scholarly journals Reduction and follow-up of hospital discharge letter delay using Little’s law

Author(s):  
Rodolfo Burruni ◽  
Beatrice Cuany ◽  
Massimo Valerio ◽  
Patrice Jichlinski ◽  
Gerit Kulik
2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Pio-Abreu ◽  
F Trani-Ferreira ◽  
G.V Silva ◽  
L.A Bortolotto ◽  
L Drager

Abstract Background Resistant (HR) and refractory hypertension (HRef) are associated with increased cardiovascular events and target-organ damage. However, appropriate HR and HRef diagnosis require good drug adherence. In this context, the “gold standard” method for assessing adherence is supervised medication intake. However, it is not clear the real utility of supervised medication intake in clinical practice. Purpose To evaluate whether hospitalization for confirming anti-hypertensive adherence in patients with HR and HRef may impact blood pressure (BP) control after hospital discharge in patients with HR or HRef suspicious at a tertiary outpatient clinic. Methods We recruited consecutive patients with HR or HRef suspicious admitted to the Hospital for confirming treatment adherence. HR was defined as uncontrolled office BP (≥140 and/or ≥90mmHg) despite using ≥3 classes at optimal doses (one of them being diuretic) or controlled BP using ≥4 classes. HRef was defined as no BP control despite using ≥5 antihypertensive drugs. Patients with suspected HRef who did not meet the criteria but full field the HR definition were named HRNoRef. During hospitalization, all patients used low sodium diet and had supervised taking of prescribed drugs by the medical team aiming BP control. We defined not only the rate of adherence and HF/HRef status but also BP and number of antihypertensive drugs at hospital discharge and in the two first return outpatient's visits. Results We studied a total of 83 patients with suspected HR/HRef (age 53±14 years; 76% females; pre-hospitalization systolic and diastolic BP: 177±28 and 106±21mmHg, respectively). Of these, 68.7% (57 patients) had suspected HRef in the outpatient clinic. The average number of antihypertensive drugs on admission was 5.3±1.3 classes. After hospitalization, the overall frequency of HR fell to 80% (66 patients). The average number of antihypertensive drugs at hospital discharge as well as systolic and diastolic BP was 4.5±1.3 classes, 131±17mmHg and 80±12mmHg, respectively (p<0.001 vs. pre-hospitalization for all comparisons). Among the HR types, HRef was confirmed in only 27 patients (32.5%). During the outpatient follow-up, the patients remained with lower number of antihypertensive drugs as well as lower systolic and diastolic BP at first outpatient visit (mean returned time: 2.1±1.7months) and second outpatient visit post-discharge (mean returned time 7.1±2.6months) as compared to pre-hospitalization data: First visit: 4.3±1.2 classes, systolic: 152±24mmHg, diastolic BP: 89±17mmHg; second visit: 4.5±1.3 classes, systolic: 150±26mmHg, diastolic BP: 89±15mmHg; (p<0.001 vs. pre-hospitalization for all comparisons). Conclusion Supervised medication intake during hospitalization may help not only to define the HR and HRef status but also to have impact on the number of antihypertensive drugs and lower BP values at short and mid-term follow-up. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 508-515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuki Nakayama ◽  
Takeshi Shinkawa ◽  
Goki Matsumura ◽  
Ryogo Hoki ◽  
Kei Kobayashi ◽  
...  

