The Effect of Indoor Daylight Levels on Patients Admitted to General Surgery

Author(s):  
Xiawei Li ◽  
Jianyao Lou ◽  
Aiguang Shi ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Lin Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundIndoor daylight levels can directly affect people’s physical and psychological state. However, the effect of indoor daylight levels on patient’s clinical recovery process remains controversial.AimTo evaluate the effect of indoor daylight levels on hospital costs and average length of stay (LOS) of a large patient population in general surgery wards.MethodsData were collected retrospectively and analysed of patients in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, School of Medicine between January 2015 and August 2020. We measured light levels in the patient rooms of general surgery and assessed their association with patients’ total hospital costs and LOS.ResultsA total of 2,998 patients were included in this study with 1,478 each assigned to two light level groups after matching. Overall comparison of hospital total costs and LOS among patients according to light levels did not show a significant difference. Subgroup analysis showed when exposed to higher intensity of indoor daylight, illiterate patients had lower total hospital costs and shorter LOS as compared to those exposed to lower intensity.ConclusionsIndoor daylight levels were not associated with the hospital costs and LOS of patients in the wards of general surgery, except for those who were illiterate. It might be essential to design guidelines for healthcare facilities to enhance indoor environmental benefits of daylight for some specific population.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiawei Li ◽  
Jianyao Lou ◽  
Aiguang Shi ◽  
Ning Wang ◽  
Lin Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundIndoor daylight levels can directly affect people’s physical and psychological state. However, the effect of indoor daylight levels on patient’s clinical recovery process remains controversial. To evaluate the effect of indoor daylight levels on hospital costs and average length of stay (LOS) of a large patient population in general surgery wards.MethodsData were collected retrospectively and analysed of patients in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, School of Medicine between January 2015 and August 2020. We measured light levels in the patient rooms of general surgery and assessed their association with patients’ total hospital costs and LOS.ResultsA total of 2,998 patients were included in this study with 1,478 each assigned to two light level groups after matching. Overall comparison of hospital total costs and LOS among patients according to light levels did not show a significant difference. Subgroup analysis showed when exposed to higher intensity of indoor daylight, illiterate patients had lower total hospital costs and shorter LOS as compared to those exposed to lower intensity.ConclusionsIndoor daylight levels were not associated with the hospital costs and LOS of patients in the wards of general surgery, except for those who were illiterate. It might be essential to design guidelines for medical staff and healthcare facilities to enhance indoor environmental benefits of daylight for some specific population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (3) ◽  
pp. 903-910 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Guan ◽  
Michael Karsy ◽  
Andrea A. Brock ◽  
William T. Couldwell ◽  
John R. W. Kestle ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVEOverlapping surgery remains a controversial topic in the medical community. Although numerous studies have examined the safety profile of overlapping operations, there are few data on its financial impact. The authors assessed direct hospital costs associated with neurosurgical operations during periods before and after a more stringent overlapping surgery policy was implemented.METHODSThe authors retrospectively reviewed the records of nonemergency neurosurgical operations that took place during the periods from June 1, 2014, to October 31, 2014 (pre–policy change), and from June 1, 2016, to October 31, 2016 (post–policy change), by any of the 4 senior neurosurgeons authorized to perform overlapping cases during both periods. Cost data as well as demographic, surgical, and hospitalization-related variables were obtained from an institutional tool, the Value-Driven Outcomes database.RESULTSA total of 625 hospitalizations met inclusion criteria for cost analysis; of these, 362 occurred prior to the policy change and 263 occurred after the change. All costs were reported as a proportion of the average total hospitalization cost for the entire cohort. There was no significant difference in mean total hospital costs between the prechange and postchange period (0.994 ± 1.237 vs 1.009 ± 0.994, p = 0.873). On multivariate linear regression analysis, neither the policy change (p = 0.582) nor the use of overlapping surgery (p = 0.273) was significantly associated with higher total hospital costs.CONCLUSIONSA more restrictive overlapping surgery policy was not associated with a reduction in the direct costs of hospitalization for neurosurgical procedures.


