Abstract TP332: Utilizing a Neuro Intermediate Unit in Caring for Post-Thrombolysis Stroke Patients

Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah C Ramos ◽  
Cynthia Steffen ◽  
Sarah Gay ◽  
Julio Chalela

Background: Historically stroke patients receiving intravenous tPA are admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). Providing post-tPA care in a non-ICU setting could result in cost reduction and allow allocation of ICU beds to other critically ill patients. We sought to determine if care can be provided safely and effectively for post-tPA patients in a Neuro Intermediate Unit (NIU). Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective case series study performed in a tertiary academic medical center with a comprehensive, accredited, stroke program. We analyzed ischemic stroke patients admitted to our NIU during a 24-month period. A standardized data collection form was used to abstract data from medical records. Results: During a 24-month period 104 patients were admitted for post-tPA stroke care. The sample is composed of 60 males and 44 females. The median age was 69.5 and the mean age was 67.96. The sample is composed of 72 (69%) White and 32 (31%) Black patients. The mean admission NIHSS was 9.32. The most common stroke risk factors were hypertension (76%), diabetes mellitus (25%), hyperlipidemia (51%), tobacco use (21%), atrial fibrillation (21%), prior stroke (26%), congestive heart failure (20%), and coronary artery disease (21%). Mean admission systolic blood pressure was 143.5 mm Hg. For blood pressure management, 18% of the patients received medication by intravenous push and 5.7% by continuous infusion to meet established goals. Gastrointestinal hemorrhage was seen in 1.9%, intracranial hemorrhage in 3.8%, and blood transfusions needed in 1.9%. Insulin drips were needed to control persistent hyperglycemia in 3.8%. Sepsis occurred in 0.96% patients. The rate of fatality was 3.8%. Excellent functional outcome as defined as Modified Rankin Score (mRS) less than 2 was seen in 46% of patients and minimal to no disability (mRS < 1 ) was seen in 35.6%. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, stroke patients receiving intravenous tPA admitted to an NIU had similar outcomes and complications to that described in previous data. Significant cost savings can be accomplished by admitting thrombolysis patients to an NIU without compromising patient safety. Specialized nursing care available in a stroke unit is a key component in improving patient outcome.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P Lennon ◽  
Theodore J Demetriou ◽  
M Fahad Khalid ◽  
Lauren Jodi Van Scoy ◽  
Erin L Miller ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Introduction Virtually all hospitalized coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) outcome data come from urban environments. The extent to which these findings are generalizable to other settings is unknown. Coronavirus disease-2019 data from large, urban settings may be particularly difficult to apply in military medicine, where practice environments are often semi-urban, rural, or austere. The purpose of this study is compare presenting characteristics and outcomes of U.S. patients with COVID-19 in a nonurban setting to similar patients in an urban setting. Materials and Methods This is a retrospective case series of adults with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection who were admitted to Hershey Medical Center (HMC), a 548-bed tertiary academic medical center in central Pennsylvania serving semi-urban and rural populations, from March 23, 2020, to April 20, 2020 (the first month of COVID-19 admissions at HMC). Patients and outcomes of this cohort were compared to published data on a cohort of similar patients from the New York City (NYC) area. Results The cohorts had similar age, gender, comorbidities, need for intensive care or mechanical ventilation, and most vital sign and laboratory studies. The NYC’s cohort had shorter hospital stays (4.1 versus 7.2 days, P &lt; .001) but more African American patients (23% versus 12%, P = .02) and higher prevalence of abnormal alanine (&gt;60U/L; 39.0% versus 5.9%, P &lt; .001) and aspartate (&gt;40U/L; 58.4% versus 42.4%, P = .012) aminotransferase, oxygen saturation &lt;90% (20.4% versus 7.2%, P = .004), and mortality (21% versus 1.4%, P &lt; .001). Conclusions Hospitalists in nonurban environments would be prudent to use caution when considering the generalizability of results from dissimilar regions. Further investigation is needed to explore the possibility of reproducible causative systemic elements that may help improve COVID-19-related outcomes. Broader reports of these relationships across many settings will offer military medical planners greater ability to consider outcomes most relevant to their unique settings when considering COVID-19 planning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Abdulaziz Alaqsam ◽  
Mohanna AL-Jindan ◽  
Ammar Almahmod ◽  
Ibrahim Gosadi

