scholarly journals Putting veterans with heart failure FIRST improves follow-up and reduces readmissions

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e000386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Michelle Ogunwole ◽  
Jason Phillips ◽  
Amber Gossett ◽  
John Richard Downs
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Medicine Department ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Risk Patients

BackgroundDespite improvements in length of stay and mortality, congestive heart failure (CHF) remains the most common cause of 30-day readmissions to the hospital. Though multiple studies have found that early follow-up after discharge (eg, within 7 days) is critical to improving 30-day readmissions, implementation strategies are challenging in resource-limited settings. Here we present a quality improvement initiative aimed at improving early follow-up while maximising available resources.MethodsThis was a medical resident-driven initiative. A process map of the discharge and follow-up appointment process was created that identified multiple areas for improvement. Based on these findings, a two-part intervention was implemented. First, heart failure discharge education with focus on early follow-up was disseminated to providers throughout the internal medicine department. Subsequently, improved identification of high-risk patients (Failure Intervention Risk StratificationTool) and innovative use of the existing electronic medical record (EMR) were employed to sustain and improve on gains from the first set of interventions.ResultsWe increased our 7-day follow-up rate from 47% to 57% (p=0.429) and decreased the average time to follow-up from 17.6 days to 8.7 days (p=0.016) following the first intervention. The percentage of patients readmitted within 30 days after discharge at baseline (2012–2013) and following the first intervention (education and standardisation of follow-up scheduling) and second intervention (risk stratification, intensive follow-up and EMR change) was 25% and 21%, respectively. Thirty-day mortality rate decreased from 10% in 2011 to 7.16% in December 2015.ConclusionClose hospital discharge follow-up and identification of high-risk patients with CHF are useful approaches to reduce readmissions. Using the existing EMR tool for identifying high-risk patients and improving adherence to best practices is an effective intervention. In patients with CHF these strategies improved time to follow-up and 30-day readmissions while decreasing mortality.

P914Balloon aortic valve valvuloplasty as palliative therapy in severe aortic valve stenosis: 10 years experience in a single centre

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
F Mantovani ◽  
M A Clavel ◽  
F Jayme ◽  
L Valli ◽  
R M De Mola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Aortic Valve ◽  
Aortic Stenosis ◽  
Palliative Therapy ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
High Risk Population ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Risk Patients

Abstract Background Improved technology together with greater operator experience has led to refinement of balloon aortic valve valvuloplasty (BAV) in recent years. It may provide a palliative treatment option in high-risk patients, highly symptomatic, for whom no other invasive therapy is available. However, there has not been universal adoption of BAV as a standalone therapy. Methods A retrospective analysis of ten years of practice of BAV as palliative strategy in patient with symptomatic aortic stenosis between March 2008 and June 2018 was performed. Demographic, clinical, procedural, and follow-up data on all patients were collected. Results A total of 152 patients (95 women, 63%) with a mean age of 85±6 years underwent BAV. All patients had severe aortic stenosis, were considered not suitable to aortic valve replacement nor Trans-catheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) for appreciable comorbidity (STS score 9±5) and had severe symptoms mainly of heart failure which required medical attention. A statistically significant decrease in trans-valvular gradient was observed (peak to peak gradient before BAV 52±22 mmHg, after BAV 29±16 mmHg, delta gradient 24±14 mmHg; p<0.0001). Only one patient, who undergone BAV because of cardiogenic shock, died during the procedure. Considering the high-risk population, intra-hospital mortality was low (7 patients died, 4%). Mortality at 1-year follow-up was 43% and survival free from new hospitalization for heart failure was 63% at 1-year follow-up and 53% at 2 years follow-up. 19 patients (13%) required repeated BAV during follow-up. Conclusion BAV as a palliative procedure in high-risk patients who are highly symptomatic, has a low operative mortality in our experience. BAV is associated with a significant reduction in aortic valve gradient and is valuable since half of the patients were alive without re-hospitalizations for heart failure at 2 years follow-up. Acknowledgement/Funding None

scholarly journals Accuracy of upper endoscopies with random biopsies to identify patients with gastric premalignant lesions who can safely be exempt from surveillance

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 680-690
Author(s):  
Michiel C. Mommersteeg ◽  
Stella A. V. Nieuwenburg ◽  
Wouter J. den Hollander ◽  
Lisanne Holster ◽  
Caroline M. den Hoed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastric Cancer ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Premalignant Lesions ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
European Guidelines ◽  
Progression Of Disease ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
Progression Risk