Author(s):  
Theresa Hamm ◽  
Angela Overton ◽  
Kathie Thomas ◽  
Renee Sednew

Background and Objectives: The average length of stay (ALOS) provides important information regarding care efficiency and the financing of hospitals. A shorter ALOS helps to reduce hospital costs, increase capacity optimization, and improve hospital efficiency. A longer ALOS can be associated with reduced readmission rates and mortality rates. The objective of this study was to analyze the ALOS for stroke patients based on etiology subtype and Get With The Guidelines (GWTG)-Stroke award recognition. Methods: A retrospective review of the ALOS for hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke patients was conducted for the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan from 99 hospitals using GWTG-Stroke from July 2014 through December 2015. Stroke subsets, GWTG award status, and ALOS were examined. Results: The national ALOS is 5.22 days for ischemic stroke, 12.75 days for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and 8.5 days for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). The ALOS for ischemic stroke was 4.36 days for non-award winning hospitals and 4.52 days for award winning hospitals. The ALOS for SAH was 7.51 days for non-award winning hospitals and 10.77 days for award winning hospitals. The ALOS for ICH was 18.63 days for non-award winning hospitals and 6.80 days for award winning hospitals. Further broken down, hospitals with a higher award (gold vs silver), had longer ALOS for both SAH and ICH (11.11 vs 8.72 and 7.07 vs 5.84 respectively), while there was no significant difference in ALOS for ischemic stroke. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that GWTG-Stroke award winning hospitals have a shorter ALOS for ICH and a higher ALOS for SAH than non-award winning hospitals. Those hospitals that have attained gold award status more closely align with national ALOS. Thus, hospitals that are more adherent to guideline recommended care via a quality improvement program may be more efficient when providing care, which impacts hospitals costs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 514-520
Author(s):  
Brock M. Taylor ◽  
Shawn R. Chakraborty ◽  
Aaron A. Harthan ◽  
Sandeep Tripathi ◽  
Huaping Wang ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE Children admitted to the ICU are commonly treated with opioids for postoperative pain. We hypothesized that administration of IV acetaminophen in the immediate postoperative period is effective in lowering cumulative opioid use leading to other benefits. METHODS This was a retrospective chart review of patients admitted to the PICU between December 2016 and April 2019. For each patient, data including demographics, cumulative opioid usage per kilogram, oral or rectal acetaminophen, x-ray findings, hospital costs, and surgical procedure were collected. Cumulative opioid usage was determined by converting all opioids to morphine equivalents (MEs) per kg. Standard descriptive and comparative analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, Inc, Cary, NC). RESULTS A total of 200 patients met inclusion and exclusion criteria (N = 92 in IV acetaminophen group and N = 108 in no IV acetaminophen group). There was no significant difference in ME per kilogram between the groups (0.3 ME/kg in IV acetaminophen group, IQR 0.5 ME/kg versus 0.4 ME/kg in no IV acetaminophen group, IQR 0.5 ME/kg, adjusted p = 0.38). Rate of atelectasis was not significant between the groups (47.8% in IV acetaminophen versus 45.4% in no acetaminophen group, p = 0.28). There was a significant difference in median total hospital costs between the groups ($22,456 in IV acetaminophen group, IQR $18,650 versus $18,552 in no IV acetaminophen group, IQR $13,361, adjusted p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS IV acetaminophen in the immediate postoperative period did not lead to a decrease in cumulative opioid usage or rate of atelectasis. IV acetaminophen usage was associated with increase in overall hospital costs per patient.