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess autograft function after the Ross procedure and to review surgical outcomes associated with autograft reoperations. Methods: This is a retrospective study of patients undergoing the Ross procedure since 1993. Autograft function and autograft reoperation were studied. Autograft failure was defined as more than moderate autograft regurgitation or autograft dilatation to more than 50 mm diameter or z-score of more than +4 in children. One hospital death was excluded from analysis as were patients with unknown late autograft status. Results: Among 75 patients analyzed, preoperative diagnosis before the Ross procedure included aortic regurgitation in 26, aortic stenosis in 19, combined lesions in 28, and 2 mechanical valve malfunctions. Median age at the Ross procedure was 12.1 (0.4-43.6) years with 44 children less than 15 years old. Six patients had greater than mild autograft regurgitation at post-Ross hospital discharge. During median follow-up of 14.9 years, there were 23 autograft failures. Eighteen autograft reoperations were performed on 17 patients (13 children), including 12 aortic valve replacements, 5 aortic root replacements (including 1 valve-sparing root replacement), and 1 Konno procedure. Freedom from autograft failure and autograft reoperation at 20 years after the Ross procedure was 52.0% and 66.3%, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified greater than mild autograft regurgitation at hospital discharge from Ross procedure as a risk factor for autograft failure ( P < .01). All patients who underwent autograft reoperation survived and had good health status at a median of 6.9 years after the reoperation. Conclusions: The Ross procedure is effective in delaying prosthetic aortic valve replacement, although the time-related risk of autograft failure is a real consideration.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Roggeri ◽  
Daniela Paola Roggeri ◽  
Carlotta Rossi ◽  
Marco Gambera ◽  
Rossana Piccinelli ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a chronic illness with important implications for the health of the population and for the commitment of resources by public health services. CKD staging makes it possible to assess the severity of the disease and its distribution in the population. The distribution of the stages of CKD diagnosed through hospitalization were analyzed using administrative database of the Local Health Authority of a province with a population of about 1 million inhabitants in northern Italy. Method Patients with hospital discharge with a diagnosis of CKD (ICD9CM 5851, 5852, 5853, 5854) in 2011- 2012 years, without dialysis treatment, neither transplantation procedure nor acute renal failure were selected. Demographic characteristics, comorbidities, dialysis treatment, drugs prescription and nephrological follow-up were investigated. This cohort of patients was examined over a 7-year period (2011-2017). Stage five was not considered to avoid possible misunderstanding with five D stage. Results 1808 patients diagnosed with CKD were extracted from the 2011-2017 administrative database; of these, 1267 had a diagnosis with the CKD stage specification. The distribution of 1267 patients in the CKD stages at the first hospital discharge was as follows: 7.4% stage 1, 30.9% stage 2, 42.3% stage 3, 19.3% stage 4. The 832 patients described in the study were still alive as of Jan. 1, 2013 while 435 (34.3%) died by Dec. 31, 2012. Until Dec. 31, 2017, 503 of the 832 patients died representing the 52.8% of stage 1 patients, 62% of stage 2 patients, 58.2% of stage 3 patients, 66.4% of stage 4 patients. Males were the most prevalent gender (58.5%), without any significant difference into CKD stages. Our patients have a fairly high age as can be seen from the table 1. The presence of co-morbidities was assessed either directly for the main risk factors or by the modified Charlson index (MCI) for CKD patients. The average value of the MCI is 3.8 ± 3.1 for all patients and 3.4 ±3.0 for stage 1, 4.1 ± 3.3 for stage 2, 3.7 ± 3.1 for stage 3, 3.7 ± 2.9 for stage 4, with maximum values of 12.0, 17.0, 16.0 and 14.0 respectively. About 40% of patients had diabetes mellitus, with the highest prevalence in stage 4 (49.3%) and the lowest in stage 1 (25%). Cardiovascular disease was distributed almost equally among all patients with a value between 82% in stage 1 and 86.3% in stage 4. Cancer were present in 26.3% of patients with similar values in all stages. Just about 9% of patients underwent dialysis treatment for achieving ESRD, with a percentage of 5.6% among patients in stage 1 and 17.1% among those in stage 4. Hemodialysis represented first choice treatment (86%) compared with peritoneal one (14%). Time from the diagnosis of CKD to the first dialysis was variable with an average of 3.4 ±1.7 years; the longest interval for patients in stage 1 (5.1±1.8) and the shortest (3.0 ±1.6) for patients in stage 4. The number of nephrological visits at renal units was analyzed for an assessment of the extent of follow-up and prevention upon reaching the ESRD (table2). More than 90% of patients had prescribed drugs antagonists of the renin angiotensin system, in all stages of CKD; other antihypertensive drugs (Ca channel blockers and peripheral vasodilators) had a similar prescription level. Anemia control drugs (ESA and iron) had an incremental prescription with stages of the disease from 51.4% in stage 1 to 74% in stage 4, similarly to Ca-P metabolism control drugs ranging from 44.4% in stage 1 to 67.8% in stage 4. Conclusion Correct staging of CKD is very important to assess the prognosis of patients, but the major determinants of outcome are comorbidities and age of the patients. The cohort examined has a high mortality rate, far higher than reported in the literature for CKD. It should be noted that the sample was identified by hospitalization for cardiovascular diseases more than 50% complicated by diabetes and hypertension, so death represents the main outcome and not ESRD.


2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Simchi-Levi ◽  
Michael A. Trick

Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cedric Manlhiot ◽  
Sunita O’Shea ◽  
Bailey Bernknopf ◽  
Michael Labelle ◽  
Mathew Mathew ◽  
...  

