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Analysis.

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Ramos, José M; Ortiz-Martínez, Sonia; Lemma, Deriba; Petros, Matheus M; Ortiz-Martínez, Carmen; Tesfamariam, Abraham; Reyes, Francisco; Belinchón, Isabel

2018-06-01

To analyse differences in children and adolescents aged ≤18 years admitted to the leprosy ward in a rural Ethiopian hospital >16 years. We retrospectively collected data from leprosy admission registry books on patients with leprosy who were admitted to a referral hospital from September 2000 to September 2016. There were 2129 admissions for leprosy during the study period: 180 (8.4%) patients were s ≤ 18 years old. Of these, 98 (54.4%) were male and 82 (45.6%) were female. The proportion of new diagnoses in children and adolescents was 31.7%, significantly higher than in adults (11.7%; p < 0.001). There were also significant differences in the prevalence of lepromatous ulcers (46.9 vs. 61.7%), leprosy reaction (29.4 vs. 13.0%) and neuritis (16.9 vs.5.3%) between these age groups. There were more new diagnoses, leprosy reactions and neuritis, and fewer lepromatous ulcers, in children and adolescents compared with adults, with younger patients being referred more frequently to reference centres.

The burden of road traffic injuries in an emergency department in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Ali, E.; Tayler-Smith, K.; Hedt-Gauthier, B.; Silkondez, W.; Abebe, D.; Deressa, W.; Enquessilase, F.; Edwards, J. K.

2016-01-01

Setting: The emergency department (ED) of Zewditu Memorial Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Objective: To document the proportion, trend, characteristics and outcomes of road traffic injury (RTI) related ED admissions (⩾15 years) between 2014 and 2015. Design: A retrospective, cross-sectional study using routinely collected ED data. Results: Of 10 007 ED admissions, 779 (8%) were RTI cases; this proportion peaked in the month of January (11%). Medical records were available for 522 (67%) of these RTI cases. The median age was 28 years and 69% were males. The majority were pedestrians (69%) injured by an automobile (78%). On triage, 32% were classified as needing urgent/immediate intervention. Head injuries (20%) were the second most common injury after lower limb injuries (36%). ED outcomes were as follows: discharged (68%), hospitalised (17%), referred (17%) and died (1%). Among the 78 hospitalised cases, respectively 62% and 16% were admitted to the surgical and orthopaedic departments. Of 146 RTI cases with head injuries, 25% were hospitalised, of whom 82% were admitted to the surgical department. Conclusion: Our findings can guide policy makers in referral hospitals in improving the planning of hospital resources and the prioritisation of public health needs linked to further urban development. A comprehensive plan to prevent RTIs, particularly among pedestrians in Addis Ababa, is urgently needed. PMID:27358798

Analysis and Description of Suicidal Burns Admitted to Al-Fayhaa General Hospital in Basra, Iraq

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Mustafa Al-Shamsi

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Suicide by self-burning remains a common method of suicide amongst women in Iraq and some neighboring countries. This study aimed to describe the problem of self-burning in Basra province and investigate the associated factors. A prospective study was undertaken between October 2016 and May 2017 in Al-Fayhaa Burn Center. Data were collected from all patients admitted to the center for a self-inflicted burn. Sociodemographic information and cause of suicide were obtained using an interviewer-administered questionnaire, and clinical data were transcribed from hospital records. There were 62 cases (females 74%, males 26% of self-burning during the 6 months data collection accounting for 22% of all burn admission. The age ranged from 9-56 years (mean 25.3, SD 10.8 year. The vast majority had no or only basic education (92%, 55% were married, 60% were from outside Basra city and 53% considered themselves from a poor socioeconomic background. The incident mostly occurred at home (84% while the person was alone (91% using kerosene as the burning material (82%. The total burn surface area ranged from 20-100% with a median of 80% (IQR 60-95. The median hospital stay was 5 days (IQR 1-12 days. In-hospital mortality rate was 72.6%. Suicide by self-burning seems not to be uncommon in Basra and require more attention from public health and social services. More research is required to provide a better estimation of the problem and in-depth understanding of the factors that contribute to the problem.

Management of acute diarrhoea among children aged 6 - 59 months admitted at Juba Teaching Hospital

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Alice J Stephen

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Diarrhoea is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in children under five worldwide and accounts for 42.9% of under-5 mortality in South Sudan. Clinical outcomes for diarrhoea correlate with the quality of hospital care. Methodology: The standard WHO/IMCI for assessment of health workers' performance in the management of illnesses in children under 5years was adapted and used in the study. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data on health workers’ knowledge and practice in the management of acute diarrhoea. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the means, frequencies and proportions of the variables. Results: Thirty nine health workers were interviewed and 202 medical records of children admitted with acute diarrhoea between March and June 2014 were examined. The majority (75.74% of the children were 6-24 months old. Most assessments were incomplete; the commonest sign assessed was sunken eyes (75.12% and the least assessed was ability to drink/breastfeed (34.32%. Seventy five percent of patients were classified correctly according to WHO guidelines and 61% of health workers administered fluid therapy correctly. Health workers' knowledge of how to assess the hydration state was poor (below 50%. Conclusion: There was inadequate assessment and documentation of the signs and symptoms of dehydration and inappropriate use of rehydration fluid therapy in the children admitted with acute watery diarrhoea. Regular in-house training and feedback and provision of supplies should be given to the clinicians in order to improve the quality of care.

Assessment of pattern and treatment outcome of patients admitted to pediatric intensive care unit, Ayder Referral Hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia, 2015.

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Haftu, Hansa; Hailu, Tedrose; Medhaniye, Araya; G/Tsadik, Teklit

2018-05-24

To describe admission pattern and outcome with its predictor variable on the mortality of children admitted to pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), Ayder Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia, from September 2012 to August 2014. From 680 admitted patients, 400 patients were analyzed. Average age at admission was 62.99 ± 60.94 months, with F:M ratio of 1:1.2. Overall (from infectious and non-infectious) the most commonly affected systems were respiratory (90/400 pts., 22.5%) and central nervous system (83/400 pts., 20.75%). Most were admitted due to meningitis (44/400 pts., 11%), post-operative (43/400 pts., 10.8%) and acute glomerulonephritis (41/400 pts., 10.3%). The overall mortality rate was 8.5%. Multivariable logistic regression shows, use of inotropes (p = 0.000), need for mechanical ventilator (p = 0.007) and presence of comorbid illness (p = 0.002), infectious cause (p = 0.015) and low level of Glasgow coma scale less than eight (p = 0.04) were independent predictors of mortality. From this study, common cause of PICU admission and death was meningitis. This highlights the importance of focusing on the preventable methods in the public such as vaccine, creating awareness about hygiene, and expanding ICU for early detection and for treatment acutely ill children.

The Financial Impact of Emergency Department Crowding

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Foley, Mathew

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Objective: The economic benefits of reducing emergency department (ED crowding are potentially substantial as they may decrease hospital length of stay. Hospital administrators and public officials may therefore be motivated to implement crowding protocols. We sought to identify a potential cost of ED crowding by evaluating the contribution of excess ED length of stay (LOS to overall hospital length of stay. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of administrative data of adult patients from two urban hospitals (one county and one university in Brooklyn, New York from 2006-2007. Data was provided by each facility. Extrapolating from prior research (Krochmal and Riley, 2005, we determined the increase in total hospital LOS due to extended ED lengths of stay, and applied cost and charge analyses for the two separate facilities. Results: We determined that 6,205 (5.0% admitted adult patients from the county facility and 3,017 (3.4% patients from the university facility were held in the ED greater than one day over a one-year period. From prior research, it has been estimated that each of these patient’s total hospital length of stay was increased on average by 11.7% (0.61 days at the county facility, and 0.71 days at the university facility. The increased charges over one year at the county facility due to the extended ED LOS was therefore approximately $9.8 million, while the increased costs at the university facility were approximately $3.9 million. Conclusion: Based on extrapolations from Krochmal and Riley applied to two New York urban hospitals, the county hospital could potentially save $9.8 million in charges and the university hospital $3.9 million in costs per year if they eliminate ED boarding of adult admitted patients by improving movement to the inpatient setting. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(2:192-197.

State of the art in marketing hospital foodservice departments.

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Pickens, C W; Shanklin, C W

1985-11-01

The purposes of this study were to identify the state of the art relative to the utilization of marketing techniques within hospital foodservice departments throughout the United States and to determine whether any relationships existed between the degree of utilization of marketing techniques and selected demographic characteristics of the foodservice administrators and/or operations. A validated questionnaire was mailed to 600 randomly selected hospital foodservice administrators requesting information related to marketing in their facilities. Forty-five percent of the questionnaires were returned and analyzed for frequency of response and significant relationship between variables. Chi-square was used for nominal data and Spearman rho for ranked data. Approximately 73% of the foodservice administrators stated that marketing was extremely important in the success of a hospital foodservice department. Respondents (79%) further indicated that marketing had become more important in their departments in the past 2 years. Departmental records, professional journals, foodservice suppliers, observation, and surveys were the sources most often used to obtain marketing data, a responsibility generally assumed by the foodservice director (86.2%). Merchandising, public relations, and word-of-mouth reputation were regarded as the most important aspects of marketing. Increased sales, participation, good will, departmental recognition, and employee satisfaction were used most frequently to evaluate the success of implemented marketing techniques. Marketing audits as a means of evaluating the success of marketing were used to a limited extent by the respondents.

An epidemiological study of road traffic accident cases admitted in a tertiary care hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, S M; Jindal, A K; Verma, A K; Mahen, A

2014-01-01

Road traffic accidents are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity globally. In India, more than a million are injured annually and about a lakh are killed in road traffic accidents.(1) It causes the country to lose around 55,000 crores annually which is 2-3% of Gross Domestic Production (GDP).(2) This cross sectional study was conducted to elucidate the role of various factors involved in road traffic accidents. Road traffic accident cases admitted to a tertiary care hospital between 01 Oct 2009 and 28 Feb 2011 were included in the study. A total of 182 patients were studied. Information was collected through questionnaire, hospital records and on-site visit. OPD cases, comatose patients and deaths were excluded. Two-wheelers were the commonest vehicle involved in vehicular accidents. Most accidents happened at a speed of 40-60 km/h (37.9%). Most of the patients were aged between 20 and 30 years. Majority had a driving experience of less than 5 years. Monsoons witnessed 46.7% cases. Most cases occurred between 6 and 10 pm. Among severe injuries, the commonest was lower limb fractures (19.8%). There are multiple factors associated with road traffic accidents which due to the lack of road safety measures in the country are playing their role. It is the need of the hour to address this issue and formulate comprehensive, scientific and practical rules and regulations as well as evaluate its enforcement.

Use of antibiotics in patients admitted to the hospital due to acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, S K.; Weis, N; Almdal, T

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess to what extent symptoms and signs of bacterial infection are present and evaluated in patients admitted to the hospital for exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in relation to initiation of antibiotic treatment. METHODS...... of antibiotics and steroids prior to admission, temperature, white blood cell (WBC) count, results of lung auscultation and X-ray examination of the thorax at admittance, and growth of sputum culture and antibiotic treatment in the hospital were all registered. RESULTS: A total of 400 admissions took place....... In 104 of them, chest X-ray was compatible with pneumonia, and 99 cases were treated with antibiotics. In 44% of the remaining 296 cases, antibiotics were given. It was found that 25-45% of the patients with very little evidence of infection-i.e. the absence of, or only the presence of, one...

A cost sensitive inpatient bed reservation approach to reduce emergency department boarding times.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Shanshan; Chinnam, Ratna Babu; Murat, Alper; Batarse, Bassam; Neemuchwala, Hakimuddin; Jordan, Will

2015-03-01

Emergency departments (ED) in hospitals are experiencing severe crowding and prolonged patient waiting times. A significant contributing factor is boarding delays where admitted patients are held in ED (occupying critical resources) until an inpatient bed is identified and readied in the admit wards. Recent research has suggested that if the hospital admissions of ED patients can be predicted during triage or soon after, then bed requests and preparations can be triggered early on to reduce patient boarding time. We propose a cost sensitive bed reservation policy that recommends optimal bed reservation times for patients. The policy relies on a classifier that estimates the probability that the ED patient will be admitted using the patient information collected and readily available at triage or right after. The policy is cost sensitive in that it accounts for costs associated with patient admission prediction misclassification as well as costs associated with incorrectly selecting the reservation time. Results from testing the proposed bed reservation policy using data from a VA Medical Center are very promising and suggest significant cost saving opportunities and reduced patient boarding times.

Dengue fever in patients admitted in tertiary care hospitals in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munir, M. A.; Saqib, M. A. N.; Qureshi, H.; Alam, S. E.; Arif, A.; Khan, Z. U.; Saeed, Q.; Iqbal, R.

2014-01-01

Objectives: To assess the gaps in the diagnosis and management of dengue fever cases. Methods: The retrospective descriptive analytical study was done with a case record analysis of patients with dengue fever admitted from January to December 2010 at five tertiary care hospitals in different Pakistani cities. Using a questionnaire, information was gathered on demography, haematological profile, management, use of blood and platelet transfusions and the outcome. For comparison, data of serologically-confirmed dengue patients from a private laboratory in Islamabad was collected to see the age, gender and month-wise distribution of cases tested over the same period. SPSS 16 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of the 841 confirmed dengue cases, 514 (79%) were males and 139 (21%) females. The overall mean age was 31.3+-14.0 years. Dengue fever was seen in 653 (78%) and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) in 188 (22%) patients. Most cases were between 20 and 49 years of age. A gradual increase in dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever was seen from August, with a peak in October/November. Tourniquet test was done only in 20 (2.3%) cases, out of which 11 (55%) were positive and 9 (45%) were negative. Serial haematocrit was not done in any case. Total deaths were 5 (0.6%). Conclusions: Most cases were seen in October/November with the majority being in the 20-39 age group. Tourniquet test and serial haematocrit were infrequently used. No standard national guidelines were employed. (author)

[The department of interdisciplinary emergency medicine: organization, structure and process optimization].

Science.gov (United States)

Bernhard, Michael; Pietsch, Christian; Gries, André

2009-06-01

The essential tasks of a department of interdisciplinary emergency medicine are the initial triage and assessment of vital function as well as the subsequent organization und initiation of emergency treatment. A previously defined set of diagnostic and therapeutic measures is carried out before the patient is allocated to an in-hospital clinical service and is admitted to a ward. Moreover, diagnosis and treatment for outpatients are performed. "Time" is a critical factor to be considered for all organizational and structural aspects of a department of interdisciplinary emergency medicine.

Code Help: Can This Unique State Regulatory Intervention Improve Emergency Department Crowding?

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Sean S; Broach, John P; Kotkowski, Kevin A; Brush, D Eric; Volturo, Gregory A; Reznek, Martin A

2018-05-01

Emergency department (ED) crowding adversely affects multiple facets of high-quality care. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts mandates specific, hospital action plans to reduce ED boarding via a mechanism termed "Code Help." Because implementation appears inconsistent even when hospital conditions should have triggered its activation, we hypothesized that compliance with the Code Help policy would be associated with reduction in ED boarding time and total ED length of stay (LOS) for admitted patients, compared to patients seen when the Code Help policy was not followed. This was a retrospective analysis of data collected from electronic, patient-care, timestamp events and from a prospective Code Help registry for consecutive adult patients admitted from the ED at a single academic center during a 15-month period. For each patient, we determined whether the concurrent hospital status complied with the Code Help policy or violated it at the time of admission decision. We then compared ED boarding time and overall ED LOS for patients cared for during periods of Code Help policy compliance and during periods of Code Help policy violation, both with reference to patients cared for during normal operations. Of 89,587 adult patients who presented to the ED during the study period, 24,017 (26.8%) were admitted to an acute care or critical care bed. Boarding time ranged from zero to 67 hours 30 minutes (median 4 hours 31 minutes). Total ED LOS for admitted patients ranged from 11 minutes to 85 hours 25 minutes (median nine hours). Patients admitted during periods of Code Help policy violation experienced significantly longer boarding times (median 20 minutes longer) and total ED LOS (median 46 minutes longer), compared to patients admitted under normal operations. However, patients admitted during Code Help policy compliance did not experience a significant increase in either metric, compared to normal operations. In this single-center experience, implementation of the

Psychiatric disorders and clinical correlates of suicidal patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Tokyo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ishimoto Kayo

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Patients admitted to a psychiatric hospital with suicidal behavior (SB are considered to be especially at high risk of suicide. However, the number of studies that have addressed this patient population remains insufficient compared to that of studies on suicidal patients in emergency or medical settings. The purpose of this study is to seek features of a sample of newly admitted suicidal psychiatric patients in a metropolitan area of Japan. Method 155 suicidal patients consecutively admitted to a large psychiatric center during a 20-month period, admission styles of whom were mostly involuntary, were assessed using Structured Clinical Interviews for DSM-IV Axis I and II Disorders (SCID-I CV and SCID-II and SB-related psychiatric measures. Associations of the psychiatric diagnoses and SB-related characteristics with gender and age were examined. Results The common DSM-IV axis I diagnoses were affective disorders 62%, anxiety disorders 56% and substance-related disorders 38%. 56% of the subjects were diagnosed as having borderline PD, and 87% of them, at least one type of personality disorder (PD. SB methods used prior to admission were self-cutting 41%, overdosing 32%, self-strangulation 15%, jumping from a height 12% and attempting traffic death 10%, the first two of which were frequent among young females. The median (range of the total number of SBs in the lifetime history was 7 (1-141. Severity of depressive symptomatology, suicidal intent and other symptoms, proportions of the subjects who reported SB-preceding life events and life problems, and childhood and adolescent abuse were comparable to those of the previous studies conducted in medical or emergency service settings. Gender and age-relevant life-problems and life events were identified. Conclusions Features of the studied sample were the high prevalence of affective disorders, anxiety disorders and borderline PD, a variety of SB methods used prior to admission

Evaluation of service quality of hospital outpatient department services.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarty, Abhijit

2011-07-01

It has become essential for hospital managers to understand and measure consumer perspectives and service quality gaps, so that any perceived gap in delivery of service is identified and suitably addressed. A study was conducted at a peripheral service hospital to ascertain any service gap between consumer expectations and perceptions in respect of the hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. A cross-sectional study was conducted using SERVQUAL as the survey instrument, the instrument being validated for use in the hospital environment. Consumer ratings across 22 items of the survey instrument were collected in paired expectation and perception scores and then service quality gaps were identified and statistically analysed. Service quality gaps were identified to exist across all the five dimensions of the survey instrument, with statistically significant gaps across the dimensions of 'tangibles' and 'responsiveness.' The quality gaps were further validated by a total unweighted SERVQUAL score of (-) 1.63. The study concludes that significant service quality gaps existed in the delivery of the hospital OPD services, which need to be addressed by focused improvement efforts by the hospital management.

[The transfusion practice in the hepatogastroenterology department of the Campus Teaching Hospital of Lomé (Togo)].

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson-Ananissoh, L M; Bouglouga, O; El Hadji Yakoubou, R; Bagny, A; Kaaga, L; Redah, D

2015-03-01

To evaluate transfusion practice in the hepatogastroenterology department of the Campus Teaching Hospital of Lomé. This is a respective, descriptive and analytical study conducted from January 1 to December 31, 2013 on cases of in-patients' observation in the department. The cases of in-patients of more than 15 years old, having benefited from a blood transfusion were included. During the study period, 849 patients were admitted; 136 were transfused, or blood transfusion rate of 16.02%. The average age of patients was of 48.25 years with extremes of 15 and 90 years. The most transfused rhesus blood group was O positive (36.76%). Red blood cell was the most frequently used blood product (94.12%). The transfusion was performed in 58.82% of cases as a matter of emergency. Gastrointestinal bleeding were the main indications (55.88%). The average pre-transfusion hemoglobinemia was 6.51 g/dL±1.67. The average post-transfusion hemoglobinemia was 8.95 g/dL±1.75. Liver disease (cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma) were the main diagnosis associated with blood transfusion (44.85%). The quantity of blood to be transfused was not calculated in 100% of cases. In 11.03% of cases, the compatibility test has not been done in the laboratory. Incidents during blood transfusion were noted in 5 cases. Blood transfusion is frequent in the department. There is a good observance of blood transfusion safety regulations. However, its practice remains to be improved. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Pressure ulcer development in trauma patients with suspected spinal injury; the influence of risk factors present in the Emergency Department

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ham, H. W (Wietske); Schoonhoven, Lisette; Schuurmans, M. (Marieke) J; Leenen, L. (Luke) P H

2017-01-01

Objectives To explore the influence of risk factors present at Emergency Department admission on pressure ulcer development in trauma patients with suspected spinal injury, admitted to the hospital for evaluation and treatment of acute traumatic injuries. Design Prospective cohort study setting

The evaluation of the patients who admitted to a regional hospital emergency service with suspect of rabies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nurettin Tunç

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Rabies is one of the highest mortality ratesinfectious disease. The aim was the evaluation of the patientswho admitted to The Batman Regional State HospitalEmergency Service with suspect of rabies in the datesbetween June 2011 and November 2011.Materials and methods: Totally, 166 cases who admittedto our center was recorded according to the followingdata: place of residence (rural/urban, contact type andwound information, time after the contact, whether vaccineor immunoglobulin is applied or not and also the species,breed and being owned of suspected animal.Results: Our study population consisted of a total of 166cases including 38 women (23%, 128 men (77% withthe mean age of 22.01 ± 17.90 years. Of all subjects, 105(63% lived in urban and 61 (37% lived in rural areas.Eighty-five percent of suspicious animals (51% had anowner, while 81 animals were unattended.Conclusions: Our results showed that all admitted patientswere vaccinated and the ones contacted with petsor had a surface wound were vaccinated with 3 doses.Moreover, since the 49% of our cases were contactedwith animals which cannot be follow-up, our study obviouslyreveals that in our country deficiencies in the controlof waifs still is a public health problem and increases thecost of vaccination. J Clin Exp Invest 2012; 3 (3: 383-386Key words: Rabies, suspected bite, rabies prophylaxis

Factors Associated With the Likelihood of Hospitalization Following Emergency Department Visits for Behavioral Health Conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamilton, Jane E; Desai, Pratikkumar V; Hoot, Nathan R; Gearing, Robin E; Jeong, Shin; Meyer, Thomas D; Soares, Jair C; Begley, Charles E

2016-11-01

Behavioral health-related emergency department (ED) visits have been linked with ED overcrowding, an increased demand on limited resources, and a longer length of stay (LOS) due in part to patients being admitted to the hospital but waiting for an inpatient bed. This study examines factors associated with the likelihood of hospital admission for ED patients with behavioral health conditions at 16 hospital-based EDs in a large urban area in the southern United States. Using Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Service Use for guidance, the study examined the relationship between predisposing (characteristics of the individual, i.e., age, sex, race/ethnicity), enabling (system or structural factors affecting healthcare access), and need (clinical) factors and the likelihood of hospitalization following ED visits for behavioral health conditions (n = 28,716 ED visits). In the adjusted analysis, a logistic fixed-effects model with blockwise entry was used to estimate the relative importance of predisposing, enabling, and need variables added separately as blocks while controlling for variation in unobserved hospital-specific practices across hospitals and time in years. Significant predisposing factors associated with an increased likelihood of hospitalization following an ED visit included increasing age, while African American race was associated with a lower likelihood of hospitalization. Among enabling factors, arrival by emergency transport and a longer ED LOS were associated with a greater likelihood of hospitalization while being uninsured and the availability of community-based behavioral health services within 5 miles of the ED were associated with lower odds. Among need factors, having a discharge diagnosis of schizophrenia/psychotic spectrum disorder, an affective disorder, a personality disorder, dementia, or an impulse control disorder as well as secondary diagnoses of suicidal ideation and/or suicidal behavior increased the likelihood of hospitalization

Emergency Contraception: a survey of Hospital Emergency Departments Staffs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Bo

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The World Health Organization defines emergency contraception (EC as a means to prevent unwanted pregnancy. In countries where EC is dispensed behind the counter, emergency departments are a preferred point of care for its prescription and dispensing. In light of this situation and as no studies on emergency contraception in emergency departments in Italy have been conducted to date, this study was designed with a view to analyze the responses of emergency room physicians in relation to their prescribing habits and knowledge about the drug and in relation to frequency and profile of women arriving for care at hospital emergency departments in Piedmont and requesting prescription for the morning-after pill. This cross-sectional survey involved 29 hospital emergency departments in Piedmont where no gynecologists are on active duty. The survey instrument was a 24-item questionnaire. Analysis of responses revealed that in the physicians’ opinion the vast majority of requests came from Italian nationals (97% ranging in age from 18 to 30 years (76%, single and not cohabiting with a partner (60%, and nulliparous (64.0%. Women mostly request EC for first-time and the most common reasons were condom breakage or slippage. Just over half the physicians (52% stated that emergency contraception prescription was not an appropriate part of care provided at an emergency department and 72% stated they felt uneasy about prescribing emergency contraception. The survey also revealed gaps in physician knowledge about the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of emergency contraception pills.

Emergency Contraception: a survey of Hospital Emergency Departments Staffs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Bo

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The World Health Organization defines emergency contraception (EC as a means to prevent unwanted pregnancy. In countries where EC is dispensed behind the counter, emergency departments are a preferred point of care for its prescription and dispensing. In light of this situation and as no studies on emergency contraception in emergency departments in Italy have been conducted to date, this study was designed with a view to analyze the responses of emergency room physicians in relation to their prescribing habits and knowledge about the drug and in relation to frequency and profile of women arriving for care at hospital emergency departments in Piedmont and requesting prescription for the morning-after pill. This cross-sectional survey involved 29 hospital emergency departments in Piedmont where no gynecologists are on active duty. The survey instrument was a 24-item questionnaire. Analysis of responses revealed that in the physicians’ opinion the vast majority of requests came from Italian nationals (97% ranging in age from 18 to 30 years (76%, single and not cohabiting with a partner (60%, and nulliparous (64.0%. Women mostly request EC for first-time and the most common reasons were condom breakage or slippage. Just over half the physicians (52% stated that emergency contraception prescription was not an appropriate part of care provided at an emergency department and 72% stated they felt uneasy about prescribing emergency contraception. The survey also revealed gaps in physician knowledge about the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of emergency contraception pills.

Predictive score for mortality in patients with COPD exacerbations attending hospital emergency departments

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Limited information is available about predictors of short-term outcomes in patients with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (eCOPD) attending an emergency department (ED). Such information could help stratify these patients and guide medical decision-making. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical prediction rule for short-term mortality during hospital admission or within a week after the index ED visit. Methods This was a prospective cohort study of patients with eCOPD attending the EDs of 16 participating hospitals. Recruitment started in June 2008 and ended in September 2010. Information on possible predictor variables was recorded during the time the patient was evaluated in the ED, at the time a decision was made to admit the patient to the hospital or discharge home, and during follow-up. Main short-term outcomes were death during hospital admission or within 1 week of discharge to home from the ED, as well as at death within 1 month of the index ED visit. Multivariate logistic regression models were developed in a derivation sample and validated in a validation sample. The score was compared with other published prediction rules for patients with stable COPD. Results In total, 2,487 patients were included in the study. Predictors of death during hospital admission, or within 1 week of discharge to home from the ED were patient age, baseline dyspnea, previous need for long-term home oxygen therapy or non-invasive mechanical ventilation, altered mental status, and use of inspiratory accessory muscles or paradoxical breathing upon ED arrival (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.85). Addition of arterial blood gas parameters (oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures (PO2 and PCO2)) and pH) did not improve the model. The same variables were predictors of death at 1 month (AUC = 0.85). Compared with other commonly used tools for predicting the severity of COPD in stable patients, our rule was significantly better

Understanding inappropriate hospital admissions of patients presenting to the Emergency Department.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberta Siliquini

2005-06-01

Full Text Available

Objectives. To identify 1 the characteristics of patients receiving non acute (inappropriate care and 2 the variables associated to inappropriate hospital use, in order to 3 estimate the relevance of the problem and to 4 focus future concurrent reviews and efforts to allocate patients to alternative health care settings.

Design. A prospective review of a random sample of adult patients who presented to the Emergency Department of the Molinette Hospital. Patients were assessed at admission and on day 3, 5and 8 using the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (Italian validated version. Patients: 490 overall; 312 (64 % medical and 178 (36 % surgical.

Outcome measures. Acute (appropriate and non acute (inappropriate admissions, Major Disease Category, costs, mean weights of Diagnosis Related Groups, and length of stay (days.

Results. The proportion of patients requiring acute care declined rapidly from presentation (84.5% to the fifth day of admission (60.9%. Patients admitted during weekends showed a higher rate of inappropriate stay on day 5 (P=0.04. The proportion of inappropriate admissions was higher for medical rather than surgical patients (P=0.07 at presentation and at day 5 (P < 0.01. Traditional social-demographic variables were not significant risk indicators for inappropriate admissions. The likelihood ratio for inappropriate admission at presentation was significantly higher for minor illnesses and disturbances (P=0.03.

Inappropriate stay on day 5 was significantly associated with lower cost (P < 0.01, lower mean DRG weight (P < 0.01 and shorter length of stay (P=0.05 for medical but not for surgical admissions.

Conclusions. Traditional epidemiological indicators are inadequate to target prospective concurrent reviews. Qualitative studies focusing on patient physician dialogue in different situations and contexts could

Service quality of hospital outpatient departments: patients' perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Zarei, Ehsan

2015-01-01

Assessment of patient perceptions of health service quality as an important element in quality assessments has attracted much attention in recent years. The purpose of this paper is to assess the service quality of hospital outpatient departments affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences from the patients' perspective. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 in Tehran, Iran. The study samples included 500 patients who were selected by multi-stage random sampling from four hospitals. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire consisting of 50 items, and the validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed. For data analysis, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, Friedman test, and descriptive statistics were used through LISREL 8.54 and SPSS 18 applications. Eight significant factors were extracted for outpatient service quality, which explained about 67 per cent of the total variance. Physician consultation, information provided to the patient, and the physical environment of the clinic were the three determining factors of the quality of outpatient services. The highest and lowest perceptions were related to physician consultation and perceived waiting time dimension, respectively. The mean score of patients' perception of outpatient service quality was 3.89 (±0.60). About 59.5 per cent of patients assessed the quality of outpatient services as good, 38.2 per cent as moderate, and 2.3 per cent as poor. Practical implications - The instrument developed for this study is valid and reliable, and it can help hospital managers to identify the areas needing improvement and correction. According to the findings of this study, the majority of patients had a positive experience with outpatient departments of teaching hospitals, and the services provided in these centres were of adequate quality, based on patient assessments.

Substance misuse in youth admitted to a psychiatric emergency unit ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

, A J Flisher, R Allin, J A Laubscher. Abstract. Objectives. To investigate the pattern of substance misuse in youth admitted to a psychiatric emergency unit of a 'major hospital, and to compare regular users of cannabis,methaqualone and ...

Cutaneous adverse drug reactions seen at a university hospital department of dermatology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borch, Jakob E; Andersen, Klaus E; Bindslev-Jensen, Carsten

2006-01-01

Patients with suspected cutaneous adverse drug reactions are often referred to allergy clinics or departments of dermatology for evaluation. These patients are selected compared with patients identified in prospective and cross-sectional studies of hospital populations. This explains the observed...... variation in prevalence of specific reactions and of eliciting drugs. This study investigated the prevalence of cutaneous adverse drug reactions in a university hospital department of dermatology that is specially focused on allergy. An 8-month survey was carried out during the period April-December 2003...

Early detection of abnormal patient arrivals at hospital emergency department

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi; Sun, Ying; Kadri, Farid; Chaabane, Sondes; Tahon, Christian

2015-01-01

Overcrowding is one of the most crucial issues confronting emergency departments (EDs) throughout the world. Efficient management of patient flows for ED services has become an urgent issue for most hospital administrations. Handling and detection of abnormal situations is a key challenge in EDs. Thus, the early detection of abnormal patient arrivals at EDs plays an important role from the point of view of improving management of the inspected EDs. It allows the EDs mangers to prepare for high levels of care activities, to optimize the internal resources and to predict enough hospitalization capacity in downstream care services. This study reports the development of statistical method for enhancing detection of abnormal daily patient arrivals at the ED, which able to provide early alert mechanisms in the event of abnormal situations. The autoregressive moving average (ARMA)-based exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) anomaly detection scheme proposed was successfully applied to the practical data collected from the database of the pediatric emergency department (PED) at Lille regional hospital center, France.

Early detection of abnormal patient arrivals at hospital emergency department

KAUST Repository

Harrou, Fouzi

2015-10-21

Overcrowding is one of the most crucial issues confronting emergency departments (EDs) throughout the world. Efficient management of patient flows for ED services has become an urgent issue for most hospital administrations. Handling and detection of abnormal situations is a key challenge in EDs. Thus, the early detection of abnormal patient arrivals at EDs plays an important role from the point of view of improving management of the inspected EDs. It allows the EDs mangers to prepare for high levels of care activities, to optimize the internal resources and to predict enough hospitalization capacity in downstream care services. This study reports the development of statistical method for enhancing detection of abnormal daily patient arrivals at the ED, which able to provide early alert mechanisms in the event of abnormal situations. The autoregressive moving average (ARMA)-based exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) anomaly detection scheme proposed was successfully applied to the practical data collected from the database of the pediatric emergency department (PED) at Lille regional hospital center, France.

Glass injuries seen in the emergency department of a South African district hospital

OpenAIRE

Nzaumvila, Doudou; Govender, Indiran; Kramer, Efraim B.

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: The emergency department of Embhuleni Hospital frequently manages patients with glass-related injuries. This study assessed these injuries and the glass that caused them in more detail. AIM: The objectives of our study included determining the type of glass causing these injuries and describing the circumstances associated with different types of glass injuries. SETTING: The emergency department of Embhuleni Hospital in Elukwatini, Mpumalanga province, South Africa. METHODS: This ...

Risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality in elderly patients admitted to a regional trauma center after sustaining a fall.