Author(s):  
Stephen Thomas ◽  
Ankur Patel ◽  
Corey Patrick ◽  
Gary Delhougne

AbstractDespite advancements in surgical technique and component design, implant loosening, stiffness, and instability remain leading causes of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) failure. Patient-specific instruments (PSI) aid in surgical precision and in implant positioning and ultimately reduce readmissions and revisions in TKA. The objective of the study was to evaluate total hospital cost and readmission rate at 30, 60, 90, and 365 days in PSI-guided TKA patients. We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent a primary TKA for osteoarthritis from the Premier Perspective Database between 2014 and 2017 Q2. TKA with PSI patients were identified using appropriate keywords from billing records and compared against patients without PSI. Patients were excluded if they were < 21 years of age; outpatient hospital discharges; evidence of revision TKA; bilateral TKA in same discharge or different discharges. 1:1 propensity score matching was used to control patients, hospital, and clinical characteristics. Generalized Estimating Equation model with appropriate distribution and link function were used to estimate hospital related cost while logistic regression models were used to estimate 30, 60, and 90 days and 1-year readmission rate. The study matched 3,358 TKAs with PSI with TKA without PSI patients. Mean total hospital costs were statistically significantly (p < 0.0001) lower for TKA with PSI ($14,910; 95% confidence interval [CI]: $14,735–$15,087) than TKA without PSI patients ($16,018; 95% CI: $15,826–$16,212). TKA with PSI patients were 31% (odds ratio [OR]: 0.69; 95% CI: 0.51–0.95; p-value = 0.0218) less likely to be readmitted at 30 days; 35% (OR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.50–0.86; p-value = 0.0022) less likely to be readmitted at 60 days; 32% (OR: 0.68; 95% CI: 0.53–0.88; p-value = 0.0031) less likely to be readmitted at 90 days; 28% (OR: 0.72; 95% CI: 0.60–0.86; p-value = 0.0004) less likely to be readmitted at 365 days than TKA without PSI patients. Hospitals and health care professionals can use retrospective real-world data to make informed decisions on using PSI to reduce hospital cost and readmission rate, and improve outcomes in TKA patients.


2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 148-152
Author(s):  
Kornél Vajda ◽  
László Sikorszki

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: A laparoszkópia térhódítása a jobb oldali colon műtéteknél is nyilvánvaló. Ma legtöbb helyen a laparoszkóposan asszisztált jobb oldali hemikolektómia extrakorporális anasztomózissal a gold standard. A morbiditás randomizált vizsgálatok alapján még 30% körüli. A technikai fejlődés lehetővé tette az intrakorporális anasztomózist. Célkitűzés: Retrospektív módon elemezni rosszindulatú jobb oldali vastagbéldaganat miatt végzett laparoszkópos hemikolektómiák rövid távú eredményeit a két módszer összehasonlításával. Eredmények: 2018. 01. 01. – 2019. 12. 31. között 184 jobb oldali hemikolektómiát végeztünk, ezek közül 122 történt malignus betegség miatt. 51 esetben nyitott és 71 esetben laparoszkópos műtét történt. 37 férfi (átlagéletkor: 70,59 év) és 34 nő (átlagéletkor: 72,14 év) volt. 50 esetben extrakorporális (EA) és 21 esetben pedig intrakorporális anasztomózist (IA) végeztünk. Az EA csoportban 18, míg az IA csoportban 3 szövődmény alakult ki 30 napon belül (p = 0,067). Az EA csoportból 3, az IA csoportból 1 beteget veszítettünk el 30 napon belül (p = 0,66). Az átlagos ápolási idő az EA csoportban 9,48 (5–32) nap, míg az IA csoportban 6,52 (4–19) nap volt (p = 0,001) a szövődményes esetekkel együtt. A szövődményes esetek nélkül az EA csoportban 6,35 (5–10) nap, az IA csoportban pedig 5,55 (4–8) napnak bizonyult (p = 0,09). A műtéti idő pedig az EA csoportban 147 (90–240) perc, az IA csoportban pedig 146,47 (90–265) perc volt (p = 0,11). Konklúzió: Az irodalommal összhangban azt találtuk, hogy IA esetén kevesebb a szövődmény, ezzel is összefüggésben rövidebb az átlagos ápolási idő, és a műtéti időt tekintve nincs szignifikáns különbség. Ezeket figyelembe véve az intrakorporális anasztomózis javasolható jobb oldali laparoszkópos hemikolektómia esetén. Summary. Introduction: Laparoscopy became evident for right-sided colon surgery too. Today the laparoscopic-assisted right-hemicolectomy is the gold standard with extracorporeal anastomosis. Morbidity according to randomized trials is still approximately 30%. The development of the surgical technique resulted in the creation of intracorporeal anastomosis. Our aim was to compare the short-term results of the two methods. Aim: To analyse the short-term results of right-sided hemicolectomy that were performed due to malignant tumours with the comparison of the two methods. Results: A cohort of 184 right-sided hemicolectomy were performed from 01.01.2018 to 31.12.2019 from which 122 were operated on because of a malignant disease. 51 open and 71 laparoscopic operations were performed. The average age of 37 men and 34 women were 70.59 and 72.14 years, respectively. 50 patients underwent extracorporeal (EA) anastomosis and 21 intracorporeal (IA) anastomosis. Within 30 days the number of complications were 18 in the EA group and 3 in the IA group (p = 0.067). 3 from the EA group and 1 from IA group died within 30 days (p = 0.66). The average length of stay were 9.48 days in the EA group and 6.52 days in the IA group together with the complicated cases (p = 0.001) while 6.35 days and 5.55 days without the complicated cases (p = 0.09). The average duration of operation was 147 minutes in the EA and 146.47 minutes in the IA group (p = 0.11). Conclusion: We found concordance with the literature that there are fewer complications in case of IA which might be related to shorter length of stay. There is no significant difference between the surgical times. Bearing these facts in mind, IA might be suggested for right- sided laparoscopic hemicolectomy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tristan B. Weir ◽  
Neil Sardesai ◽  
Julio J. Jauregui ◽  
Ehsan Jazini ◽  
Michael J. Sokolow ◽  
...  