Abstract Introduction Guidelines recommend endoscopy with biopsies to stratify patients with gastric premalignant lesions (GPL) to high and low progression risk. High-risk patients are recommended to undergo surveillance. We aimed to assess the accuracy of guideline recommendations to identify low-risk patients, who can safely be discharged from surveillance. Methods This study includes patients with GPL. Patients underwent at least two endoscopies with an interval of 1–6 years. Patients were defined ‘low risk’ if they fulfilled requirements for discharge, and ‘high risk’ if they fulfilled requirements for surveillance, according to European guidelines (MAPS-2012, updated MAPS-2019, BSG). Patients defined ‘low risk’ with progression of disease during follow-up (FU) were considered ‘misclassified’ as low risk. Results 334 patients (median age 60 years IQR11; 48.7% male) were included and followed for a median of 48 months. At baseline, 181/334 (54%) patients were defined low risk. Of these, 32.6% were ‘misclassified’, showing progression of disease during FU. If MAPS-2019 were followed, 169/334 (51%) patients were defined low risk, of which 32.5% were ‘misclassified’. If BSG were followed, 174/334 (51%) patients were defined low risk, of which 32.2% were ‘misclassified’. Seven patients developed gastric cancer (GC) or dysplasia, four patients were ‘misclassified’ based on MAPS-2012 and three on MAPS-2019 and BSG. By performing one additional endoscopy 72.9% (95% CI 62.4–83.3) of high-risk patients and all patients who developed GC or dysplasia were identified. Conclusion One-third of patients that would have been discharged from GC surveillance, appeared to be ‘misclassified’ as low risk. One additional endoscopy will reduce this risk by 70%.

scholarly journals Implementation of the acutely presenting older patient (APOP) screening program in routine emergency department care

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura C. Blomaard ◽  
Bas de Groot ◽  
Jacinta A. Lucke ◽  
Jelle de Gelder ◽  
Anja M. Booijen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Screening Program ◽  
Admission Rate ◽  
Older Patient ◽  
Hospital Admission Rate ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Risk Patients

Abstract Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of implementation of the acutely presenting older patient (APOP) screening program for older patients in routine emergency department (ED) care shortly after implementation. Methods We conducted an implementation study with before-after design, using the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) model for quality improvement, in the ED of a Dutch academic hospital. All consecutive patients ≥ 70 years during 2 months before and after implementation were included. The APOP program comprises screening for risk of functional decline, mortality and cognitive impairment, targeted interventions for high-risk patients and education of professionals. Outcome measures were compliance with interventions and impact on ED process, length of stay (LOS) and hospital admission rate. Results Two comparable groups of patients (median age 77 years) were included before (n = 920) and after (n = 953) implementation. After implementation 560 (59%) patients were screened of which 190 (34%) were high-risk patients. Some of the program interventions for high-risk patients in the ED were adhered to, some were not. More hospitalized patients received comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) after implementation (21% before vs. 31% after; p = 0.002). In 89% of high-risk patients who were discharged to home, telephone follow-up was initiated. Implementation did not influence median ED LOS (202 min before vs. 196 min after; p = 0.152) or hospital admission rate (40% before vs. 39% after; p = 0.410). Conclusion Implementation of the APOP screening program in routine ED care did not negatively impact the ED process and resulted in an increase of CGA and telephone follow-up in older patients. Future studies should investigate whether sustainable changes in management and patient outcomes occur after more PDSA cycles.

scholarly journals Preventing the rebound: improving care transition in hospital discharge processes

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian A. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Older Patients ◽  
Single Component ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Patients With Heart Failure ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
Multicomponent Interventions