Science.gov (United States)

Cartagena, L J; Kang, A; Munnangi, S; Jordan, A; Nweze, I C; Sasthakonar, V; Boutin, A; George Angus, L D

2017-06-01

Falls are a significant cause of mortality in the elderly patients. Despite this, the literature on in-hospital mortality related to elderly falls remains sparse. Our study aims to determine the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality in elderly patients admitted to a regional trauma center after sustaining a fall. All elderly case records with fall-related injuries between 2003 and 2013 were retrospectively analyzed for demographic characteristics, injury severities, comorbidity factors and clinical outcomes. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. In total, 1026 elderly patients with fall-related injuries were included in the study. The average age of patients was 80.94 ± 8.16 years. Seventy seven percent of the patients had at least one comorbid condition. Majority of the falls occurred at home. More than half of the patients fell from ground level. Overall, the in-hospital mortality rate was 16 %. Head injury constituted the most common injury sustained in patients who died (77 %). In addition to age, ISS, GCS, ICU admission and anemia were significantly (P fall patients. Ground-level falls in the elderly can be devastating and carry a significant mortality rate. Elderly patients with anemia were two times more likely to die in the hospital after sustaining a fall in our study population. Increased focus on anemia which is often underappreciated in elderly fall patients can be beneficial in improving outcomes and reducing in-hospital mortality.

Screening of nursing home residents for colonization with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae admitted to acute care hospitals: Incidence and risk factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunha, Cheston B; Kassakian, Steven Z; Chan, Ryan; Tenover, Fred C; Ziakas, Panos; Chapin, Kimberle C; Mermel, Leonard A

2016-02-01

There are increasing reports of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacilli in nursing homes and acute care hospitals. We performed a point prevalence survey to detect fecal carriage of gram-negative bacteria carrying carbapenem resistance genes or which were otherwise resistant to carbapenem antibiotics among 500 consecutive admissions from local nursing homes to 2 hospitals in Providence, Rhode Island. We performed a case-control study to identify risk factors associated with carriage of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). There were 404 patients with 500 hospital admissions during which they had rectal swab samples cultured. Fecal carriage of any carbapenem-resistant or carbapenemase- producing gram-negative bacteria was found in 23 (4.6%) of the 500 hospital admissions, including 7 CRE (1.4%), 2 (0.4%) of which were Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (ie, blaKPC) producing (CPE) Citrobacter freundii, 1 of which was carbapenem susceptible by standard testing methods. Use of a gastrostomy tube was associated with CRE carriage (P = .04). We demonstrated fecal carriage of carbapenem-resistant or carbapenemase-producing gram-negative bacteria in 4.6% of nursing home patients admitted to 2 acute care hospitals, but only 0.4% of such admissions were patients with fecal carriage of CPE. Use of gastrostomy tubes was associated with fecal carriage of gram-negative bacteria with detectable carbapenem resistance. CRE fecal carriage is uncommon in our hospital admissions from nursing homes. Copyright © 2016 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Epidemiology of rotavirus-associated hospital admissions in the province of Ferrara, Italy.

Science.gov (United States)

Marsella, Maria; Raimondi, Licia; Bergamini, Mauro; Sprocati, Monica; Bigi, Ettore; De Sanctis, Vincenzo; Borgna-Pignatti, Caterina; Gabutti, Giovanni

2009-12-01

Hospital discharge forms with specific codes for rotavirus gastroenteritis in children 0 to 14 years of age were reviewed in the period 2003-2005 in the province of Ferrara. A total of 4,238 children were admitted to the pediatric departments; 151 patients were diagnosed with rotavirus gastroenteritis. The average annual rate of hospitalization for rotavirus gastroenteritis was 1.54/1,000 children Italy and underline the potential impact of rotavirus vaccination in our province.

Seroprevalence of toxoplasma gondii infection among patients admitted to al-zahra hospital, isfahan, iran

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohaghegh, M.A.; Yazdani, H.; Hadipour, M.; Namdar, F.

2015-01-01

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection is one of the most common parasitic infections among humans and other warm-blooded animals worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate toxoplasmosis status in patients admitted to Al-Zahra hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2012 to January 2015. During this period, 716 patients referred to Al-Zahra hospital in Isfahan city, Iran, were studied to investigate the IgG and IgM antibodies against T. gondii using ELISA kit. The data were analysed by Chi-square and Fishers exact tests. In addition, the relation of data with age and sex were also examined. Results: Among 716 patients, 21 patients (2.9%) had positive IgM and 288 patients (40.2%) had positive IgG titer against T. gondii. Data analysis by Chi-square and Fishers exact tests revealed that there was no significant relationship between IgG titer and age (p>0.05). Additionally, there was no relationship between IgM titer and age (p>0.05). The data showed that there was no relationship between IgG and IgM antibody titer and sex (p>0.05). Conclusion: The prevalence of toxoplasmosis in Isfahan inhabitants seems fairly high but it can be concluded that the rate of seropositive patient is moderate comparing to other regions of country. Accordingly, the authors propose that all sensitive patients have to be tested for T. gondii antibody in order to prevent the consequences of disease. (author)

Comparison of clinical characteristics between healthcare-associated pneumonia and community-acquired pneumonia in patients admitted to secondary hospitals

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Jong Hoo Lee

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Since healthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP is heterogeneous, clinical characteristics and outcomes are different from region to region. There can also be differences between HCAP patients hospitalized in secondary or tertiary hospitals. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical characteristics of HCAP patients admitted into secondary community hospitals. METHODS: This was a retrospective study conducted in patients with HCAP or community-acquired pneumonia (CAP hospitalized in two secondary hospitals between March 2009 and January 2011. RESULTS: Of a total of 303 patients, 96 (31.7% had HCAP. 42 patients (43.7% resided in a nursing home or long-term care facility, 36 (37.5% were hospitalized in an acute care hospital for > 2 days within 90 days, ten received outpatient intravenous therapy, and eight attended a hospital clinic or dialysis center. HCAP patients were older. The rates of patients with CURB65 scores of 3 or more (22.9% vs. 9.1%; p = 0.001 and PSI class IV or more (82.2% vs. 34.7%; p < 0.001 were higher in the HCAP group. Drug-resistant pathogens were more frequently detected in the HCAP group (23.9% vs. 0.4%; p < 0.001. However, Streptococcus pneumoniae was the most common pathogen in both groups. The rates of antibiotic change, use of inappropriate antibiotics, and failure of initial antibiotic therapy in the HCAP group were significantly higher. Although the overall survival rate of the HCAP group was significantly lower (82.3% vs. 96.8%; p < 0.001, multivariate analyses failed to show that HCAP itself was a prognostic factor for mortality (p = 0.826. Only PSI class IV or more was associated with increased mortality (p = 0.005. CONCLUSIONS: HCAP should be distinguished from CAP because of the different clinical features. However, the current definition of HCAP does not appear to be a prognostic for death. In addition, the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics for HCAP should be reassessed because S. pneumoniae was most

Hospitalization of abused and neglected children.

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Marshall, W N

1997-03-01

To describe the use of inpatient hospitalization for abused and neglected children living in a metropolitan area. Retrospective record review of abused and neglected children admitted in 1992 and 1993 to hospitals with 87% of metropolitan area pediatric admissions; comparison of these data with population, crisis nursery, and child protective services data. Thirty-four abused and neglected children were admitted to hospital, representing 0.3% (34/11,066; 95% confidence interval, 0%-1.2%) of pediatric admissions and 0.2% (34/19,950; 95% confidence interval, 0%-0.6%) of child protective services reports. This represents a rate of hospitalization for child abuse of 10 children (95% confidence interval, 0-46) per 100,000 child population per year. Seven hundred fifteen children were admitted to the crisis nursery by child protective services. Of those admitted to the hospital, 12 needed intensive care, 5 of whom died. Only 3 of 34 hospital-admitted children had private health insurance; 19 of 34 were younger than 1 year. Inpatient hospitalization for abuse represented a small fraction of total pediatric admissions and of child protective services reports. Comprehensive medical care for most abused children and medical education about child abuse must occur in outpatient settings.

Designing for Economies of Scale vs. Economies of Focus in Hospital Departments

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Vanberkel, Peter T.; Boucherie, Richardus J.; Hans, Elias W.; Hurink, Johann L.; Litvak, Nelli

2010-01-01

Subject/Research problem: Hospitals traditionally segregate resources into centralized functional departments such as diagnostic departments, ambulatory care centres, and nursing wards. In recent years this organizational model has been challenged by the idea that higher quality of care and

Community acquired infections in older patients admitted to hospital from care homes versus the community: cohort study of microbiology and outcomes.

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Marwick, Charis; Santiago, Virginia Hernandez; McCowan, Colin; Broomhall, Janice; Davey, Peter

2013-02-06

Residents of care homes are at risk of colonisation and infection with antibiotic resistant bacteria, but there is little evidence that antibiotic resistance among such patients is associated with worse outcomes than among older people living in their own homes. Our aim was to compare the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and clinical outcomes in older patients admitted to hospital with acute infections from care homes versus their own homes. We enrolled patients admitted to Ninewells Hospital in 2005 who were older than 64 years with onset of acute community acquired respiratory tract, urinary tract or skin and soft tissue infections, and with at least one sample sent for culture. The primary outcome was 30 day mortality, adjusted for age, sex, Charlson Index of co-morbidity, sepsis severity, presence of resistant isolates and resistance to initial therapy. 161 patients were identified, 60 from care homes and 101 from the community. Care home patients were older, had more co-morbidities, and higher rates of resistant bacteria, including MRSA and Gram negative organisms resistant to co-amoxiclav, cefuroxime and/or ciprofloxacin, overall (70% versus 36%, p = 0.026). 30 day mortality was high in both groups (30% in care home patients and 24% in comparators). In multivariate logistic regression we found that place of residence did not predict 30 day mortality (adjusted odds ratio (OR) for own home versus care home 1.01, 95% CI 0.40-2.52, p = 0.984). Only having severe sepsis predicted 30 day mortality (OR 10.09, 95% CI 3.37-30.19, p care homes were more likely to have resistant organisms but high levels of antimicrobial resistance were found in both groups. Thus, we recommend that antibiotic therapies active against resistant organisms, guided by local resistance patterns, should be considered for all older patients admitted with severe sepsis regardless of their place of residence.

A survey of pandemic influenza preparedness and response capabilities in Chicago area hospital security departments.

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Kimmerly, David P

2009-01-01

This article is a summary based on a December 2007 paper prepared by the author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree in business and organizational security management at Webster University. The project described was intended to assess Chicago-area healthcare organization security departments' preparedness and response capabilities for a potential influenza pandemic. While the author says healthcare organizations are learning from the pandemics of the past, little research has been conducted on the requirements necessary within hospital security departments. The article explores staffing, planning, preparation and response capabilities within a healthcare security context to determine existing resources available to the healthcare security community. Eleven completed surveys were received from hospital security managers throughout the geographical Chicago area. They reveal that hospital security managers are conscious of the risks of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Yet, it was found that several gaps existed within hospital security department staffing and response capabilities, as hospital security departments may not have the available resources necessary to adequately maintain their operations during a pandemic incident.

A cross-sectional study of emergency department boarding practices in the United States.

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Pitts, Stephen R; Vaughns, Frances L; Gautreau, Marc A; Cogdell, Matthew W; Meisel, Zachary

2014-05-01

The median emergency department (ED) boarding time for admitted patients has been a nationally reportable core measure that now also affects ED accreditation and reimbursement. However, no direct national probability samples of ED boarding data have been available to guide this policy until now. The authors studied new National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) survey items to establish baseline values, to generate hypotheses for future research, and to help improve survey quality in the future. This was a cross-sectional, multistage, stratified annual analysis of EDs and ED visits from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey public use files from 2007 to 2010, a total of 139,502 visit records. These data represent the only national measure of ED boarding. The main outcome of interest was boarding duration for individual patient visits. Data analyses accounted for complex sampling design. The national median boarding time was 79 minutes, with an interquartile range of 36 to 145 minutes. The prevalence of boarding for more than 2 hours among admitted patients was 32% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 30% to 35%). Average ED volume, occupancy, acuity, and hospital admission rates increased abruptly from the second to the third quartile of median boarding duration. The half of hospitals with the longest median boarding times accounted for 73% of ED visits and 79% of ED hospitalizations nationally. Thirty-nine percent of EDs (95% CI = 32% to 46%) reported never holding patients for more than 2 hours, but visit-level analysis at these EDs found that 21% of admissions did in fact stay in the ED over 2 hours. Only 19% of EDs (95% CI = 16% to 22%) used a strategy of moving admitted patients to alternative sites in the hospital during crowded times. In this national survey, ED boarding of admitted patients disproportionately affects hospitals with higher ED volumes, which also see sicker patients who wait longer to be seen, but not hospitals with

Additional measures do not improve the diagnostic accuracy of the Hospital Admission Risk Profile for detecting downstream quality of life in community-dwelling older people presenting to a hospital emergency department.

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Grimmer, K; Milanese, S; Beaton, K; Atlas, A

2014-01-01

The Hospital Admission Risk Profile (HARP) instrument is commonly used to assess risk of functional decline when older people are admitted to hospital. HARP has moderate diagnostic accuracy (65%) for downstream decreased scores in activities of daily living. This paper reports the diagnostic accuracy of HARP for downstream quality of life. It also tests whether adding other measures to HARP improves its diagnostic accuracy. One hundred and forty-eight independent community dwelling individuals aged 65 years or older were recruited in the emergency department of one large Australian hospital with a medical problem for which they were discharged without a hospital ward admission. Data, including age, sex, primary language, highest level of education, postcode, living status, requiring care for daily activities, using a gait aid, receiving formal community supports, instrumental activities of daily living in the last week, hospitalization and falls in the last 12 months, and mental state were collected at recruitment. HARP scores were derived from a formula that summed scores assigned to age, activities of daily living, and mental state categories. Physical and mental component scores of a quality of life measure were captured by telephone interview at 1 and 3 months after recruitment. HARP scores are moderately accurate at predicting downstream decline in physical quality of life, but did not predict downstream decline in mental quality of life. The addition of other variables to HARP did not improve its diagnostic accuracy for either measure of quality of life. HARP is a poor predictor of quality of life.

Duration of patients’ visits to the hospital emergency department

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Karaca Zeynal

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Length of stay is an important indicator of quality of care in Emergency Departments (ED. This study explores the duration of patients’ visits to the ED for which they are treated and released (T&R. Methods Retrospective data analysis and multivariate regression analysis were conducted to investigate the duration of T&R ED visits. Duration for each visit was computed by taking the difference between admission and discharge times. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD for 2008 were used in the analysis. Results The mean duration of T&R ED visit was 195.7 minutes. The average duration of ED visits increased from 8 a.m. until noon, then decreased until midnight at which we observed an approximately 70-minute spike in average duration. We found a substantial difference in mean duration of ED visits (over 90 minutes between Mondays and other weekdays during the transition time from the evening of the day before to the early morning hours. Black / African American patients had a 21.4-minute longer mean duration of visits compared to white patients. The mean duration of visits at teaching hospitals was substantially longer than at non-teaching hospitals (243.8 versus 175.6 minutes. Hospitals with large bed size were associated with longer duration of visits (222.2 minutes when compared to hospitals with small bed size (172.4 minutes or those with medium bed size (166.5 minutes. The risk-adjusted results show that mean duration of visits on Mondays are longer by about 4 and 9 percents when compared to mean duration of visits on non-Monday workdays and weekends, respectively. Conclusions The duration of T&R ED visits varied significantly by admission hour, day of the week, patient volume, patient characteristics, hospital characteristics and area characteristics.

Forecasting Hospitalization and Emergency Department Visit Rates for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. A Time-Series Analysis.

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Gershon, Andrea; Thiruchelvam, Deva; Moineddin, Rahim; Zhao, Xiu Yan; Hwee, Jeremiah; To, Teresa

2017-06-01

Knowing trends in and forecasting hospitalization and emergency department visit rates for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can enable health care providers, hospitals, and health care decision makers to plan for the future. We conducted a time-series analysis using health care administrative data from the Province of Ontario, Canada, to determine previous trends in acute care hospitalization and emergency department visit rates for COPD and then to forecast future rates. Individuals aged 35 years and older with physician-diagnosed COPD were identified using four universal government health administrative databases and a validated case definition. Monthly COPD hospitalization and emergency department visit rates per 1,000 people with COPD were determined from 2003 to 2014 and then forecasted to 2024 using autoregressive integrated moving average models. Between 2003 and 2014, COPD prevalence increased from 8.9 to 11.1%. During that time, there were 274,951 hospitalizations and 290,482 emergency department visits for COPD. After accounting for seasonality, we found that monthly COPD hospitalization and emergency department visit rates per 1,000 individuals with COPD remained stable. COPD prevalence was forecasted to increase to 12.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.4-14.1) by 2024, whereas monthly COPD hospitalization and emergency department visit rates per 1,000 people with COPD were forecasted to remain stable at 2.7 (95% CI, 1.6-4.4) and 3.7 (95% CI, 2.3-5.6), respectively. Forecasted age- and sex-stratified rates were also stable. COPD hospital and emergency department visit rates per 1,000 people with COPD have been stable for more than a decade and are projected to remain stable in the near future. Given increasing COPD prevalence, this means notably more COPD health service use in the future.

Oral health and orofacial pain in people with dementia admitted to acute hospital wards: observational cohort study.

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van de Rijt, Liza J M; Weijenberg, Roxane A F; Feast, Alexandra R; Vickerstaff, Victoria; Lobbezoo, Frank; Sampson, Elizabeth L

2018-05-23

Orofacial pain in people with dementia is difficult to detect, and often under-treated. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of orofacial pain in people with dementia in acute hospitals in the UK. Secondary aims were to examine oral health status and explore associations between orofacial pain and oral health factors. This cross-sectional observational study was carried out in two UK hospitals. Using the Orofacial Pain Scale in Non-Verbal Individuals (OPS-NVI) to identify orofacial pain, 101 participants with dementia, admitted to acute medical wards, were observed for at least 3 min during rest and chewing. Verbal participants were then asked about presence of orofacial pain, using self-report pain scales. Finally, a brief oral assessment was performed. Orofacial pain, assessed with the OPS-NVI, was present in 11.9% (95% C.I. 5.9, 18.8) of participants at rest and 21.9% (95% C.I. 14.6, 31.3) whilst chewing. Participants who were no longer able to self-report pain were significantly more likely to experience orofacial pain. Oral health in both dentate and edentate participants was poor. Brush frequency, indication of chewing quality, consistency of the food, presence of extra-oral abnormalities, person who performed mouth care, and oral hygiene in dentate participants were significant predictors for the presence of orofacial pain. Improving oral care in acute hospital patients with dementia, particularly those who cannot self-report pain, may significantly reduce pain and suffering in this population.

Comparative study of the prevalence of sepsis in patients admitted to dermatology and internal medicine wards*

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Almeida, Luiz Maurício Costa; Diniz, Michelle dos Santos; Diniz, Lorena dos Santos; Machado-Pinto, Jackson; Silva, Francisco Chagas Lima

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND Sepsis is a common cause of morbidity and mortality among hospitalized patients. The prevalence of this condition has increased significantly in different parts of the world. Patients admitted to dermatology wards often have severe loss of skin barrier and use systemic corticosteroids, which favor the development of sepsis. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the prevalence of sepsis among patients admitted to a dermatology ward compared to that among patients admitted to an internal medicine ward. METHODS It is a cross-sectional, observational, comparative study that was conducted at Hospital Santa Casa de Belo Horizonte. Data were collected from all patients admitted to four hospital beds at the dermatology and internal medicine wards between July 2008 and July 2009. Medical records were analyzed for the occurrence of sepsis, dermatologic diagnoses, comorbidities, types of pathogens and most commonly used antibiotics. RESULTS We analyzed 185 medical records. The prevalence of sepsis was 7.6% among patients admitted to the dermatology ward and 2.2% (p = 0.10) among those admitted to the internal medicine ward. Patients with comorbidities, diabetes mellitus and cancer did not show a higher incidence of sepsis. The main agent found was Staphylococcus aureus, and the most commonly used antibiotics were ciprofloxacin and oxacillin. There was a significant association between sepsis and the use of systemic corticosteroids (p <0.001). CONCLUSION It becomes clear that epidemiological studies on sepsis should be performed more extensively and accurately in Brazil so that efforts to prevent and treat this serious disease can be made more effectively. PMID:24173179

Adolescent alcohol intoxication in the dutch hospital Departments of Pediatrics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoof, J.J. van; Lely, N. van der; Pereira, R.R.; Dalen, W.E. van

2010-01-01

Objective This study was conducted to investigate the number and characteristics of adolescent alcohol intoxication cases in hospital Departments of Pediatrics. The study also analyzes drinking patterns and intoxication characteristics. Method: Data were collected using the Dutch Pediatric

Construction of a questionnaire measuring outpatients' opinion of quality of hospital consultation departments

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Durieux Pierre

2004-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Few questionnaires on outpatients' satisfaction with hospital exist. All have been constructed without giving enough room for the patient's point of view in the validation procedure. The main objective was to develop, according to psychometric standards, a self-administered generic outpatient questionnaire exploring opinion on quality of hospital care. Method First, a qualitative phase was conducted to generate items and identify domains using critical analysis incident technique and literature review. A list of easily comprehensible non-redundant items was defined using Delphi technique and a pilot study on outpatients. This phase involved outpatients, patient association representatives and experts. The second step was a quantitative validation phase comprised a multicenter study in 3 hospitals, 10 departments and 1007 outpatients. It was designed to select items, identify dimensions, measure reliability, internal and concurrent validity. Patients were randomized according to the place of questionnaire completion (hospital v. home (participation rate = 65%. Third, a mail-back study on 2 departments and 248 outpatients was conducted to replicate the validation (participation rate = 57%. Results A 27-item questionnaire comprising 4 subscales (appointment making, reception facilities, waiting time and consultation with the doctor. The factorial structure was satisfactory (loading >0.50 on each subscale for all items, except one item. Interscale correlations ranged from 0.42 to 0.59, Cronbach α coefficients ranged from 0.79 to 0.94. All Item-scale correlations were higher than 0.40. Test-retest intraclass coefficients ranged from 0.69 to 0.85. A unidimensional 9-item version was produced by selection of one third of the items within each subscale with the strongest loading on the principal component and the best item-scale correlation corrected for overlap. Factors related to satisfaction level independent from departments

Prognosis of patients with rheumatic diseases admitted to intensive care.

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Beil, M; Sviri, S; de la Guardia, V; Stav, I; Ben-Chetrit, E; van Heerden, P V

2017-01-01

Variable mortality rates have been reported for patients with rheumatic diseases admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Due to the absence of appropriate control groups in previous studies, it is not known whether the presence of a rheumatic disease constitutes a risk factor. Moreover, the accuracy of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score for predicting outcome in this group of patients has been questioned. The primary goal of this study was to compare outcome of patients with rheumatic diseases admitted to a medical ICU to those of controls. The records of all patients admitted between 1 April 2003 and 30 June 2014 (n=4020) were screened for the presence of a rheumatic disease during admission (n=138). The diagnosis of a rheumatic disease was by standard criteria for these conditions. An age- and gender-matched control group of patients without a rheumatic disease was extracted from the patient population in the database during the same period (n=831). Mortality in ICU, in hospital and after 180 days did not differ significantly between patients with and without rheumatic diseases. There was no difference in the performance of the APACHE II score for predicting outcome in patients with rheumatic diseases and controls. This score, as well as a requirement for the use of inotropes or vasopressors, accurately predicted hospital mortality in the group of patients with rheumatic diseases. In conclusion, patients with a rheumatic condition admitted to intensive care do not do significantly worse than patients without such a disease.

Optimizing antibiotic usage in adults admitted with fever by a multifaceted intervention in an Indonesian governmental hospital.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hadi, U.; Keuter, M.; Asten, H.A.G.H. van; Broek, P. van den

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To optimize antimicrobial treatment of patients with fever upon admission to the department of internal medicine of Dr Soetomo Hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia. METHOD: Prospective intervention study. The intervention comprised development of a consensus guideline, an official declaration

Acute bacterial meningitis in children admitted to the Queen ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In order to design appropriate interventioos, we collected clinical and demographic data prospectively on all children aged one day to 14 years admitted with a diagnosis of bacterial meningitis (BM) from April 1st 1996 to March 31st 1997 to the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre Malawi. During the study ...

admission patterns and outcomes of paediatric patients admitted at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

National Hospital (MNH). The sample population included all children admitted to the Diarrhea Unit and sample size was made up of all admissions in Diarrhea Unit of MNH from 18th February to 8th March, 2008. Data was collected using a content analytic checklist which was designed to cover all necessary information.

Delirium in the Emergency Department and Its Extension into Hospitalization (DELINEATE) Study: Effect on 6-month Function and Cognition.

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Han, Jin H; Vasilevskis, Eduard E; Chandrasekhar, Rameela; Liu, Xulei; Schnelle, John F; Dittus, Robert S; Ely, E Wesley

2017-06-01

The natural course and clinical significance of delirium in the emergency department (ED) is unclear. We sought to (1) describe the extent to which delirium in the ED persists into hospitalization (ED delirium duration) and (2) determine how ED delirium duration is associated with 6-month functional status and cognition. Prospective cohort study. Tertiary care, academic medical center. ED patients ≥65 years old who were admitted to the hospital. The modified Brief Confusion Assessment Method was used to ascertain delirium in the ED and hospital. Premorbid and 6-month function were determined using the Older American Resources and Services Activities of Daily Living (OARS ADL) questionnaire which ranged from 0 (completely dependent) to 28 (completely dependent). Premorbid and 6-month cognition were determined using the short form Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) which ranged from 1 to 5 (severe dementia). Multiple linear regression was performed to determine if ED delirium duration was associated with 6-month function and cognition adjusted for baseline OARS ADL and IQCODE, and other confounders. A total of 228 older ED patients were enrolled. Of the 105 patients who were delirious in the ED, 81 (77.1%) patients' delirium persisted into hospitalization. For every ED delirium duration day, the 6-month OARS ADL decreased by 0.63 points (95% CI: -1.01 to -0.24), indicating poorer function. For every ED delirium duration day, the 6-month IQCODE increased 0.06 points (95% CI: 0.01-0.10) indicating poorer cognition. Delirium in the ED is not a transient event and frequently persists into hospitalization. Longer ED delirium duration is associated with an incremental worsening of 6-month functional and cognitive outcomes. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics Society.

Feasibility and Inter-Rater Reliability of Physical Performance Measures in Acutely Admitted Older Medical Patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bodilsen, Ann Christine; Juul-Larsen, Helle Gybel; Petersen, Janne

2015-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Physical performance measures can be used to predict functional decline and increased dependency in older persons. However, few studies have assessed the feasibility or reliability of such measures in hospitalized older patients. Here we assessed the feasibility and inter-rater reliabi......OBJECTIVE: Physical performance measures can be used to predict functional decline and increased dependency in older persons. However, few studies have assessed the feasibility or reliability of such measures in hospitalized older patients. Here we assessed the feasibility and inter......-rater reliability of four simple measures of physical performance in acutely admitted older medical patients. DESIGN: During the first 24 hours of hospitalization, the following were assessed twice by different raters in 52 (≥ 65 years) patients admitted for acute medical illness: isometric hand grip strength, 4......, and 30-s chair stand were 8%, 7%, and 18%, and the SRD95% values were 22%, 17%, and 49%. CONCLUSION: In acutely admitted older medical patients, grip strength, gait speed, and the Cumulated Ambulation Score measurements were feasible and showed high inter-rater reliability when administered by different...

[Nutritional risk screening and its clinical significance in 706 children hospitalized in the surgical department].

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Lu-Ting; Li, Rong; Zhao, Wei-Hua; Chen, Yin-Hua; Li, Xiao-Mei; Chen, Meng-Ying; Cao, Jia; Li, Xiao-Nan

2013-10-01

To investigate nutritional risk and its relationship with clinical outcome in children hospitalized in the surgical department, and to provide a scientific basis for clinical nutrition management. Nutritional risk screening was performed on 706 children hospitalized in the surgical department using the Screening Tool for Risk on Nutritional Status and Growth. The data on nutritional support during hospitalization, incidence of infectious complications, length of hospital stay, post operative length of hospital stay and total hospital expenses were recorded. Of the 706 cases, 11.5% had high nutritional risk, 46.0% had moderate nutritional risk, and 42.5% had low nutritional risk. Congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, intestinal obstruction and congenital heart disease were the three most common types of high nutritional risk. The incidence of high nutritional risk was significantly higher in infants than in other age groups (Pnutritional risk received parenteral nutrition. Children with high nutritional risk were significantly more likely to have weight loss than children with low nutritional risk (Pnutritional risk had significantly increased incidence of infectious complications, length of hospital stay, post operative length of hospital stay and total hospital expenses compared with those with moderate or low nutritional risk (Pnutritional risk is seen in children hospitalized in the surgical department. Nutritional risk score is correlated with clinical outcome. Nutritional support for these children is not yet properly provided. Nutritional risk screening and standard nutritional support should be widely applied among hospitalized children.

Dextrose boluses versus burette dextrose infusions in prevention of hypoglycemia among preterms admitted at Mulago Hospital: an open label randomized clinical trial.

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Kutamba, E; Lubega, S; Mugalu, J; Ouma, J; Mupere, E

2014-09-01

Hypoglycemia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among preterm infants and its management remains a challenge in resource limited settings. Use of dextrose infusion by the recommended infusion pumps is not feasible in our environment due to their high costs and yet the current use of mini dextrose boluses with syringes as adapted at Mulago national referral and tertiary teaching hospital has unknown efficacy in prevention of hypoglycemia. We determined the efficacy of dextrose infusions by burettes versus two hourly dextrose boluses in prevention of hypoglycemia among preterms admitted in the first 72 hours at Special Care Unit, Mulago Hospital. One hundred and forty preterms aged 0 to 24 hours of life were randomized to receive 10% IV dextrose either as mini boluses or by infusion using burettes in an open label clinical trial. Blood glucose was measured at 0, two hourly for next 6 hours, 6 hourly for next 12 hours and thereafter 12 hourly until end of 72 hours following admission. Primary end point was incidence of hypoglycemia (random blood sugar (RBS) dextrose infusion was computed using 1-RR. From February 2012 to April 2012, 68 preterms in the bolus arm and 72 in the infusion arm were studied. Hypoglycemia was detected in 34% (48/140). The incidence of hypoglycemia in the bolus arm was 59% (40/68) compared to 11% (8/72) in the infusion arm (RR; 0.19, 95% CI; 0.09-0.37). Efficacy (1-RR) of infusion by burettes versus boluses in prevention of hypoglycemia among preterms was 0.81 (95% CI; 0.63-0.90). Continuous 10% dextrose infusion by burettes reduced the incidence of hypoglycemia by 81% in the first 72 hours of admission compared to two hourly 10% mini dextrose boluses among preterms admitted at Special Care Unit, Mulago Hospital. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01688674).

Factors associated with nursing home placement of all patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation in Singapore community hospitals from 1996 to 2005: a disease stratified analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cynthia Chen

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To (1 identify social and rehabilitation predictors of nursing home placement, (2 investigate the association between effectiveness and efficiency in rehabilitation and nursing home placement of patients admitted for inpatient rehabilitation from 1996 to 2005 by disease in Singapore. DESIGN: National data were retrospectively extracted from medical records of community hospital. DATA SOURCES: There were 12,506 first admissions for rehabilitation in four community hospitals. Of which, 8,594 (90.3% patients were discharged home and 924 (9.7% patients were discharged to a nursing home. Other discharge destinations such as sheltered home (n = 37, other community hospital (n = 31, death in community hospital (n = 12, acute hospital (n = 1,182 and discharge against doctor's advice (n = 24 were excluded. OUTCOME MEASURE: Nursing home placement. RESULTS: Those who were discharged to nursing home had 33% lower median rehabilitation effectiveness and 29% lower median rehabilitation efficiency compared to those who were discharged to nursing homes. Patients discharged to nursing homes were significantly older (mean age: 77 vs. 73 years, had lower mean Bathel Index scores (40 vs. 48, a longer median length of stay (40 vs. 33 days and a longer time to rehabilitation (19 vs. 15 days, had a higher proportion without a caregiver (28 vs. 7%, being single (21 vs. 7% and had dementia (23 vs. 10%. Patients admitted for lower limb amputation or falls had an increased odds of being discharged to a nursing home by 175% (p<0.001 and 65% (p = 0.043 respectively compared to stroke patients. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, the odds of nursing home placement was found to be increased in Chinese, males, single or widowed or separated/divorced, patients in high subsidy wards for hospital care, patients with dementia, without caregivers, lower functional scores at admission, lower rehabilitation effectiveness or efficiency at discharge and primary diagnosis groups such

[Epidemiological characteristics and mortality risk factors in patients admitted in hospitals with soft tissue infections. A multicentric STIMG (Soft Tissue Infections Malacitan Group) study results].

Science.gov (United States)

Salgado Ordóñez, F; Villar Jiménez, J; Hidalgo Conde, A; Villalobos Sánchez, A; de la Torre Lima, J; Aguilar García, J; da Rocha Costa, I; García Ordóñez, M A; Nuño Alvarez, E; Ramos Cantes, C; Martín Pérez, M

2006-07-01

To describe the characteristics of patients admitted in hospitals with soft tissue infections, and analyse the variables whose died, in order to define risk groups. retrospective analysis of medical reports of all patient admitted during 2002 year for soft tissue infections in public malacitans hospitals. We excluded the patient with soft tissue infections associated with burns, surgery, pressure ulcers, and orbit cellulitis. We analysed clinical, biochemical variables and indications for yields and imaging tests, so the empiric antibiotic treatment established and its correlations with practice guidelines. We analysed 391 admissions of 374 patients. Cellulitis was the most frequent diagnosis (69.3%). We did imaging tests in 51.6%. In 94.3% of cases were treated with empirics antibiotics. The most prescribed drug was amoxiciline plus clavulanate (39%). 27 patients died, 40.7% of them for septic cause. All deceased patients had chronic diseases. The only biochemical parameters associated with mortality were serum proteins and albumina (55 +/- 9 g/L vs. 63 +/- 8 g/L; p = 0.0231) and (22 +/- 7 g/L vs. 29 +/- 7 g/L; p = 0.0125) respectively. Cellullitis are the most frequent soft tissue infections that requires admissions in hospitals. We overuse imaging test and don t follow the practice guidelines recommendations in antibiotic therapy. Primary soft issue infection s mortality is low and it s restricted to people with chronic illness, deep infections and bad nutritional status.

The course and outcome of Renal Transplant Recipients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Dawood, A.