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objective: As hospital compensation becomes increasingly dependent on pay-for-performance and bundled payment compensation models, hospitals seek to reduce costs and increase quality. To our knowledge, no reported data compare these measures between hospital settings for elective lumbar procedures. The study compares hospital-reported outcomes and costs for elective lumbar procedures performed at a tertiary hospital (TH) versus community hospitals (CH) within a single health care system. Methods: Retrospective review of a physician-maintained, prospectively collected database consisting of 1 TH and 4 CH for 3 common lumbar surgeries from 2015 to 2016. Patients undergoing primary elective microdiscectomy for disc herniation, laminectomy for spinal stenosis, and laminectomy with fusion for degenerative spondylolisthesis were included. Patients were excluded for traumatic, infectious, or malignant pathology. Comparing hospital settings, outcomes included length of stay (LOS), rates of 30-day readmissions, potentially preventable complications (PPC), and discharge to rehabilitation facility, and hospital costs. Results: A total of 892 patients (n = 217 microdiscectomies, n = 302 laminectomies, and n = 373 laminectomy fusions) were included. The TH served a younger patient population with fewer comorbid conditions and a higher proportion of African Americans. The TH performed more decompressions ( P < .001) per level fused; the CH performed more interbody fusions ( P = .007). Cost of performing microdiscectomy ( P < .001) and laminectomy ( P = .014) was significantly higher at the TH, but there was no significant difference for laminectomy with fusion. In a multivariable stepwise linear regression analysis, the TH was significantly more expensive for single-level microdiscectomy ( P < .001) and laminectomy with single-level fusion ( P < .001), but trended toward significance for laminectomy without fusion ( P = .052). No difference existed for PPC or readmissions rate. Patients undergoing laminectomy without fusion were discharged to a facility more often at the TH ( P = .019). Conclusions: We provide hospital-reported outcomes between a TH and CH. Significant differences in patient characteristics and surgical practices exist between surgical settings. Despite minimal differences in hospital-reported outcomes, the TH was significantly more expensive.


Author(s):  
Joanna Lange ◽  
Jerzy Kozielski ◽  
Kinga Bartolik ◽  
Paweł Kabicz ◽  
Tomasz Targowski

