Simulation Analysis of an Outpatient Department of Internal Medicine in a University Hospital

Author(s):  
A.K. Wijewickrama ◽  
Soemon Takakuwa
Author(s):  
Tabitha Heller ◽  
Christof Kloos ◽  
Nicolle Mueller ◽  
Josef Roemelt ◽  
Christian Keinki ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundComplementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used often by patients with different diseases. While some authors subsume religiousness and spirituality to CAM, others do not. The objective of the present study was to assess the prevalence and types of CAM usage as well as the participants' spirituality/religiousness in an outpatient department for endocrinology and metabolic diseases.MethodsAll individuals visiting the outpatient department at a German university hospital from April to June 2009 were offered a standardized questionnaire on the use of dietary supplements and alternative therapies as well as their religiousness/spirituality. Demographic and clinical data of 428 respondents were taken from the electronic health record.ResultsOf the respondents, 16.4% (n = 66) classified themselves to be religious/spiritual and 67.9% (n = 273) as not religious/spiritual. Women were more religious/spiritual than men (p = 0.02). 41.4% of the respondents used supplements and 27.4% additional therapies. The use of supplements and additional therapies was more frequent in people with higher religiousness/spirituality (p = 0.005 and p = 0.01,resp.) but there were no associations between religiousness/spirituality and the number of consultations, costs for drugs, appraisal of the physicians treatment methods, the perceived effectiveness of prescribed drugs, fear of late complications or of side effects.ConclusionsA higher religiousness/spirituality is associated with a more frequent use of supplements or additional therapies in individuals with endocrinopathies or metabolic diseases. As CAM has been shown to be associated with worse outcome, addressing religiousness/spirituality which stresses the responsibility of the person for his life might offer an additional resource and should be further studied.


Author(s):  
Giacomo Pucci ◽  
Edoardo Santoni ◽  
Valeria Bisogni ◽  
Camilla Calandri ◽  
Alberto Cerasari ◽  
...  

AbstractAtrial fibrillation (AF), the commonest sustained cardiac arrhythmia affecting the adult population, is often casually discovered among hospitalized people. AF onset is indeed triggered by several clinical conditions such as acute inflammatory states, infections, and electrolyte disturbance, frequently occurring during the hospitalization. We aimed to evaluate whether systematic AF screening, performed through an automated oscillometric blood pressure (BP) device (Microlife WatchBP Office AFIB, Microlife AG, Switzerland), is effective for detecting AF episodes in subjects admitted to an Internal Medicine ward. 163 patients consecutively hospitalized at the Unit of Internal Medicine of the “Santa Maria” Terni University Hospital between November 2019 and January 2020 (mean age ± standard deviation: 77 ± 14 years, men proportion: 40%) were examined. Simultaneously with BP measurement and AF screening, a standard 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was performed in all subjects. AF was diagnosed by ECG in 29 patients (18%). AF screening showed overall 86% sensitivity and 96% specificity. False negatives (n = 4) had RR-interval coefficient of variation lower than true positives (n = 25, p < 0.01), suggesting a regular ventricular rhythm during AF. The repeated evaluation substantially confirmed the same level of agreement. AF screening was positive in all patients with new-onset AF (n = 6, 100%). Systematic AF screening in patients admitted to Internal Medicine wards, performed using the Microlife WatchBP Office AFIB, is feasible and effective. The opportunity to implement such technology in daily routine clinical practice to prevent undiagnosed AF episodes in hospitalized patients should be the subject of further research.


Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 42-42
Author(s):  
Carolin Jakob ◽  
Aurélie Bauquet ◽  
Renaud Buffet ◽  
Maria Vehreschild ◽  
Janne Vehreschild