2007-01-01

Renal transplantation is the treatment of choice for most patients with end stage renal disease (ESRD). This procedure provides a survival benefit compared to hemodialysis and is also cost effective. The aim of this study is to identify the types and incidence rates of complications that effect renal transplant recipients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) during long-term follow-up and to examine the impact of these complications on the length of hospital stay as well as mortality in a tertiary closed ICU in Saudi Arabia. We reviewed the data of all adult renal transplant recipients who were admitted to the ICU at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh between May 1999 and October 2006. During the stay period, 80 patients had a total of 96 ICU admissions; 49% were females. The admission APACHE II score and expected mortality was 25+7 and 48+23 respectively. The hospital mortality rate was 42%. Sepsis was major indication for ICU admission and pneumonia was the main cause of sepsis. In multivariate analysis the following variables were introduced in the model: APACHE II score, age, Glasgow Coma Score and need for hemodialysis in the ICU. We found only the need for hemodialysis during the ICU as an independent risk factor for mortality (P<0.02). We found in this study that the main reason for ICU admissions among renal transplant recipients was infections. Mortality rates for this particular population are relatively high and are primarily linked to the need for dialysis. (author)

The incidence, aetiology and outcome of acute seizures in children admitted to a rural Kenyan district hospital

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Maitland Kathryn

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Acute seizures are a common cause of paediatric admissions to hospitals in resource poor countries and a risk factor for neurological and cognitive impairment and epilepsy. We determined the incidence, aetiological factors and the immediate outcome of seizures in a rural malaria endemic area in coastal Kenya. Methods We recruited all children with and without seizures, aged 0–13 years and admitted to Kilifi District hospital over 2 years from 1st December 2004 to 30th November 2006. Only incident admissions from a defined area were included. Patients with epilepsy were excluded. The population denominator, the number of children in the community on 30th November 2005 (study midpoint, was modelled from a census data. Results Seizures were reported in 900/4,921(18.3% incident admissions and at least 98 had status epilepticus. The incidence of acute seizures in children 0–13 years was 425 (95%CI 386, 466 per 100,000/year and was 879 (95%CI 795, 968 per 100,000/year in children Conclusion There is a high incidence of acute seizures in children living in this malaria endemic area of Kenya. The most important causes are diseases that are preventable with available public health programs.

Investigating the relationship between fatty liver and diabetes in patients admitted to hospitals affiliated to Tehran Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences

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Marzieh Salehi

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Fatty liver is the most common chronic liver disease in Western industrialized countries. However, there is evidence on correlation between management of fatty liver risk and diabetes. In this regard, the current study was conducted to find the relationship between fatty liver and diabetes in patients admitted to hospitals affiliated to Tehran Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences . This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 180 patients admitted to the hospitals of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran. The instruments used in this study included demographic and clinical characteristics of patients such as serum levels of cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, hemoglobin and liver horns. Results were analyzed using t-test and chi-square tests . According to ANOVA tests, significant difference was found among indicators of LDL, triglycerides, cholesterol and ALT so that with an increase in triglycerides, HbA1c level also increased (05/0> P. On the other hand, by reducing HDL, the indicator of HbA1c increased. In addition, significant relationship was found between indicators of ALP and triglycerides so that with an increase in triglyceride and ALP, FBS level also increases (P<0.05. Due to the great impact of obesity and type 2 diabetes at an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, regular exercise and physical activities appropriate with age, low-fat diet, weight loss and different treatments to control diabetes and hypertension are recommended to reduce nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Pharmacotherapy for adverse events reduces the length of hospital stay in patients admitted to otolaryngology ward: a single arm intervention study.

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Akio Suzuki

Full Text Available To determine whether adverse events extend the duration of hospitalization, and to evaluate the effectiveness of medical intervention in ameliorating adverse events and reducing the prolonged hospital stay associated with adverse events.A single arm intervention study was conducted from October 2012 to March 2014 in the otolaryngology ward of a 614-bed, university-affiliated hospital. Adverse events were monitored daily by physicians, pharmacists and nurses, and recorded in the electronic medical chart for each patient. Appropriate drug management of adverse events was performed by physicians in liaison with pharmacists. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess the length of hospitalization of patients who underwent medical intervention for adverse events.Of 571 patients admitted to the otolaryngology ward in a year, 219 patients (38.4% experienced adverse events of grade ≥2. The duration of hospitalization was affected by the grade of adverse events, with a mean duration of hospital stay of 9.2, 17.2, 28.3 and 47.0 days for grades 0, 1, 2, and 3-4, respectively. Medical intervention lowered the incidence of grade ≥2 adverse events to 14.5%. The length of hospitalization was significantly shorter in patients who showed an improvement of adverse events after medical intervention than those who did not (26.4 days vs. 41.6 days, hazard ratio 1.687, 95% confidence interval: 1.260-2.259, P<0.001. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis indicated that insomnia, constipation, nausea/vomiting, infection, non-cancer pain, oral mucositis, odynophagia and neutropenia were significant risk factors for prolongation of hospital stay.Patients who experienced adverse events are at high risk of prolonged hospitalization. Medical intervention for adverse events was found to be effective in reducing the length of hospital stay associated with adverse events.

High prevalence of tuberculosis among adults with fever admitted at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Weill School of Medicine, Catholic ... A total of 346 adults febrile patients admitted in medical ..... The authors would like to acknowledge the technical support provided by Zacharia Igembe,.

Determination of prevalence and causes of hyponatremia in patient's admitted in pediatric intensive care unit of the Children's Hospital Medical Center

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Kadivar M

1999-06-01

Full Text Available Among the 708 patients who were admitted in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU of the children's hospital medical center, there were 100 patients with hyponatermia (Na<130 mEq/L. 62% of these patients had hyponatermia at the beginning of admission and 38% during hospitalization in PICU. According to the classification of hyponatermia in comparison to body fluid, this study revealed 7% pseudohyponatermia, 40% euvolemic hyponatermia, 34% hypovolemic hyponatermia and 10% hypovolemic hyponatermia. In conclusion, the most perevalent causes of hyponatermia in this study were syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH (27%, water intoxication (22% and extrarenal losses (20%

Investigation Patients with Urinary Stones from the Aspect of Epidemiologic Parameters Admitted at Urology Department of Imam Reza Hospital During Years 2005-2008

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K. Tavakkoli Tabassi

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Urolithiasis is one of the most frequent diseases of urinary system which forms high percentage of patients who come to Urology wards. Therefore, study of epidemiological characteristics of patients of each ward can be helpful for making the best general decision. Methods: First, we devided 5133 cases who had come to Urology department of imam Reza hospital of mashhad during 2005-2008, in 2 groups and then in 6 groups. We investigated and compared 2 groups of lithotripsy and surgery from the aspect of epidemiological characteristics. So, we did for 6 groups: pyelolithotomy and nephrolithotomy, ureterolithotomy, ureteroscopy and TUL, PNL, ESWL, cystolitholapaxy. Results: From 5133 cases, mean age of 43.41, men to female ratio 2.1, 90.1% had done lithotripsy and 9.2% surgery. Percentage of patients of pyelolithotomy and nephrolithotomy was 3.5% ureterolithotomy 0.8%, ureteroscopy and TUL39.5%, PNL 4.9%, ESWL 49.5%, cystolitholapaxy 1.9%. Mean stay in hospital for 1.31±0.19 and for surgery 4.84±0.16, in ESWL 0.81±0.25 and in pyelolithotomy and nephrolithotomy 5.09±0.17 days. During years 2005-2008 percentage of ESWL was : 59.9, 51.4 & 38.4% of all admissions in these years. PNLs percentage was: 3.8, 5.51, 5.53%. Choosing of PNL in urban people was highest (84.5% and for rural people pyelolithotomy and nephrolithotomy is the most technique in use. Conclusion: Despite of other advanced countries high percentage of our patients undergo open surgery especially in rural people, yet. So, we should provide facilities of education and financials for modern and lower costs of urinary tract stone treatments.

Differences between orthopaedic evaluation and radiological reports of conventional radiographs in patients with minor trauma admitted to the emergency department.

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Catapano, Michele; Albano, Domenico; Pozzi, Grazia; Accetta, Riccardo; Memoria, Sergio; Pregliasco, Fabrizio; Messina, Carmelo; Sconfienza, Luca Maria

2017-11-01

During night and on weekends, in our emergency department there is no radiologist on duty or on call: thus, X-ray examinations (XR) are evaluated by the orthopaedic surgeon on duty and reported the following morning/monday by radiologists. The aim of our study was to examine the discrepancy rate between orthopaedists and radiologists in the interpretation of imaging examinations performed on patients in our tertiary level orthopaedic institution and the consequences of delayed diagnosis in terms of patient management and therapeutic strategy. We retrospectively reviewed all cases of discrepancy between orthopaedists and radiologists, which were categorized according to anatomical location of injury, initial diagnosis and treatment, change in diagnosis and treatment. We used the Chi square test to compare the frequencies of discrepancies between patients ≤14 and >14years of age. From January to December 2016, 19,512 patients admitted to our emergency department performed at least an imaging examination; among these patients, 13,561 underwent XR in absence of an attending radiologist. A discrepant diagnosis was found in 337/13,561 (2.5%; 184 males; mean age: 36.7±23.7, range 2-95); 151/337 (45%) discrepancies were encountered in the lower limbs, with ankle being the most common site of misdiagnosis (64/151), and 103/337 (30%) in the upper limbs, with the elbow being the most frequent site in this district (35/103). We found 293/337 false negatives (87%) and 44/337 false positives (13%), with 134 and 13 patients needing treatment change, respectively. We found 85/337 discrepancies (25%) in patients ≤14 years of age, and 252/337 (75%) in those >14years. The distribution of discrepancies per anatomic district was significantly different (P<0.001) in these two groups of patients. A low rate of discrepancy between orthopaedists and radiologists in evaluating images of patients admitted to our emergency department was found, although treatment change occurred in about

The outcome of Mental Health Care Users admitted under Section ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The outcome of Mental Health Care Users admitted under Section 40 of the South ... were referred by members of SAPS to the CHBH Emergency Department. ... capacity to identify factors that favour outpatient care (especially substance ...

The experience of daily life of acutely admitted frail elderly patients one week after discharge from the hospital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Jane; Lund, Hans; Aadahl, Mette

2015-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Frail elderly are at higher risk of negative outcomes such as disability, low quality of life, and hospital admissions. Furthermore, a peak in readmission of acutely admitted elderly patients is seen shortly after discharge. An investigation into the daily life experiences...... of the frail elderly shortly after discharge seems important to address these issues. The aim of this study was to explore how frail elderly patients experience daily life 1 week after discharge from an acute admission. METHODS: The qualitative methodological approach was interpretive description. Data were...... gathered using individual interviews. The participants were frail elderly patients over 65 years of age, who were interviewed at their home 1 week after discharge from an acute admission to a medical ward. RESULTS: Four main categories were identified: "The system," "Keeping a social life," "Being...

Diagnostic Value of Leukocyte Esterase Test Strip Reagents for Rapid Clinical Diagnosis of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Patients Admitted to Hospital Emergency Departments in Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Hashemian, Amir Masoud; Ahmadi, Koorosh; Zamani Moghaddam, Hamid; Zakeri, Hosein; Davoodi Navakh, Seyed Akbar; Sharifi, Mohammad Davood; Bahrami, Abdollah

2015-10-01

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is a common and important clinical problem and is life-threatening in decompensated liver disease. Ascites fluid test by leukocyte esterase test strip has been recently proposed as an effective and rapid method to diagnose SBP in patients with cirrhosis. This study aimed to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of leukocyte esterase test strip in the diagnosis of SBP. The population of this research was all patients with cirrhosis and ascites admitted to the emergency room at Imam Reza (AS) hospital, Mashhad. A written consent was taken for inclusion in the study. 50 mL ascites sample was taken from all patients for use in a urine test strip (LER) (Urine Test Strips Convergys®Urine Matrix 11). The patient's ascites samples were evaluated for cell counting. Positive dipstick test for LER in this study considered as grade 3 +. The values of WBC > 500 cell/mm(3) or PMN > 250 cell/mm(3) considered as positive result of the gold standard method for the diagnosis of SBP. In this study, 100 patients with ascites due to cirrhosis, with an average age of 38.9 ± 6.54 years were evaluated. Twenty cases had positive results, of whom 17 cases were also detected based on the standard diagnostic criteria and other three cases were healthy individuals. Thus, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of the method were 95%, 96.3%, 85%, 97.5% and 95%, respectively. The use of leukocyte esterase urine dipstick test can be a quick and easy method in early diagnosis of SBP to start the treatment until preparation of SBP-cell count results.

Effectiveness of assertive case management on repeat self-harm in patients admitted for suicide attempt: Findings from ACTION-J study.

Science.gov (United States)

Furuno, Taku; Nakagawa, Makiko; Hino, Kosuke; Yamada, Tomoki; Kawashima, Yoshitaka; Matsuoka, Yutaka; Shirakawa, Osamu; Ishizuka, Naoki; Yonemoto, Naohiro; Kawanishi, Chiaki; Hirayasu, Yoshio

2018-01-01

Self-harm is an important risk factor for subsequent suicide and repetition of self-harm, and a common cause of emergency department presentations. However, there still remains limited evidence on intervention in emergency department settings for individuals who self-harm. This multicentre, randomised controlled trial was conducted at 17 general hospitals in Japan. In total, 914 adult patients admitted to emergency departments for a suicide attempt and had a DSM-IV-TR axis I disorder were randomly assigned to two groups, to receive either assertive case management (intervention) or enhanced usual care (control). Assertive case management was introduced by the case manager during emergency department admissions for suicide attempts, and continued after discharge. Interventions were provided until the end of the study period (for at least 18 months and up to 5 years). The number of overall self-harm episodes per person-year was significantly lower in the intervention group (adjusted incidence risk ratio (IRR) 0.88, 95%CI 0.80-0.96, p=0.0031). Subgroup analysis showed a greater reduction of overall self-harm episodes among patients with no previous suicide attempt at baseline (adjusted IRR 0.73, 95% CI 0.53-0.98, p=0.037). Patients younger than 20 years and patients who self-harmed but were not admitted to an emergency department were excluded. The present study showed that assertive case management following emergency admission for a suicide attempt reduced the incident rate of repeat overall self-harm. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Appropriateness of ketorolac use in a trauma hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Angeles González-Fernández, M

2009-06-01

To evaluate the suitability of ketorolac and non-steroidal anti-inflamatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other analgesic drugs currently used in the hospital. We have followed the steps to develop a PDCA cycle (plan, do, check, act) or quality improvement cycle. The quality problem was analysed using an Ishikawa diagram. We defined both qualitative quality indicators, those that measure prescription quality, and quantitative ones (defined daily dose, DDD/100BDs), which measure drug consumption, being the objectives to achieve. The study was conducted in all patients admitted to the hospital and who were admitted to orthopaedic and trauma surgery and plastic surgery departments with unit-dose dispensing systems. The strategy used was to give information to physicians through meetings and documentation. Finally, the results were analysed and compared with the initial objectives. The study was performed on 260 patients in the first study period and 292 in the second. Qualitative indicators: intravenous ketorolac use or =65 years old at dose < or =60 mg/day it increased 27.7% (p<0.05). Quantitative indicators: in the second study period, ketorolac use decreased (plastic surgery department: 61.8 DDD/100BDs to 14.8), whereas tramadol, ibuprofen and metamizole increased (plastic surgery department: 0 to 14.1 in tramadol, 8.7 to 48.6 in ibuprofen and 50.1 to 71 in metamizole). Appropriateness of ketorolac, NSAIDs and tramadol use has been achieved, thus improving patient safety. Strategies have been effective.

Performance measurement in a radiology department at a Danish non-profit hospital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Traberg, Andreas; Jacobsen, Peter

was to develop a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI), which could portray the X-ray department of Hospital of Southern Jutland in Denmark, performance relation to patients, employees and the government The upper management has created a vision for the year 2010 and a strategic plan for the hospital....... The X-ray department subdivided perspectives into 14 strategic goals, which where more operational minded. First step in the development of KPI´s was to relate the competence areas with the 14 strategic goals. The developed measures are assumed to reflect the organizations performance towards the 14...... strategic goals. The way the performance is presented is through a web based interactive version, where employees will have access to through the hospitals internal IT system. By displaying all KPI´s in an interactive environment, the individuals have the option of choosing exactly those indicators witch...

Management and survival of patients admitted with an exacerbation of COPD: comparison of two Danish patient cohorts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Nanna; Vestbo, Jørgen

2010-01-01

INTRODUCTION:  The aim of this study was to describe the management and prognosis related to a hospital admission for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to compare results to an earlier study. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS:  This is a retrospective study of 300 consecutively...... discharged patients admitted in 2006-2007 with an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from three respiratory departments. Data were collected from patient charts and compared with a replicate study done in 2001. RESULTS:  The mean age was 72.1years; 61.7% were women. Mean forced expiratory...... volume in 1s was 37.6% of predicted. On admission, 11.3% were treated with non-invasive ventilation, and 84.3% were given systemic corticosteroids. In-hospital mortality was 4.7%. At discharge, treatment with inhaled corticosteroids or at least one long-acting bronchodilator was given to 86.7% and 89...

Management and survival of patients admitted with an exacerbation of COPD: comparison of two Danish patient cohorts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Nanna; Vestbo, Jørgen

2010-01-01

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to describe the management and prognosis related to a hospital admission for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and to compare results to an earlier study. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 300 consecutively...... discharged patients admitted in 2006-2007 with an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from three respiratory departments. Data were collected from patient charts and compared with a replicate study done in 2001. RESULTS: The mean age was 72.1years; 61.7% were women. Mean forced expiratory...... volume in 1s was 37.6% of predicted. On admission, 11.3% were treated with non-invasive ventilation, and 84.3% were given systemic corticosteroids. In-hospital mortality was 4.7%. At discharge, treatment with inhaled corticosteroids or at least one long-acting bronchodilator was given to 86.7% and 89...

Pressure ulcer development in trauma patients with suspected spinal injury; the influence of risk factors present in the Emergency Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Ham, H W Wietske; Schoonhoven, L Lisette; Schuurmans, M Marieke J; Leenen, L Luke P H

2017-01-01

To explore the influence of risk factors present at Emergency Department admission on pressure ulcer development in trauma patients with suspected spinal injury, admitted to the hospital for evaluation and treatment of acute traumatic injuries. Prospective cohort study setting level one trauma center in the Netherlands participants adult trauma patients transported to the Emergency Department on a backboard, with extrication collar and headblocks and admitted to the hospital for treatment or evaluation of their injuries. Between January and December 2013, 254 trauma patients were included. The following dependent variables were collected: Age, Skin color and Body Mass Index, and Time in Emergency Department, Injury Severity Score, Mean Arterial Pressure, hemoglobin level, Glasgow Coma Score, and admission ward after Emergency Department. Pressure ulcer development during admission was associated with a higher age (p 0.00, OR 1.05) and a lower Glasgow Coma Scale score (p 0.00, OR 1.21) and higher Injury Severity Scores (p 0.03, OR 1.05). Extra nutrition decreases the probability of PU development during admission (p 0.04, OR 0.20). Pressure ulcer development within the first 48h of admission was positively associated with a higher age (p 0.01, OR 1.03) and a lower Glasgow Coma Scale score (p 0.01, OR 1.16). The proportion of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and Medium Care Unit was higher in patients with pressure ulcers. The pressure ulcer risk during admission is high in patients with an increased age, lower Glasgow Coma Scale and higher Injury Severity Score in the Emergency Department. Pressure ulcer risk should be assessed in the Emergency Department to apply preventive interventions in time. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Substance abuse in patients admitted voluntarily and involuntarily to acute psychiatric wards: a national cross-sectional study

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Anne Opsal

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Substance abuse and mental disorder comorbidity is high among patients admitted to acute psychiatric wards. The aim of the study was to identify this co-occurrence as a reason for involuntary admission and if specific substance use-related diagnoses were associated with such admissions.Methods: The study was a part of a multicentre, cross-sectional national study carried out during 2005-2006 within a research network of acute mental health services. Seventy-five percent of Norwegian hospitals providing acute in-patient treatment participated. Substance use was measured using the Clinician Rating Scale and the ICD-10 diagnoses F10-19. Diagnostic assessments were performed by the clinicians during hospital stay.Results: Overall, 33.2% (n=1,187 of the total patient population (3,506 were abusing alcohol or drugs prior to admission according to the Clinician Rating Scale. No difference in the overall prevalence of substance abuserelated diagnoses between the two groups was found. Overall, 310 (26% of the admissions, 216 voluntarily and 94 involuntarily admitted patients received a double diagnosis. Frequent comorbid combinations among voluntarily admitted patients were; a combination of alcohol and either mood disorder (40% or multiple mental disorders (29%. Among involuntarily admitted patients, a combination of poly drug use and schizophrenia was most frequent (47%. Substance abusing patients diagnosed with mental and behavioral disorders due to the use of psychoactive stimulant substances had a significantly higher risk of involuntary hospitalization (OR 2.3.Conclusion: Nearly one third of substance abusing patients are involuntarily admitted to mental hospitals, in particular stimulant drug use was associated with involuntarily admissions.

Suspected acute appendicitis in female patients: Trends in diagnosis in emergency department in a University Hospital in Western region of Saudi Arabia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Althoubaity, Fatima K.

2006-01-01

Objective was to determine the negative appendectomy rate; utilization, accuracy of Alvarado scale, ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT) in diagnosis of acute appendicitis. Hospital records of 124 female patients admitted for suspicious of acute appendicitis from January 2003-January 2004 to the Emergency Department (ED) at King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were reviewed retrospectively. We reviewed the age of patients, clinical presentation, Alvarado scale, US, CT, histopathalogical diagnosis of appendicular specimen. A total of 124 female patients aged 6-64 years were presented to ED with right iliac fossa pain. Of the total, 103 patients have appendectomies (83.1%), 21 (16.9%) patients underwent conservative treatment. Prevalence of advanced appendicitis was 13.7% and negative appendectomy rate was 27.2%. Accuracy rate of appendicitis with Alvarado scale 67.7%, US was 57.9% CT was 66.7%. Postoperative correlation was found between advanced cases and Alvarado scale (r=0.338), and hospital stay duration (r=0.250, p<0.01). Clinical findings and experiments remain of major importance in appendicitis-diagnosis. When appendicitis appears with atypical presentations, it remains a clinical challenge. In such cases, laboratory and imaging investigation may be useful in establishing a correct diagnosis. Alvarado scoring system is easy, simple and cheap complementary aid for supporting the diagnosis of acute appendicitis especially for junior surgeons. (author)

Hypoxaemia in Mozambican children <5 years of age admitted to hospital with clinical severe pneumonia: clinical features and performance of predictor models.

Science.gov (United States)

Bassat, Quique; Lanaspa, Miguel; Machevo, Sónia; O'Callaghan-Gordo, Cristina; Madrid, Lola; Nhampossa, Tacilta; Acácio, Sozinho; Roca, Anna; Alonso, Pedro L

2016-09-01

To determine the prevalence of hypoxaemia among under-five children admitted to hospital with clinical severe pneumonia and to assess the performance to diagnose hypoxaemia of models based on clinical signs. We conducted a hospital-based survey in a district hospital from Southern Mozambique. A total of 825 children were recruited after obtaining an informed consent. The prevalence of hypoxaemia on admission was 27.9%, and 19.8% of these children died (OR compared with non-hypoxaemic children 3.22, 95% CI 1.98-5.21, P < 0.001). The model with larger area under the ROC curve (AUC-ROC) to predict hypoxaemia included cyanosis or thoracoabdominal breathing or respiratory rate ≥70 breaths per minute. None of the models performed well when tested in different case scenarios of oxygen availability through mathematical modelling, with over 50% of hypoxaemic children not receiving oxygen even in favourable case scenarios. Clinical signs alone or in combination are not suitable to diagnose hypoxaemia. The use of pulse oximeters should be strongly encouraged. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

a clinical trial of carbutamide (bz 55) in diabetics admitted to hospital

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2012-08-02

Aug 2, 2012 ... and Bertram et al.,IQ in Germany described the effects of a new sulphonaInide ..... workers and is illustrated by its success in all four patients of this kind ... Secondly it must be admitted that the natural history of diabetes itself is ...

Motorcycle crash-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations for traumatic brain injury in North Carolina.

Science.gov (United States)

Harmon, Katherine J; Marshall, Stephen W; Proescholdbell, Scott K; Naumann, Rebecca B; Waller, Anna E

2015-01-01

To examine statewide emergency department (ED) visit data for motorcycle crash morbidity and healthcare utilization due to traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and non-TBIs. North Carolina ED data (2010-2012) and hospital discharge data (2009-2011). Statewide ED visits and hospitalizations due to injuries from traffic-related motorcycle crashes stratified by TBI status. Descriptive study. Descriptive statistics include age, sex, mode of transport, disposition, expected source of payment, hospital length of stay, and hospital charges. Over the study period, there were 18 780 ED visits and 3737 hospitalizations due to motorcycle crashes. Twelve percent of ED visits for motorcycle crashes and 26% of hospitalizations for motorcycle crashes had a diagnosis of TBI. Motorcycle crash-related hospitalizations with a TBI diagnosis had median hospital charges that were nearly $9000 greater than hospitalizations without a TBI diagnosis. Emergency department visits and hospitalizations due to motorcycle crashes with a TBI diagnosis consumed more healthcare resources than motorcycle crash-related ED visits and hospitalizations without a TBI diagnosis. Increased awareness of motorcyclists by other road users and increased use of motorcycle helmets are 2 strategies to mitigate the incidence and severity of motorcycle crash injuries, including TBIs.

[Causes of 72-hour return visits to hospital emergency departments].

Science.gov (United States)

Jiménez-Puente, Alberto; Del Río-Mata, José; Arjona-Huertas, José Luis; Mora-Ordóñez, Begoña; Nieto-de Haro, Lourdes; Lara-Blanquer, Antonio; Martínez-Reina, Alfonso; Martínez Del Campo, Miguel

2015-10-01

The return-visit rate has been suggested as a measure of emergency department quality of care. We aimed to identify the reasons for emergency revisits and the percentage of returns related to problems with quality of care in the previous visit. Cross-sectional observational study of clinical records for a random sample of unscheduled returns within 72 hours of discharge from the emergency departments of 3 hospitals attending a population of nearly 3 million in the Spanish province of Malaga. The records were reviewed by 2 data collectors, who assigned a reason for revisits according to a standardized classification. A sample of 1075 emergency revisits were reviewed; 895 met the inclusion criteria. The most common reasons for revisits were the persistence or progression of disease (48.8%), an unrelated new problem (9.3%), and referral from a hospital that did not have the required specialized service (8.6%). Reasons attributable to the patient accounted for 14.5% of the revisits; 15.2% were attributable to health care staff errors, 9.2% to system organization, and 61.1% to the disease process. Most emergency department revisits are related to the progression of the disease that led to the first visit. Only a small percentage can be linked to diagnostic or treatment errors in the previous visit.

Comparison of cardiovascular disease patterns in two data sets of patients admitted at a tertiary care public hospital in Karachi five years apart

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazim, S.F.; Itrat, A.; Butt, N.W.; Ishaq, M.

2009-01-01

To compare the disease patterns in two data sets of patients, five years apart, at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), a tertiary care cardiac hospital in Karachi. The underlying objective was to determine any changes in cardiovascular disease patterns at an acute cardiac unit over a period of five years. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on patients admitted in West Ward, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi in September, 2000 and September, 2005. Patient's record files were reviewed and the relevant information was recorded on a proforma designed for the purpose. In September, 2000, a total of 414 patients were admitted. Of these 71.25% were males. Majority of patients (72.92%) were in the fifth decade of life or beyond. Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) was the commonest presentation, present in 39.8% of the patients. 27.3% had myocardial infarction (MI) while 10.34% were diagnosed with heart muscle diseases. The overall mortality was 3.4%. In September, 2005, a total of 446 patients were admitted. Of these, 63% were males. 71.29% were in the fifth, sixth, and seventh decades of life. 43.04% patients were admitted with acute coronary syndromes (ACS), 26% with myocardial infarction (MI) and 13.45% with heart muscle diseases. The overall mortality was 1.34%. The almost similar results in two data sets of patients five years apart suggests that the cardiovascular disease burden and pattern has not changed significantly at this center. There is a preponderance of cardiovascular illnesses in males and older age groups. ACS and MI account for majority of admissions. (author)

Patient-controlled hospital admission for patients with severe mental disorders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Christoffer Torgaard; Benros, Michael Eriksen; Hastrup, Lene Halling

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Patient-controlled hospital admission for individuals with severe mental disorders is a novel approach in mental healthcare. Patients can admit themselves to a hospital unit for a short stay without being assessed by a psychiatrist or contacting the emergency department. Previous...... studies assessing the outcomes of patient-controlled hospital admission found trends towards reduction in the use of coercive measures and length of hospital stay; however, these studies have methodological shortcomings and small sample sizes. Larger studies are needed to estimate the effect of patient-controlled...... hospital admission on the use of coercion and of healthcare services. DESIGN AND METHODS: We aim to recruit at least 315 patients who are offered a contract for patient-controlled hospital admissions in eight different hospitals in Denmark. Patients will be followed-up for at least 1 year to compare...

Predicting Hospital Admission for Emergency Department Patients using a Bayesian Network

OpenAIRE

Leegon, Jeffrey; Jones, Ian; Lanaghan, Kevin; Aronsky, Dominik

2005-01-01

Hospital admission delays in the Emergency Department (ED) reduce volume capacity and contribute to the nation’s ED diversion problem. This study evaluated the accuracy of a Bayesian network for the early prediction of hospital admission status using data from 16,900 ED encounters. The final model included nine variables that are commonly available in many ED settings. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.894 (95% CI: 0.887-0.902) for the validati...

Oxigenoterapia inalatória em pacientes pediátricos internados em hospital universitário Oxygen inhalation therapy in children admitted to an university hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paula Angeleli B. de Camargo

2008-03-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar o uso da oxigenoterapia inalatória em crianças internadas em hospital universitário. MÉTODOS: Estudo prospectivo de crianças atendidas no Pronto-Socorro Pediátrico do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu e que receberam oxigenoterapia durante a internação, de maio a setembro de 2005. Indicou-se oxigenoterapia se saturação de oxigênio inferior a 90% e frequência respiratória elevada para idade. Crianças em uso crônico de oxigênio ou com necessidade de ventilação mecânica foram excluídas. Foram avaliados: sintomas respiratórios, diagnósticos clínicos, saturação de oxigênio, método e tempo de oxigenoterapia e responsável pela prescrição. RESULTADOS: Foram atendidas 8.709 crianças no pronto-socorro, sendo que 2.769 (32% apresentaram doenças respiratórias e 97 necessitaram de internação na enfermaria. Destas, 62 (64% receberam oxigenoterapia. Das 62 crianças, 37 eram do sexo masculino e a idade variou de 2 meses a 14 anos (mediana: 8 meses. A causa de hipóxia foi pneumonia em 52 crianças (84%, asma em cinco, bronquiolite em quatro e traqueomalácia em uma. As prescrições de oxigenoterapia foram feitas por médicos, com monitoração de saturação de oxigênio por oxímetro de pulso. O tempo mediano de administração de O2 foi 6 dias e o cateter nasal foi usado em 94% dos casos, sendo raro o uso de máscaras ou capuz de oxigênio. CONCLUSÕES: A oxigenoterapia inalatória foi mais frequente em crianças com menor idade e em pacientes com pneumonia, sendo sua indicação compatível com critérios internacionais. O uso do cateter nasal mostrou-se seguro, simples, efetivo e de baixo custo.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate inalatory oxygen therapy in children admitted to a university hospital. METHODS: Prospective study of children assisted at the Emergency Room of the University Hospital of Botucatu Medical School and submitted to oxygen therapy during hospitalization, from May to

[Hospital mortality associated with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage due to ruptured esophageal varices at the Lomé Campus Hospital in Togo].

Science.gov (United States)

Bouglouga, O; Bagny, A; Lawson-Ananissoh, L; Djibril, M

2014-01-01

To study hospital mortality associated with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhages due to variceal bleeding in the department of hepatology and gastroenterology at the Lome Campus University Hospital. This retrospective cross-sectional and analytic study examined the 55 patients admitted for variceal bleeding on upper endoscopies during the 3-year period from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2010. These patients accounted for 4.1% of all hospitalizations during the study period in the department. Their average age was 35 years, and their sex-ratio 4. A history of chronic liver disease was found in 65.5%. Liver cirrhosis was the principal cause of the esophageal varices, complicated by hepatocellular carcinoma in 30.9% of them. The mortality rate was 25.5% and was not related to the cause of portal hypertension. All the patients with a recurrence of bleeding died. Mortality was associated with jaundice. Blood transfusion did not significantly improve the prognosis. the mortality rate among patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage linked to variceal bleeding is high in our unit. The prevention of hepatitis virus B is important because it is the main cause of chronic liver disease causing portal hypertension in our department.

How elderly patients with femoral fracture develop pressure sores in hospital.

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Versluysen, M

1986-01-01

The routine hospital management of 100 consecutive elderly patients was studied to determine the reason for the high incidence of pressure sores among patients admitted to hospital for femoral fractures. Of these patients, 66 developed sores, 83% occurring by the fifth day in hospital. This was due to the long periods that patients were immobilised on high pressure surfaces in the casualty department, wards, and theatres before repair of the fracture and restoration of their weight bearing function. Sores are not simply a ward or nursing problem, but an unintended consequence of hospital treatment. To reduce the incidence of sores elderly patients should be treated on low pressure patient support systems from the point of entry to hospital until mobility is restored. PMID:3085827

LQAS usefulness in an emergency department.

Science.gov (United States)

de la Orden, Susana Granado; Rodríguez-Rieiro, Cristina; Sánchez-Gómez, Amaya; García, Ana Chacón; Hernández-Fernández, Tomás; Revilla, Angel Abad; Escribano, Dolores Vigil; Pérez, Paz Rodríguez

2008-01-01

This paper aims to explore lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) applicability and usefulness in the evaluation of quality indicators in a hospital emergency department (ED) and to determine the degree of compliance with quality standards according to this sampling method. Descriptive observational research in the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM) emergency department (ED). Patients older than 15 years, diagnosed with dyspnoea, chest pain, urinary tract colic or bronchial asthma attending the HGUGM ED from December 2005 to May 2006, and patients admitted during 2005 with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute meningitis were included in the study. Sample sizes were calculated using LQAS. Different quality indicators, one for each process, were selected. The upper (acceptable quality level (AQL)) and lower thresholds (rejectable quality level (RQL)) were established considering risk alpha = 5 per cent and beta = 20 per cent, and the minimum number of observations required was calculated. It was impossible to reach the necessary sample size for bronchial asthma and urinary tract colic patients. For chest pain, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute meningitis, quality problems were detected. The lot was accepted only for the dyspnoea indicator. The usefulness of LQAS to detect quality problems in the management of health processes in one hospital's ED. The LQAS could complement traditional sampling methods.