Background: Intrastromal corneal ring segment (ICRS) implantation is one of the treatment options of keratoconus. This study is aiming to evaluate safety and effectivness of ICRS implantation at Al-Dharan Eye Specialist Hospital.Methods: This study is a descriptive retrospective case series study. The target population of this study is patients diagnosed with corneal ectasia who underwent ICRS implantation in Al-Dharan Eye Specialist Hospital, Al-Dharan, Saudi Arabia. Preoperative and postoperative data about uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), best spectacle–corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), manifest refraction, keratometry, applanation tonometry, corneal topography, and slit-lamp biomicroscopy and indirect ophthalmoscopy were retrieved from medical records of department of Medical Archive. Paired students t-test was used to compare preoperative and postoperative means of study variables.Results: The total number of recruited patients in this study was 57 patients where 62% of them were males. Sixty-six treated eyes were included in this study where no intra-operative complications were recorded. Upon comparing the mean preoperative data to the mean postoperative data at three months, six months and one year intervals, an overall improvement in the measured outcomes was witnessed. UCVA, BSCVA, and keratometric readings exhibited a statistically significant improvement when comparing preoperative with one-year postoperative findings (p<0.001).Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that ICRS implantation is a safe and effective treatment for keratoconus.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Qu ◽  
Xinshu Liu ◽  
Anyi Liang ◽  
Chan Zhao ◽  
Fei Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of subconjunctival triamcinolone acetonide (TA) injections for treating uveitic macular edema (UME). Methods: This retrospective case series study included patients with UME who received subconjunctival TA injections with a minimum follow-up period of 6 months. The main outcome was central macular thickness. The secondary outcomes included the best corrected visual acuity, recurrence rate and intraocular pressure. Results: In total, 68 patients (83 eyes) were enrolled in this study. The mean CMT decreased from 456.9 ± 171.1 μm at baseline to 324 ± 175.9 μm, 305.6 μm ± 147.7 μm, 331.8 ± 154.3 μm and 281.1 ± 147.6 μm at 1, 2, 3 and 6 months postinjection, respectively (all P < 0.01). A total of 21/83 eyes exhibited elevated IOPs, which was controlled with topical IOP-lowering agents in 14 eyes, whereas 7 eyes got subconjunctival TA deposit surgically removed. Conclusion: subconjunctival TA injections appear to be safe and effective for UME.Key Words: Triamcinolone acetonide; subconjunctival injection; uveitis; macular edema


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 2087
Author(s):  
Hazem Zribi ◽  
Abderrahmen Ammar ◽  
Amina Abdelkbir ◽  
Imen Bouacida ◽  
Sarra Maazaoui ◽  
...  

Background: Uncontrollable bleeding during thoracic surgery has been a challenging problem faced by surgeons. The aim of this study was to clarify the usefulness of pleural packing as a good alternative to control hemorrhage and to deduce the common point between those patients.Methods: This was a retrospective case series study of eight patients who underwent thoracic surgery with uncontrollable intrathoracic haemorrhage and shock which required intrathoracic packing from January 2014 to December 2019.Results: During the study period, eight patients underwent thoracic surgery with uncontrollable intrathoracic haemorrhage and needed packing.  Successful hemostasis was achieved in all cases after pleural packing. The mean age was 58.5 years and six patients were males. The common point was the history of pulmonary tuberculosis which was with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis for two patients. Incision was a posterolateral thoracotomy in all cases and six patients required pulmonary resection (five lobectomy and one bilobectomy), one patient required decortication, and one had tumorectomy of a paragonglioma located in the Barety’s space. The unpacking took place right after 48 hours. An arrest of the bleeding was noticed in all the remaining patients. The mean time of the mechanical ventilation was 11 days. Complications included atelectasis and infectious pneumonitis. We noted one case of death.Conclusions: Intrathoracic packing may be an effective and feasible technique in managing uncontrollable post-operative hemorrhage when the life of patients is in danger. This technique should always be considered for patients with tuberculosis history.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0245262
Author(s):  
Shantini D. Gamage ◽  
Natasha Ross ◽  
Stephen M. Kralovic ◽  
Loretta A. Simbartl ◽  
Gary A. Roselle ◽  
...  

