Reduced Socioeconomic Disparities in Cleft Care After Implementing a Cleft Nurse Navigator Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110056
Author(s):  
Connor Wagner ◽  
Carrie E. Zimmerman ◽  
Carlos Barrero ◽  
Christopher L. Kalmar ◽  
Paris Butler ◽  
...  

Objective: To evaluate the impact of a Cleft Nurse Navigator (CNN) program on care for patients with cleft lip and cleft palate and assess the programs efficacy to reduce existing socioeconomic disparities in care. Design: Retrospective review and outcomes analysis (n = 739). Setting: Academic tertiary care center. Patients: All patients presenting with cleft lip and/or cleft palate (CL/P) born between May 2009 and November 2019 with exclusions for atypical clefts, submucous cleft palates, international adoption, and very late presentation (after 250 days of life). Interventions: Multidisciplinary care coordination program facilitated by the CNN. Main Outcome Measures: Patient age at first outpatient appointment and age at surgery, reported feeding issues, weight gain, and patient-cleft team communications. Results: After CNN implementation, median age at outpatient appointment decreased from 20 to 16 days ( P = .021), volume of patient-cleft team communications increased from 1.5 to 2.8 ( P < .001), and frequency of reported feeding concerns decreased (50% to 35%; P < .001). In the pre-CNN cohort, nonwhite and publicly insured patients experienced delays in first outpatient appointment ( P < .001), cleft lip repair ( P < .011), and cleft palate repair ( P < .019) compared to white and privately insured patients, respectively. In the post-CNN cohort, there were no significant differences in first appointment timing by race nor surgical timing on the basis of racial identity nor insurance type. Conclusions: A variety of factors lead to delays in cleft care for marginalized patient populations. These findings suggest that a CNN can reduce disparities of access and communication and improve early feeding in at-risk cohorts.

2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110352
Author(s):  
Anna K. Sander ◽  
Elisabeth Grau ◽  
Anita Kloss-Brandstätter ◽  
Rüdiger Zimmerer ◽  
Michael Neuhaus ◽  
...  

Objective The multidisciplinary follow-up of patients with cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P) is organized differently in specialized centers worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the different treatment needs of patients with different manifestations of CL/P and to potentially adapt the frequency and timing of checkup examinations accordingly. Design We retrospectively analyzed the data of all patients attending the CL/P consultation hour at a tertiary care center between June 2005 and August 2020 ( n = 1126). We defined 3 groups of cleft entities: (1) isolated clefts of lip or lip and alveolus (CL/A), (2) isolated clefts of the hard and/or soft palate, and (3) complete clefts of lip, alveolus and palate (CLP). Timing and type of therapy recommendations given by the specialists of different disciplines were analyzed for statistical differences. Results Patients with CLP made up the largest group ( n = 537), followed by patients with cleft of the soft palate ( n = 371) and CL ± A ( n = 218). There were significant differences between the groups with regard to type and frequency of treatment recommendations. A therapy was recommended in a high proportion of examinations in all groups at all ages. Conclusion Although there are differences between cleft entities, the treatment need of patients with orofacial clefts is generally high during the growth period. Patients with CL/A showed a similarly high treatment demand and should be monitored closely. A close follow-up for patients with diagnosis of CL/P is crucial and measures should be taken to increase participation in follow-up appointments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s263-s264
Author(s):  
Jordan Polistico ◽  
Avnish Sandhu ◽  
Teena Chopra ◽  
Erin Goldman ◽  
Jennifer LeRose ◽  
...  