Prevalence of hepatitis B and C infection in patients admitted at tertiary eye care centre: a hospital based study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Junejo, S.A.; Khan, N.A.; Lodhi, A.A.

2009-01-01

Objective: To determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections and the risk factors in patients admitted for ocular treatment at a tertiary eye care centre in Sindh Pakistan. Methodology: Nine hundred thirty one patients admitted at Liaquat University Eye Hospital Hyderabad for ocular treatment, were screened for HBV and HCV. Patients of either sex, with more than thirty years of age were included. Screening for HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies against HCV (anti-HCV) was performed through chromatography method. Samples repeatedly reactive for HBsAg or anti-HCV were considered positive. Results: Out of 931 registered patients, 497 (53.3%) were male and 434 (46.7%) female. Hepatitis B and C was detected in 167 (17.9%) subjects. The overall seroprevalence of HBV infection within the study period was 4.6%, HCV 13.3%, and for HBV and HCV both was 3.9%. Regarding the predisposing factors, past history of blood transfusion was present in 08.3% subjects, needle injection 89.2%, barber shaving 52.6%, and 46 (27.5%) patients presented with past history of surgery. Conclusion: For the prevention of transmission of HBV and HCV infection, the community awareness regarding vaccination against Hepatitis B and risk factors for spread of HBV and HCV, implementation of population based screening and vaccination for HBV on large scale should be ensured. (author)

Cow-related trauma: a 10-year review of injuries admitted to a single institution.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, Colin G

2012-02-01

INTRODUCTION: Bovine-related injuries to farmers are common in rural communities. Many injuries are significant requiring hospital admission and surgery. We reviewed all cattle-related injuries admitted to a regional trauma centre over 10 years and detail the nature of the injuries. METHOD: A retrospective review was undertaken, using hospital inpatient coding system (HIPE) to identify patients admitted following cow-related trauma for the last 10 years. From retrieved charts mechanism of injury was identified, demographics recorded and Injury Severity Score (ISS) and Trauma Injury Severity Score (TRISS) calculated based on the injuries sustained. RESULTS: 47 patients were identified, with a median age of 53 years. 4 injuries occurred in children, and 12 in patients over 65 years old. Three-quarters of those injured were male. Kicking was the most common mechanism of injury (n=21), but charge\\/head-butt injuries and trampling injuries were associated with more serious injury scores. 72% of patients were admitted under Orthopaedics as their primary care team, 25% under General Surgeons, with one patient admitted medically. Mean ISS score was 6.9 (range 1-50). 41 operative interventions were performed on 30 patients during their admission. 6.3% of patients required admission to Intensive Care with a mean length of stay of 12.3 days (range 2-21 days). There was no mortality. CONCLUSION: Cow-related trauma is a common among farming communities and is a potentially serious mechanism of injury that appears to be under-reported in a hospital context. Bovine-related head-butt and trampling injuries should be considered akin to high-velocity trauma.

Changes from 2012 to 2015 in intravenous fluid solutions issued to hospital departments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsson, A B; Perner, A

2017-01-01

. METHODS: We obtained details from the regional pharmacy regarding IV fluids issued to hospital departments in the Danish Capitol Region from January 2012 to May 2015. We used paired Wilcoxon's signed-rank test to analyse changes in the issuing in different departments. RESULTS: Total regional issuing...

Role of diagnosis of dyslipidemia in primary and secondary vascular prevention in a neurology department.

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Horváth, Eszter; Vadasdi, Károly; Vastagh, Ildikó; Folyovich, András

2010-03-30

Lipids have important functions in the human body, but high serum cholesterol level is an important risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Prevention of stroke includes modifying risk factors, like dyslipidemias. Based on this theory, we examined in practice the possible role of a public care neurology and stroke department with a large patient turnover in vascular risk screening with regard to the diagnosis of hyperlipidemia. We reviewed all the medical records (irrespective of disease group;) of patients hospitalized in 2007 at Department of Neurclogy and Stroke Center of Szent János Hospital of the Municipality of the City of Budapest. Patients included in the study were classified into three groups: (1) those admitted with acute stroke; (2) those with a history of acute stroke, but without evidence of a novel cerebrovascular event; (3) no history and evidence of cerebrovascular disease during hospitalization. Our data show that 17.6% of patients was diagnosed with hyperlipidemia during hospital care, and another 18.5% was known to have elevated cholesterol levels. Altogether, 36.1% of the 1438 patients evaluated had hyper ipidemia. Known hypercholesterolemia was 18.4% in patierts admitted for acute stroke, 26.9% in patients formerly (but not currently) treated for cerebrovascular disease, and 13.6% in the third group. Newly diagnosed elevated cholesterol levels had highest rate (22.6%) in former stroke patierts (currently treated for other diseases); 20.4% in patients with acute stroke, and 13.2% in the third group. In the first two groups, the number of patients newly diagnosed with elevated serum cholesterol almost equaled to those with already known hypercholesterolemia. Based on our data, neurology departments have an important role in diagnosing hyperlipidemia and vascular prevention.

Study of intraventricular hemorrhage in VLBW neonates admitted in Al-Zahra Hospital, Tabriz, Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Jodeiry, B; Heidarzadeh, M; Sahmani-Asl, S; Hoseini, M; Javaherizadeh, H; Eliasi, S; Abedini, K

2012-01-01

Intra-ventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is an important predictor of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. IVH risk factor identification may conduct improvement of quality of care in neonatal intensive care units. The aim of the current study was to determine possible risk factors associated with IVH in VLBW neonates admitted in our hospital. All neonates with birth weight below 1500 gr admitted to NICU. Cranial ultrasonography was done for premature neonates weighed 1000 g, sonography was done in 7 days and 30 days of life respectively. If there is any conditions such as apnea, seizure, significant decrease in level of hemoglobin, increased head circumference, increased oxygen consumption, and other significant changes another sonography was done again. Exclusion criteria were cerebral malformations, metabolic disturbances, chromosomal anomalies, central nervous system infection, and genetic syndromes. Data was analyzed by SPSS ver 16.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL, USA). In this study 64 cases with IVH and without IVH were included. Mean of gestational age was 28.78 +/- 12.08. From neonates, 54.6% were boys and 45.4% were girls. Vaginal delivery and cesarean section was done in 56 (32.2%) and 118 (67.8%) cases respectively. Mean +/- SD of pH in cases with IVH and without IVH was 7.19 +/- 0.22 and 7.30 +/- 0.12 respectively (p = 0.001). Mean ISD of pco2 in cases with IVH and without IVH was 65.15 +/- 29.89 and 49.88 +/- 40.89 respectively(p = 0.001). Mean of 5th min APGAR score in patients required CPR was 7.36 +/- 1.57 and in patients without CPR was 8.68 +/- 1.25 (P = 0.001). From cases with IVH, hydrocephaly was detected in 20 cases. From cases without IVH, hydrocephaly was detected in 6 cases. Result of chi-square show significant correlation between IVH and prematurity (chi2 = 21.94, df=1, P preclampsia in mother was significantly higher in cases without IVH (chi-square, p < 0.05). PDA, pressure support, surfactant therapy, inotrop drug administration, vaginal delivery

Clinical utility of the HEART score in patients admitted with chest pain to an inner-city hospital in the USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Patnaik, Soumya; Shah, Mahek; Alhamshari, Yaser; Ram, Pradhum; Puri, Ritika; Lu, Marvin; Balderia, Percy; Imms, John B; Maludum, Obiora; Figueredo, Vincent M

2017-06-01

Chest pain is one of the most common presentations to a hospital, and appropriate triaging of these patients can be challenging. The HEART score has been used for such purposes in some countries and only a few validation studies from the USA are available. We aim to determine the utility of the HEART score in patients presenting with chest pain to an inner-city hospital in the USA. We retrospectively screened 417 consecutive patients admitted with chest pain to the observation/telemetry units at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 299 patients were included in the analysis. Patients were divided into low-risk (0-3) and intermediate-high (≥4)-risk HEART score groups. Baseline characteristics, thrombolysis in myocardial infarction score, need for revascularization during index hospitalization, and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 6 weeks and 12 months were recorded. There were 98 and 201 patients in the low-score group and intermediate-high-score group, respectively. Compared with the low-score group, patients in the intermediate-high-risk group had a higher incidence of revascularization during the index hospital stay (16.4 vs. 0%; P=0.001), longer hospital stay, higher MACE at 6 weeks (9.5 vs. 0%) and 12 months (20.4 vs. 3.1%), and higher cardiac readmissions. HEART score of at least 4 independently predicted MACE at 12 months (odds ratio 7.456, 95% confidence interval: 2.175-25.56; P=0.001) after adjusting for other risk factors in regression analysis. HEART score of at least 4 was predictive of worse outcomes in patients with chest pain in an inner-city USA hospital. If validated in multicenter prospective studies, the HEART score could potentially be useful in risk-stratifying patients presenting with chest pain in the USA and could impact clinical decision-making.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: An Under-recognized Cause of Abnormal Uterine Bleeding in Adolescents Admitted to a Children's Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Maslyanskaya, Sofya; Talib, Hina J; Northridge, Jennifer L; Jacobs, Amanda M; Coble, Chanelle; Coupey, Susan M

2017-06-01

To evaluate whether ovulatory dysfunction due to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common underlying etiology of abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) in adolescents who require hospitalization and to explore etiology, treatment, and complications of AUB with severe anemia in adolescents. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We identified female patients aged 8-20 years admitted to a children's hospital for treatment of AUB from January 2000 to December 2014. Our hospital protocol advises hormonal testing for PCOS and other disorders before treatment for AUB. We reviewed medical records and recorded laboratory evaluations, treatments, and final underlying diagnoses as well as recurrences of AUB and readmissions in the subsequent year. Of the 125 subjects, the mean age was 16.5 ± 2.9 years; mean hemoglobin level was 7.0 ± 1.8 g/dL; 54% were overweight/obese; and 41% sexually active. PCOS accounted for 33% of admissions; hypothalamic pituitary ovarian axis immaturity 31%; endometritis 13%; bleeding disorders 10%. Girls with PCOS were more likely to be overweight/obese (74% vs 46%; P < .01) and girls with hypothalamic pituitary ovarian axis immaturity had lower hemoglobin levels (6.4 g/dL vs 7.4 g/dL; P < .05), than girls with all other etiologies of AUB. Treating physicians failed to diagnose endometritis as the etiology for AUB in 4 of 8 girls with positive tests for sexually transmitted infection and no other etiology. PCOS was the most common underlying etiology in adolescents hospitalized with AUB. Screening for hyperandrogenemia is important for early diagnosis of PCOS to allow ongoing management and prevention of comorbidities. Endometritis was frequently underestimated as an etiology for AUB. Copyright © 2016 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment for older adults admitted to hospital: meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, Graham; Whitehead, Martin A; Robinson, David; O'Neill, Desmond; Langhorne, Peter

2011-10-27

To evaluate the effectiveness of comprehensive geriatric assessment in hospital for older adults admitted as an emergency. We searched the EPOC Register, Cochrane's Controlled Trials Register, the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Medline, Embase, CINAHL, AARP Ageline, and handsearched high yield journals. Randomised controlled trials of comprehensive geriatric assessment (whether by mobile teams or in designated wards) compared with usual care. Comprehensive geriatric assessment is a multidimensional interdisciplinary diagnostic process used to determine the medical, psychological, and functional capabilities of a frail elderly person to develop a coordinated and integrated plan for treatment and long term follow-up. Three independent reviewers assessed eligibility and trial quality and extracted published data. Two additional reviewers moderated. Twenty two trials evaluating 10,315 participants in six countries were identified. For the primary outcome "living at home," patients who underwent comprehensive geriatric assessment were more likely to be alive and in their own homes at the end of scheduled follow-up (odds ratio 1.16 (95% confidence interval 1.05 to 1.28; P = 0.003; number needed to treat 33) at a median follow-up of 12 months versus 1.25 (1.11 to 1.42; P P P = 0.001) and were more likely to experience improved cognition (standardised mean difference 0.08, 0.01 to 0.15; P = 0.02) in the comprehensive geriatric assessment group. Comprehensive geriatric assessment increases patients' likelihood of being alive and in their own homes after an emergency admission to hospital. This seems to be especially true for trials of wards designated for comprehensive geriatric assessment and is associated with a potential cost reduction compared with general medical care.

Additional measures do not improve the diagnostic accuracy of the Hospital Admission Risk Profile for detecting downstream quality of life in community-dwelling older people presenting to a hospital emergency department

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grimmer K

2014-01-01

Full Text Available K Grimmer, S Milanese, K Beaton, A AtlasInternational Centre for Allied Health Evidence, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, AustraliaIntroduction: The Hospital Admission Risk Profile (HARP instrument is commonly used to assess risk of functional decline when older people are admitted to hospital. HARP has moderate diagnostic accuracy (65% for downstream decreased scores in activities of daily living. This paper reports the diagnostic accuracy of HARP for downstream quality of life. It also tests whether adding other measures to HARP improves its diagnostic accuracy.Methods: One hundred and forty-eight independent community dwelling individuals aged 65 years or older were recruited in the emergency department of one large Australian hospital with a medical problem for which they were discharged without a hospital ward admission. Data, including age, sex, primary language, highest level of education, postcode, living status, requiring care for daily activities, using a gait aid, receiving formal community supports, instrumental activities of daily living in the last week, hospitalization and falls in the last 12 months, and mental state were collected at recruitment. HARP scores were derived from a formula that summed scores assigned to age, activities of daily living, and mental state categories. Physical and mental component scores of a quality of life measure were captured by telephone interview at 1 and 3 months after recruitment.Results: HARP scores are moderately accurate at predicting downstream decline in physical quality of life, but did not predict downstream decline in mental quality of life. The addition of other variables to HARP did not improve its diagnostic accuracy for either measure of quality of life.Conclusion: HARP is a poor predictor of quality of life.Keywords: functional decline, HARP, quality of life, older people

Clinical pharmacist evaluation of medication inappropriateness in the emergency department of a teaching hospital in Malta

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West LM

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Appropriate prescribing remains an important priority in all medical areas of practice. Objective: The objective of this study was to apply a Medication Appropriateness Index (MAI to identify issues of inappropriate prescribing amongst patients admitted from the Emergency Department (ED.Method: This study was carried out at Malta’s general hospital on 125 patients following a two-week pilot period on 10 patients. Patients aged 18 years and over and on medication therapy were included. Medication treatment for inappropriateness was assessed by using the MAI. Under-prescribing was also screened for. Results: Treatment charts of 125 patients, including 697 medications, were assessed using a MAI. Overall, 115 (92% patients had one or more medications with one or more MAI criteria rated as inappropriate, giving a total of 384 (55.1% medications prescribed inappropriately. The mean SD MAI score per drug was 1.78 (SD=2.19. The most common medication classes with appropriateness problems were supplements (20.1%, antibiotics (20.0% and steroids (19.8%. The most common problems involved incorrect directions (26% and incorrect dosages (18.5%. There were 36 omitted medications with untreated indications. Conclusion: There is considerable inappropriate prescribing which could have significant negative effects regarding patient care.

Disease profile and Outcome of Newborn admitted to Neonatology unit of BPKIHS

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Piush Kanodia

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background & Objectives: Neonatal period is a vulnerable time in which the newborn has to adapt to a totally new environment and is susceptible to many problems, which may even be life threatening. Every year, millions of neonates are born and a large proportion of them are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU for various indications. It is found that neonatal mortality rate is decreasing in Nepal but at a slower pace than infant and child mortality. In order to improve neonatal outcome, it is crucial to identify the areas where health care can be improved. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the clinical profile, pattern of diseases and common causes of mortality and morbidity in neonates admitted to neonatology unit.Materials & Methods: A retrospective study was conducted at neonatology unit of BPKIHS, from January 2014 to December 2014. A total of 1009 neonates (both inborn and out-born were admitted to neonatology division during the study period. Data was collected from the hospital record section. Ethical clearance was taken from the institutional ethical committee before the initiation of the study. Data was entered and descriptive analysis was done by using SPSS 20.0.Results: Total of 1009 neonates were admitted in neonatology unit. Among them, 349(34.5% cases were admitted due neonatal sepsis, 236 (23.3% due to prematurity and 233 (23.1% with birth asphyxia. Among birth asphyxia, 102(43.7% were in HIE III, 34.3% and 21.8% in HIE II and HIE I, respectively. The overall mortality was 47 (4.7% during hospital stay.Conclusion: Sepsis, prematurity and birth asphyxia were major causes for admission in NICU. All these etiologies are preventable up to some extent and, if detected earlier, can be effectively treated in order to reduce morbidity and mortalityJCMS Nepal. 2015;11(3:20-24.

Profile of injury cases admitted to a tertiary level hospital in south India.

Science.gov (United States)

Uthkarsh, Pallavi Sarji; Suryanarayana, S P; Gautham, M S; Shivraj, N S; Murthy, N S; Pruthvish, S

2012-01-01

Injuries now rank among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality the world over. Injuries are steadily increasing in developing countries like India. Systematic and scientific efforts in injury prevention and control are yet to begin in India. Data on injuries are very essential to plan preventive and control measures. The objective of this study is to know the profile of the injury cases admitted to M S Ramaiah hospital, Bangalore, India, using a cross-sectional study design for six months, i.e. from Oct 2008 to April 2009. The mean age of the study population was 35.3 years (SD = 15.38), 69.1% were injured in road traffic accidents (RTA), 28.7% due to falls and 2.2% due to burns. Nearly 14.4% were under the influence of alcohol. Nearly 73.6% of RTA cases were two-wheeler users, 48.5% had not followed sign boards and 56.5% had not obeyed the one-way rules, 63.5% of the two-wheeler users did not use helmets. Also, 38% of two wheelers had two pillion riders, whereas 57% of four-wheeler users had not used a seat belt. Among falls, 58% occurred at home, 49% occurred due to slippery surface. Road traffic accidents were the most common cause for injuries, in which two wheelers were most commonly involved. Strict enforcement of traffic rules and education on road safety are very essential to prevent injuries.

Transition from hospital to daily life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Missel, Malene; Schønau, Mai Nanna; Pedersen, Jesper Holst

2014-01-01

, results showed that significantly more patients were offered physical rehabilitation, were aware of where to seek help after discharge, and experienced support to get back to daily life. CONCLUSIONS: A systematic rehabilitation counseling obliges some of the concerns lung cancer patients might have......PURPOSE: To assess the effect of nurse-led systematic rehabilitation counseling performed before discharge to prevent concerns in the hospital-to-home gap in rehabilitation of lung cancer patients after surgery. DESIGN AND METHOD: A quasi-experimental intervention study. One hundred twenty patients...... with operable non-small cell lung cancer admitted for surgery participated. Outcome was assessed by a validated self-rating questionnaire. The intervention was performed at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, University Hospital of Copenhagen, Denmark. RESULTS: Following nurse-led rehabilitation counseling...

Clinical and financial implications of emergency department visits for synthetic marijuana.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowley, Eric; Benson, David; Tiffee, Aaron; Hockensmith, Adam; Zeng, Henry; Jones, Glenn N; Musso, Mandi W

2017-10-01

Many users believe that synthetic cannabinoids offer a safe and legal means of getting high. However, spikes in emergency department visits have been associated with use of synthetic cannabinoids. The purpose of the current study was to document emergency department visits from three large hospitals in one metropolitan area over a two month period. This was a retrospective chart review examining 218 patients presenting to three inner city emergency departments between March and April 2014. Data collected included demographic information, information regarding ED diagnosis and treatment, signs and symptoms, ancillary testing, ED disposition, and cost of the medical treatment. The majority of patients (75.7%) were discharged after ED workup, but 12.4% were admitted for medical treatment and 11.5% were admitted for psychiatric treatment. Ten patients (4.6%) were admitted to the ICU. Symptoms experienced most frequently include: hypertension, tachycardia, agitation, drowsiness, nausea, and confusion. Cluster analysis revealed four symptom clusters of individuals presenting after using synthetic cannabinoids: 1) confusion, hostility, agitation, 2) nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, 3) drowsiness, and 4) the absence of these symptoms. This study has three important findings. First, significant ED resources are being used to treat individuals presenting due to effects of synthetic cannabis. Second, synthetic cannabis is not a benign substance. Third, while the hostile and agitated user is generally presented in the media, this study finds significant heterogeneity in presentation. Further research is needed to fully understand the implications of synthetic cannabinoid use. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical Predictors of Hospital Admission in Children Aged 0-24 Months with Acute Bronchiolitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nucksheeba Aziz

2015-03-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Bronchiolitis is a significant cause of acute morbidity in children less than 2 years old and some children with bronchiolitis are admitted to the hospital. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To identify clinical predictors of hospital admission in children aged 0-24 months with acute bronchiolitis.   METHODS: All children in the age group of 0-24 months presenting with acute bronchiolitis to a dedicated pediatric emergency department of GB pant cantonment children hospital, Govt Medical College Srinagar,   from April 2012-March 2013 were included in the study, provided they met the inclusion criteria. Non-parametric numerical variables were analyzed using Mann Whitney u test. Chi square was used to analyzecategorical variables, p value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: 763(552(72.3% male, mean age 8.52+/- 3.59 months children (0-24months presented with acute bronchiolitis during the study period. 435(313 (72% male, mean age 6.69+/-3.8 monthspatients were admitted to the hospital. The eight best predictors of admission (age, respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation, fever, grunt, dehydration and duration of symptoms were determined. CONCLUSION:This study has identified clinical predictors of admission in children aged 0-24 months with acute bronchiolitis. This information can be used as a guide in deciding whether to admit a child with bronchiolitis.

[Prevention of cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes mellitus: hospital emergency department involvement].

Science.gov (United States)

Agudo Villa, Teresa; Álvarez-Rodríguez, Esther; Caurel Sastre, Zaida; Martín Martínez, Alfonso; Merinero Palomares, Raúl; Alvarez Rodríguez, Virginia; Portero Sánchez, Isabel

2015-06-01

To analyze the risk profile of patients with diabetes who seek care from hospital emergency departments and emergency department involvement in preventing cardiovascular complications in these patients. Cross-sectional analysis of case series from 2 Spanish hospital emergency departments. We included all patients with a history or final diagnosis of diabetes mellitus who were treated in the emergency department between November 1, 2010, and June 30, 2011. Each patient's cardiovascular risk profile was analyzed. The main outcome was the appropriate of prescribed treatment to prevent cardiovascular complications according to the 2012 guidelines of the American Diabetes Association on the patient's discharge from emergency care. A total of 298 patients were included; 275 (92%) had type II diabetes. Ninety percent of the series (269 patients) had at least 1 cardiovascular risk factor and 147 (49%) had prior target organ damage; target organ damage was newly diagnosed in 41 (14%). Fifty-eight percent (172 patients) were discharged home from the emergency department. Although 215 patients (72%) were not adhering to at least 1 previously prescribed preventive treatment and 30 (10%) were not adhering to any prescribed treatment, drug prescriptions were modified only in 1.1% to 3.3% of patients and no follow-up was recommended in 42 cases (24%). Although diabetic patients treated in emergency departments are at high risk for cardiovascular complications, their visit is not used to optimize preventive treatment for these complications or ensure appropriate follow-up.

[Crisis unit at the general hospital: Determinants of further hospitalization].

Science.gov (United States)

Norotte, C; Omnès, C; Crozier, C; Verlyck, C; Romanos, M

2017-10-01

The availability of short-stay beds for brief admission (less than 72hours) of crisis patients presenting to the emergency room is a model that has gained a growing interest because it allows time for developing alternatives to psychiatric hospitalization and favors a maintained functioning in the community. Still, the determinants influencing the disposition decision at discharge after crisis intervention remain largely unexplored. The primary objective of this study was to determine the factors predicting aftercare dispositions at crisis unit discharge: transfer for further hospitalization or return to the community. Secondary objectives included the description of clinical and socio-demographic characteristics of patients admitted to the crisis unit upon presentation to the emergency room. All patients (n=255) admitted to the short-stay unit of the emergency department of Rambouillet General Hospital during a one-year period were included in the study. Patient characteristics were collected in a retrospective manner from medical records: patterns of referral, acute stressors, presenting symptoms, initial patient demand, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edition (DSM-5) disorders, psychiatric history, and socio-demographic characteristics were inferred. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the factors associated with hospitalization decision upon crisis intervention at discharge. Following crisis intervention at the short-stay unit, 100 patients (39.2%) required further hospitalization and were transferred. Statistically significant factors associated with a higher probability of hospitalization (P<0.05) included the patient's initial wish to be hospitalized (OR=4.28), the presence of a comorbid disorder (OR=3.43), a referral by family or friends (OR=2.89), a history of psychiatric hospitalization (OR=2.71) and suicidal ideation on arrival in the emergency room (OR=2.26). Conversely, significant factors associated with a lower probability of

The derivation and validation of a simple model for predicting in-hospital mortality of acutely admitted patients to internal medicine wards.

Science.gov (United States)

Sakhnini, Ali; Saliba, Walid; Schwartz, Naama; Bisharat, Naiel

2017-06-01

Limited information is available about clinical predictors of in-hospital mortality in acute unselected medical admissions. Such information could assist medical decision-making.To develop a clinical model for predicting in-hospital mortality in unselected acute medical admissions and to test the impact of secondary conditions on hospital mortality.This is an analysis of the medical records of patients admitted to internal medicine wards at one university-affiliated hospital. Data obtained from the years 2013 to 2014 were used as a derivation dataset for creating a prediction model, while data from 2015 was used as a validation dataset to test the performance of the model. For each admission, a set of clinical and epidemiological variables was obtained. The main diagnosis at hospitalization was recorded, and all additional or secondary conditions that coexisted at hospital admission or that developed during hospital stay were considered secondary conditions.The derivation and validation datasets included 7268 and 7843 patients, respectively. The in-hospital mortality rate averaged 7.2%. The following variables entered the final model; age, body mass index, mean arterial pressure on admission, prior admission within 3 months, background morbidity of heart failure and active malignancy, and chronic use of statins and antiplatelet agents. The c-statistic (ROC-AUC) of the prediction model was 80.5% without adjustment for main or secondary conditions, 84.5%, with adjustment for the main diagnosis, and 89.5% with adjustment for the main diagnosis and secondary conditions. The accuracy of the predictive model reached 81% on the validation dataset.A prediction model based on clinical data with adjustment for secondary conditions exhibited a high degree of prediction accuracy. We provide a proof of concept that there is an added value for incorporating secondary conditions while predicting probabilities of in-hospital mortality. Further improvement of the model performance

Cyst infection in hospital-admitted autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease patients is predominantly multifocal and associated with kidney and liver volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balbo, B.E.P. [Divisão de Nefrologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Sapienza, M.T.; Ono, C.R. [Divisão de Medicina Nuclear, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Jayanthi, S.K. [Divisão de Radiologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Dettoni, J.B. [Divisão de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Castro, I.; Onuchic, L.F. [Divisão de Nefrologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2014-06-13

Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) has improved cyst infection (CI) management in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). The determinants of kidney and/or liver involvement, however, remain uncertain. In this study, we evaluated clinical and imaging factors associated with CI in kidney (KCI) and liver (LCI) in ADPKD. A retrospective cohort study was performed in hospital-admitted ADPKD patients with suspected CI. Clinical, imaging and surgical data were analyzed. Features of infected cysts were evaluated by PET/CT. Total kidney (TKV) and liver (TLV) volumes were measured by CT-derived multiplanar reconstruction. CI was detected in 18 patients who experienced 24 episodes during an interval of 30 months (LCI in 12, KCI in 10 and concomitant infection in 2). Sensitivities of CT, magnetic resonance imaging and PET/CT were 25.0, 71.4, and 95.0%. Dysuria (P<0.05), positive urine culture (P<0.01), and previous hematuria (P<0.05) were associated with KCI. Weight loss (P<0.01) and increased C-reactive protein levels (P<0.05) were associated with LCI. PET/CT revealed that three or more infected cysts were present in 70% of the episodes. TKV was higher in kidney-affected than in LCI patients (AUC=0.91, P<0.05), with a cut-off of 2502 mL (72.7% sensitivity, 100.0% specificity). TLV was higher in liver-affected than in KCI patients (AUC=0.89, P<0.01) with a cut-off of 2815 mL (80.0% sensitivity, 87.5% specificity). A greater need for invasive procedures was observed in LCI (P<0.01), and the overall mortality was 20.8%. This study supports PET/CT as the most sensitive imaging method for diagnosis of cyst infection, confirms the multifocal nature of most hospital-admitted episodes, and reveals an association of kidney and liver volumes with this complication.

Rates of TBI-related Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths - United States, 2001 – 2010

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — In general, total combined rates for traumatic brain injury (TBI)-related emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations and deaths have increased over the past...

The Frequent Fliers of New Mexico: Hospital Readmissions among the Homeless Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Dirmyer, Victoria F

2016-07-01

It is estimated that there are 1.7 million homeless individuals in the United States; 36% are families with children under the age of 18. Due to lack of resources, individuals who are homeless frequent emergency departments for immediate health care needs. The aim of this study was to examine a homeless population over a 3-year time period who were admitted to an Albuquerque area hospital at any time during the time period. A comparison of demographic characteristics as well as hospitalization characteristics between two populations was analyzed: individuals who were homeless and had a 30-day readmission compared to those that did not have a 30-day readmission. There were 850 unique homeless patients that were admitted to an Albuquerque area hospital during the 3-year time period. The mean age was 43.8 years with the majority of the population being male. The 3-year average 30-day readmission rate was 30.1%. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that homeless patients older than 19 years, individuals with more than 1 admission during the time period, and individuals who left against medical advice had increased odds of a 30-day readmission. Individuals who were homeless who were admitted for respiratory conditions or cardiovascular disease had decreased odds of a 30-day readmission compared to patients admitted for neuropsychiatric conditions. In New Mexico, patients who were homeless experienced a high 30-day readmission rate. These results suggest a need for further research into the healthcare needs of this population and how to improve discharge protocols to prevent future readmissions.

Tentativa de suicídio entre pacientes com uso nocivo de bebidas alcoólicas internados em hospital geral Suicide attempt amongst patients with alcohol misuse admitted to a general hospital

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Daniela Dantas Lima

2010-01-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Detectar fatores associados a histórico de tentativa de suicídio (TS em pacientes internados em hospital geral que fazem uso nocivo de bebidas alcoólicas. MÉTODO: 4.352 pacientes admitidos consecutivamente foram avaliados utilizando-se um rastreamento do qual constavam as escalas AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test e HAD (Escala Hospitalar de Ansiedade e Depressão. Fixando-se histórico de tentativa de suicídio ao longo da vida como variável dependente, foram realizados testes do qui-quadrado e regressão logística múltipla. RESULTADOS: Uso nocivo de álcool (AUDIT > 8 foi detectado em 423 pacientes. Dentre eles, 60 (14,2% apresentavam sintomas de depressão (HAD > 8 e 34 (8% tinham histórico de TS. Este se associou a ser adulto jovem [razão de chance (RC = 3,4], depressão (RC = 6,6, uso pregresso de psicofármaco (RC = 7 e ter SIDA (RC = 24. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados fortalecem a necessidade de detectar e tratar adequadamente condições que, combinadas, aumentam consideravelmente o risco de suicídio.OBJECTIVE: To detect factors associated to previous suicide attempt among patients admitted to a general hospital who presented harmful alcohol drinking pattern. METHOD: 4.352 patients consecutively admitted were screened by means of the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test and HAD (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Qui-squared tests and multiple logistic regression were performed. RESULTS: 423 individuals presented alcohol harmful use or dependence (AUDIT > 8, 60 (14.2% of which had depression (HAD > 8 and 34 (8% previous suicide attempt. The latter was more frequent among young adults [odds ratio (OR = 3.4], those who were depressed (OR = 6.6, had previously taken psychotropic medicines (OR = 7 and had AIDS (OR = 24. CONCLUSION: Our findings reinforce the need for detection and adequate treatment of conditions that, when together, strongly increase the suicide risk.

Practical radiation protection in hospitals. A view at the nuclear medicine departement of the University Hospital of Cologne

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sudbrock, Ferdinand

2011-01-01

Radiation protection plays a predominant role in nuclear medicine departments as they are installations dealing with open radioactive substances. Many experts in radiation protection who are not directly involved in nuclear medicine may only have a vague insight into the daily routine of such installations. This contribution would like to give an impression by making a virtual tour through the nuclear medicine department of the University Hospital of Cologne - a department that covers a large part of the ability spectrum of this discipline. This tour will show some specialities concerning radiation protection in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. (orig.)

A retrospective review of snake bite victims admitted in a tertiary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: Snake bite remains major public health problem worldwide. We present our experience with cases of snake bites managed in our tertiary care teaching center of South India. Materials and Methods: The details of all patients with snake bite admitted to a tertiary teaching care hospital from 2010 to 2012 were ...

Pattern of cardiovascular diseases in pilgrims admitted in Al-Noor hospital Makkah during hajj 1429 H

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serafi, A.S.