Background and objectives Research on Legionnaires’ Disease (LD) suggests there may be long-term health complications, but data are limited. This study investigated whether Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission during LD hospitalization may be associated with adverse health outcomes and characterized subsequent discharge diagnoses in patients with LD up to 5 years post-LD. Methods We conducted a retrospective case series study with follow up for 5 years among patients hospitalized at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center between 2005 and 2010 with LD. Data were collected from medical records on health history, LD severity (including ICU admission), and discharge diagnoses for 5 years post-LD or until death. We used ordinal logistic regression to explore associations between ICU admission and hospitalizations post-LD. Frequency counts were used to determine the most prevalent discharge diagnoses in the 5 years post-LD. Results For the 292 patients with laboratory-confirmed LD, those admitted to the ICU during LD hospitalization were more likely to have a greater number of hospitalizations within 5 years compared to non-ICU patients (ORHosp 1.92 CI95% 1.25, 2.95). Fifty-five percent (161/292) had ≥ 1 hospitalization within 5 years post-LD. After accounting for pre-existing diagnosis codes in patients with at least one hospitalization in the 2 years prior to LD (n = 77/161 patients, 47.8%), three of the four most frequent new diagnoses in the 5 years post-LD were non-chronic conditions: acute renal failure (n = 22, 28.6%), acute respiratory failure (n = 17, 22.1%) and unspecified pneumonia (n = 15, 19.5%). Conclusions Our findings indicate that LD requiring ICU admission is associated with more subsequent hospitalizations, a factor that could contribute to poorer future health for people with severe LD. In addition to chronic conditions prevalent in this study population, we found new diagnoses in the 5-year post-LD period including acute renal failure. With LD incidence increasing, more research is needed to understand conditions and factors that influence long term health after LD.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215265672110450
Author(s):  
Milap D. Raikundalia ◽  
Ryan J. Huang ◽  
Lyndon Chan ◽  
Tracy Truong ◽  
Maragatha Kuchibhatla ◽  
...  

Objective To assess olfactory outcomes as measured by an olfactory-specific quality of life (QOL) questionnaire in patients undergoing EESBS for sellar lesions. Design Retrospective case series. Setting Tertiary academic medical center. Participants In total, 36 patients undergoing EESBS for lesions limited to the sella were evaluated. Main Outcome Measures The following were performed before and three months after surgery: 22-Item Sinonasal Outcomes Test (SNOT-22), University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), and the Assessment of Self-reported Olfactory Functioning (ASOF), which has three domains: subjective olfactory capability scale (SOC), smell-related problems (SRP), and olfactory-related quality of life (ORQ). Results Median age at surgery was 52.5 years, with a median tumor size of 1.8 cm (range: 0.2 to 3.9 cm). Pre- and postoperative median scores were 35 [34, 36.2] and 34.5 [32, 36] for UPSIT, 21 [7.5, 33.5] and 21.5 [6.8, 35.7] for SNOT-22, 10 [9, 10] and 9 [8, 10] for ASOF-SOC, 5 [4.8, 5] and 4.5 [4, 5] for ASOF-SRP, and 5 [5, 5] and 5 [4.5, 5] for ASOF-ORQ. There was no significant change in the two of the three domains of the ASOF. Correlation between ASOF and UPSIT scores were weak. Older age and larger tumor size were associated with worsened olfaction after surgery. Conclusions Patients did not experience significant changes in olfactory-specific QOL three months after EESBS, as measured by two domains of the ASOF. The ASOF may serve as a useful adjunctive tool for assessing olfaction after surgery. The lack of correlation between UPSIT and ASOF suggests the need for more research in subjective olfactory-related quality of life after surgery.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie A. de Perio ◽  
Paul R. Yarnold ◽  
John Warren ◽  
Gary A. Noskin

Objectives.To compare risk factors, clinical features, and outcomes in patients withEnterococcus avium,Enterococcus casseliflavus,Enterococcus durans,Enterococcus gallinarum, andEnterococcus mundtiibacteremia (cases) with those in patients withEnterococcus faecalisbacteremia (controls).Design.A retrospective case-control study.Setting.A 725-bed, university-affiliated, academic medical center.Patients.The clinical microbiology database at Northwestern Memorial Hospital from January 1994 to May 2003 was searched to identify cases; each case was matched to one control on the basis of date of admission.Results.Thirty-three cases were identified and matched with 33 controls. The mean duration of hospital stay was longer (29.7 vs 17.2 days;P= .03) and the mean time to acquisition of bacteremia was greater (16.5 vs 6.3 days;P= .003) for cases than controls. Cases were more likely to have underlying hematologic malignancies (P< .001), to have been treated with corticosteroids (P= .02), and to be neutropenic (P= .003). Controls were more likely to have an indwelling bladder catheter (P= .01), and cases were more likely to have the gastrointestinal tract as a source of infection (P= .007) and to have concurrent cholangitis (P= .002). There were no differences in severity of illness or in mortality rates.Conclusions.Compared with patients withE. faecalisbacteremia, patients with non-E. faecalis, non-Enterococcus faeciumenterococcal bacteremia were more likely to have a hematologic malignancy, prior treatment with corticosteroids, neutropenia, and cholangitis; longer duration of hospital stay was also identified as a clinical feature. However, non-E. faecalis, non-E. faeciumspecies are not associated with any differences in mortality.