Background: Influenza causes a high burden of disease in the United States, with an estimate of 960,000 hospitalizations in the 2017–2018 flu season. Traditional flu diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests have a longer (24 hours or more) turnaround time that may lead to an increase in unnecessary inpatient admissions during peak influenza season. A new point-of-care rapid PCR assays, Xpert Flu, is an FDA-approved PCR test that has a significant decrease in turnaround time (2 hours). The present study sought to understand the impact of implementing a new Xpert Flu test on the rate of inpatient admissions. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted to compare rates of inpatient admissions in patients tested with traditional flu PCR during the 2017–2018 flu season and the rapid flu PCR during the 2018–2019 flu season in a tertiary-care center in greater Detroit area. The center has 1 pediatric hospital (hospital A) and 3 adult hospitals (hospital B, C, D). Patients with influenza-like illness who presented to all 4 hospitals during 2 consecutive influenza seasons were analyzed. Results: In total, 20,923 patients were tested with either the rapid flu PCR or the traditional flu PCR. Among these, 14,124 patients (67.2%) were discharged from the emergency department and 6,844 (32.7%) were admitted. There was a significant decrease in inpatient admissions in the traditional flu PCR group compared to the rapid flu PCR group across all hospitals (49.56% vs 26.6% respectively; P < .001). As expected, a significant proportion of influenza testing was performed in the pediatric hospital, 10,513 (50.2%). A greater reduction (30% decrease in the rapid flu PCR group compared to the traditional flu PCR group) was observed in inpatient admissions in the pediatric hospital (Table 1) Conclusions: Rapid molecular influenza testing can significantly decrease inpatient admissions in a busy tertiary-care hospital, which can indirectly lead to improved patient quality with easy bed availability and less time spent in a private room with droplet precautions. Last but not the least, this testing method can certainly lead to lower healthcare costs.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None


2021 ◽  
pp. 263183182110323
Author(s):  
Aditya Prakash Sharma ◽  
Japleen Kaur ◽  
Ravimohan S. Mavuduru ◽  
Shrawan K. Singh

Sexual health-care seeking behavior and practices have been affected during COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 on this subspecialty is far reaching. This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on health-care seeking practice pertaining to sexual health in men in our tertiary care center and review the relevant literature regarding impact of COVID-19 on sexual health seeking practice and challenges faced. Outpatient data was analyzed from January 2019 to April 2021. Patients awaiting surgical procedures due to COVID were documented. A narrative synthesis of literature based on systematic search using the keywords sexual health, sexual health seeking, sexual health practice, andrology, and COVID with operators “AND” and “OR” was carried out in three search engines PubMed, Scopus, and Embase. The study outcomes were obtained by comparing data of outpatient attendance and compiling the reviewed literature. The mean attendance fell significantly from 95.11±11.17 to 17.25±13.70 persons (P <.0001) per outpatient clinic, March 2020 being the reference point. Teleconsultation has taken over physical consultation. In 98/949 cases, teleconsult could not be provided despite registration. Over 25 patients were waiting for surgical procedures pertaining to andrology due to shut down of elective services. Similar trends have been reported from other countries. Number of patients seeking consultation for sexual health problems has dramatically decreased during COVID-19 era. Establishment of data safe teleconsultation facility and its widespread advertisement is needed to encourage patients to seek consult.


2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynley J. Donoghue ◽  
Margaret A. Sahhar ◽  
Ravi Savarirayan ◽  
Supriya Raj ◽  
Nicky M. Kilpatrick ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110577
Author(s):  
Jaideep Singh Chauhan ◽  
Sarwpriya Sharma

Objective: To analyse the morphological presentation of orofacial clefts, gender, syndromes and systemic anomalies associated with them. Design: This was an epidemiological study performed in the patients who were registered for cleft lip and palate surgeries in our centre. The data was evaluated both retrospectively as well as prospectively. Patients/ Participants: The patients registered from November 2006 to April 2021 were studied. Out of 5276 patients, data of 5004 cases were analysed, rest 272 patients were excluded due to lack of information. Statistical analysis and Chi square test were applied. Results: Cleft deformities were more common in males than females. Cleft lip with palate was the commonest phenotype (52.2%). It was followed by isolated cleft lip (22.9%), isolated cleft palate (22.1%), rare clefts (1.62%) and syndromic clefts (1.18%). Unilateral variants were more frequent than bilateral. In unilateral, left side was more common than the right side. Among bilateral, most of the cases had premaxillary protrusion. In the present study, 3.46% of all the patients had associated anomalies affecting their other organs. Less common cleft phenotypes like microform cleft lip and submucous cleft palate ± bifid uvula showed frequency of 0.62% and 0.64% respectively. Conclusion: Thorough examination of cleft deformity should be done as it may appear as an isolated deformity or part of a syndrome and have associated systemic anomalies. This may help us to deliver comprehensive care to the patients and can prevent potential operative complications.


Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamshed Ali ◽  
Osman Faheem ◽  
Pirbhat Shams ◽  
ghufran adnan ◽  
Maria Khan

Introduction: Social containment measures have been adopted globally to control COVID-19 outbreak. Reduction in hospital visits and inpatient admission rates have become cause for concern. Through this study we aimed to analyze the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus Outbreak on cardiology inpatient admissions at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan. Hypothesis: COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant decline in cardiology admissions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study at our center. Admission log was accessed via electronic record system. Comparison was made for same months of 2019 and 2020 with regard to cardiology inpatient admissions. Results: A total of 239 patients were admitted to cardiology services in 2019 period and 106 in 2020 period with resultant reduction of 55.6%. Number of patients admitted to the coronary care unit were 179 and 78 respectively where as the numbers declined to 28 from 60 for cardiac step down. Reduction for admission numbered to 52.4% for males and 38.89% for females. 9.3% patients left against medical advice in 2019 and 3.4% in 2020. Conclusions: Our study concludes that numbers of cardiology admissions have dwindled. Possible explanation for this can be implementation of social containment and fear of acquiring infection. This has raised a question of whether a significant number of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has occurred without seeking medical attention and has went unrecorded during the pandemic. This calls for stringent diagnostic measures in future to diagnose previously unrecorded burden.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-45
Author(s):  
Prakash Kafle ◽  
Mohan Raj Sharma ◽  
Sushil Krishna Shilpakar ◽  
Gopal Sedain ◽  
Amit Pradhanang ◽  
...  

Background: There are limited studies pertaining to management of encephalocele in Nepal. So the present study seems justifiable to bridge the gap in the literature on encephalocele from Nepal on its clinical profile and early outcome. This study aims to characterize the clinical profile, management and outcome of largest series of encephalocele at tertiary care center in Nepal. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of encephalocele, managed surgically at two tertiary care centers between 2015 and 2020, was performed. Results: Total of 25 cases was surgically managed in the present study. The median age of study population was 2.5 months. There were 11 male and 14 female with male to female ratio of 1:1.26. Occipital encephalocele was the most common variant. Lump in the head (n=11) was the commonest clinical presentation followed by hyperteliorism (n=10). One patient presented with cleft lip and one had CSF discharge in a case of occipital encephalocele. Bony defect was the common radiological findings. Excision and repair was the most common mode of surgery leading to good outcome. Mortality rate was 4% with morbidity of 20%. Conclusion: Early surgical excision and tight dural closure with repair of bony defect is the standard treatment with relatively good outcome.


2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 526-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Jones ◽  
Hughlett L. Morris ◽  
Duane R. Van Demark

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine whether amplitude or temporal patterns of oral-nasal balance differentiate speakers with cleft palate who are classified as belonging to the “almost but not quite” (ABNQ) and “sometimes but not always” (SBNA) subgroups of marginal velopharyngeal inadequacy. Design The nasal accelerometric vibrational index (NAVI) was used to measure amplitude and temporal aspects of oral-nasal balance during the productions of oral and nasal syllables, words, and sentences. NAVI measures obtained include mean amplitude, time integral (area under the curve), duration, rise time, and fall time. Setting Tertiary care center for patients with cleft palate–craniofacial anomalies. Participants Seventeen patients with repaired cleft palate who were assigned by perceptual assessment to the ABNQ subgroup and 17 patients who were assigned to the SBNA subgroup. Results No differences were found between the ABNQ and SBNA subgroups with regard to patterns of nasalization. Further analysis as a function of level of production and phonetic context revealed no differences between the subgroups. Conclusions Although clinicians may report perceived differences in the resonance patterns of speakers who fall within the category of marginal velopharyngeal inadequacy, further division into the ABNQ and SBNA subgroups has yet to be validated.