2010-01-01

The number of Hajj pilgrims is increasing every year, and has crossed the huge figure of 2 million. During Hajj period of 1428H (2007G), cardiac problems have been reported as one of the commonest causes of admissions in hospitals. However, the data regarding their Nationalities, age and gender is not available in the literature. This study was carried out to identify the cardiovascular diseases in Hajj pilgrims for the year 1429 H (2008G) classified on geographical, age and gender basis, and to suggest pre-Hajj measures for their home countries and their handling by concerned Ministry during Hajj. Methods: On retrospective basis, data of all patients belonging to different Nationalities of various regions of the world, their age and gender, was analysed, who were admitted in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) and cardiology wards at Al- Noor Specialist Hospital Makkah, over a period of 15 days in Hajj season 1429H (2008G). Results: Out of 203 patients hospitalised, the majority (94%) were older, i.e., >45 years. The patients suffering from various cardiac diseases were in the following order: heart failure cases 67%; ischemic heart disease 21.7%; and valvular heart disease 11.3%. As an outcome of total admissions (hospitalisation), 84% patients were discharged in stable condition, 9% were discharged against medical advice, 4.5% were unable to perform Hajj and 2.5% patients died. Most common cardiac diseases were found in hospitalized patients for Hajj 1429 H, which belongs to different countries over the globe. It indicate loop holes in the health services of their home countries not verifying the physical fitness of their pilgrims before allowing them to proceed for Hajj. This study will also serve as a helping tool for the Ministry of Hajj in Saudi Arabia to take appropriate measures for demanding strictness for the physical fitness of Hajj pilgrims and anticipated health services for them. (author)

Investigation and diagnostic formulation in patients admitted with transient loss of consciousness

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Briggs, R

2017-05-01

Several commonly completed tests have low diagnostic yield in the setting of transient loss of consciousness (T-LOC). We estimated the use and cost of inappropriate investigations in patients admitted with T-LOC and assessed if these patients were given a definitive diagnosis for their presentation. We identified 80 consecutive patients admitted with T-LOC to a university teaching hospital. Eighty-eight percent (70\\/80) had a computerized topography (CT) brain scan and 49% (34\\/70) of these scans were inappropriate based on standard guidelines. Almost half (17\\/80) of electroencephalograms (EEG) and 82% (9\\/11) of carotid doppler ultrasound performed were not based on clinical evidence of seizure or stroke respectively. Forty-four percent (35\\/80) of patients had no formal diagnosis documented for their presentation. Inappropriate investigation in T-LOC is very prevalent in the acute hospital, increasing cost of patient care. In addition, there is poor diagnostic formulation for T-LOC making recurrent events more likely in the absence of definitive diagnoses

Organizational factors affecting length of stay in the emergency department: initial observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bashkin, Osnat; Caspi, Sigalit; Haligoa, Rachel; Mizrahi, Sari; Stalnikowicz, Ruth

2015-01-01

Length of stay (LOS) is considered a key measure of emergency department throughput, and from the perspective of the patient, it is perceived as a measure of healthcare service quality. Prolonged LOS can be caused by various internal and external factors. This study examined LOS in the emergency department and explored the main factors that influence LOS and cause delay in patient care. Observations of 105 patients were performed over a 3-month period at the emergency room of a community urban hospital. Observers monitored patients from the moment of entrance to the department until discharge or admission to another hospital ward. Analysis revealed a general average total emergency department LOS of 438 min. Significant differences in average LOS were found between admitted patients (Mean = 544 min, SD = 323 min) and discharged patients (Mean = 291 min, SD = 286 min). In addition, nurse and physician change of shifts and admissions to hospital wards were found to be significant factors associated with LOS. Using an Ishikawa causal diagram, we explored various latent organizational factors that may prolong this time. The study identified several factors that are associated with high average emergency department LOS. High LOS may lead to increases in expenditures and may have implications for patient safety, whereas certain organizational changes, communication improvement, and time management may have a positive effect on it. Interdisciplinary methods can be used to explore factors causing prolonged emergency department LOS and contribute to a better understanding of them.

Acute admissions to medical departments. A comparison between an urban and a rural district

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hilsted, J C; Evald, T; Elbrønd, R

1995-01-01

of admissions for social reasons was 13 percent to the city hospital versus 3 percent to the district hospital. Relevant alternatives to hospitalization seemed to exist in 50 percent of the admissions to the city hospital versus only 3 percent to the district hospital. Since patients admitted for social reasons...... block hospital beds for a longer time period than those admitted for other reasons, these differences may to some extent explain why length of hospital stay is longer in city hospitals than in rural ones....

Epidemiologic Evaluation of Ocular Trauma in Patients Admitted to Ophthalmology Ward of Farshchian Hospital in Hamadan in 2012

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N. Bazzazi

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction & Objective: Ocular trauma is one of the important reasons of visual loss which can cause multiple damages to eyelid, eyeball and adenexal tissues. Furthermore, ocular trauma is one of the major causes of unilateral blindness and the third leading cause of hospi-talization in ophthalmology wards. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and characteristics of eye trauma at Farshchian hospital in Hamadan in 2012. Material & Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive study, 70 patients with ocular trauma, admitted to Farshchian hospital, were studied. We assessed the age, sex, job , educational level, location, cause of trauma, its type and site of injury. The data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software and t, ?2 statistical tests. Results: The mean age of patients in this study was 24.01 years (SD= 16.04. Among 70 pa-tients, 58 people (82.1% were males and 12 patients (17.1% were females. The most com-mon cause of trauma was observed in 19 patients (27.1%. The most common location of the trauma in this study was homing, seen in 28 patients (40%. Among the 70 patients, 29 peo-ple (41.4% had open globe injuries, 25 people had (35.7% closed globe injuries, 5 patients (7.1% had burning and 11 patients (15.7% had adenexal injury. Conclusions: The results showed that most ocular traumas occur in the early ages and in males. The most common type of them is open globe injury and the most common cause is a sharp object. (Sci J Hamadan Univ Med Sci 2014; 21 (1:25-31

Favorable bed utilization and readmission rates for emergency department observation unit heart failure patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Schrager, Justin; Wheatley, Matthew; Georgiopoulou, Vasiliki; Osborne, Anwar; Kalogeropoulos, Andreas; Hung, Olivia; Butler, Javed; Ross, Michael

2013-06-01

The objective was to compare readmission rates and hospital bed-days between acute decompensated heart failure (AHF) patients admitted or discharged following accelerated treatment protocol (ATP)-driven care in an emergency department observation unit (OU). This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at two urban university-affiliated hospitals. A total of 358 selected AHF patients received treatment on an ATP in the OU between October 1, 2007, and June 30, 2011. The comparison of interest was admission or discharge following OU treatment. The outcome of interest was readmission within 30 and 90 days of hospital discharge following care in the OU. We also examined resource use (inpatient, inpatient plus outpatient-days) between the admitted and discharged groups. Time to readmission analysis was performed with Cox proportional hazards regression. Discharged and admitted patients were similar with respect to age, race, sex, ED length of stay (LOS), and OU LOS. Patients admitted from the OU had a higher median B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; 1,063 pg/mL [interquartile range {IQR} = 552 to 2,067 pg/mL] vs. 708 pg/mL [IQR = 254 to 1,683 pg/mL]; p = 0.002) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN; 19 mg/dL [IQR = 14 to 26 mg/dL] vs. 17 mg/dL [IQR = 13 to 23 mg/dL]) than those discharged (p = 0.04) and a lower median ejection fraction (EF; 22.5% [15% to 43%] vs. 35% [IQR 20% to 55%]; p = 0.002). In models controlling for age, race, sex, clinical site, BNP, BUN, creatinine, and EF, the 30-day readmission rate (13.8% in the study population as a whole) was not significantly different between the patients discharged or admitted following OU care (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.47 to 2.10). The readmission rates were also not significantly different at 90 days (HR = 1.07; 95% CI = 0.65 to 1.77). Within 30 days of discharge from the OU, patients spent a median of 1.7 days (IQR = 0.0 to 5.1 days) as inpatients, compared to 3.5 days (IQR = 2.3 to 5.8 days

Pattern and outcome of cases seen at the Adult Accident and Emergency Department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos.

Science.gov (United States)

Uzoechina, N S; Abiola, A O; Akodu, B A; Mbakwem, A; Arogundade, A R; Tijani, H; Adegbesan-Omilabu, M A

2012-01-01

The accident and emergency department constitutes one of the vital entry points of patients into the healthcare facility of the hospital the world over. It responds to and manages variety of cases in all the clinical areas and thus pr vides an insight to the quality of care available in the health institution. The aim of this study is to determine the pattern of cases seen as well as the causes of deaths at the adult accident and emergency department of the Lagos UniversityTeaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos. Retrospective review of records of all patients attended to at the adult accident and emergency department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in 2009 and 2010 was carried out. Data spread sheet was used to collect data on demographic indices, diagnosis, outcome, date admitted, date discharged and amount paid from casualty attendance register and Nurses' report books. Data was collated and analysed using Epi-Info version 3.4.1 statistical software package. Out of the 5,427 available patients' records reviewed, 4,761(87.7%) were recorded as "discharged alive", 546 (10.1%) were recorded as "died", while 120 (2.2%) were recorded as "brought in dead". Of those discharged alive, male attendance was 2,376 (49.10%) while that of the female was 2,385 (50.10%). Majority of these patients were aged 20-39 years and the mean age of the patients was 39.96 +/- 18.22 yrs. Majority of cases seen were medical in origin (53.7%) and highest medical case seen was cerebrovascular accident, Commonest cause of death was from medical cases [69.2%] (cerebrovascular accident 22.0%). Male mortality was 55.3% while female mortality was 44.7%, mean age was 46.86 +/- 17.61. Most affected age group was 40 - 59 years (35.4%) and highest number of death was seen in December. The commonest case seen as well as commonest cause of death was cerebrovascular accident. A high number of heart failure, head injuries, road traffic accidents, upper gastrointestinal bleeding and post partum

On the History of Hospital and Department of Infectious Diseases in Lviv

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.N. Zinchuk

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Hospital of infectious diseases in Lviv was founded on December 29, 1912 and became a clinical basis of the faculty of medicine at Lviv University. At that time, hospital of infectious diseases was a leading medical establishment with European level. Throughout years, the hospital was headed by corresponding member of Polish Academy of Medical Sciences Wincenty Arnold (1912–1926, professor Witold Lipinski (1926–1941, 1944–1946. In 1939, after union of the Western Ukraine and Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Lviv state medical institute was founded on the basis of the faculty of medicine of Lviv university, and hospital of infectious diseases in Pekarska street, 54 became its clinical center. In 1940, the department of infectious diseases was founded in Lviv medical institute, in different years it was headed by professor W. Lipinski (1940–1941, 1944–1946, professor H.H. Homenko (1946–1951, associate professor B.M. Kotliarenko (1951–1969, professor M.B. Titov (1951–1997, professor L. Yu. Shevchenko (1997–2005, professor O.M. Zinchuk (since 2005 till present. A number of novel diagnostic and therapeutic techniques have been suggested, 30 theses for candidate degree and 6 theses for doctor degree have been defended at the department of infectious diseases.

Prevalence and overlap of Disease Management Program diseases in older hospitalized patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juul-Larsen, Helle Gybel; Petersen, Janne; Sivertsen, Ditte Maria

2017-01-01

Many countries, like Denmark, have tailored Disease Management Programs (DMPs) based on patients having single chronic diseases [defined institutionally as "program diseases" (PDs)], which can complicate treatment for those with multiple chronic diseases. The aims of this study were (a) to assess...... the prevalence and overlap among acutely hospitalized older medical patients of PDs defined by the DMPs, and (b) to examine transitions between different departments during hospitalization and mortality and readmission within two time intervals among patients with the different PDs. We conducted a registry study...... of 4649 acutely hospitalized medical patients ≥65 years admitted to Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, Denmark, in 2012, and divided patients into six PD groups (type 2 diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disease, dementia and cancer), each...

A Brief Discussion of Improving Quality Management and Prevention of Infection in Disinfection Supply Department of Local Hospital

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Hua-lin HU

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: In order to improve the quality management of supply department in our hospital, develop the quality of our nursing work, control hospital infection. Methods: Make scientific and standard working procedures, pay attention to training of staff in supply department, make strict rules and regulations, attach importance to process management, improve the quality of nursing work, reinforce the protection of our staff. Results: We improved the method of management, developed the level of management. Conclusion: Supply Department up to standards, scientific and standardized level through a series of management measures, plays an important role in controlling Infection of hospital.

The impact of a neuro-intensivist on patients with stroke admitted to a neurosciences intensive care unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Varelas, Panayiotis N; Schultz, Lonni; Conti, Mary; Spanaki, Marianna; Genarrelli, Thomas; Hacein-Bey, Lotfi

2008-01-01

Stroke Units improve the outcome in patients with mild to moderate severity strokes. We sought to examine the role that a full-time neurointensivist (NI) might play on the outcomes of patients with more severe strokes admitted to a Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Data regarding 433 stroke patients admitted to a 10-bed university hospital NICU were prospectively collected in two 19-month periods, before and after the appointment of a NI. Outcomes and disposition of patients with ischemic stroke (IS), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were compared between the two periods, using univariate and multivariate analyses. One hundred and seventy-four patients with strokes were admitted in the period before and 259 in the period after the NI. Observed mortality did not differ between the two periods. More patients were discharged home in the after period (75% vs. 54% in the before period (P = 0.003). After adjusting for covariates, the NICU and hospital LOS were shorter for each type of stroke in the after period (Cox proportional hazard ratios, 95% CI were 2.37, 1.4-4.1 and 1.8, 1.04-3 for IS, 1.98, 1.3-3 and 1.2, 0.8-1.9 for ICH, and 1.6, 1.1-2.3 and 1.4, 1.01-2 for SAH, respectively) or for all strokes (1.92, 1.52-2.43 and 1.7, 1.28-2.25 for the first 12 days of hospital admission). The direct patient care offered and the organizational changes implemented by a NI shortened the NICU and hospital LOS and improved the disposition of patients with strokes admitted to a NICU.

INVESTIGATION OF THE RISK FACTORS FOR CORONARY ARTERY DISEASES IN EMPLOYEES AND THEIR SPOUSES OF THE ELAZIG SECURITY DEPARTMENT WHO ADMITTED TO MEDICAL DEPARTMENT OF THIS HEADQUARTER

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suleyman Erhan DEVECI

2006-08-01

Full Text Available This study was carried out with the aim of identifying risk factors coronary artery disease (CAD in the employees of Elazig Security Department. Questionnaires were applied to members and/or spouses (313 individuals of Elazig Security Department admitting to the Health Office for any reason in November-December 2003. Measurements for fasting blood sugar, serum cholesterol levels and blood pressure values were carried out. Of the individuals participating in this study, 1.9% reported having diabetes, 2.9% heart disease and 5.4% hypertension. Mean blood pressure measurements were; systolic 114.1±15.9 and diastolic 74.6±10.3 mmHg, mean fasting blood glucose values were reported as 90.9±16.6 mg/dl. 8.9% had high systolic and 7.7% had high diastolic blood pressure measurements, 16.0% had elevated total cholesterol and 3.5% had elevated fasting blood sugar levels. 36.7% reported to be current smokers, 20.8% reported having regular physical activity. 65.5% reported skipping meals and 47.3% reported eating snacks between the meals. In the group that was analyzed, the rates of smoking, sedentary life style and irregular eating habits that are considered as risk factors for CAD were high. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2006; 5(4.000: 235-243

Hospital-acquired symptomatic urinary tract infection in patients admitted to an academic stroke center affects discharge disposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ifejika-Jones, Nneka L; Peng, Hui; Noser, Elizabeth A; Francisco, Gerard E; Grotta, James C

2013-01-01

To test the role of hospital-acquired symptomatic urinary tract infection (SUTI) as an independent predictor of discharge disposition in the acute stroke patient. A retrospective study of data collected from a stroke registry service. The registry is maintained by the Specialized Programs of Translational Research in Acute Stroke Data Core. The Specialized Programs of Translational Research in Acute Stroke is a national network of 8 centers that perform early phase clinical projects, share data, and promote new approaches to therapy for acute stroke. A single university-based hospital. We performed a data query of the fields of interest from our university-based stroke registry, a collection of 200 variables collected prospectively for each patient admitted to the stroke service between July 2004 and October 2009, with discharge disposition of home, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility, or long-term acute care. Baseline demographics, including age, gender, ethnicity, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, were collected. Cerebrovascular disease risk factors were used for independent risk assessment. Interaction terms were created between SUTI and known covariates, such as age, NIHSS, serum creatinine level, history of stroke, and urinary incontinence. Because patients who share discharge disposition tend to have similar length of hospitalization, we analyzed the effect of SUTI on the median length of stay for a correlation. Days in the intensive care unit and death were used to evaluate morbidity and mortality. By using multivariate logistic regression, the data were analyzed for differences in poststroke disposition among patients with SUTI. Of 4971 patients admitted to the University of Texas at Houston Stroke Service, 2089 were discharged to home, 1029 to inpatient rehabilitation, 659 to a skilled nursing facility, and 226 to a long-term acute care facility. Patients with an SUTI were 57% less likely to be discharged home

Poor performance of quick-SOFA (qSOFA) score in predicting severe sepsis and mortality - a prospective study of patients admitted with infection to the emergency department.

Science.gov (United States)

Askim, Åsa; Moser, Florentin; Gustad, Lise T; Stene, Helga; Gundersen, Maren; Åsvold, Bjørn Olav; Dale, Jostein; Bjørnsen, Lars Petter; Damås, Jan Kristian; Solligård, Erik

2017-06-09

We aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of qSOFA as a risk stratification tool for patients admitted with infection compared to traditional SIRS criteria or our triage system; the Rapid Emergency Triage and Treatment System (RETTS). The study was an observational cohort study performed at one Emergency Department (ED) in an urban university teaching hospital in Norway, with approximately 20,000 visits per year. All patients >16 years presenting with symptoms or clinical signs suggesting an infection (n = 1535) were prospectively included in the study from January 1 to December 31, 2012. At arrival in the ED, vital signs were recorded and all patients were triaged according to RETTS vital signs, presenting infection, and sepsis symptoms. These admission data were also used to calculate qSOFA and SIRS. Treatment outcome was later retrieved from the patients' electronic records (EPR) and mortality data from the Norwegian population registry. Of the 1535 admitted patients, 108 (7.0%) fulfilled the Sepsis2 criteria for severe sepsis. The qSOFA score ≥2 identified only 33 (sensitivity 0.32, specificity 0.98) of the patients with severe sepsis, whilst the RETTS-alert ≥ orange identified 92 patients (sensitivity 0.85, specificity 0.55). Twenty-six patients died within 7 days of admission; four (15.4%) of them had a qSOFA ≥2, and 16 (61.5%) had RETTS ≥ orange alert. Of the 68 patients that died within 30 days, only eight (11.9%) scored ≥2 on the qSOFA, and 45 (66.1%) had a RETTS ≥ orange alert. In order to achieve timely treatment for sepsis, a sensitive screening tool is more important than a specific one. Our study is the fourth study were qSOFA finds few of the sepsis cases in prehospital or at arrival to the ED. We add information on the RETTS triage system, the two highest acuity levels together had a high sensitivity (85%) for identifying sepsis at arrival to the ED - and thus, RETTS should not be replaced by qSOFA as a screening and

Contextual factors associated with hospitals' decision to operate freestanding emergency departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Patidar, Nitish; Weech-Maldonado, Robert; O'Connor, Stephen J; Sen, Bisakha; Trimm, J M Mickey; Camargo, Carlos A

Freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) are fast growing entities in health care, delivering emergency care outside of hospitals. Hospitals may benefit in several ways by opening FSEDs. The study used the resource dependence theory as a means to analyze the relationship between market and organizational factors and the likelihood of hospitals to operate FSEDs. All acute care hospitals in 14 states with FSEDs present during the study period from 2002 to 2011. Data on FSEDs were merged with American Hospital Association Annual Survey, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Cost Reports, and Area Resource File data. The outcome variable consists of whether or not the hospital operates an FSED. Independent variables include per capita income, percent population over age of 65 years, primary care and specialist physicians per capita, urban location, change in the unemployment rate, change in the population, change in poverty level, market competition, total satellite and autonomous FSEDs in the market, Medicare-managed care penetration rate, hospital beds, total margin, and system membership. We used logistic regression analysis with state and year fixed effects. Standard errors in the regression were clustered by hospital. The number of hospitals operating satellite FSEDs increased from 32 (2.33%) in 2002 to 91 (5.76%) hospitals in 2011 among the 14 states included in the study sample. The results support the hypothesis that hospitals located in munificent environments and more competitive environments (presence of other FSEDs) are more likely to operate an FSED. Organizational level factors such as bed size and system membership are associated with a hospital operating an FSED. The findings may be used by policy makers in developing regulations for hospitals opening FSEDs. Also, study findings of this study may be used by hospitals to make informed decisions when formulating strategies regarding FSEDs.

The German hospital malnutrition study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pirlich, Matthias; Schütz, Tatjana; Norman, Kristina; Gastell, Sylvia; Lübke, Heinrich Josef; Bischoff, Stephan C; Bolder, Ulrich; Frieling, Thomas; Güldenzoph, Helge; Hahn, Kristian; Jauch, Karl-Walter; Schindler, Karin; Stein, Jürgen; Volkert, Dorothee; Weimann, Arved; Werner, Hansjörg; Wolf, Christiane; Zürcher, Gudrun; Bauer, Peter; Lochs, Herbert

2006-08-01

Malnutrition is frequently observed in chronic and severe diseases and associated with impaired outcome. In Germany general data on prevalence and impact of hospital malnutrition are missing. Nutritional state was assessed by subjective global assessment (SGA) and by anthropometric measurements in 1,886 consecutively admitted patients in 13 hospitals (n=1,073, university hospitals; n=813, community or teaching hospitals). Risk factors for malnutrition and the impact of nutritional status on length of hospital stay were analyzed. Malnutrition was diagnosed in 27.4% of patients according to SGA. A low arm muscle area and arm fat area were observed in 11.3% and 17.1%, respectively. Forty-three % of patients 70 years old were malnourished compared to only 7.8% of patients malnutrition was observed in geriatric (56.2%), oncology (37.6%), and gastroenterology (32.6%) departments. Multivariate analysis revealed three independent risk factors: higher age, polypharmacy, and malignant disease (all PMalnutrition was associated with an 43% increase of hospital stay (PMalnutrition is associated with increased length of hospital stay. Higher age, malignant disease and major comorbidity were found to be the main contributors to malnutrition. Adequate nutritional support should be initiated in order to optimize the clinical outcome of these patients.

How CAGE, RAPS4QF and AUDIT can help practitioners for patients admitted with acute alcohol intoxication in emergency departments?

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Georges eBrousse

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Aims: To help clinicians to identify the severity of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD from optimal thresholds found for recommended scales. Especially, taking account of the high prevalence of alcohol dependence among patients admitted to the Emergency Department (ED for acute alcohol intoxication (AAI, we propose to define thresholds of severity of dependence based on the AUDIT score.Methods: All patients admitted to the ED with AAI (blood alcohol level >0.8g/L, in a two-month period, were assessed using the CAGE, RAPS-QF and AUDIT, with the alcohol dependence/abuse section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI used as the gold standard. To explore the relation between the AUDIT and the MINI the sum of the positive items on the MINI (dependence as a quantitative variable and as an ordinal parameter were analyzed. From the threshold score (TS found for each scale we proposed intervals of severity of Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs. Results: The mean age of the sample (122 males, 42 females was 46 years. Approximately 12 % of the patients were identified with alcohol abuse and 78 % with dependence (DSM-IV. Cut points were determined for the AUDIT in order to distinguish mild and moderate dependence from severe dependence. A strategy of intervention based on levels of severity of AUD was proposed. Conclusion: Different thresholds proposed for the CAGE, RAPS4-QF and AUDIT could be used to guide the choice of intervention for a patient: brief intervention, brief negotiation interviewing or longer more intensive motivational intervention.

Describing the continuum of collaboration among local health departments with hospitals around the community health assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Kristin D; Mohr, Lisa Buettner; Beatty, Kate E; Ciecior, Amanda

2014-01-01

Hospitals and local health departments (LHDs) are under policy requirements from the Affordable Care Act and accreditation standards through the Public Health Accreditation Board. Tax exempt hospitals must perform a community health needs assessment (CHNA), similar to the community health assessment (CHA) required for LHDs. These efforts have led to a renewed interest in hospitals and LHDs working together to achieve common goals. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of levels of joint action leading toward collaboration between LHDs and hospitals and describe collaboration around CHAs. Local health departments were selected on the basis of reporting collaboration (n = 26) or unsure about collaboration (n = 29) with local hospitals. Local health departments were surveyed regarding their relationship with local hospitals. For LHDs currently collaborating with a hospital, a collaboration continuum scale was calculated. Appropriate nonparametric tests, chi-squares, and Spearman's rank correlations were conducted to determine differences between groups. A total of 44 LHDs responded to the survey (80.0%). Currently collaborating LHDs were more likely to be interested in accreditation and to refer to their CHA 5 or more times a year compared to the unsure LHDs. In the analysis, a collaboration continuum was created and is positively correlated with aspects of the CHA and CHA process. This study is the first attempt to quantify the level of collaboration between LHDs and hospitals around CHAs. Better understanding of the levels of joint action required may assist LHDs in making informed decisions regarding deployment of resources on the path to accreditation.

Characteristics, clinical course, and outcomes of homeless and non-homeless patients admitted to ICU: A retrospective cohort study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Orla M Smith

Full Text Available Little is known about homeless patients in intensive care units (ICUs.To compare clinical characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of homeless to non-homeless patients admitted to four ICUs in a large inner-city academic hospital.63 randomly-selected homeless compared to 63 age-, sex-, and admitting-ICU-matched non-homeless patients.Compared to matched non-homeless, homeless patients (average age 48±12 years, 90% male, 87% admitted by ambulance, 56% mechanically ventilated, average APACHE II 17 had similar comorbidities and illness severity except for increased alcohol (70% vs 17%,p<0.001 and illicit drug(46% vs 8%,p<0.001 use and less documented hypertension (16% vs 40%,p = 0.005 or prescription medications (48% vs 67%,p<0.05. Intensity of ICU interventions was similar except for higher thiamine (71% vs 21%,p<0.0001 and nicotine (38% vs 14%,p = 0.004 prescriptions. Homeless patients exhibited significantly lower Glasgow Coma Scores and significantly more bacterial respiratory cultures. Longer durations of antibiotics, vasopressors/inotropes, ventilation, ICU and hospital lengths of stay were not statistically different, but homeless patients had higher hospital mortality (29% vs 8%,p = 0.005. Review of all deaths disclosed that withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy occurred in similar clinical circumstances and proportions in both groups, regardless of family involvement. Using multivariable logistic regression, homelessness did not appear to be an independent predictor of hospital mortality.Homeless patients, admitted to ICU matched to non-homeless patients by age and sex (characteristics most commonly used by clinicians, have higher hospital mortality despite similar comorbidities and illness severity. Trends to longer durations of life supports may have contributed to the higher mortality. Additional research is required to validate this higher mortality and develop strategies to improve outcomes in this vulnerable population.

Maternal healthcare needs assessment survey at Rabia Balkhi Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Khorrami, Homa; Karzai, Fatima; Macri, Charles J; Amir, Azizullah; Laube, Douglas

2008-06-01

Since the Department of Health and Human Services chose Rabia Balkhi Hospital (RBH) in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a site for intervention in 2002, the status of women's health there has been of interest. This study created a tool to assess accessibility and quality of care of women admitted from May to July, 2005. A 39-item questionnaire was created in English and translated into Dari. Hospital staff administered the survey to 292 women admitted to RBH for obstetric and gynecological complaints. Approximately 40% of the women traveled between 1 and 5 hours to reach RBH. Only 54% (158/292) of women reported having their blood pressure monitored during their pregnancy. About one-third of women reported that they had never received an immunization. This survey tool ascertained that women who received care at RBH traveled great lengths to reach the facility. Preventative measures such as blood pressure checks and immunizations are areas that need improvement.

Adolescent Onset Psychosis: A 2-year retrospective study of adolescents admitted to a general psychiatric unit

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S Paruk

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Background:KwaZulu-Natal had no dedicated in-patient adolescent psychiatric service during the study period and adolescents were admitted to general psychiatric wards. Aim of Study: This is a descriptive review of adolescents admitted with psychotic symptoms to a psychiatric hospital. It aims to describe their demographic profile, associated risk factors, clinical profile and management strategies utilized. Method: The files of all adolescent patients with psychotic symptoms, aged twelve to eighteen years old, admitted to a psychiatric hospital from July 2005 to June 2007 were reviewed. Results: 70 adolescents with psychosis were admitted to adult psychiatric wards over the 2 year period. The age range was 13 to 18 years old. 80% of the adolescent patients were male, 37% reported a positive family history of mental illness, 50% smoked nicotine and 61.4% reported cannabis use. The most common diagnoses were schizophrenia (30% and schizophreniform disorder (27.1%. 85.5%(60 of adolescent patients had a trial on a first generation antipsychotic and 10 patients were initiated on a second generation antipsychotic de- novo. The average length of stay in hospital was 27.8 days. 40% defaulted follow up post discharge. Conclusion: Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis. There were high rates of cannabis use. The adolescents were managed in psychiatric wards for significant periods and the majority of patients were initiated on first-generation antipsychotics. There is a need to develop specialized inpatient adolescent psychiatric facilities and services, as well as to address the issues of co-morbid substance use and non-adherence to treatment.

[Systematic screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the nasal cavities of patients hospitalized in the dermatology departments of the Saint-Louis Hospital].

Science.gov (United States)

Gener, G; Dupuy, A; Rouveau, M; Claisse, J-P; Casin, I; Dubertret, L; Morel, P; Simon, F; Viguier, M

2008-12-01

In a bid to combat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) more efficiently in our department, we performed a study to 1) clarify the MRSA carriage rate in patients hospitalized in the department; 2) evaluate the rate of MRSA acquisition during hospitalization; 3) describe the MRSA carrier profile; 4) study the morbidity and mortality associated with MRSA. We conducted a three-month prospective study in all patients hospitalized for more than 24hours in the dermatology department of the Saint-Louis Hospital. Nasal swab cultures were performed on the day of admission, once a week thereafter and on the day of discharge. Clinical and epidemiological data were individually reviewed by means of a standardized questionnaire. In 310 patients, the prevalence of nasal MRSA carriage at admission was 6.5%. During hospitalization, 1.9% of our patients became colonized with MRSA. MRSA carriers were significantly older than non-carriers and had been hospitalized more frequently over the previous 12 months, principally in intensive care or in intermediate or long-term care facilities, and erosive and/or ulcerated dermatitis was more common in this population. Of the 27 patients colonized with MRSA, only three had MRSA infections, and these were successfully treated with antibiotics. The observed rate of MRSA carriage was close to that seen in intensive care units (7%). While systematic screening for MRSA in patients with erosive and/or ulcerated dermatitis would allow detection of twice as many cases of MRSA than the usual screening recommendations, this would be associated with little tangible benefit and high costs, and we therefore decided not to change the usual MRSA screening politic in our dermatology department.

Frequency of medication errors in an emergency department of a large teaching hospital in southern Iran

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Vazin A

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Afsaneh Vazin,1 Zahra Zamani,1 Nahid Hatam2 1Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, 2School of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran Abstract: This study was conducted with the purpose of determining the frequency of medication errors (MEs occurring in tertiary care emergency department (ED of a large academic hospital in Iran. The incidence of MEs was determined through the disguised direct observation method conducted by a trained observer. A total of 1,031 medication doses administered to 202 patients admitted to the tertiary care ED were observed over a course of 54 6-hour shifts. Following collection of the data and analysis of the errors with the assistance of a clinical pharmacist, frequency of errors in the different stages was reported and analyzed in SPSS-21 software. For the 202 patients and the 1,031 medication doses evaluated in the present study, 707 (68.5% MEs were recorded in total. In other words, 3.5 errors per patient and almost 0.69 errors per medication are reported to have occurred, with the highest frequency of errors pertaining to cardiovascular (27.2% and antimicrobial (23.6% medications. The highest rate of errors occurred during the administration phase of the medication use process with a share of 37.6%, followed by errors of prescription and transcription with a share of 21.1% and 10% of errors, respectively. Omission (7.6% and wrong time error (4.4% were the most frequent administration errors. The less-experienced nurses (P=0.04, higher patient-to-nurse ratio (P=0.017, and the morning shifts (P=0.035 were positively related to administration errors. Administration errors marked the highest share of MEs occurring in the different medication use processes. Increasing the number of nurses and employing the more experienced of them in EDs can help reduce nursing errors. Addressing the shortcomings with further research should result in reduction

The effect of hydroxyzine on treating bruxism of 2- to 14-year-old children admitted to the clinic of Bandar Abbas Children Hospital in 2013-2014

OpenAIRE

Rahmati, M; Moayedi, A; Zakery Shahvari, S; Golmirzaei, J; Zahirinea, M; Abbasi, B

2015-01-01

Introduction. Bruxism is to press or grind teeth against each other in non-physiologic cases, when an individual does not swallow or chew. If not treated, teeth problems, stress, mental disorders, frequent night waking, and headache is expected. This research aimed to study the effect of hydroxyzine on treating bruxism of 2- to 14-year-old children admitted to the clinic of Bandar Abbas Children Hospital. Methodology. In this clinical trial, 143 children with the ages between 4-12 years were ...

[Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of infants admitted to hospital due to human parechovirus infections: A prospective study in Spain].

Science.gov (United States)

Martín Del Valle, Fernando; Calvo, Cristina; Martinez-Rienda, Inés; Cilla, Amaia; Romero, María P; Menasalvas, Ana Isabel; Reis-Iglesias, Leticia; Roda, Diana; Pena, María J; Rabella, Nuria; Portugués de la Red, María Del Mar; Megías, Gregoria; Moreno-Docón, Antonio; Otero, Almudena; Cabrerizo, María

2018-02-01

Human parechovirus (HPeV) is one of the recently described picornaviridae viruses that have been associated with fever of unknown origin (FUO), clinical sepsis, gastroenteritis, meningitis, or encephalitis in very young infants. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiology and clinical features of these viruses. A prospective multicentre 3-year study was conducted in 12 hospitals in Spain. Out of 850 specimens examined, 47 were positive (5.52%), with HPeV-3 being the most frequent (29 cases). Infections occurred throughout the year, but mainly in May and July, and a biennial distribution was observed. More than half (57%) were neonates, and only 2 children were older than 3 months. Fever was present in all children, with irritability in 45%, rash in 18.6%, and diarrhoea in 14%. The results of biochemical tests were all in normal range. The most common final diagnosis was FUO (61%), followed by clinical sepsis (29%). Up to 29% of infants were admitted to the intensive care unit, but only one patient had sequelae. Out of 850 specimens examined, 47 were positive (5.52%) for HPeV, with HPeV-3 being the most frequent (29 cases). Infections occurred throughout the year, but mainly in May and July, and a biennial distribution was observed. More than half (57%) were neonates, and only 2 children were older than 3 months. Fever was present in all children, with irritability in 45%, rash in 18.6%, and diarrhoea in 14%. The results of biochemical tests were all in normal range. The most common final diagnosis was FUO (61%), followed by clinical sepsis (29%). Up to 29% of infants were admitted to the intensive care unit, but only one patient had sequelae CONCLUSIONS: HPeV circulates in our country, mainly during spring and summer, and affects young infants with a FUO and clinical sepsis. Molecular diagnostic techniques in all hospitals could help in improving the management of patients with these infections. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Española de Pediatr

National Differences in Regional Emergency Department Boarding Times: Are US Emergency Departments Prepared for a Public Health Emergency?