2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lance T. Uradomo ◽  
Peter E. Darwin

Background. The use of through-the-scope (TTS) miniprobe catheter endoscopic ultrasound is a valuable technique for evaluating subepithelial lesions in the proximal colon. Few reports include the evaluation of the appendix by EUS. Objective. To describe endoscopic and endosonographic characteristics of subepithelial lesions of the appendix. Methods. Retrospective case series in a single academic medical center. Adult patients referred for evaluation of subepithelial lesions of the appendix identified by colonoscopy between April 1, 2003 to February 29, 2008. Data were abstracted from an electronic endoscopic database for all patients undergoing miniprobe endoscopic ultrasound examination of the appendix. Medical records were reviewed for patient followup and outcomes. Results. Nine cases were identified. Seven (78%) patients were female. Seven (78%) utilized the 12 MHz miniprobe device and two (22%) used the 20 MHz device. Three mucoceles were described and confirmed by surgical resection. Cases also included one inverted appendix, one gastrointestinal stromal tumor, and one lipoma. In three cases, no abnormality was found. Conclusions. EUS evaluation of the appendix is feasible with standard miniprobe devices and may assist in the selection of patients who may benefit from surgical management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-ho Jung ◽  
Mee Kum Kim

Abstract Background Assessment of the optical outcome and adverse events in post-epikeratopathic eyes after removal of the epikeratoplasty lenticule (EKPL). Methods This was a retrospective case-series study of patients who underwent EKPL removal between 2002 and 2020. Ten eyes were included in the analysis. We compared the clinical characteristics of the patients before surgery, 6 months after surgery, before lenticular removal, and after removal, and reported optical or ocular surface complications. Results We removed EKPL due to the lenticular opacity in five eyes (50%), intraocular lens (IOL) insertion (n = 4, 40%) after cataract surgery (n = 3) or in aphakic eyes (n = 1), and lenticule-induced irregular astigmatism in one eye (10%). After EKPL removal, the mean refractive power of the cornea (Km) revealed a tendency to increase. Out of nine cases, six cases showed corneal steepening and three cases revealed corneal flattening. When the keratometric readings of pre-epikeratoplasty and post-lenticular removal were compared within the same case, the average difference was 5.1 D ± 4.0 (n = 8). Complications were observed in 3 of 10 cases (excessive corneal flatness, ectatic change, and abnormal epithelial cell ingrowth) after removal. Conclusions The surgeon should expect the corneal refractive power to steepen or flatten in some cases with abnormal astigmatism and irregularity. Epikeratophakic eyes may exhibit serious ectatic changes, and abnormal epithelial cell ingrowth after removal of epikeratophakic lenticules.


Author(s):  
Amr A. Gab-Alla

Abstract Purpose To assess the relationship between the axial length and post-LASIK regression in myopic patients. Methods This is a retrospective case series study conducted at a private eye centre, Ismailia, Egypt. The clinical records of the patients, who experienced LASIK to correct myopia from January 2016 to January 2018, were analysed for myopic regression. The patients were operated on, examined, and followed-up 1 year by one surgeon (AAG). Results This study included 1219 patients (2316 eyes) with myopia. Mean ± SD of pre-operative spherical equivalent (SE) was − 4.3 ± 2.1D, range (− 0.50 to − 10.0D). Mean ± SD age of the patients was 26.4 ± 6.8 years, range (21 to 50 years). Male to female ratio was 30.5 to 69.5%. The cumulative incidence rate of myopic regression according to the medical records of the patients was 25.12% (582 eyes out of total 2316 eyes) along the 2 years of this study (12.6% per year). Of the total patients, 14.94% had pre-operative high myopia, 35.84% had pre-operative moderate myopia, and 49.2% had pre-operative low myopia. Of the patients with myopic regression, 52.6% had pre-operative high myopia, 34% had pre-operative moderate myopia, and 13.4% had pre-operative low myopia. The mean ± SD of the axial length of the patients with myopic regression was 26.6 ± 0.44 mm, range (26.0 to 27.86 mm), while the mean ± SD of the axial length of other patients with stable refraction was 24.38 ± 0.73 mm, range (22.9 to 25.9 mm) (t test statistic = 69.3; P value < 0.001). Conclusions Pre-operative high axial length increases the risk of myopic regression after LASIK.


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