Background.Unplanned readmissions of recently discharged patients impose a significant burden on hospitals with limited bed capacity. Deficiencies in discharge processes contribute to such readmissions, which have prompted experimentation with multiple types of peridischarge interventions. Objective.To determine the relative efficacy of peridischarge interventions categorised into two groups: (1) single component interventions (sole or predominant) implemented either before or after discharge; and (2) integrated multicomponent interventions which have pre- and postdischarge elements. Design.Systematic metareview of controlled trials. Data collection.Search of four electronic databases for controlled trials or systematic reviews of trials published between January 1990 and April 2009 that reported effects on readmissions. Data synthesis.Among single-component interventions, only four (intense self-management and transition coaching of high-risk patients and nurse home visits and telephone support of patients with heart failure) were effective in reducing readmissions. Multicomponent interventions that featured early assessment of discharge needs, enhanced patient (and caregiver) education and counselling, and early postdischarge follow-up of high-risk patients were associated with evidence of benefit, especially in populations of older patients and those with heart failure. Conclusion.Peridischarge interventions are highly heterogenous and reported outcomes show considerable variation. However, multicomponent interventions targeted at high-risk populations that include pre- and postdischarge elements seem to be more effective in reducing readmissions than most single-component interventions, which do not span the hospital–community interface. What is known about this topic?Unplanned readmissions within 30 days of hospital discharge are common and may reflect deficiencies in discharge processes. Various peridischarge interventions have been evaluated, mostly single-component interventions that occur either before or after discharge, but failing to yield consistent evidence of benefit in reducing readmissions. More recent trials have assessed multicomponent interventions which involve pre- and postdischarge periods, but no formal review of such studies has been undertaken. What does this paper add?With the exception of intense self-management and transition coaching of high-risk patients, and nurse home visits and telephonic support for patients with heart failure, single-component interventions were ineffective in reducing readmissions. Multicomponent interventions demonstrated evidence of benefit in reducing readmissions by as much as 28%, with best results achieved in populations of older patients and those with heart failure. What are the implications for practitioners and managers?Hospital clinicians and managers should critically review and, where appropriate, modify their current discharge processes in accordance with these findings and negotiate the extra funding and personnel required to allow successful implementation of multicomponent discharge processes that transcend organisational boundaries.

Development and validation of the Tool for Pharmacists to Predict 30-day hospital readmission in patients with Heart Failure (ToPP-HF)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa R Riester ◽  
Laura McAuliffe ◽  
Christine Collins ◽  
Andrew R Zullo
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Hospital Readmission ◽  
Left Ventricular Ejection ◽  
Day Hospital ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
C Statistic ◽  
Patients With Heart Failure ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
Development And Validation

Abstract Purpose Pharmacists are well positioned to provide transitions of care (TOC) services to patients with heart failure (HF); however, hospitalizations for patients with HF likely exceed the capacity of a TOC pharmacist. We developed and validated a tool to help pharmacists efficiently identify high-risk patients with HF and maximize their potential impact by intervening on patients at the highest risk for 30-day all-cause readmission. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study including adults with HF admitted to a health system between October 1, 2016, and October 31, 2019. We randomly divided the cohort into development (n = 2,114) and validation (n = 1,089) subcohorts. Nine models were applied to select the most important predictors of 30-day readmission. The final tool, called the Tool for Pharmacists to Predict 30-day hospital readmission in patients with Heart Failure (ToPP-HF) relied upon multivariable logistic regression. We assessed discriminative ability using the C statistic and calibration using the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. Results The risk of 30-day all-cause readmission was 15.7% (n = 331) and 18.8% (n = 205) in the development and validation subcohorts, respectively. The ToPP-HF tool included 13 variables: number of hospital admissions in previous 6 months; admission diagnosis of HF; number of scheduled medications; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnosis; number of comorbidities; estimated glomerular filtration rate; hospital length of stay; left ventricular ejection fraction; critical care requirement; renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitor use; antiarrhythmic use; hypokalemia; and serum sodium. Discriminatory performance (C statistic of 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65-0.73) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow P = 0.28) were good. Conclusions The ToPP-HF performs well and can help pharmacists identify high-risk patients with HF most likely to benefit from TOC services.

Effect of a Real-Time Risk Score on 30-day Readmission Reduction in Singapore

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (02) ◽  
pp. 372-382
Author(s):  
Christine Xia Wu ◽  
Ernest Suresh ◽  
Francis Wei Loong Phng ◽  
Kai Pik Tai ◽  
Janthorn Pakdeethai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Risk Score ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Learning Models ◽  
Medicine Department ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Risk Patients ◽  
Machine Learning Models