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Jennifer S; Karp, David; Delgado, M Kit; Margolis, Gregg; Wiebe, Douglas J; Carr, Brendan G

2016-08-01

Boarding admitted patients decreases emergency department (ED) capacity to accommodate daily patient surge. Boarding in regional hospitals may decrease the ability to meet community needs during a public health emergency. This study examined differences in regional patient boarding times across the United States and in regions at risk for public health emergencies. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was performed by using 2012 ED visit data from the American Hospital Association (AHA) database and 2012 hospital ED boarding data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Compare database. Hospitals were grouped into hospital referral regions (HRRs). The primary outcome was mean ED boarding time per HRR. Spatial hot spot analysis examined boarding time spatial clustering. A total of 3317 of 4671 (71%) hospitals were included in the study cohort. A total of 45 high-boarding-time HRRs clustered along the East/West coasts and 67 low-boarding-time HRRs clustered in the Midwest/Northern Plains regions. A total of 86% of HRRs at risk for a terrorist event had high boarding times and 36% of HRRs with frequent natural disasters had high boarding times. Urban, coastal areas have the longest boarding times and are clustered with other high-boarding-time HRRs. Longer boarding times suggest a heightened level of vulnerability and a need to enhance surge capacity because these regions have difficulty meeting daily emergency care demands and are at increased risk for disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:576-582).

Simplified screening in an emergency department detected methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mogensen, Christian Backer; Kjældgaard, Poul; Jensen, Charlotte

2016-01-01

with a non-Danish family within the past three years" and "daily contact with children at a nursery or kindergarten". A new model with only five questions increased the sensitivity insignificantly from 18-55% to 73% in the revised model, whereas no changes were seen for specificity, predictive values....... Furthermore, we assessed if other questions were more adequate and if a simplified screening model would perform equal to or better than the one presently used. METHODS: Swabs were obtained for MRSA culture from patients who were more than ten years old and who had been admitted to an emergency department (ED......INTRODUCTION: All patients admitted to Danish hospitals are screened for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) by a questionnaire consisting of 19 questions issued by the Danish Health and Medicines Authority (DHMA). This study aimed to evaluate which of the questions were most useful...

Hospital Audit as a Useful Tool in the Process of Introducing Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD into Hospital Pharmacy Settings—A Pilot Study

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Urszula Religioni

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Recently, the European Union has introduced the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD. Additionally, in early 2016, a Delegated Act (DA related to the FMD was published. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of external audits in the context of implementing new regulations provided by the FMD in the secondary care environment. Methods: The external, in-person workflow audits were performed by an authentication company in three Polish hospital pharmacies. Each audit consisted of a combination of supervision (non-participant observation, secondary data analysis, and expert interviews with the use of an independently designed authorial Diagnostic Questionnaire. The questionnaire included information about hospital drug distribution procedures, data concerning drug usage, IT systems, medication order systems, the processes of medication dispensing, and the preparation and administration of hazardous drugs. Data analysis included a thorough examination of hospital documentation in regard to drug management. All data were subjected to qualitative analysis, with the aim of generating meaningful information through inductive inference. Results: Only one dispensing location in the Polish hospitals studied has the potential to be a primary authentication area. In the audited hospitals, an Automated Drug Dispensing System and unit dose were not identified during the study. Hospital wards contained an enclosed place within the department dedicated to drug storage under the direct supervision of senior nursing staff. An electronic order system was not available. In the largest center, unused medications are re-dispensed to different hospital departments, or may be sold to various institutions. Additionally, in one hospital pharmacy, pharmacists prepared parenteral nutrition and chemotherapeutic drugs for patients admitted to the hospital. Conclusions: External audits might prove beneficial in the course of introducing new

Forskelle mellem hospitaler i prognose efter hjertestop uden for hospital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaergaard, Jesper; Bro-Jeppesen, John; Rasmussen, Lars Simon

2009-01-01

/pVT) as their initial rhythm, and they had more frequently received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Survival at 4.6 years was 41% in patients admitted to the tertiary hospital and 10% in patients admitted to other hospitals, p

Perceived coercion in voluntary hospital admission.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Donoghue, Brian

2014-01-30

The legal status of service users admitted to psychiatric wards is not synonymous with the level of coercion that they can perceive during the admission. This study aimed to identify and describe the proportion of individuals who were admitted voluntarily but experienced levels of perceived coercion comparable to those admitted involuntarily. Individuals admitted voluntarily and involuntarily to three psychiatric hospitals were interviewed using the MacArthur Admission Experience Interview and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV diagnoses. One hundered sixty-one individuals were interviewed and 22% of the voluntarily admitted service users had levels of perceived coercion similar to that of the majority of involuntarily admitted service users. Voluntarily admitted service users who experienced high levels of perceived coercion were more likely to have more severe psychotic symptoms, have experienced more negative pressures and less procedural justices on admission. Individuals brought to hospital under mental health legislation but who subsequently agreed to be admitted voluntarily and those treated on a secure ward also reported higher levels of perceived coercion. It needs to be ensured that if any service user, whether voluntary or involuntary, experiences treatment pressures or coercion that there is sufficient oversight of the practice, to ensure that individual\\'s rights are respected.

[Evaluations by hospital-ward physicians of patient care management quality for patients hospitalized after an emergency department admission].

Science.gov (United States)

Bartiaux, M; Mols, P

2017-01-01

patient management in the acute and sub-acute setting of an Emergency Department is challenging. An assessment of the quality of provided care enables an evaluation of failings. It contributes to the identification of areas for improvement. to obtain an analysis, by hospital-ward physicians, of adult patient care management quality, as well as of the correctness of diagnosis made during emergency admissions. To evaluate the consequences of inadequate patient care management on morbidity, mortality and cost and duration of hospitalization. prospective data analysis obtained between the 1/12/2009 and the 21/12/2009 from physicians using a questionnaire on adult-patient emergency admissions and subsequent hospitalization. questionnaires were completed for 332 patients. Inadequate management of patient care were reported for 73/332 (22 %) cases. Incorrect diagnoses were reported for 20/332 (6 %) cases. 35 cases of inadequate care management (10.5 % overall) were associated with morbidity (34 cases) or mortality (1 case), including 4 cases (1.2 % ) that required emergency intensive-care or surgical interventions. this quality study analyzed the percentage of patient management cases and incorrect diagnoses in the emergency department. The data for serious outcome and wrong diagnosis are comparable with current literature. To improve performance, we consider the process for establishing a diagnosis and therapeutic care.

Effects of implementing time-variable postgraduate training programmes on the organization of teaching hospital departments.

Science.gov (United States)

van Rossum, Tiuri R; Scheele, Fedde; Sluiter, Henk E; Paternotte, Emma; Heyligers, Ide C

2018-01-31

As competency-based education has gained currency in postgraduate medical education, it is acknowledged that trainees, having individual learning curves, acquire the desired competencies at different paces. To accommodate their different learning needs, time-variable curricula have been introduced making training no longer time-bound. This paradigm has many consequences and will, predictably, impact the organization of teaching hospitals. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of time-variable postgraduate education on the organization of teaching hospital departments. We undertook exploratory case studies into the effects of time-variable training on teaching departments' organization. We held semi-structured interviews with clinical teachers and managers from various hospital departments. The analysis yielded six effects: (1) time-variable training requires flexible and individual planning, (2) learners must be active and engaged, (3) accelerated learning sometimes comes at the expense of clinical expertise, (4) fast-track training for gifted learners jeopardizes the continuity of care, (5) time-variable training demands more of supervisors, and hence, they need protected time for supervision, and (6) hospital boards should support time-variable training. Implementing time-variable education affects various levels within healthcare organizations, including stakeholders not directly involved in medical education. These effects must be considered when implementing time-variable curricula.

One year survey of hospitalized psoriatic patients and their treatment in Razi Hospital

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Farnaghi F

1998-05-01

Full Text Available During one year survey, 77 psoriatic patients were hospitalized in the dermatology department of Razi Hospital. This comprised 19% of admitted patients in this period. 29% (n=22 of psoriatic patients had previous history of hospitalization. On admission, the mean age of patients was 32.8 years, the mean and peak age of disease onset were 26.46 and between 11-20 years, respectively. 14% (n=10 of the patients had a family history of psoriasis and 70% (n=7 of those with a positive family history had their age of onset under 20 years. Involvement of different regions was as follows: Scalp: 88% (n=68, nails: 53% (n=41 and joints (arthritis: 10% (n=8. Psoriasis was associated with scrotal tongue in 19% (n=13 and with geographic tongue in 10% (n=8 of patients. Regarding the medical treatment, the drugs which were used most frequently were tigason in 34% (n=41 and ditranol in 22% (n=26 of the cases. The mean duration of hospitalization was 39.29 days and most patients were discharged from the hospital in a good condition without any serious complication. During this period 9% of patients had a relapse of their disease.

Predicting hospital mortality among frequently readmitted patients: HSMR biased by readmission

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Casemix adjusted in-hospital mortality is one of the measures used to improve quality of care. The adjustment currently used does not take into account the effects of readmission, because reliable data on readmission is not readily available through routinely collected databases. We have studied the impact of readmissions by linking admissions of the same patient, and as a result were able to compare hospital mortality among frequently, as opposed to, non-frequently readmitted patients. We also formulated a method to adjust for readmission for the calculation of hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMRs). Methods We conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis of routinely collected hospital data of six large non-university teaching hospitals in the Netherlands with casemix adjusted standardised mortality ratios ranging from 65 to 114 and a combined value of 93 over a five-year period. Participants concerned 240662 patients admitted 418566 times in total during the years 2003 - 2007. Predicted deaths by the HSMR model 2008 over a five-year period were compared with observed deaths. Results Numbers of readmissions per patient differ substantially between the six hospitals, up to a factor of 2. A large interaction was found between numbers of admissions per patient and HSMR-predicted risks. Observed deaths for frequently admitted patients were significantly lower than HSMR-predicted deaths, which could be explained by uncorrected factors surrounding readmissions. Conclusions Patients admitted more frequently show lower risks of dying on average per admission. This decline in risk is only partly detected by the current HSMR. Comparing frequently admitted patients to non-frequently admitted patients commits the constant risk fallacy and potentially lowers HSMRs of hospitals treating many frequently admitted patients and increases HSMRs of hospitals treating many non-frequently admitted patients. This misleading effect can only be demonstrated by an

Association between sociodemographic characteristics and anxiety levels of violence-exposed patients admitted to emergency clinic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hocagil H

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Hilal Hocagil,1 Filiz Izci,2 Abdullah Cüneyt Hocagil,1 Ebru Findikli,3 Sevda Korkmaz,4 Merve Iris Koc5 1Department of Emergency, School of Medicine, Bulent Ecevit University, Zonguldak, 2Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Istanbul Bilim University, Istanbul, 3Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Sutcu Imam University, Kahramanmaras, 4Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Firat University, Elazig, 5Department of Psychiatry, Erenkoy Training and Research Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders, Istanbul, Turkey Background: Here we aimed to investigate sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric history, and association between sociodemographic characteristics and anxiety levels of violence-exposed patients admitted to emergency clinic.Methods: This study consists of 73 violence-exposed patients admitted to emergency clinic who were literate and agreed to participate in the study. A sociodemographic data form created by us to investigate alcohol-substance abuse, suicide attempt, previous history of trauma, self and family history of psychiatric disorders and Beck Anxiety Inventory was given to the patients.Results: Of the patients exposed to violence 63% (n=46 were female and 27% (n=27 were male. Of these patients, 68.5% (n=50 were married, 43.8% (n=25 were workers, 34.2% were housewives, 11% were unemployed, and 11% were civil servants. Of the violence-exposed patients, 56.2% (n=41 were primary school, 21.9% (n=16 were high school, and 21.9% (n=16 were university graduates. Smoking and alcohol use rates were 54.8% (n=40 and 17.8% (n=13, respectively. The most common trauma type was assault using physical force with a ratio of 78.1% (n=57. In addition, anxiety scores were high in 42.5% (n=31 and moderate in 9.6% (n=7 of the patients. Mentioned psychiatric disorder was present in 17.8% (n=13 of the patients and 19.2% (n=14 of the patients’ relatives. The correlation between sociodemographic

Age related clinical manifestation of acute bacterial meningitis in children presenting to emergency department of a tertiary care hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fayyaz, J.; Khursheed, M.; Feroze, A.

2014-01-01

Objective: To determine the signs and symptoms of acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in different age groups of a paediatric population. Methods: The retrospective study comprised patients who had been admitted through the Emergency Department of Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi with the relevant diagnosis from September 2009 to September 2011. Case record forms were used to collect data from patient files. Data was collected using variables such as age, gender, presenting complaints, clinical signs and symptoms, computed tomography scan findings and final outcome of patients. There was a minimal risk of breach in patient confidentiality. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis. Results: A total of 192 patients were enrolled. The presenting complaint in 165 (86%) patients was fever; vomiting in 93 (48.43%); and 49 (52.68%) of them were more than 5 years old. Irritability was present in 54 (28.12%) children, of whom 27 (50%) were less than one year. Fits were present in 47 (24.47%) cases out of which 21 (44.68%) were less than one year. Neck stiffness and signs of meningeal irritation, Kerning's sign and Brudzincski's sign, were present in 53 (27.60%) patients; 26 (13.54%); and 18 (9.3%) respectively. These signs were more common in children over 5 years of age, reflected by 29 (54.7%), 16 (61.5%) and 11 (61.11%) patients respectively. On presentation, headache was found in 77 (40.10%) children among whom 56 (72.72%) were over 5 years. Besides, 151 (78.6%) patients required admission to the ward, while 40 (20.8%) were admitted in High Dependancy Unit/critical care units. Adverse outcome was observed in 6 (3.12%) patients. Conclusion: Younger children with acute bacterial meningitis presented with non-specific signs and symptoms. Headache and signs of meningeal irritation were common findings in children over 5 years. (author)

A STUDY OF DISEASE PATTERN AND OUTCOME OF NEWBORNS ADMITTED TO NICU IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

OpenAIRE

Siva Saranappa; Madhu; Ritesh

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND : Advances in perinatal and neonatal care have significantly reduced neonatal mortality rates and have benefited preterm infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units. Analysis of care practices can provide insights into how care practices might be changed to improve outcomes. OBJECTIVE : 1. To study the disease pattern , outcome and factors contributing to mortality of the newborns admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a tertia...

Process-Improvement Cost Model for the Emergency Department.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyas, Sheila R; Greenfield, Eric; Messimer, Sherri; Thotakura, Swati; Gholston, Sampson; Doughty, Tracy; Hays, Mary; Ivey, Richard; Spalding, Joseph; Phillips, Robin

2015-01-01

The objective of this report is to present a simplified, activity-based costing approach for hospital emergency departments (EDs) to use with Lean Six Sigma cost-benefit analyses. The cost model complexity is reduced by removing diagnostic and condition-specific costs, thereby revealing the underlying process activities' cost inefficiencies. Examples are provided for evaluating the cost savings from reducing discharge delays and the cost impact of keeping patients in the ED (boarding) after the decision to admit has been made. The process-improvement cost model provides a needed tool in selecting, prioritizing, and validating Lean process-improvement projects in the ED and other areas of patient care that involve multiple dissimilar diagnoses.

Morbidity and mortality pattern of hospitalized children with measles at mayo hospital, lahore (epidemic 2013)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Javed, T.; Bibi, A.

2014-01-01

Major outbreak of measles took place in Punjab recently (2013), leading on to increase in hospitalized cases of measles in children wards, with unacceptably high morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to find out morbidity and mortality pattern of hospitalized cases of measles and associated factors. Design: Prospective case series conducted at Pediatric Department Mayo Hospital, Lahore for 7 months, i.e. from 1st Jan to 31st Jul 2013 Methods:A total of 628 cases of measles were admitted in the children ward, Unit II, Mayo Hospital, Lahore from Jan-Jul 2013. The diagnosis was assigned using WHO criteria. Cases were admitted through emergency on 24 hour basis and managed in HDU and Measles isolation section. Chest X-Ray and blood complete examination was done in all cases. Complications were noted and managed along with eye consultations where necessary. Data was recorded in a predesigned proforma and entered in computer. Results: 628 admitted cases were enrolled, with comparable sex distribution, having mean age 30.8+-26.25 months and mean weight 9.69+-4.14 Kg. Eighty three percent cases were below 6 years of age (33% <1 year), 71% cases were under weight and 68% were wasted (WHO classification). Sixty six percent cases had not received measles vaccination, 144 (23%) cases had received a single dose and 71 cases (12.2%) had received two doses before admission. Majority of cases belonged to Lahore city and its peri-urban areas (83%). Pneumonia (80%), diarrhea (37%), and encephalitis (7.7%) were common complications. Eye complications (corneal ulcers, keratitis, perforation and blindness) were seen in 7.3% cases. Being under weight, H/O improper measles immunization, presence of anemia, pneumonia and encephalitis were statistically significant risk factors for mortality. The case fatality rate was 8.76%. Conclusion:Recent Measles outbreak further highlights the importance of strengthening the need for routine and mass vaccination for all children. In a

Serum vitamin D status in children with protein-energy malnutrition admitted to a national referral hospital in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Nabeta, Henry W; Kasolo, Josephine; Kiggundu, Reuben K; Kiragga, Agnes N; Kiguli, Sarah

2015-09-07

Vitamin D deficiency is a world-wide epidemic with recent estimates indicating that greater than 50% of the global population is at risk. In Uganda, 80% of healthy community children in a survey were found to be vitamin D insufficient. Protein-energy malnutrition is likely to be associated with vitamin D intake deficiency. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and the associated factors among children admitted with protein-energy malnutrition to the pediatrics wards of Mulago hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Consecutive sampling was done with 158 children, aged 6-24 months, enrolled in a cross sectional study. One hundred and seventeen malnourished and 41 non malnourished children were enrolled from the Acute Care unit, pediatrics in-patient wards, outpatient and immunization clinics, following informed consent obtained from the children's parents/guardians. Children with protein energy malnutrition were categorized based on anthropometric measurements of weight-for-height and weight for length compared with the recommended WHO reference Z-score. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, calcium and phosphate were assayed. One hundred seventeen malnourished and 41 non malnourished children were enrolled. The majority of study participants were male, 91 (57.6%). The mean serum vitamin D levels among the malnourished was 32.5 mmol/L (±12.0 SD) and 32.2 mmol/L (10.9 SD) among the malnourished, p = 0.868. Fifteen (36.6%) of the non malnourished children and 51 (43.6%) of the malnourished had suboptimal levels, p = 0.689. Malnourished children admitted with meningitis and cerebral palsy had lower serum vitamin D levels than those with other infections. There was no statistically significant difference in vitamin D values between the malnourished and non malnourished children. Clinicians should actively screen for children for serum vitamin D levels regardless of nutritional status.

[Direct costs and clinical aspects of adverse drug reactions in patients admitted to a level 3 hospital internal medicine ward].

Science.gov (United States)

Tribiño, Gabriel; Maldonado, Carlos; Segura, Omar; Díaz, Jorge

2006-03-01

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) occur frequently in hospitals and increase costs of health care; however, few studies have quantified the clinical and economic impact of ADRs in Colombia. These impacts were evaluated by calculating costs associated with ADRs in patients hospitalized in the internal medicine ward of a Level 3 hospital located in Bogotá, Colombia. In addition, salient clinical features of ADRs were identified and characterized. Intensive follow-ups for a cohort of patients were conducted for a five month period in order to detect ADRs; different ways to classify them, according to literature, were considered as well. Information was collected using the INVIMA reporting format, and causal probability was evaluated with the Naranjo algorithm. Direct costs were calculated from the perspective of payer, based on the following costs: additional hospital stay, medications, paraclinical tests, additional procedures, patient displacement to intermediate or intensive care units, and other costs. Of 836 patients admitted to the service, 268 adverse drug reactions were detected in 208 patients (incidence proportion 25.1%, occurence rate 0.32). About the ADRs found, 74.3% were classified as probable, 92.5% were type A, and 81.3% were moderate. The body system most often affected was the circulatory system (33.9%). Drugs acting on the blood were most frequently those ones associated with adverse reactions (37.6%). The costs resulting from medical care of adverse drug reactions varied from COL dollar 93,633,422 (USD dollar 35,014.92) to COL dollar 122,155,406 (USD dollar 45,680.94), according to insurance type, during the study period. Adverse drug reactions have a significant negative health and financial impact on patient welfare. Because of the substantial resources required for their medical care and the significant proportion of preventable adverse reactions, active programs of institutional pharmacovigilance are highly recommended.

A Descriptive Survey of the Information Needs of Parents of Children Admitted for Same Day Surgery.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Healy, Kathy

2012-08-11

Going to the hospital for surgery is an event that most people may find daunting. Anticipation of the unknown, lack of control over events and unfamiliarity with the environment may result in feelings of anxiety and stress. This research paper used a quantitative descriptive survey to establish the information needs of parents of children admitted for same day surgery. The main aims of this study were to establish what information parents had received prior to their child\\'s admission for same day surgery, and how they perceived this information. It also determined what other information they required. The findings demonstrated that the majority of parents in this study were satisfied with the information they had received. However they wanted further advice on the waiting times involved, the equipment used in the operating room department, pain relief and the procedures in the recovery room.

Conception of a computer for the nuclear medical department of the Augsburg hospital center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graf, G.; Heidenreich, P.

1984-01-01

A computer system based on the Siemens R30 process computer has been employed at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine of the Augsburg Hospital Center since early 1981. This system, including the development and testing of organ-specific evaluation programs, was used as a basis for the conception of the new computer system for the department of nuclear medicine of the Augsburg Hospital Center. The computer system was extended and installed according to this conception when the new 1400-bed hospital was opened in the 3rd phase of construction in autumn 1982. (orig.) [de

Outcome and periprocedural time management in referred versus directly admitted stroke patients treated with thrombectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Ralph; Reimann, Gernot; Weimar, Christian; Winkler, Angela; Berger, Klaus; Nordmeyer, Hannes; Hadisurya, Jeffrie; Brassel, Friedhelm; Kitzrow, Martin; Krogias, Christos; Weber, Werner; Busch, Elmar W; Eyding, Jens

2016-03-01

After thrombectomy has shown to be effective in acute stroke patients with large vessel occlusion, the potential benefit of secondary referral for such an intervention needs to be validated. We aimed to compare consecutive stoke patients directly admitted and treated with thrombectomy at a neurointerventional centre with patients secondarily referred for such a procedure from hospitals with a stroke unit. Periprocedure times and mortality in 300 patients primarily treated in eight neurointerventional centres were compared with 343 patients referred from nine other hospitals in a prospective multicentre study of a German neurovascular network. Data on functional outcome at 3 months was available in 430 (76.4%) patients. In-hospital mortality (14.8% versus 11.7%, p = 0.26) and 3 months mortality (21.9% versus 24.1%, p = 0.53) were not statistically different in both patient groups despite a significant shorter symptom to groin puncture time in directly admitted patients, which was mainly caused by a longer interfacility transfer time. We found a nonsignificant trend for better functional outcome at 3 months in directly admitted patients (modified Rankin Scale 0-2, 44.0% versus 35.7%, p = 0.08). Our results show that a drip-and-ship thrombectomy concept can be effectively organized in a metropolitan stroke network. Every effort should be made to speed up the emergency interfacility transfer to a neurointerventional centre in stroke patients eligible for thrombectomy after initial brain imaging.

Phlebitis associated with peripheral intravenous catheters in adults admitted to hospital in the Western Brazilian Amazon

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Sandra Maria Sampaio Enes

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract OBJECTIVE To identify the presence of phlebitis and the factors that influence the development of this complication in adult patients admitted to hospital in the western Brazilian Amazon. METHOD Exploratory study with a sample of 122 peripheral intravenous catheters inserted in 122 patients in a medical unit. Variables related to the patient and intravenous therapy were analyzed. For the analysis, we used chi-square tests of Pearson and Fisher exact test, with 5% significance level. RESULTS Complication was the main reason for catheter removal (67.2%, phlebitis was the most frequent complication (31.1%. The mean duration of intravenous therapy use was 8.81 days in continuous and intermittent infusion (61.5%, in 20G catheter (39.3%, inserted in the dorsal hand vein arc (36.9 %, with mean time of usage of 68.4 hours. The type of infusion (p=0.044 and the presence of chronic disease (p=0.005 and infection (p=0.007 affected the development of phlebitis. CONCLUSION There was a high frequency of phlebitis in the sample, being influenced by concomitant use of continuous and intermittent infusion of drugs and solutions, and more frequent in patients with chronic diseases and infection.

Factors associated with early neonatal attendance to a paediatric emergency department.

Science.gov (United States)

Flanagan, C F; Stewart, M

2014-03-01

To examine the demographic and perinatal factors involved in the presentation of newborn babies to a paediatric emergency department (PED) and outcome following attendance. Term babies who attended the PED of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (RBHSC) in the first 2 weeks of life, during two separate 3-month periods in summer and winter 2010-2011 were identified retrospectively from the PED electronic database. Perinatal and demographic data were also obtained on all babies born in the Royal Jubilee Maternity Hospital (RJMH) during the same time period. A total of 223 attendances to the PED involving 208 babies were identified with almost equal distribution during summer and winter months. Almost two thirds (n=139, 62%) of babies presented out-of-hours. Over half of babies were self-referred by parent/carer. The most common presentation was feeding difficulty, vomiting or faltering growth, accounting for 36%. Significant factors associated with attendance to PED included birth weight working day. Overall, a third of babies admitted stayed less than 24 h (34%). Large numbers of babies attend the PED in the first 2 weeks of life, commonly out of hours, from deprived areas and with feeding difficulties. A quarter of babies attending are admitted to hospital, with one-third discharged following an overnight stay. Services should be reevaluated, particularly in this current financial climate, in an attempt to find new models of care for these young babies.

Tricyclic antidepressant overdose: emergency department findings as predictors of clinical course.

Science.gov (United States)

Foulke, G E; Albertson, T E; Walby, W F

1986-11-01

There is controversy regarding the appropriate utilization of health care resources in the management of tricyclic antidepressant overdosage. Antidepressant overdose patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) are routinely admitted to intensive care units, but only a small proportion develop cardiac arrhythmias or other complications requiring such an environment. The authors reviewed the findings in 165 patients presenting to an ED with antidepressant overdose. They found that major manifestations of toxicity on ED evaluation (altered mental status, seizures, arrhythmias, and conduction defects) were commonly associated with a complicated hospital course. Patients with the isolated findings of sinus tachycardia or QTc prolongation had no complications. No patient experienced a serious toxic event without major evidence of toxicity on ED evaluation and continued evidence of toxicity during the hospital course. These data support the concept that proper ED evaluation can identify a large body of patients with trivial ingestions who may not require hospital observation.

Hospital emergency on-call coverage: is there a doctor in the house?

Science.gov (United States)

O'Malley, Ann S; Draper, Debra A; Felland, Laurie E

2007-11-01

The nation's community hospitals face increasing problems obtaining emergency on-call coverage from specialist physicians, according to findings from the Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) 2007 site visits to 12 nationally representative metropolitan communities. The diminished willingness of specialist physicians to provide on-call coverage is occurring as hospital emergency departments confront an ever-increasing demand for services. Factors influencing physician reluctance to provide on-call coverage include decreased dependence on hospital admitting privileges as more services shift to non-hospital settings; payment for emergency care, especially for uninsured patients; and medical liability concerns. Hospital strategies to secure on-call coverage include enforcing hospital medical staff bylaws that require physicians to take call, contracting with physicians to provide coverage, paying physicians stipends, and employing physicians. Nonetheless, many hospitals continue to struggle with inadequate on-call coverage, which threatens patients' timely access to high-quality emergency care and may raise health care costs.

The changing power equation in hospitals.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayburn, J M; Rayburn, L G

1997-01-01

This research traces the origins, development, and reasons for change in the power equation in the U.S. hospitals between physicians, administrators and accountants. The paper contains three major sections: a review of the literature concerning authority, power, influence, and institutional theory; a review of the development of the power of professions, especially physicians, accounting and healthcare administrators, and the power equilibrium of a hospital; and, a discussion of the social policy implications of the power struggle. The basis for physicians' power derives from their legal ability to act on which others are dependent, such as choosing which hospital to admit patients, order tests and procedures for their patients. The Federal Government's prospective payment system and the hospitals' related case-mix accounting systems appear to influence the power structure in hospitals by redistributing that power. The basis of the accountants' power base is control of financial information. Accountants have a definite potential for influencing which departments receive financial resources and for what purpose. This moves hospital accountants into the power equation. The basis of the hospital administrators' power is their formal authority in the organization. Regardless of what actions federal government agencies, hospital accountants, or hospital administrators take, physicians are expected to remain the dominant factor in the power equation. Without major environmental changes to gain control of physician services, only insignificant results in cost containment will occur.

Association of smoking with blood lipids in coronary heart disease patients admitted in Taiping Hospital, Perak, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.T.M. Emdadul Haque

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Cigarette smoking is one of the predisposing factors for cardiovascular diseases as it may increase low-density lipoproteins (LDLs levels and decrease high-density lipoproteins (HDLs. Objective: To measure the blood level of LDL and HDL and compare the result between smokers and nonsmokers who suffered from coronary heart diseases (CHDs. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The information was collected by using a checklist from the records of CHD patients, admitted to Taiping General Hospital, Perak, Malaysia. Data collected were interpreted to find any significant association between smoking, level of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL. Results: Among the 196 patients included in this study, 85 were active smokers (43.4%, 54 ex-smokers (27.6%, and 57 nonsmokers (29%. Out of 171 patients with decreased level of HDL, 90.6% were smokers, 88.9% ex-smokers, and 80.7% of nonsmokers. It was found that significant changes occurred among the groups with decreased level of HDL (P < 0.05. Conclusion: HDL level is more reduced among the smokers compared to the ex-smokers and nonsmokers especially in the female.

Child Supervision and Burn Outcome among Admitted Patients at Major Trauma Hospitals in the Gambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edrisa Sanyang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Burn-related injuries are a significant burden in children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs, where more than 90% of burn-related pediatric deaths occur. Lack of adult supervision of children is a major risk for pediatric burn injuries. The goal of this paper was to examine the general characteristics of burns and identify burn injury outcomes among adult-supervised children compared to those who were not supervised. The study examined burn injury and clinical characteristics among all burn patients admitted to two trauma hospitals in The Gambia, West Africa. At intake in the emergency room, the treating physician or nurse determined the need for admission based on body surface area burned (BSAB, depth of burn, and other clinical considerations such as co-occurring injuries and co-morbidities. During the study period of 1 April 2014 through 31 October 2016, 105 burn patients were admitted and data were collected by the treating physician for all of them. Information about supervision was only asked for children aged five years or less. More than half (51% of the burn patients were children under 18 years, and 22% were under 5 years. Among children under five, most (86.4% were supervised by an adult at the time of burn event. Of the 19 supervised children, 16 (84.2% had body area surface burned (BSAB of less than 20%. Two of the three children without adult supervision at the time of burn event had BSAB ≥ 20%. Overall, 59% of the patients had 20% + BSAB. Females (aOR = 1.25; 95% CI = 0.43–3.62, those burned in rural towns and villages (aOR = 2.29; 95% CI = 0.69–7.57, or burned by fire or flames (aOR = 1.47; 95% CI = 0.51–4.23 had increased odds of having a BSAB ≥ 20%, although these differences were not statistically significant. Children 0–5 years or 5–18 years (aOR = 0.04, 95% CI = 0.01–0.17; aOR = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.02–0.23, respectively were less likely to have BSAB ≥ 20% than adults. Those burned in a

Diagnóstico de laboratorio en pacientes ingresados por infección urinaria en un hospital pediátrico Laboratory diagnosis in patients admitted due to urinary infection in a children hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarita Isabel Chávez Isla

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, longitudinal y retrospectivo de 64 pacientes con infección urinaria, ingresados en el Hospital Infantil Sur de Santiago de Cuba desde enero hasta diciembre del 2010, con vistas a determinar algunos aspectos clínicos diagnósticos. En la mayoría de los niños hospitalizados prevalecieron: anemia, leucocitosis, eritrosedimentación acelerada, así como leucocituria ligera; y entre los microorganismos: Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis y Enterobacteriaceae. Para verificar la presencia de esas alteraciones, deben indicarse los exámenes complementarios: hemograma completo, eritrosedimentación, cituria y urocultivo, cuyos resultados posibilitan establecer un diagnóstico concluyente.A descriptive, longitudinal and retrospective study of 64 patients with urinary infection, admitted at the Southern Children Hospital in Santiago de Cuba was carried out from January to December, 2010, with the objective of determining some clinical and diagnostic aspects. In most of the hospitalized children, anemia, leucocytosis, accelerated erytrosedimentation, as well as mild leucocyturia prevailed; and among the organisms: Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis and Enterobacteriaceae. To verify the presence of these changes, additional tests such as complete blood count, erytrosedimentation, cyturia and urine culture should be indicated as their results facilitate to establish a conclusive diagnosis.