Abstract In Poland, no statistical data are available concerning the analysis of the incidence of pneumonia in inpatient children. The requirement for these data results mainly from the need to prepare systemic and economic solutions. Aim This study aimed to use reported data for evaluating pneumonia incidence rates among hospitalised children and other parameters in various age groups. Subject and methods A detailed analysis was performed as part of the Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development co-financed by the European Social Fund. Services reported to the National Health Fund in 2014 were considered, including pneumonia incidence among hospitalised children and mortality in specific age groups. Results In 2014, a total of 68,543 children were hospitalised for pneumonia (68% of all hospitalisations for acute respiratory diseases). Within each of the analysed age groups, boys were hospitalised more frequently. Irrespective of the place of residence, infants were most commonly hospitalised. It was observed that there was a significant difference between the incidence rate of pneumonia among hospitalised children in all analysed groups depending on the province. The average length of stay was 7.29 days, with infants requiring the longest stays (7.96 days), and 1.8% of children were rehospitalised within 30 days due to recurrence of pneumonia. The most commonly coded pathogens responsible for pneumonia included Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Chlamydia spp. A total of 19 inpatient hospital deaths in the course of pneumonia were reported. Conclusions Based on our findings, it is warranted to utilize epidemiological knowledge for the planning of an appropriate level of service commissioned both in outpatient and inpatient facilities as well as for the estimation of institutional and staff needs necessary to secure these services.


2021 ◽  
Vol 108 (Supplement_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
B Edwards ◽  
A Zolnourian ◽  
D Bulters

Abstract Introduction External ventricular drains (EVDs) are commonly used in the management of acute hydrocephalus after subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Infection is the most common complication. There remains controversy over whether frequent sampling is associated with increased risk of infection. Method Two cohorts of patients requiring EVD after SAH were retrospectively analysed for suspected and proven CSF infection. The first clinical cohort was of 50 consecutive patients with twice weekly sampling. The second group had alternate daily sampling as part of a prospective research study. Results Female to male ratio were (32:18) and (29:15) in clinical vs research group respectively. Average age of both groups was 59. Average length of treatment with EVD in both groups was 10 days. 16/50 (32%) patients had a suspected infection vs 13/44 (30%) and 8/50 (16%) had a proven infection compared to 6/44 (14%) in clinical and research groups, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (suspected infections p = 0.7 and proven infections p = 0.7) Conclusions Increased rates in CSF sampling in the research cohort did not result in higher rates of CSF infection. This suggests that rate of sampling, if done following a strict protocol, is not associated with increased risk of infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinkyu Lee ◽  
Sangmin Lee ◽  
Sung Min Kim ◽  
Heungsoo Shin

Abstract Background Fabrication of three-dimensional stem cell spheroids have been studied to improve stem cell function, but the hypoxic core and limited penetration of nutrients and signaling cues to the interior of the spheroid were challenges. The incorporation of polymers such as silica and gelatin in spheroids resulted in relatively relaxed assembly of composite spheroids, and enhancing transport of nutrient and biological gas. However, because of the low surface area between cells and since the polymers were heterogeneously distributed throughout the spheroid, these polymers cannot increase the cell to extracellular matrix interactions needed to support differentiation. Methods We developed the stem cell spheroids that incorporate poly(ι-lactic acid) single-segmented fibers synthesized by electrospinning and physical and chemical fragmentation. The proper mixing ratio was 2000 cells/μg fibers (average length of the fibers was 50 μm - 100 μm). The SFs were coated with polydopamine to increase cell binding affinity and to synthesize various-sized spheroids. The function of spheroids was investigated by in vitro analysis depending on their sizes. For statistical analysis, Graphpad Prism 5 software (San Diego, CA, USA) was used to perform one-way analysis of variance ANOVA with Tukey’s honest significant difference test and a Student’s t-test (for two variables) (P < 0.05). Results Spheroids of different sizes were created by modulating the amount of cells and fibers (0.063 mm2–0.322 mm2). The fibers in the spheroid were homogenously distributed and increased cell viability, while cell-only spheroids showed a loss of DNA contents, internal degradation, and many apoptotic signals. Furthermore, we investigated stemness and various functions of various-sized fiber-incorporated spheroids. In conclusion, the spheroid with the largest size showed the greatest release of angiogenic factors (released VEGF: 0.111 ± 0.004 pg/ng DNA), while the smallest size showed greater effects of osteogenic differentiation (mineralized calcium: 18.099 ± 0.271 ng/ng DNA). Conclusion The spheroids incorporating polydopamine coated single-segmented fibers showed enhanced viability regardless of sizes and increased their functionality by regulating the size of spheroids which may be used for various tissue reconstruction and therapeutic applications.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document