Abstract Objective To develop a risk score for the real-time prediction of readmissions for patients using patient specific information captured in electronic medical records (EMR) in Singapore to enable the prospective identification of high-risk patients for enrolment in timely interventions. Methods Machine-learning models were built to estimate the probability of a patient being readmitted within 30 days of discharge. EMR of 25,472 patients discharged from the medicine department at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital between January 2016 and December 2016 were extracted retrospectively for training and internal validation of the models. We developed and implemented a real-time 30-day readmission risk score generation in the EMR system, which enabled the flagging of high-risk patients to care providers in the hospital. Based on the daily high-risk patient list, the various interfaces and flow sheets in the EMR were configured according to the information needs of the various stakeholders such as the inpatient medical, nursing, case management, emergency department, and postdischarge care teams. Results Overall, the machine-learning models achieved good performance with area under the receiver operating characteristic ranging from 0.77 to 0.81. The models were used to proactively identify and attend to patients who are at risk of readmission before an actual readmission occurs. This approach successfully reduced the 30-day readmission rate for patients admitted to the medicine department from 11.7% in 2017 to 10.1% in 2019 (p < 0.01) after risk adjustment. Conclusion Machine-learning models can be deployed in the EMR system to provide real-time forecasts for a more comprehensive outlook in the aspects of decision-making and care provision.

Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass in High-Risk Patients with Multivessel Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grischa Hoffmann ◽  
Christine Friedrich ◽  
Katharina Huenges ◽  
Rainer Petzina ◽  
Astrid-Mareike Vogt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coronary Artery ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Minimally Invasive ◽  
Coronary Artery Bypass ◽  
Artery Bypass ◽  
Multivessel Disease ◽  
Complete Revascularization ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Risk Patients

Abstract Background High-risk patients with multivessel disease (MVD) including a complex stenosis of the left anterior descending coronary may not be ideal candidates for guideline compliant therapy by coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) regarding invasiveness and perioperative complications. However, they may benefit from minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) grafting and hybrid revascularization (HCR). Methods A logistic European system for cardiac operative risk evaluation score (logES) >10% defined high risk. In high-risk patients with MVD undergoing MIDCAB or HCR, the incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) after 30 days and during midterm follow-up was evaluated. Results Out of 1,250 patients undergoing MIDCAB at our institution between 1998 and 2015, 78 patients (logES: 18.5%; age, 76.7 ± 8.6 years) met the inclusion criteria. During the first 30 days, mortality and rate of MACCE were 9.0%; early mortality was two-fold overestimated by logES. Complete revascularization as scheduled was finally achieved in 64 patients (82.1%). Median follow-up time reached 3.4 (1.2–6.5) years with a median survival time of 4.7 years. Survival after 1, 3, and 5 years was 77, 62, and 48%. Conclusion In high-risk patients with MVD, MIDCAB is associated with acceptable early outcome which is better than predicted by logES. Taking the high-risk profile into consideration, midterm follow-up showed satisfying results, although scheduled HCR was not realized in a relevant proportion. In selected cases of MVD, MIDCAB presents an acceptable alternative for high-risk patients.

scholarly journals Uptake and detection rate of a stepwise cardiometabolic disease detection program in primary care—a cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-407
Author(s):  
Daphne M Stol ◽  
Monika Hollander ◽  
Ilse F Badenbroek ◽  
Mark M J Nielen ◽  
François G Schellevis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Newly Diagnosed ◽  
Additional Risk ◽  
High Risk Patients ◽  
Detection Program ◽  
Risk Patients

Abstract Background Early detection and treatment of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) in high-risk patients is a promising preventive strategy to anticipate the increasing burden of CMD. The Dutch guideline ‘the prevention consultation’ provides a framework for stepwise CMD risk assessment and detection in primary care. The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of this program in terms of newly diagnosed CMD. Methods A cohort study among 30 934 patients, aged 45–70 years without known CMD or CMD risk factors, who were invited for the CMD detection program within 37 general practices. Patients filled out a CMD risk score (step 1), were referred for additional risk profiling in case of high risk (step 2) and received lifestyle advice and (pharmacological) treatment if indicated (step 3). During 1-year follow-up newly diagnosed CMD, prescriptions and abnormal diagnostic tests were assessed. Results Twelve thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight patients filled out the risk score of which 865, 6665 and 5208 had a low, intermediate and high CMD risk, respectively. One thousand seven hundred and fifty-five high-risk patients consulted the general practitioner, in 346 of whom a new CMD was diagnosed. In an additional 422 patients a new prescription and/or abnormal diagnostic test were found. Conclusions Implementation of the CMD detection program resulted in a new CMD diagnosis in one-fifth of high-risk patients who attended the practice for completion of their risk profile. However, the potential yield of the program could be higher given the considerable number of additional risk factors—such as elevated glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol levels—found, requiring active follow-up and presumably treatment in the future.

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