Prevalence and characteristics of suicide attempters and ideators among acutely admitted psychiatric hospital patients in northwest Russia and northern Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Sørlie, Tore; Sørgaard, Knut W; Bogdanov, Anatoly; Bratlid, Trond; Rezvy, Grigory

2015-08-04

More knowledge about suicidality and suicide risk profiles in acute psychiatric hospital patients (both first-time and chronic patients) is needed. While numerous factors are associated with suicidality in such populations, these may differ across cultures. Better understanding of factors underlying suicide risk can be informed by cross-cultural studies, and can aid development of therapeutic and preventive measures. An explorative, cross-sectional cohort study was carried out. Acutely admitted patients at one psychiatric hospital in northwest Russia and two in northern Norway were included. At admission, demographic, clinical, and service use data were collected, in addition to an assessment of suicidal ideation and attempts, comprising five dichotomic questions. Data from 358 Norwegian and 465 Russian patients were analyzed with univariate and multivariate statistics. Within each cohort, attempters and ideators were compared with patients not reporting any suicidality. The observed prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts was significantly higher in the Norwegian cohort than in the Russian cohort (χ(2) = 168.1, p suicidal ideators and attempters had more depressed moods, more personality disorders, and greater problems with alcohol/drugs, but fewer psychotic disorders, cognitive problems or overactivity than non-suicidal patients. Russian suicidal ideators and attempters were younger, more often unemployed, had more depressed mood and adjustment disorders, but had fewer psychotic disorders and less alcohol/drug use than the non-suicidal patients. Rates of suicidal ideation and non-fatal attempts in Norwegian patients were intermediate between those previously reported for patients admitted for the first time and those typical of chronic patients. However, the significantly lower rates of suicidal ideation and non-fatal attempts in our Russian cohort as compared with the Norwegian, contrasted with what might be expected in a region with much higher suicide

An audit of the management of diabetic ketoacidosis at St Luke’s Hospital

OpenAIRE

Abela, Alexia-Giovanna; Magri, Caroline Jane; Debono, Miguel; Calleja, Neville; Vassallo, Josanne; Azzopardi, Joseph;

2008-01-01

Aim: To perform an audit of the protocol used in the management of patients with Diabetic Ketoacidosis, in St Lukes Hospital. Methods: Patients admitted with `Diabetes Ketoacidosis', between 14th August 2004 and 14th August 2005, were identified from the Admission book at the Accident and Emergency Department. Data obtained from patients' medical records were collected according to a preset proforma. The criteria assessed by this audit included parameter monitoring, investigations performed, ...

A Study to Assess the Factors and Out of Pocket Expenditures in the Patients of Road Traffic Accidents Admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital in a Central India District

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Srivastava DK

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Road traffic injuries are estimated to be the eighth leading cause of death globally, with an impact similar to that caused by many communicable diseases, such as malaria. road traffic injuries are estimated to cost low- and middle-income countries between 1–2 % of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP, an estimate of about US$ 100 billion a year. Objectives: To study the epidemiological profile of Road Traffic Injuries among the patients admitted in a tertiary care centre and too find out the various out of pocket expenditure in the patients of Road Traffic Accidents. Material and Method: The present study was a hospital based Descriptive Prospective Study. A list of all the patients admitted due to Road Traffic Accident in last one week was obtained from the ward sisters of Orthopedic Department. All the selected participants were interviewed on the two fixed days. A pre tested structured open ended questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: Of the 48 participants interviewed, 34male and 14 females. Most common age group affected was 21-25 years followed by 16-20 years. The rate of accidents was most common on the weekends. The rate of accidents was more in users of two wheelers. Majority of the expenditure in the First week of admission was on the purchase of medicines followed by diagnosis. Majority of the victims also suffered huge financial loss due to loss of salary, closure of shop, loss due to daily wages etc. Conclusion: The present study hereby concludes that there is an urgent need for creating awareness about Road Traffic Accident. The study also concludes that majority of the out of pocket expenditure in the first week of admission is on the medication.

Hospital-admitted COPD patients treated at home using telemedicine technology in The Virtual Hospital Trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Anna Svarre; Laursen, Lars C; Østergaard, Birte

2013-01-01

Recent reviews suggest that telemedicine solutions for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may prevent hospital readmissions and emergency room visits and improve health-related quality of life. However, the studies are few and only involve COPD patients who are in a stable...... phase or in-patients who are ready for discharge. COPD patients hospitalized with an acute exacerbation may also benefit from telemedicine solutions. The overall aim is to investigate a telemedicine-based treatment solution for patients with acute exacerbation of COPD at home as compared to conventional...... hospital treatment measured according to first treatment failure, which is defined as readmission due to COPD within 30 days after discharge....

Pain prevalence in hospitalized children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Walther-Larsen, S; Pedersen, M T; Friis, S M

2017-01-01

admitted the same day. The single most common painful procedure named by the children was needle procedures, such as blood draw and intravenous cannulation. CONCLUSION: This study reveals high pain prevalence in children across all age groups admitted to four Danish university hospitals. The majority......BACKGROUND: Pain management in hospitalized children is often inadequate. The prevalence and main sources of pain in Danish university hospitals is unknown. METHODS: This prospective mixed-method cross-sectional survey took place at four university hospitals in Denmark. We enrolled 570 pediatric...... patients who we asked to report their pain experience and its management during the previous 24 hours. For patients identified as having moderate to severe pain, patient characteristics and analgesia regimes were reviewed. RESULTS: Two hundred and thirteen children (37%) responded that they had experienced...

Disease spectrum and management of children admitted with acute respiratory infection in Viet Nam.

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Nguyen, T K P; Nguyen, D V; Truong, T N H; Tran, M D; Graham, S M; Marais, B J

2017-06-01

To assess the acute respiratory infection (ARI) disease spectrum, duration of hospitalisation and outcome in children hospitalised with an ARI in Viet Nam. We conducted a retrospective descriptive study of ARI admissions to primary (Hoa Vang District Hospital), secondary (Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children) and tertiary (National Hospital of Paediatrics in Ha Noi) level hospitals in Viet Nam over 12 months (01/09/2015 to 31/08/2016). Acute respiratory infections accounted for 27.9% (37 436/134 061) of all paediatric admissions; nearly half (47.6%) of all children admitted to Hoa Vang District Hospital. Most (64.6%) of children hospitalised with an ARI were Viet Nam, characterised by prolonged hospitalisation for relatively mild disease. There is huge potential to reduce unnecessary hospital admission and cost. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Predicting hospital mortality among frequently readmitted patients: HSMR biased by readmission

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Kelder Johannes C

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Casemix adjusted in-hospital mortality is one of the measures used to improve quality of care. The adjustment currently used does not take into account the effects of readmission, because reliable data on readmission is not readily available through routinely collected databases. We have studied the impact of readmissions by linking admissions of the same patient, and as a result were able to compare hospital mortality among frequently, as opposed to, non-frequently readmitted patients. We also formulated a method to adjust for readmission for the calculation of hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMRs. Methods We conducted a longitudinal retrospective analysis of routinely collected hospital data of six large non-university teaching hospitals in the Netherlands with casemix adjusted standardised mortality ratios ranging from 65 to 114 and a combined value of 93 over a five-year period. Participants concerned 240662 patients admitted 418566 times in total during the years 2003 - 2007. Predicted deaths by the HSMR model 2008 over a five-year period were compared with observed deaths. Results Numbers of readmissions per patient differ substantially between the six hospitals, up to a factor of 2. A large interaction was found between numbers of admissions per patient and HSMR-predicted risks. Observed deaths for frequently admitted patients were significantly lower than HSMR-predicted deaths, which could be explained by uncorrected factors surrounding readmissions. Conclusions Patients admitted more frequently show lower risks of dying on average per admission. This decline in risk is only partly detected by the current HSMR. Comparing frequently admitted patients to non-frequently admitted patients commits the constant risk fallacy and potentially lowers HSMRs of hospitals treating many frequently admitted patients and increases HSMRs of hospitals treating many non-frequently admitted patients. This misleading effect can

Modeling the effects of influenza vaccination of health care workers in hospital departments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Dool, C.; Bonten, M. J. M.; Hak, E.; Wallinga, J.

2009-01-01

Nowadays health care worker (HCW) vaccination is widely recommended. Although the benefits of this strategy have been demonstrated in long-term care settings, no studies have been performed in regular hospital departments. We adapt a previously developed model of influenza transmission in a

Admission factors associated with hospital mortality in patients with haematological malignancy admitted to UK adult, general critical care units: a secondary analysis of the ICNARC Case Mix Programme Database.

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Hampshire, Peter A; Welch, Catherine A; McCrossan, Lawrence A; Francis, Katharine; Harrison, David A

2009-01-01

Patients with haematological malignancy admitted to intensive care have a high mortality. Adverse prognostic factors include the number of organ failures, invasive mechanical ventilation and previous bone marrow transplantation. Severity-of-illness scores may underestimate the mortality of critically ill patients with haematological malignancy. This study investigates the relationship between admission characteristics and outcome in patients with haematological malignancies admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and assesses the performance of three severity-of-illness scores in this population. A secondary analysis of the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) Case Mix Programme Database was conducted on admissions to 178 adult, general ICUs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2007. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with hospital mortality. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II and ICNARC score were evaluated for discrimination (the ability to distinguish survivors from nonsurvivors); and the APACHE II, SAPS II and ICNARC mortality probabilities were evaluated for calibration (the accuracy of the estimated probability of survival). There were 7,689 eligible admissions. ICU mortality was 43.1% (3,312 deaths) and acute hospital mortality was 59.2% (4,239 deaths). ICU and hospital mortality increased with the number of organ failures on admission. Admission factors associated with an increased risk of death were bone marrow transplant, Hodgkin's lymphoma, severe sepsis, age, length of hospital stay prior to intensive care admission, tachycardia, low systolic blood pressure, tachypnoea, low Glasgow Coma Score, sedation, PaO2:FiO2, acidaemia, alkalaemia, oliguria, hyponatraemia, hypernatraemia, low haematocrit, and uraemia. The ICNARC model had the best discrimination

Admission factors associated with hospital mortality in patients with haematological malignancy admitted to UK adult, general critical care units: a secondary analysis of the ICNARC Case Mix Programme Database

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Introduction Patients with haematological malignancy admitted to intensive care have a high mortality. Adverse prognostic factors include the number of organ failures, invasive mechanical ventilation and previous bone marrow transplantation. Severity-of-illness scores may underestimate the mortality of critically ill patients with haematological malignancy. This study investigates the relationship between admission characteristics and outcome in patients with haematological malignancies admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and assesses the performance of three severity-of-illness scores in this population. Methods A secondary analysis of the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre (ICNARC) Case Mix Programme Database was conducted on admissions to 178 adult, general ICUs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 1995 and 2007. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with hospital mortality. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score, Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II and ICNARC score were evaluated for discrimination (the ability to distinguish survivors from nonsurvivors); and the APACHE II, SAPS II and ICNARC mortality probabilities were evaluated for calibration (the accuracy of the estimated probability of survival). Results There were 7,689 eligible admissions. ICU mortality was 43.1% (3,312 deaths) and acute hospital mortality was 59.2% (4,239 deaths). ICU and hospital mortality increased with the number of organ failures on admission. Admission factors associated with an increased risk of death were bone marrow transplant, Hodgkin's lymphoma, severe sepsis, age, length of hospital stay prior to intensive care admission, tachycardia, low systolic blood pressure, tachypnoea, low Glasgow Coma Score, sedation, PaO2:FiO2, acidaemia, alkalaemia, oliguria, hyponatraemia, hypernatraemia, low haematocrit, and uraemia. The ICNARC

The Mobile Modular Surgical Hospital: the Army Medical Department’s Future Unit of Action

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2005-06-17

requirements. Paula C. Lodi in her monogram “The Army Medical Department and Full Spectrum Operations” written for the School of Advanced Military...Center, 2004), 2.1-2.10. 14Paula C. Lodi, The Army Medical Department and Full Spectrum Operations, ( Monogram , School of Advanced Military Studies...paper in the past ten years on the level III hospital. Paula C. Lodi in her monogram “The Army Medical Department and Full Spectrum Operations” written

Point prevalence survey of antimicrobial use in Chinese hospitals in 2012.

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Ren, Nan; Zhou, Pengcheng; Wen, Ximao; Li, Chunhui; Huang, Xun; Guo, Yanhong; Meng, Li; Gong, Ruie; Feng, Li; Fu, Chenchao; Wu, Anhua

2016-03-01

In China, several measures have been adopted to decrease unnecessary antimicrobial overuse since 2010. This study aimed to identify characteristics of antimicrobial use in Chinese hospitals after implementing these measures and to explore additional targets for future antimicrobial stewardship. In 2012, point prevalence surveys conducted in Chinese hospitals included inpatients who were admitted for at least 24 hours. Details regarding infection, antimicrobial use, and bacterial cultures were recorded. A survey of 786,028 inpatients in 1,313 hospitals included prevalence of health care-associated (3.22%) and community-acquired infections (22.52%); antimicrobial use prevalence (AUP, 38.39%); bacterial culture rate (BCR, 40.16%); and proportions of administration of a single antimicrobial (75.33%), therapeutic (23.16%), prophylactic (11.99%), and therapeutic plus prophylactic (3.24%) AUP rates. Prophylactic AUP rates of hospitals with AUP rates for surgical patients with classes I, II, and III wounds were 45.19%, 68.18%, and 68.47%, respectively. Prophylactic AUP rates for surgical patients decreased with increasing hospital bed numbers. These indices varied among different hospital departments. More efforts are needed toward small hospitals, prophylactic antimicrobial use for surgical patients, and departments with low BCRs to optimize the clinical antimicrobial use. Copyright © 2015 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Therapeutic hypothermia following out-of-hospital cardiac arrest; does it start in the emergency department?

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Galloway, R; Sherren, P B

2010-12-01

The use of therapeutic hypothermia after cardiac arrest is a well-practised treatment modality in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, recent evidence points to advantages in starting the cooling process as soon as possible after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). There are no data on implementation of this treatment in the emergency department. A telephone survey was conducted of the 233 emergency departments in the UK. The most senior available clinician was asked if, in cases where they have a patient with a ROSC after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, would therapeutic hypothermia be started in the emergency department. Of the 233 hospitals called, 230 responded, of which 35% would start cooling in the emergency department. Of this 35%, over half (56%) said the decision to start cooling was made by the emergency physician before consultation with the ICU. Also, of the 35% who would begin cooling in the emergency department, 55% would cool only for ventricular fibrillation/ventricular tachycardia, 66% would monitor temperature centrally, and 14% would use specialised cooling equipment. There is often a delay in getting patients to ICU from the emergency department, and thus the decision not to start cooling in the emergency department may impact significantly on patient outcome. The dissemination of these data may persuade emergency physicians that starting treatment in the emergency department is an appropriate and justifiable decision that is becoming a more accepted practice throughout the UK.

The impact of patient demographics and comorbidities upon burns admitted to Tygerberg Hospital Burns Unit, Western Cape, South Africa.

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Cloake, T; Haigh, T; Cheshire, J; Walker, D

2017-03-01

In South Africa, burns are a major public health problem responsible for significant morbidity and long-term physical disability. This is, in part, due to a significant proportion of the urban population living in poorly constructed, combustible accommodation. The presence of co-morbid diseases such as diabetes and malignancy in patients with burns has been associated with a poorer outcome. The impact of other diseases such as HIV has yet to be defined. A retrospective data collection study analysed the 221 patients admitted to Tygerberg Hospital Burns Unit in 2011 and the first six months of 2013. Using hospital records, patient demographic data was collected alongside burn agent, ICU admission, complications, and patient outcome in terms of length of stay and mortality. The most common burn agent was hot liquid (45.7%). A significant proportion of patients were subject to intentional attacks (34.3%). Shack fires and flame accounted cumulatively for 85% of total inhalational burns, the highest rates of admission to ICU (85.5%), the highest rate of complications, as well as 92.3% of all total fatalities. HIV+ patients had a higher mortality (13.3% vs 5%, p=0.22) and a higher complication rate (46.7% vs 30%, p=0.21). There was no difference in length of stay between the HIV+ and HIV- cohort (12days vs. 15.5 days, p=0.916). Burns are a significant yet preventable cause of mortality and morbidity. The rising number of shack fires, responsible for extensive burns and resultant mortality is concerning and indicates urgent attention and action. HIV complicates the recovery from burn and is responsible for an increased rate of in hospital mortality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Goldratt’s Theory Applied to the Problems Associated with an Emergency Department at a Hospital

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Soumya Nayak

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Healthcare costs continue to increase dramatically, while quality remains a significant problem. Reform measures initiated by the government will drive expansion of these costs, further stressing taxpayers and employers, and forcing hospitals to adopt fundamental changes as they try to adjust to increased demands for services and to lessening reimbursements from all payers. This struggle is best seen at the point of entry for many at a hospital: the emergency department (ED. It is at the emergency department that patients’ expectations regarding staff communication with patients, wait times, the triage process, capacity and payment will determine a significant part of a hospital’s revenue. Using Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt’s Thinking Process, we will determine what core problem(s are causing a 362-bed regional West Texas hospital emergency department to lose revenue. Evaluation of the current emergency department will determine the Undesirable Effects (UDE. Using that information will lead to the construction of the Current Reality Tree (CRT, which will bring focus to the core problem(s. To break the constraints, which are the core problem(s, an Evaporative Cloud (EC is generated. And, the end result will be to construct a Future Reality Tree (FRT, which will validate the idea(s generated in the EC. It was determined that there are ten major UDE’s that affected this hospital’s emergency department. They were focused around staff communication, wait times, triage process, information management, service provided and bill collections. A conclusion was made that the core problem dealt with triaging patients and utilization of the services provided by the hospital. Since the reimbursement rate is affected by the patient’s satisfaction, the areas to focus on would be: triage, education, communication and retention. Although it may be neither feasible nor desirable to meet all the patient’s expectations, increased focus on those areas may

[Hypertensive emergencies at the University Hospital Center in Brazzaville, Congo].

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Ellenga, Mbolla B F; Gombet, T R; Mahoungou, Guimbi K C; Otiobanda, G F; Ossou, Nguiet P M; Ikama, M S; Kimbally-Kaky, G; Etitiele, F

2011-02-01

The purpose of this retrospective study conducted in the emergency department of the University Hospital Center in Brazzaville, Congo was to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of hypertensive emergencies. With a total of 76 patients admitted during the study period, the prevalence of hypertensive emergency was 4%. The sex ratio was 1 and mean patient age was 57.3 years (range, 30 to 80 years). Risk factors included obesity in 62 cases (81.6%), history of hypertension in 65 (85.5%) and low socioeconomic level in 58 (76.3%). Mean delay for consultation was 50 hours (range, 1 to 240 hours). The disease underlying the hypertensive emergency was stroke with 38 cases (50%), heart failure in 20 (26.3%), hypertensive encephalopathy in 11 (14.4%), malignant hypertension in 9 (11.8%), and renal failure in 10 (13.1%). The mean length of emergency treatment was 14.7 hours (range, 5 to 48 hours). Eight deaths (10.5%) occurred during hospitalization in the emergency department.

Prehospital management and fluid resuscitation in hypotensive trauma patients admitted to Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm.

Science.gov (United States)

Talving, Peep; Pålstedt, Joakim; Riddez, Louis

2005-01-01

Few previous studies have been conducted on the prehospital management of hypotensive trauma patients in Stockholm County. The aim of this study was to describe the prehospital management of hypotensive trauma patients admitted to the largest trauma center in Sweden, and to assess whether prehospital trauma life support (PHTLS) guidelines have been implemented regarding prehospital time intervals and fluid therapy. In addition, the effects of the age, type of injury, injury severity, prehospital time interval, blood pressure, and fluid therapy on outcome were investigated. This is a retrospective, descriptive study on consecutive, hypotensive trauma patients (systolic blood pressure Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden, during 2001-2003. The reported values are medians with interquartile ranges. Basic demographics, prehospital time intervals and interventions, injury severity scores (ISS), type and volumes of prehospital fluid resuscitation, and 30-day mortality were abstracted. The effects of the patient's age, gender, prehospital time interval, type of injury, injury severity, on-scene and emergency department blood pressure, and resuscitation fluid volumes on mortality were analyzed using the exact logistic regression model. In 102 (71 male) adult patients (age > or = 15 years) recruited, the median age was 35.5 years (range: 27-55 years) and 77 patients (75%) had suffered blunt injury. The predominant trauma mechanisms were falls between levels (24%) and motor vehicle crashes (22%) with an ISS of 28.5 (range: 16-50). The on-scene time interval was 19 minutes (range: 12-24 minutes). Fluid therapy was initiated at the scene of injury in the majority of patients (73%) regardless of the type of injury (77 blunt [75%] / 25 penetrating [25%]) or injury severity (ISS: 0-20; 21-40; 41-75). Age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.04), male gender (OR = 3.2), ISS 21-40 (OR = 13.6), and ISS >40 (OR = 43.6) were the significant factors affecting outcome in the exact

Maribor General Hospital from its foundation until World War II.

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Pivec, Gregor

2006-01-01

The author describes the history of Maribor General Hospital from its foundation in 1799 until the beginning of World War II. In 1799 the magistrate of the town of Maribor issued a memorandum regarding the establishment of a town hospital in the renovated building of the town hospice, providing space for 24 patients. The work of the hospital was carried out in the former hospice building until 1855. In the period between its establishment and eventual relocation 26 beds were added. The last two decades of the hospital's operation at the original location were marked by the assiduous work of the town's physicist, Dr. Anton Kuker. In the first half of the 19th century, the population of Maribor grew rapidly as a consequence of the construction of the Southern Railway. The town authorities therefore purchased the Prosenjak family villa in the Magdalena suburbs and relocated the hospital to it in 1855, providing 28 rooms for 110 patients. For a whole century, the care of patients was taken over by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. The hospital was soon admitting over 1000 patients a year, the most common complaints being pulmonary catarrh, gastritis and fever. In 1872, when the Master of Surgery Feliks Ferk joined the hospital, the internal "medical" and the "external" surgical departments were formed. Although medical studies were not easily accessible, there were a number of Slovene physicians working in the hospital and the town in that period. In the last decades of the 19th century, the hospital was often renovated and enlarged. The infrastructure (telephone, water supply system, heating, lighting) had also been modernized before World War I. In 1914, the first X-ray apparatus was purchased. Between the wars, the hospital's development was boosted by recruitment of the Slovene physicians Ivan Matko, Mirko Cernic, Janko Dernovsek and Hugon Robic. The initial external and medical departments split into several departments: internal medicine, surgery

Inpatient dermatology: Characteristics of patients and admissions in a tertiary level hospital in Eastern India

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Arpita Sen

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Dermatology is primarily a non-acute, outpatient-centered clinical specialty, but substantial number of patients need indoor admission for adequate management. Over the years, the need for inpatient facilities in Dermatology has grown manifold; however, these facilities are available only in some tertiary centers. Aims and Objectives: To analyze the characteristics of the diseases and outcomes of patients admitted in the dermatology inpatient Department of a tertiary care facility in eastern India. Materials and Methods: We undertook a retrospective analysis of the admission and discharge records of all patients, collected from the medical records department, admitted to our indoor facility from 2011 to 2014. The data thus obtained was statistically analyzed with special emphasis on the patient's demographic profile, clinical diagnosis, final outcome, and duration of stay. Results and Analysis: A total of 375 patients were admitted to our indoor facility during the period. Males outnumbered females, with the median age in the 5th decade. Immunobullous disorders (91 patients, 24.27% were the most frequent reason for admissions, followed by various causes of erythroderma (80 patients, 21.33% and infective disorders (73 patients, 19.47%. Other notable causes included cutaneous adverse drug reactions, psoriasis, vasculitis, and connective tissue diseases. The mean duration of hospital stay was 22.2±15.7 days; ranging from 1 to 164 days. Majority of patients (312, 83.2% improved after hospitalization; while 29 (7.73% patients died from their illness. About 133 patients (35.64% required referral services during their stay, while 8 patients (2.13% were transferred to other departments for suitable management. Conclusion: Many dermatoses require inpatient care for their optimum management. Dermatology inpatient services should be expanded in India to cater for the large number of cases with potentially highly severe dermatoses.

Evaluation of radiation protection of the radiotherapy department in cancer hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng Ningyuan; Zhang Hongzhi; Yu Yun

1987-01-01

In this paper, the emphases are put on the description of design principle and calculation method for radiation protection in the new radiotherapy department of Cancer Research Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science, as well as the evaluation of meusaring results. In addition, the problem of photo-neutron contamination among 16 MV X-ray from SL 75-20 Philips Linear Accelerator and its relavent shielding measures have been discussed

The association of duration of boarding in the emergency room and the outcome of patients admitted to the intensive care unit.

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Al-Qahtani, Saad; Alsultan, Abdullah; Haddad, Samir; Alsaawi, Abdulmohsen; Alshehri, Moeed; Alsolamy, Sami; Felebaman, Afef; Tamim, Hani M; Aljerian, Nawfal; Al-Dawood, Abdulaziz; Arabi, Yaseen

2017-11-09

The demand for critical care beds is increasing out of proportion to bed availability. As a result, some critically ill patients are kept in the Emergency Department (ED boarding) awaiting bed availability. The aim of our study is to examine the impact of boarding in the ED on the outcome of patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit(ICU). This was a retrospective analysis of ICU data collected prospectively at King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh from ED between January 2010 and December 2012 and all patients admitted during this time were evaluated for their duration of boarding. Patients were stratified into three groups according to the duration of boarding from ED. Those admitted less than 6 h were classified as Group I, between 6 and 24 h, Group II and more than 24 h as Group III. We carried out multivariate analysis to examine the independent association of boarding time with the outcome adjusting for variables like age, sex, APACHE, Mechanical ventilation, Creatinine, Platelets, INR. During the study period, 940 patients were admitted from the ED to ICU, amongst whom 227 (25%) were admitted to ICU within 6 h, 358 (39%) within 6-24 h and 355 (38%) after 24 h. Patients admitted to ICU within 6 h were younger [48.7 ± 22.2(group I) years, 50.6 ± 22.6 (group II), 58.2 ± 20.9 (group III) (P = 0.04)]with less mechanical ventilation duration[5.9 ± 8.9 days (Group I), 6.5 ± 8.1 (Group II) and 10.6 ± 10.5 (Group III), P = 0.04]. There was a significant increase in hospital mortality [51(22.5), 104(29.1), 132(37.2), P = 0.0006) and the ICU length of stay(LOS) [9.55 days (Group I), 9.8 (Group II) and 10.6 (Group III), (P = 0.002)] with increase in boarding duration. In addition, the delay in admission was an independent risk factor for ICU mortality(OR for group III vs group I is 1.90, P = 0.04) and hospital mortality(OR for group III vs Group I is 2.09, P = 0.007). Boarding in the ED is associated with higher mortality. This

Clinical outcome and rehabilitation of homeless mentally ill patients admitted in mental health institute of South India: "Know the Unknown" project.

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Gowda, Guru S; Gopika, G; Kumar, Channaveerachari Naveen; Manjunatha, Narayana; Yadav, Ravi; Srinivas, Dwarakanath; Dawn, Bharath Rose; Math, Suresh Bada

2017-12-01

Homeless Mentally Ill (HMI) patients represent a unique global problem and pose a challenge in treatment, management and rehabilitation services. There is sparse data on HMI patients in India. The objective of this paper is to study the clinical outcome and rehabilitation of HMI patients. We performed a retrospective chart review of 'HMI' patients from 1st January 2002 to 31st December 2015, who were admitted under Department of Psychiatry at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore, India. Clinical outcomes were analysed by descriptive statistics and predictors of family reintegration were analysed by logistic regression model. Seventy-eight HMI (unknown) patients were admitted in fourteen years period. 64(82%) were improved at discharge, 40(51.3%) were reintegrated to the family; 15(19.2%) were sent to state home for women, and 17(21.8%) were sent to Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)/Rehabilitation Centre and 6 (7.8%) required multispecialty care in general hospital or absconded from the hospital during inpatient care. The logistic regression model showed that mental retardation (B=-2.204, P=0.002) was negatively correlated with family reintegration and clinical improvement at discharge (B=2.373, P=family reintegration. In our study majority of HMI patients improved at the time of discharge. Family reintegration was possible in about half of HMI patients after treatment. Mental retardation and clinical improvement are important predictors of family reintegration of HMI patients. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nutritional status of adults and elderly patients admitted in an university hospital Perfil nutricional de pacientes adultos e idosos admitidos em um hospital universitário

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Nathálie Crestani

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To identify the nutritional status of adults and elderly patients admitted in an university hospital. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional, retrospective and descriptive study. The nutritional assessment was conducted by using the body mass index (BMI and the subjective global assessment (SGA, which classifies patients into three categories: well nourished (A, moderately or suspected of being malnourished (B or severely malnourished (C. All data (SGA, BMI and primary condition were collected from information present in the evaluation forms filled in the nutritional routine, which are performed within seventy-two hours after admission. The study was approved by the Scientific and Ethics Committee for Research of PUCRS. Results: The study included 32 adults and 36 elderly (n=68. In relation to the SGA, 46,9% of adults were classified as well nourished (A and 53,1% as moderately (or suspected of being malnourished (B. Among elderly patients, 25% were classified as well nourished (A and 75% as moderately (or suspected of being malnourished (B. The BMI showed 37,5% of adults as eutrophic and 62,5% as overweight or obesity; the elderly were classified as 50% eutrophic, 36,1% overweight and 13,9% underweight. Conclusion: The nutritional status of the studied patients was characterized by the high prevalence of nutritional risk and overweight/obesity in both groups. This reality seems to translate, at the hospital level, the situation of nutritional transition experienced in our country today. In addition, the results point the importance of using more than one method of nutrition screening in patients admitted in hospitals, in order to obtain greater precision in the assessment.Objetivo: Identificar o perfil nutricional de pacientes adultos e idosos admitidos em um hospital universitário. Materiais e Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal, retrospectivo e descritivo. Foram utilizados para avaliação nutricional o �

Evaluation and comparison of medical records department of Iran university of medical sciences teaching hospitals and medical records department of Kermanshah university of medical sciences teaching hospitals according to the international standards ISO 9001-2000 in 2008

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maryam ahmadi

2010-04-01

Conclusion: The rate of final conformity of medical records system by the criteria of the ISO 9001-2000 standards in hospitals related to Iran university of medical sciences was greater than in hospitals related to Kermanshah university of medical sciences. And total conformity rate of medical records system in Kermanshah hospitals was low. So the regulation of medical records department with ISO quality management standards can help to elevate its quality.

Prevalence of anemia and its influence on hospital readmissions and emergency department visits in outpatients with heart failure.

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Son, Youn-Jung; Kim, Bo Hwan

2017-12-01

Anemia is a frequent comorbidity in patients with heart failure. However, the incidence of anemia in patients with heart failure varies widely, and there is limited evidence on the association between anemia and rehospitalization and on the health consequences of anemia in patients with heart failure. We aimed to identify the prevalence of anemia and its influence on hospital readmissions and emergency department visits in outpatients with heart failure. This cross-sectional study included 284 patients with heart failure diagnosed at outpatient cardiology clinics at a tertiary care university hospital in Cheonan, South Korea. We obtained socio-demographic and clinical information, including frequency of readmissions and emergency department visits, using face-to-face interviews and medical record reviews. The prevalence of anemia, defined based on World Health Organization guidelines, was 39.1% among patients with heart failure. Anemia was significantly more prevalent among patients with one or more re-admissions or emergency department visits compared with patients with no history of hospital re-admissions or emergency department visits (42.7% vs. 13.9% ( p = 0.001) and 55.1% vs. 34% ( p = 0.002) respectively). Anemia increased the risk of hospital readmission (odds ratio =8.04, 95% confidence interval, 2.19-29.54) and emergency department visit (odds ratio=2.37, 95% confidence interval, 1.22-4.60) in patients with heart failure. It is imperative that patients with heart failure presenting with anemia undergo appropriate nursing assessment and intervention. Future prospective studies targeting interventions to improve anemia are required to determine whether anemia influences readmission rates and emergency department visits.

[Should hospitalization be required after the emergency discharge of patients with borderline personality disorder who have attempted suicide (FRENCH CRISIS cohort)?].

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Cailhol, L; Riedi, G; Mathur, A; Czapla, P; Charpentier, S; Genestal, M; Birmes, P

2014-09-01

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by a pervasive pattern of instability and impulsivity. There is a high prevalence of BPD patients among those admitted to the emergency department for suicide attempts. However, little empirical research exists to assist clinicians in deciding whether to hospitalize a suicidal patient. Some authors have argued that hospitalization does not prevent suicide and could actually harm these patients, thereby leading to psychosocial regression. Parasuicidal behaviors could be reinforced by the attention given during hospitalization. Our purpose was to determine whether the hospitalization of suicidal patients who have a high risk of BPD after discharge from the emergency department is associated with a recurrence of suicidal behavior at 6months. We designed a prospective study, acquiring patients from three emergency hospitals. The participants were suicidal subjects admitted for voluntary drug intoxication and were 18years of age or older. The participants completed the Personality Disorder Questionnaire (PDQ-4+) to assess BPD symptomatology. Information on the recurrence of suicidal behavior at 6months was obtained by interview of patients and the review of the charts from the 3 hospitals involved in the study. Other assessments included the BDI-13 (severity of depression), the Hopelessness Scale (hopelessness), the TAS-20 (alexythymia), the AUDIT (alcohol disorder) and the MINI (axis I disorders). A total of 606 subjects admitted for a suicide attempt participated in this study. A total of 320 (52.8 %) of the subjects completed the PDQ-4+. The sample was divided into three groups: participants at high risk of having at least one BPD (n=197), a group at high risk of having at least one non-BPD PD (n=84) and a group with low risk of having a PD (n=39). Hospitalization following an emergency was not associated with a recurrence of suicide attempts at 6months among patients at high risk of BPD. A logistical

CLINICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC STUDY OF JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS PATIENTS ADMITTED IN GAUHATI MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL, GUWAHATI, ASSAM, INDIA DURING 2014 EPIDEMIC

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Bhaskar

2015-11-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Japanese Encephalitis is one of the most common causes of Acute Encephalitic Syndrome in Asia. During the period of June to August in 2014 an epidemic occurred in Assam, a northestern state of India. METHODS Patients admitted in the Medicine Department in Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH, Guwahati, Assam, India, with clinical features of Acute Encephalitic Syndrome (AES i.e. acute onset fever and a change in mental status (including symptoms such as confusion, disorientation, coma, or inability to talk and/or new onset seizures (excluding simple febrile seizures from June to August 2014 underwent ELISA for Japanese Encephalitis Immunoglobulin M in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF at the time of admission. Clinical features, demographic profile and laboratory investigations were recorded in positive patients. RESULTS 226 AES patients were admitted in 6 different units of Medicine ward in GMCH, out of which 76 patients were diagnosed to be JE positive with CSF IgM ESLIA, coming from 17 districts of Assam. Out of 76 patients, 69 patients were from rural area, only 7 patients were from urban area. 59 (77.63% patients were farmers or daily labourers by occupation and 23 (30.26% patients were illiterate. Mean age of patients was 47.7 years and male to female ratio was 1.7:1. Mean duration of fever was 6.5 days, convulsion was found in 13.15% patients, out of which most common was generalised seizure (9.2%. 55.2% patients had meningeal signs, 23.68% patients had focal neurological deficits in the form of hemiparesis and monoparesis and mean GCS score was 9.28. Extra pyramidal features present in patients were rigidity (23.68%, abnormal posturing (15.78% and abnormal movements (23.68%. 23.68% patients had Leukocytosis and Thrombocytopenia was found in 21 (27.6% patients. Mean CSF cell count was 34.34 cells/mm3 with mean 29.67% polymorphs, mean CSF protein and sugar was 56.15 mg/dl and 66.92 mg/dl respectively. Serum bilirubin level was

Steering patients to safer hospitals? The effect of a tiered hospital network on hospital admissions.