Introduction: Historically, 2 methods have been used to determine the incidence of Kawasaki disease (KD): active or passive surveillance, or the use of administrative databases. Given the increasing regulatory requirements, mainly around patient privacy, periodic retrospective surveillances have become increasingly challenging. Administrative databases are not curated datasets and doubts have been cast on their accuracy. Methods: The Hospital for Sick Children has been conducting retrospective triennial surveillances of KD since 1995 by contacting all hospitals in Ontario and manually reviewing all cases through chart review, reconciling inter-hospital transfers and multiple readmissions. We queried the Canadian hospital discharge database (Canadian Institute for Health Information) for hospitalizations associated with a diagnosis of KD between 2004-9. The administrative dataset was manually reviewed; patient national health number, institution and dates of admission/discharge were used to identify inter-hospital transfers, readmission and follow-up episodes. Results: The Canadian hospital discharge database reported 1,685 admissions during the study period (281±44 per year) for Ontario. Manual review of the dataset identified 219 (13%) as inter-hospital transfers (56, 26%), readmissions (122, 56%), admissions for follow-up of coronary artery aneurysms (14, 6%) or hospital admissions not related to KD (27, 12%). When these admissions were removed, the total number of incident cases for the study period was 1,466 (244±45 per year). The retrospective triennial surveillance identified 1,373 KD cases during the same period (229±33 per year). The Canadian hospital discharge database overestimated the number of cases in all 6 years by an average of 6.7±5.9%. The overestimation likely comes from patients who were originally diagnosed with KD but in whom the diagnosis of KD was subsequently excluded (historically ~5-6%). Conclusions: Reliance on administrative data to determine incidence of KD is possible and accurate; data should be manually reviewed to remove non-incident cases and estimates should be adjusted to reflect the expected proportion of patients in whom the diagnosis of KD will be subsequently excluded.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000992282110472
Author(s):  
Andrew Brown ◽  
Mary Quaile ◽  
Hannah Morris ◽  
Dmitry Tumin ◽  
Clayten L. Parker ◽  
...  

Objective To determine factors associated with completion of recommended outpatient follow-up visits in children with complex chronic conditions (CCCs) following hospital discharge. Methods We retrospectively identified children aged 1 to 17 years diagnosed with a CCC who were discharged from our rural tertiary care children’s hospital between 2017 and 2018 with a diagnosis meeting published CCC criteria. Patients discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit and patients enrolled in a care coordination program for technology-dependent children were excluded. Results Of 113 eligible patients, 77 (68%) had outpatient follow-up consistent with discharge instructions. Intensive care unit (ICU) admission ( P = .020) and prolonged length of stay ( P = .004) were associated with decreased likelihood of completing recommended follow-up. Conclusions Among children with CCCs who were not already enrolled in a care coordination program, ICU admission was associated with increased risk of not completing recommended outpatient follow-up. This population could be targeted for expanded care coordination efforts.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 131 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Xu ◽  
Yonghong Zhang ◽  
Yingxian Sun ◽  
Chung-Shiuan Chen ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
...  

Introduction: The effects of blood pressure (BP) reduction on clinical outcomes among acute stroke patient remain uncertain. Hypothesis: We tested the effects of immediate BP reduction on death and major disability at 14 days or hospital discharge and 3-month follow-up in acute ischemic stroke patients with and without a previous history of hypertension or use of antihypertensive medications. Methods: The China Antihypertensive Trial in Acute Ischemic Stroke (CATIS) randomly assigned patients with ischemic stroke within 48 hours of onset and elevated systolic BP (SBP) to receive antihypertensive treatment (N=2,038) or to discontinue all antihypertensive medications (N=2,033) during hospitalization. Randomization was stratified by participating hospitals and use of antihypertensive medications. Study outcomes were assessed at 14 days or hospital discharge and 3-month post-treatment follow-up. The primary outcome was death and major disability (modified Rankin Scale score≥3), and secondary outcomes included recurrent stroke and vascular events. Results: Mean SBP was reduced 12.7% in the treatment group and 7.2% in the control group within 24 hours after randomization (P<0.001). Mean SBP was 137.3 mmHg in the treatment group and 146.5 in the control group at day 7 after randomization (P<0.001). At 14 days or hospital discharge, the primary and secondary outcomes were not significantly different between the treatment and control groups by subgroups. At the 3-month follow-up, recurrent stroke was significantly reduced in the antihypertensive treatment group among patients with a history of hypertension (odds ratio 0.43, 95% CI 0.24-0.75, P=0.003) and among patients with a history of use of antihypertensive medications (odds ratio 0.41, 95% CI 0.20-0.84, P=0.01). All-cause mortality (odds ratio 2.84, 95% CI 1.11-7.27, P=0.03) was increased among patients without a history of hypertension. Conclusion: Immediate BP reduction lowers recurrent stroke among acute ischemic stroke patients with a previous history of hypertension or use of antihypertensive medications at 3 months. On the other hand, BP reduction increases all-cause mortality among patients without a history of hypertension.


2009 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Aimone ◽  
Joanne Rovet ◽  
Wendy Ward ◽  
Ann Jefferies ◽  
Douglas M Campbell ◽  
...  

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