2021 ◽  
pp. 105566562110295
Author(s):  
Åsa C. Okhiria ◽  
Fatemeh Jabbari ◽  
Malin M. Hakelius ◽  
Monica M. Blom Johansson ◽  
Daniel J. Nowinski

Objective: To investigate the impact of cleft width and cleft type on the need for secondary surgery and velopharyngeal competence from a longitudinal perspective. Design: Retrospective, longitudinal study. Setting: A single multidisciplinary craniofacial team at a university hospital. Patients: Consecutive patients with unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate and cleft palate only (n = 313) born from 1984 to 2002, treated with 2-stage palatal surgery, were reviewed. A total of 213 patients were included. Main Outcome Measures: The impact of initial cleft width and cleft type on secondary surgery. Assessment of hypernasality, audible nasal emission, and glottal articulation from routine follow-ups from 3 to 16 years of age. The assessments were compared with reassessments of 10% of the recordings. Results: Cleft width, but not cleft type, predicted the need for secondary surgery, either due to palatal dehiscence or velopharyngeal insufficiency. The distribution of cleft width between the scale steps on a 4-point scale for hypernasality and audible nasal emission differed significantly at 5 years of age but not at any other age. Presence of glottal articulation differed significantly at 3 and 5 years of age. No differences between cleft types were seen at any age for any speech variable. Conclusions: Cleft width emerged as a predictor of the need for secondary surgery as well as more deviance in speech variables related to velopharyngeal competence during the preschool years. Cleft type was not related to the need for secondary surgery nor speech outcome at any age.


2020 ◽  
pp. 019459982095438
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Sarber ◽  
Douglas C. von Allmen ◽  
Raisa Tikhtman ◽  
Javier Howard ◽  
Narong Simakajornboon ◽  
...  

Objective Mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), particularly in young children, is often treated with observation. However, there is little evidence regarding the outcomes with this approach. Our aim was to assess the impact of observation on sleep for children aged <3 years with mild OSA. Study Design Case-control study. Setting Pediatric tertiary care center. Methods We reviewed cases of children (<3 years old) diagnosed with mild OSA (obstructive apnea-hypopnea index, 1-5 events/h) who were treated with observation between 2012 and 2017 and had at least 2 polysomnograms performed 3 to 12 months apart. Demographic data and comorbid diagnoses were collected. Results Twenty-six children met inclusion criteria; their median age was 7.2 months (95% CI, 1.2-22.8). Nine (35%) were female and 24 (92%) were White. Their median body mass index percentile was 39 (95% CI, 1-76). Comorbidities included cardiac disease (42.3%), laryngomalacia (42.3%), allergies (34.6%), reactive airway disease (23.1%), and prematurity (7.7%). The obstructive apnea-hypopnea index significantly decreased from 2.7 events/h (95% CI, 1-4.5) to 1.3 (95% CI, 0-4.5; P = .013). There was no significant improvement in median saturation nadir (baseline, 86%; P = .76) or median time with end-tidal carbon dioxide >50 mm Hg (baseline, 0 minutes; P = .34). OSA resolved in 8 patients (31%) and worsened in 1 (3.8%). Only race was a significant predictor of resolution per regression analysis; however, only 2 non-White children were included. Conclusion In our cohort, resolution of mild OSA occurred in 31% of patients treated with 3 to 12 months of observation. The presence of laryngomalacia, asthma, and allergies did not affect resolution. Larger studies are needed to better identify factors (including race) associated with persistent OSA and optimal timing of intervention for these children. Level of Evidence 4.


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