Background:Because bacterial infections are a common complication during neutropenia and a major cause for morbidity and mortality, patients with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) often receive prolonged courses of broad-spectrum antibiotics during induction chemotherapy. This extended exposure to antibiotics deeply disrupts the gut microbiota and may result in its colonization by resistant, opportunistic and potentially pathogenic microbes.Clostridioides difficile (C.difficile)is one such bacteria often found in patients whose microbiota has been strongly disrupted. Aim:The purpose of this study was to measure the incidence ofC. difficileinfection (CDI) in newly diagnosed AML patients who received induction chemotherapy and to evaluate the association between CDI and the use of antibiotics. Methods:We retrospectively studied the medical history of patients treated from 01/2016 to 12/2018 at the Department of Internal Medicine I of the University Hospital Cologne. The observational period was defined as 100 successive days after onset of induction chemotherapy or from onset of induction chemotherapy until microbiological confirmed CDI, or until death, whichever event occurred first. The diagnosis of CDI was confirmed by microbiological findings indicating the presence of toxin-producingC. difficilein stool isolates of symptomatic patients. The associations between therapeutic and prophylactic antibiotics and CDI were determined by use of a multivariable backward-stepwise binary logistic regression model. Findings:133 patients were included in the study. 30 patients developed CDI during the study period. 5 patients had two episodes or more. The incidence rate for CDI per 10,000 patient days in the observational period was 29.9. The incidence rates of CDI for the period after onset of induction chemotherapy reached 10.5% (n=14) at 8 weeks and 18.8% (n=25) at 120 days. In the analysis, we could not identify a specific antibiotic as risk factor for CDI but the result may be biased by the different mean observational periods for the group with and without CDI (the observational period for the group with CDI ends at the day of CDI). Conclusions:CDI is a frequent comorbidity affecting patients with newly diagnosed AML and receiving induction chemotherapy and deserves the attention of the medical teams in charge of the patients for adequate prevention and treatment approaches. Disclosures Bauquet: Da Volterra:Current Employment.Buffet:Da Volterra:Current Employment;Alfa Collaborative Group:Current Employment.Vehreschild:Berlin Chemie:Consultancy, Honoraria;Organobalance:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Pfizer:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Da Volterra:Research Funding;Seres Therapeutics:Research Funding;Astellas Pharma:Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;3M:Research Funding;Gilead:Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;MSD/Merck:Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Basilea:Speakers Bureau.Vehreschild:Rigshospitalet Copenhagen:Research Funding;Academy for Infectious Medicine:Honoraria;University Manchester:Honoraria;German Society for Infectious Diseases (DGI):Honoraria;Ärztekammer Nordrhein:Honoraria;University Hospital Aachen:Honoraria;Back Bay Strategies:Honoraria;German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM):Honoraria;Merck / MSD:Research Funding;Gilead:Research Funding;Pfizer:Research Funding;Astellas Pharma:Research Funding;Basilea:Research Funding;German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF):Research Funding;), German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF):Research Funding;(PJ-T: DLR):Research Funding;University of Bristol:Research Funding;Merck/MSD:Honoraria;Gilead:Honoraria;Pfizer:Honoraria;Astellas Pharma:Honoraria;Basilea:Honoraria;German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF):Honoraria;University Hospital Freiburg/ Congress and Communication:Honoraria.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e033021
Author(s):  
Simon Martin Frey ◽  
Marie Méan ◽  
Antoine Garnier ◽  
Julien Castioni ◽  
Nathalie Wenger ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThe vast majority of residents’ working time is spent away from patients. In hospital practice, many factors may influence the resident’s working day structure.Using an innovative method, we aimed to compare working time allocation among internal medicine residents using time-motion observations. The first study goal was to describe how the method could be used for inter-hospital comparison. The secondary goal was to learn about specific differences in the resident’s working day structure in university and non-university hospital settings.DesignTwo separate time-motion studies. Trained peer-observers followed the residents during weekday day shifts with a tablet, able to record 22 different activities and corresponding context (with patient, phone, colleague or computer).SettingInternal medicine residencies at a university (May–July 2015) and a non-university (September–October 2016) community hospital.Participants28 residents (mean age: 29 years, average postgraduate training: 30 months) at university hospital, 21 residents (mean age: 30 years, average postgraduate training: 17 months) at non-university hospital.OutcomesTime spent with patients and time dedicated to activities directly related to patients; description of main differences of time allocation between hospitals.ResultsCumulatively 1051 hours of observation (566 (university hospital)+486 (non-university hospital)) and 92 day shifts (49+43) were evaluated. Daily working time was 11.5 versus 11.3 hours. A median daily period of 195 min (IQR 179–211, 27.9%) and 116 min (IQR 98–134, 17.2%) (p<0.001) was dedicated to direct patient care, respectively.ConclusionsWe successfully identified differences potentially related to each hospital structure and organisation. Inter-hospital comparisons could help set up interventions aiming to improve workday structure and experience of residents.


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