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Scanlon, Dennis P; Lindrooth, Richard C; Christianson, Jon B

2008-10-01

To determine if a tiered hospital benefit and safety incentive shifted the distribution of admissions toward safer hospitals. A large manufacturing company instituted the hospital safety incentive (HSI) for union employees. The HSI gave union patients a financial incentive to choose hospitals that met the Leapfrog Group's three patient safety "leaps." The analysis merges data from four sources: claims and enrollment data from the company, the American Hospital Association, the AHRQ HCUP-SID, and a state Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Changes in hospital admissions' patterns for union and nonunion employees using a difference-in-difference design. We estimate the probability of choosing a specific hospital from a set of available alternatives using conditional logistic regression. Patients affiliated with the engineers' union and admitted for a medical diagnosis were 2.92 times more likely to select a hospital designated as safer in the postperiod than in the preperiod, while salaried nonunion (SNU) patients (not subject to the financial incentive) were 0.64 times as likely to choose a compliant hospital in the post- versus preperiod. The difference-in-difference estimate, which is based on the predictions of the conditional logit model, is 0.20. However, the machinists' union was also exposed to the incentive and they were no more likely to choose a safer hospital than the SNU patients. The incentive did not have an effect on patients admitted for a surgical diagnosis, regardless of union status. All patients were averse to travel time, but those union patients selecting an incentive hospital were less averse to travel time. Patient price incentives and quality/safety information may influence hospital selection decisions, particularly for medical admissions, though the optimal incentive level for financial return to the plan sponsor is not clear.

Risk of influenza transmission in a hospital emergency department during the week of highest incidence.

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Esteve-Esteve, Miguel; Bautista-Rentero, Daniel; Zanón-Viguer, Vicente

2018-02-01

To estimate the risk of influenza transmission in patients coming to a hospital emergency department during the week of highest incidence and to analyze factors associated with transmission. Retrospective observational analysis of a cohort of patients treated in the emergency room during the 2014-2015 flu season. The following variables were collected from records: recorded influenza diagnosis, results of a rapid influenza confirmation test, point of exposure (emergency department, outpatient clinic, or the community), age, sex, flu vaccination or not, number of emergency visits, time spent in the waiting room, and total time in the hospital. We compiled descriptive statistics and performed bivariate and multivariate analyses by means of a Poisson regression to estimate relative risk (RR) and 95% CIs. The emergency department patients had a RR of contracting influenza 3.29 times that of the communityexposed population (95% CI, 1.53-7.08, P=.002); their risk was 2.05 times greater than that of outpatient clinic visitors (95% CI, 1.04-4.02, P=.036). Emergency patients under the age of 15 years had a 5.27 greater risk than older patients (95% CI, 1.59-17.51; P=.007). The RR of patients visiting more than once was 11.43 times greater (95% CI, 3.58-36.44; P<.001). The risk attributable to visiting the emergency department risk was 70.5%, whereas risk attributable to community exposure was 2%. The risk of contracting influenza is greater for emergency department patients than for the general population or for patients coming to the hospital for outpatient clinic visits. Patients under the age of 15 years incur greater risk.

Implementation of a clinical pathway for emergency department out-patient management of deep vein thrombosis.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Kidney, R

2010-09-01

There is good evidence demonstrating that outpatient management of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is feasible and safe. However, few emergency departments in Ireland have implemented care pathways for outpatient management of DVT. The aim of this study was to examine the safety and efficacy of implementing an Emergency Department (ED)- care pathway for outpatient management of patients with DVT. A retrospective observational study of this care pathway introduced at our institution was performed. The primary outcome measure was the number of hospital admissions avoided by using the care pathway. Two hundred and eighty-four patients presenting to the ED with suspected lower limb DVT, were managed using the care pathway over a 6 month period. Forty-nine patients (17%) had a DVT diagnosed. Thirty-nine patients (81%) were suitable for outpatient DVT management. Ten patients (19%) were admitted to hospital. At 3 months there were no reported cases of the following complications: missed DVT, pulmonary embolism or death.

Liver stiffness and 30-day mortality in a cohort of patients admitted to hospital

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lindvig, Kristoffer; Mössner, Belinda K; Pedersen, Court

2012-01-01

Eur J Clin Invest 2011 ABSTRACT: Background  Transient elastography (TE) is a new noninvasive method to assess the degree of liver fibrosis by measuring liver stiffness. The objective of this study was to determine whether increased liver stiffness in patients admitted to medical wards...... measure was 30-day mortality. Results  Among 568 patients admitted during 24 days, 289 (50·8%) were included in the study, 212 (73·4%) with valid TE measurement. Increased liver stiffness (TE value > 8 kPa) was found in 22·6% (48/212). This was independently associated with cirrhosis of the liver (P  8 k......Pa was 20·8% (10/48, 95%CI 10·5-35·0%) compared to patients with TE value ≤ 8 kPa 3·7% (6/164, 95%CI 1·3-7·8%) (P  8 kPa was an independent predictor of death. Conclusions  Elevated TE value at admission is associated with increased mortality, cirrhosis of the liver and CHF. This information may potentially...

[Cost of hospitalization by the Activity Based Costing method in the neonatal department of Principal Hospital of Dakar].

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Tchamdja, T; Balaka, A; Tchandana, M; Agbétra, A

2015-01-01

To determine the cost of hospitalization per day in the neonatal department of Principal Hospital of Dakar. This prospective study took place during the month of July 2011 in the newborn unit. The activity-based costing method was used to analyze costs. During the study period, 52 newborns were hospitalized for a total of 590 days. The cost of the human resources during that month was 9,907,832 FCFA (US $ 19,815.66), the cost of depreciation of fixed assets was estimated at 571,952 FCFA (US $ 1143.90), and supplies at 112,084 FCFA (US $ 224.17). External services cost 386,753 FCFA (US $ 773.51) and support services 6,917,380.65 FCFA (US $ 13,834.7613). The monthly expenses incurred for the hospitalization of newborns totaled 17,896,002 FCFA (US $ 35,792), for a cost per patient per day of 30,332.20 FCFA (US $ 60.66) and an average cost of hospitalization 334,153.88 FCFA (US $ 668,31). This study is the first of its kind in Senegal and neighboring countries. By applying the ABC approach, we can obtain a more detailed and precise estimate of the cost of activities and services. Process improvements and corrective actions should make it possible to identify cost drivers, such as time.

Racial Disparity in Duration of Patient Visits to the Emergency Department: Teaching Versus Non-teaching Hospitals

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Zynal Karaca

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The sources of racial disparity in duration of patients’ visits to emergency departments (EDs have not been documented well enough for policymakers to distinguish patient-related factors from hospital- or area-related factors. This study explores the racial disparity in duration of routine visits to EDs at teaching and non-teaching hospitals.Methods: We performed retrospective data analyses and multivariate regression analyses to investigate the racial disparity in duration of routine ED visits at teaching and non-teaching hospitals. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD were used in the analyses. The data include 4.3 million routine ED visits encountered in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Utah during 2008. We computed duration for each visit by taking the difference between admission and discharge times.Results: The mean duration for a routine ED visit was 238 minutes at teaching hospitals and 175 minutes at non-teaching hospitals. There were significant variations in duration of routine ED visits across race groups at teaching and non-teaching hospitals. The risk-adjusted results show that the mean duration of routine ED visits for Black/African American and Asian patients when compared to visits for white patients was shorter by 10.0 and 3.4%, respectively, at teaching hospitals; and longer by 3.6 and 13.8%, respectively, at non-teaching hospitals. Hispanic patients, on average, experienced 8.7% longer ED stays when compared to white patients at non-teaching hospitals.Conclusion: There is significant racial disparity in the duration of routine ED visits, especially in non-teaching hospitals where non-White patients experience longer ED stays compared to white patients. The variation in duration of routine ED visits at teaching hospitals when compared to non-teaching hospitals was smaller across race groups. [West J Emerg Med. 2013;14(5:529–541.

Who is sleeping in our beds? Factors predicting the ED boarding of admitted patients for more than 2 hours.

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Hodgins, Marilyn J; Moore, Nicole; Legere, Laura

2011-05-01

Although the provision of inpatient care is not typically associated with emergency nursing, it is the new reality in many departments. Given the number of admitted patients boarded in the emergency department for part or all of their hospital stay, it is important to know who these patients are. The purpose of this analysis was to determine whether the occurrence of ED boarding could be predicted by factors specific to the type and timing of the ED visit or whether patient characteristics also affected these decisions. A retrospective review of administrative data for a 1-year period was conducted. Chi-square and logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether the likelihood of being boarded for more than 2 hours could be predicted by factors specific to the type of visit (ie, triage level and admission type) and timing of the visit (ie, time of day and day of week) or whether patient characteristics (ie, sex and age group) also played a role. Slightly more than half of patients remained in the emergency department for more than 2 hours following receipt of an admission order. Results suggest the likelihood of boarding was highest for those who were medical admissions and admitted on a weekday or during the night shift. Even after accounting for these factors, patient characteristics improved the ability to predict ED boarding. Female patients and those 65 years of age or older were more likely to be boarded. Findings suggest that in addition to their usual responsibilities, emergency nurses are providing care to a group of inpatients who tend to have high medical and nursing care needs. Copyright © 2011 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Nurse scheduling in a hospital emergency department: A case study at a Thai university hospital

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Aussadavut Dumrongsiri

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Common problems of Thai nurses are low quality of life, working long hours, and a high turnover rate. The workload imbalance among nurses also worsens the turnover rate. With careful schedule planning, nurses do not have to work in consecutive shifts and can rest more. We interviewed and collected data from an emergency department at a hospital administered by a Thai university, related to objectives and constraints of monthly nurse scheduling, and actual monthly schedules. A multi-objective mathematical model was developed using the open source “OpenSolver” software in MS-Excel for nurse schedulers to freely use. We tested the model using actual data collected from the department and found that the schedules created by the model tended to provide more balanced workloads and more days off compared to the schedules created manually by a real scheduler. The model also suggested an easy policy to increase the number of nurses for future expansion.

Profile of mortality of patients admitted to Weskoppies Psychiatric ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

patients to community based care has also contributed to this decrease. ... 1Department of Psychiatry, University of Pretoria, Weskoppies Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa ... reports were checked against the Hospital Board Meeting notes.

Prevalence of Burnout Syndrome in Patients Admitted with Acute Coronary Syndrome

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Ana Cláudia Giaxa Prosdócimo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Burnout Syndrome is the extreme emotional response to chronic occupational stress, manifesting as physical and mental exhaustion. Although associated with higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, no study so far has evaluated whether the Burnout Syndrome could be a prevalent factor in non-elderly individuals active in the labor market, admitted for acute coronary syndrome (ACS. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome in non-elderly, economically active patients, hospitalized with ACS. Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted in a tertiary and private cardiology center, with economically active patients aged <65 years, hospitalized with diagnosis of ACS. The Burnout Syndrome was evaluated with the Burnout Syndrome Inventory (BSI, which assesses workplace conditions and four dimensions that characterize the syndrome: emotional exhaustion (EE, emotional distancing (EmD, dehumanization (De and professional fulfillment (PF. The Lipp’s Stress Symptoms Inventory for Adults (LSSI was applied to evaluate global stress. Results: Of 830 patients evaluated with suspected ACS, 170 met the study criteria, 90% of which were men, overall average age was 52 years, and 40.5% had an average income above 11 minimum wages. The prevalence of the Burnout Syndrome was 4.1%. When we evaluated each dimension individually, we found high EE in 34.7%, high De in 52.4%, high EDi in 30.6%, and low PF in 5.9%. The overall prevalence of stress was 87.5%. Conclusion: We found a low prevalence of Burnout Syndrome in an economically active, non-elderly population among patients admitted for ACS in a tertiary and private hospital.

Outcome of patients with pulmonary embolism admitted to the intensive care unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

AlOtair, Hadeel; Chaudhry, Mohammed; Shaikh, Shaffi; BaHammam, Ahmed

2009-01-01

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is an important cause of in-hospital mortality. Many patients are admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) either due to hemodynamic instability or severe hypoxemia. Few reports have addressed the outcome of patients with PE; however, none were from ICUs in the Middle East. To describe the demographics, clinical presentation, risk factors and outcome of patients with PE admitted to the medical ICU and to identify possible factors associated with poor prognosis. Data were collected retrospectively by reviewing the records of patients admitted to the medical ICU with primary diagnosis of PE between January 2001 and June 2007. Demographic, clinical, radiological and therapeutic data were collected on admission to ICU. Fifty-six patients (43% females) with PE were admitted to the ICU during the study period. Their mean age was 40.6 + - 10.6 years. Seven patients (12.5%) had massive PE with hemodynamic instability and 15 (26.8%) had submassive PE. The remaining patients were admitted due to severe hypoxemia. Recent surgery followed by obesity were the most common risk factors (55.4 and 28.6%, respectively). Four patients with massive PE received thrombolysis because the remaining three had absolute contraindications. Fatal gastrointestinal bleeding occurred in one patient post thrombolysis. Additionally, two patients with massive PE and five with submassive PE died within 72 h of admission to the ICU, resulting in an overall mortality rate of 14%. Nonsurvivors were older and had a higher prevalence of immobility and cerebrovascular diseases compared with survivors. The mortality rate of patients with PE admitted to the ICU in our center was comparable to other published studies. Older age, immobility as well as coexistent cerebrovascular diseases were associated with a worse outcome. (author)

Effect of gender on hospital admissions for asthma and prevalence of self-reported asthma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Prescott, E; Lange, P; Vestbo, J

1997-01-01

BACKGROUND: Women are more often admitted to hospital for asthma than men. A study was undertaken to determine whether this is caused by gender differences in the prevalence or severity of the disease. METHODS: Admissions to hospital for asthma in 13,540 subjects were followed from 1977 to 1993....... RESULTS: At baseline 315 subjects (2.3%) reported asthma, 2.2% of women and 2.5% of men. During follow up 160 subjects were admitted to hospital for asthma. After controlling for self-reported asthma and smoking, women had a higher risk of being admitted to hospital than men (relative risk 1.7, 95...

Emergency department nurses' experiences of occupational stress: A qualitative study from a public hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuwanich, Nuttapol; Sandmark, Hélène; Akhavan, Sharareh

2015-10-30

Occupational stress has been a health-related issue among nurses for many decades. Emergency department nurses are frequently confronted with occupational stress in their workplace; in particular, they encounter stressful situations and unpredictable events. These encounters could make them feel more stressed than nurses in other departments. Research considering occupational stress from the perspective of Thai emergency department nurses is limited. This study aimed to explore nurses' perceptions of occupational stress in an emergency department. A qualitative approach was used to gain an understanding of nurses' experiences and perceptions regarding stress in their workplace. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. Twenty-one emergency department nurses working in a public hospital in Thailand were interviewed, and the data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings comprised three themes: (1) perceived stress, (2) consequences of stress, and (3) stress management. The results of this study can be used by hospital management to help them adopt effective strategies, such as support programs involving co-workers/supervisors, to decrease occupational stress among emergency department nurses. Future research that explores each of the themes found in this study could offer a more comprehensive understanding of nurses' occupational stress in the emergency department.

GENERAL HOSPITAL MARIBOR FROM ITS FOUNDATION TILL WORLD WAR II

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Gregor Pivec

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Author describes the history of General Hospital Maribor from its foundation (1799 to the beginning of World War II. In 1799 the magistrate of the town Maribor issued a memorandum regarding establishment of a town hospital in the renovated building of the town hospice, providing space for 24 patients. The work of the hospital was carried out in the former hospice building until 1855. 26 beds were added in the period between its establishment and eventual relocation. The last two decades of the hospital’s operation at the original location were marked by the assiduous work of the town’s physicist, Dr. Anton Kuker. In the first half of the 19th century, the population of Maribor rapidly grew as a consequence of the construction of the Southern Railway. The city authorities therefore purchased the Prosenjak family villa in the Magdalena suburbs and relocated the hospital to it in 1855, providing 28 rooms for 110 patients. For a whole century, the care of patients was taken over by the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. The hospital was soon admitting over 1000 patients a year; the most common complaints being pulmonary catarrh, gastritis and fever. In 1872, when the Master of Surgery, Feliks Ferk, joined the hospital, the internal, medical, and the »external« surgical departments were formed. Although medical studies were not easily accessible, there was a number of Slovene physicians working in the hospital and the town in that period. In the last decades of the 19th century, the hospital was often renovated and enlarged. The infrastructure (telephone, water supply system, heating, lighting had also been modernized by World War I. In 1914, the first X-ray apparatus was purchased. Between the wars, the hospital’s development was stepped up by the recruitment of the Slovene physicians Ivan Matko, Mirko Černič, Janko Dernovšek and Hugon Robič. The initial external and medical departments split into several departments

Characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a tertiary care hospital: a 2-year study

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Kotsikoris Ioannis

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The structure of health care in Greece is receiving increased attention to improve its cost-effectiveness. We sought to examine the epidemiological characteristics of patients presenting to the vascular emergency department of a Greek tertiary care hospital during a 2-year period. We studied all patients presenting to the emergency department of vascular surgery at Red Cross Hospital, Athens, Greece between 1st January 2009 and 31st December 2010. Results Overall, 2452 (49.4% out of 4961 patients suffered from pathologies that should have been treated in primary health care. Only 2509 (50.6% needed vascular surgical intervention. Conclusions The emergency department of vascular surgery in a Greek tertiary care hospital has to treat a remarkably high percentage of patients suitable for the primary health care level. These results suggest that an improvement in the structure of health care is needed in Greece.

Social and hospital costs of patients admitted to a university hospital in Brazil due to motorcycle crashes.

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Dos Anjos, Katia Campos; de Rezende, Marcelo Rosa; Mattar, Rames

2017-08-18

This study aimed to investigate the social and hospital costs of patients treated at a public hospital who were motorcycle crash victims. This prospective study was on 68 motorcycle riders (drivers or passengers), who were followed up from hospital admission to 6 months after the crash. A questionnaire covering quantitative and qualitative questions was administered. Motorcycle crash victims were responsible for 12% of the institution's hospital admissions; 54.4% were young (18-28 years of age); 92.6% were the drivers; 91.2% were male; and 50% used their motorcycles as daily means of transportation. Six months afterward, 94.1% needed help from someone; 83.8% had changed their family dynamics; and 73.5% had not returned to their professional activities. Among the injuries, 94.7% had some type of fracture, of which 53.5% were exposed fractures; 35.3% presented temporary sequelae; and 32.4% presented permanent sequelae. They used the surgical center 2.53 times on average, with a mean hospital stay of 18 days. The per capita hospital cost of these victims' treatment was US$17,481.50. The social and hospital costs were high, relative to the characteristics of a public institution. Temporary or permanent disability caused changes to family dynamics, as shown by the high numbers of patients who were still away from their professional activities more than 6 months afterward.

Estimating the Hospital Burden of Norovirus-Associated Gastroenteritis in England and its Opportunity Costs for Non-Admitted Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandmann, Frank G; Shallcross, Laura; Adams, Natalie; Allen, David J; Coen, Pietro G; Jeanes, Annette; Kozlakidis, Zisis; Larkin, Lesley; Wurie, Fatima; Robotham, Julie V; Jit, Mark; Deeny, Sarah R

2018-02-26

Norovirus places a substantial burden on healthcare systems, arising from infected patients, disease outbreaks, beds kept unoccupied for infection control, and staff absences due to infection. In settings with high rates of bed occupancy, opportunity costs arise from patients who cannot be admitted due to beds being unavailable. With several treatments and vaccines against norovirus in development, quantifying the expected economic burden is timely. The number of inpatients with norovirus-associated gastroenteritis in England were modelled using infectious and non-infectious gastrointestinal Hospital Episode Statistics codes and laboratory reports of gastrointestinal pathogens collected at Public Health England. The excess length of stay from norovirus was estimated with a multi-state model and local outbreak data. Unoccupied bed-days and staff absences were estimated from national outbreak surveillance. The burden was valued conventionally using accounting expenditures and wages, which we contrasted to the opportunity costs from forgone patients using a novel methodology. Between July 2013 and June 2016, 17.7% (95%-confidence interval: 15.6%‒21.6%) of primary and 23.8% (20.6%‒29.9%) of secondary gastrointestinal diagnoses were norovirus-attributable. Annually, the estimated median 290,000 (interquartile range: 282,000‒297,000) occupied and unoccupied bed-days used for norovirus displaced 57,800 patients. Conventional costs for the National Health Service reached £107.6 million; the economic burden approximated to £297.7 million and a loss of 6,300 quality-adjusted life years annually. In England, norovirus is now the second-largest contributor of the gastrointestinal hospital burden. With the projected impact being greater than previously estimated, improved capture of relevant opportunity costs seems imperative for diseases like norovirus.

Antibiotics-related adverse events in the infectious diseases department of a French teaching hospital: a prospective study.

Science.gov (United States)

Courjon, J; Pulcini, C; Cua, E; Risso, K; Guillouet, F; Bernard, E; Roger, P-M

2013-12-01

Antibiotics are a significant cause of adverse events (AE), but few studies have focused on prescriptions in hospitalized patients. In infectious diseases departments, the high frequency and diversity of antibiotics prescribed makes AE post-marketing monitoring easier. The aim of our study was to assess the incidence and type of AE in the infectious diseases department of a French teaching tertiary-care hospital. The main characteristics of each hospitalization, including all antibiotics prescribed and any significant AE were recorded prospectively in the medical dashboard of the department. We included all patients having suffered an AE due to systemic antibiotics between January 2008 and March 2011. Among the 3963 hospitalized patients, 2682 (68%) received an antibiotic and 151/2682 (5.6%) suffered an AE. Fifty-two (34%) AE were gastrointestinal disorders, 32 (21%) dermatological, 20 (13%) hepatobiliary, 16 (11%) renal and urinary disorders, 13 (9%) neurological and 11 (7%) blood disorders. Rifampin, fosfomycin, cotrimoxazole and linezolid were the leading causes of AE. Sixty-two percent of the antibiotics causing an AE were stopped and 38% were continued (including 11% with a dose modification). Patients suffering from AE had an increased length of stay (18 vs 10 days, P antibiotic when several options are possible.

Attitudes and Experiences of Women Admitted to Hospital with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Unsafe abortion is one of the major contributors to high levels of maternal mortality in Ghana, despite a relatively liberal legal environment. This paper presents findings from a semi-structured hospital-based survey of 131 Ghanaian women who had experienced unsafe abortion. The majority of respondents were young and ...

Pregnant Adolescents Admitted to an Inpatient Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Unit: An Eight-Year Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Teresa M; Markley, Laura A; Nelson, Dana; Crane, Stephen S; Fitzgibbon, James J

2015-12-01

To assess patient outcomes and describe demographic data of pregnant adolescents admitted to an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric unit, as well as to determine if it is safe to continue to admit pregnant adolescents to such a unit. A descriptive retrospective chart review conducted at a free-standing pediatric hospital in northeast Ohio of all pregnant adolescents aged 13 to 17 years admitted to the inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric unit from July 2005 to April 2013. Data collection included details on demographic, pregnancy status, and psychiatric diagnoses. Eighteen pregnant adolescents were admitted to the psychiatric unit during the time frame. Sixteen of those were in the first trimester of pregnancy. Pregnancy was found to be a contributing factor to the adolescent's suicidal ideation and admission in 11 of the cases. Admission to an inpatient psychiatric facility did not lead to adverse effects in pregnancy. Pregnant adolescents did not have negative pregnancy outcomes related to admission to an inpatient psychiatric unit. Results of this study suggest that it is safe to continue to admit uncomplicated pregnant adolescents in their first trimester to an inpatient child and adolescent psychiatric unit for an acute stay. Copyright © 2015 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The prevalence of undernutrition upon hospitalization in children in a developing country: A single hospital study from Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Way-Seah; Ahmad, Zulfadly

2017-10-01

Undernourished children who require hospital care have a longer duration of hospitalization and respond poorly to modern medical therapy. The objective of the present study was to ascertain the nutritional status of children admitted to a pediatric tertiary center in Malaysia and the risk factors leading to undernutrition upon admission. In this cross-sectional, hospital-based study, anthropometric measurements [weight, length/height, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), triceps skinfold thickness were performed in 285 children aged from 3 months to 15 years who were admitted to University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur in November 2013. Acute (wasting) and chronic (stunting) undernutrition were defined as weight-for-height (WFH) and height-for-age (HFA) standard deviation (S.D.), respectively. Underweight was defined as weight-for-age definition for acute undernutrition (HFA definition of acute undernutrition, an additional eight patients were noted to have acute undernutrition (n = 40, 14%). No significant risk factors associated with undernutrition were identified. The prevalence of undernutrition among children admitted to a tertiary hospital in Malaysia was 14%. Strategies for systematic screening and provision of nutritional support in children at risk of undernutrition as well as treatment of undernutrition in children requiring hospitalization are needed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Treatment needs, diagnoses and use of services for acutely admitted psychiatric patients in northwest Russia and northern Norway

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Sørgaard Knut W

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background We compared demography, diagnoses and clinical needs in acutely admitted psychiatric hospital patients in northwest Russia and northern Norway. Method All acutely admitted psychiatric patients in 1 psychiatric hospital in north-west Russia and 2 in northern Norway were in a three months period assessed with HoNOS and a Norwegian form developed to study acute psychiatric services (MAP. Data from a total of 841 patients were analysed (377 Norwegian, 464 Russian with univariate and multivariate statistics. Results Russian patients were more often males who had paid work. 2/3 were diagnosed with alcohol and organic disorders, and 70% reported problems related to sleep. Depression was widespread, as were problems associated with occupation. Many more Norwegian patients were on various forms of social security and lived in community supported homes. They had a clinical profile of affective disorders, use of drugs, suicidality and problems with activities involved of daily life. Slightly more Norwegian patients were involuntary admitted. Conclusion Acutely admitted psychiatric patients in North West Russia and Northern Norwegian showed different clinical profiles: alcohol, depression and organic disorders characterised Russian patients, affective disorders, suicidality and use of drugs characterised the Norwegians. Whereas Norwegian patients are mainly referred from GPs the Russians come via 1.line psychiatric services (“dispensaries”. Average length of stay for Russian patients was 2.5 times longer than that of the Norwegian.

Organisational patient management, as shown by the radiology department of a hospital

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schluechtermann, J.

1990-01-01

For years now, rationalization has been the prime goal that put hospitals under pressure to establish appropriate procedures. Work scheduling is of great significance in this context, especially in the light of modified framework conditions of the hospital's financing terms. The book in hand comprehensively discusses the problem of patient flow control, which has to serve two somewhat contradictory purposes, namely to achieve best possible capacity utilization in terms of equipment and personnel, and shortest possible waiting time for patients. The contributions offered by methods of the quantitative operations analysis for problem solving are set forth, as well as the role of computerized information systems in patient-related work scheduling. As both approaches reveal considerable weak points, a concept is presented that aims at integrating patient-related appointment methods into hospital information systems. The concept is explained by the example of a radiology department. Some scheduling heuristics are set up and are verified by empirical data. (orig./HSCH) [de

Ambulatory Surgery Centers and Prices in Hospital Outpatient Departments.

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Carey, Kathleen

2017-04-01

Specialty providers claim to offer a new competitive benchmark for efficient delivery of health care. This article explores this view by examining evidence for price competition between ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). I studied the impact of ASC market presence on actual prices paid to HOPDs during 2007-2010 for four common surgical procedures that were performed in both provider types. For the procedures examined, HOPDs received payments from commercial insurers in the range of 3.25% to 5.15% lower for each additional ASC per 100,000 persons in a market. HOPDs may have less negotiating leverage with commercial insurers on price in markets with high ASC market penetration, resulting in relatively lower prices.

Improving admission medication reconciliation compliance using the electronic tool in admitted medical patients

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Taha, Haytham; abdulhay, dana; Luqman, Neama; Ellahham, Samer

2016-01-01

Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi is the main tertiary care referral hospital in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 560 bed capacity that is fully occupied most of the time. SKMC senior management has made a commitment to make quality and patient safety a top priority. Our governing body Abu Dhabi Health Services Company has identified medication reconciliation as a critical patient safety measure and key performance indicator (KPI). The medication reconciliation electronic form a computerized decision support tool was introduced to improve medication reconciliation compliance on transition of care at admission, transfer and discharge of patients both in the inpatient and outpatient settings. In order to improve medication reconciliation compliance a multidisciplinary task force team was formed and led this quality improvement project. The purpose of this publication is to indicate the quality improvement interventions implemented to enhance compliance with admission medication reconciliation and the outcomes of those interventions. We chose to conduct the pilot study in general medicine as it is the busiest department in the hospital, with an average of 390 patients admitted per month during the study period. The study period was from April 2014 till October 2015 and a total of 8576 patients were evaluated. The lessons learned were disseminated throughout the hospital. Our aim was to improve admission medication reconciliation compliance using the electronic form in order to ensure patient safety and reduce preventable harm in terms of medication errors. Admission medication reconciliation compliance improved in general medicine from 40% to above 85%, and this improvement was sustained for the last four months of the study period. PMID:27822371

Cost variation in diabetes care delivered in English hospitals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Troels

2009-01-01

the hospital fixed effect and adjust for hospital characteristics such as number of patients treated, factor prices and number of specialties involved in diabetes care. We rank hospitals by their adjusted fixed effect, which measures the extent to which their costs vary from the average after controlling......Background: Many diabetic patients are admitted to hospital, where care is costly and where there may be scope to improve efficiency. Aims: We analyse the costs and characteristics of diabetic patients admitted to English hospitals and aim to assess what proportions of cost variation are explained...... by patient and hospital characteristics. Methods: We apply a multilevel approach recognising that patients are clustered in hospitals. We first analyse the relationship between patient costs and their characteristics, such as HRG, age, gender, diagnostic markers and socio-economic status. We derive...

State of malnutrition in hospitals of Ecuador

OpenAIRE

Sylvia Gallegos Espinosa; Marcelo Nicolalde Cifuentes; Sergio Santana Porbén

2014-01-01

Rationale: Hospital malnutrition is a global health problem affecting 30-50% of hospitalized patients. There are no estimates of the size of this problem in Ecuadorian hospitals. Hospital malnutrition might influence the quality of medical assistance provided to hospitalized populations. Objectives: To estimate the current frequency of malnutrition among patients admitted to Ecuadorian public hospitals. Materials and methods: The Ecuadorian Hospital Malnutrition Study was conducted between No...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa from hospital environment

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Milind Davane

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Hospital acquired infection is an additional affliction to the patient admitted to the hospital for some serious illness and is caused by pathogens which are prevalent in hospital environment. In the hospital, microbes are ubiquitous; and can reach the sick patient through various sources, such as air, water, food, contaminated equipments, linen, catheters, scopes, ventilators, contaminated disinfectants and other preparations used for treatment, visitors, infected patients, etc.

Cost of Treatment of Hospitalized Patients with Diabetes in Prenda Hospital Medicine Service, Angola

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António Zangulo

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Diabetes has a major impact on morbidity and mortality today. It is estimated that by 2040, about 642 million people are affected worldwide, of which, 34.2 million are from sub-Saharan countries. The direct annual cost of diabetes health care worldwide is estimated at about 153 billion dollars. These patients represent 30% to 40% of all admissions to emergency services, leading to high values of hospital expenditure. We aim to evaluate the cost of treatment of patients with diabetes admitted to Prenda Hospital Medicine Service in 2012. Methods: Retrospective analytical observational study, with data collected from the clinical processes of medical service (age and gender, length of hospitalization, resources consumed, cost of treatment per patient and discharge. Results: Out of 121 patients, the majority was female (n = 70, 57.9%. The age group of 36 to 45 years old was the most frequent among these patients (n = 26, 21.5%. November was the month that recorded the largest number of admissions (n = 17, 14%. About 45.5% were hospitalized during five to eight days, on average for nine days. The majority (76.9% was discharged due to health condition improvement. The price of materials used for treatment of the disease had high variation, and 31 550.15 kwanzas was spent to acquire them. The direct cost per patient per day was 4170.11 kwanzas and the estimated annual cost of care of diabetic patients admitted to Prenda Hospital was 45 525 490.9 kwanzas in 2012. Discussion and Conclusion: These results are in accordance with other studies, indicating a relevant cost of treatment of diabetic patients admitted to Prenda Hospital Medicine Service in 2012.

National and Regional Representativeness of Hospital Emergency Department Visit Data in the National Syndromic Surveillance Program, United States, 2014

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Coates, Ralph J.; Pérez, Alejandro; Baer, Atar; Zhou, Hong; English, Roseanne; Coletta, Michael; Dey, Achintya

2016-01-01

Objective We examined the representativeness of the nonfederal hospital emergency department (ED) visit data in the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP). Methods We used the 2012 American Hospital Association Annual Survey Database, other databases, and information from state and local health departments participating in the NSSP about which hospitals submitted data to the NSSP in October 2014. We compared ED visits for hospitals submitting 15 data with all ED visits in all 50 states and Washington, DC. Results Approximately 60.4 million of 134.6 million ED visits nationwide (~45%) were reported to have been submitted to the NSSP. ED visits in 5 of 10 regions and the majority of the states were substantially underrepresented in the NSSP. The NSSP ED visits were similar to national ED visits in terms of many of the characteristics of hospitals and their service areas. However, visits in hospitals with the fewest annual ED visits, in rural trauma centers, and in hospitals serving populations with high percentages of Hispanics and Asians were underrepresented. Conclusions NSSP nonfederal hospital ED visit data were representative for many hospital characteristics and in some geographic areas but were not very representative nationally and in many locations. Representativeness could be improved by increasing participation in more states and among specific types of hospitals. PMID:26883318