A cook with ‘burning in the thigh’ and a ‘hotspot’ in the groin!

ABSTRACT Meralgia paresthetica (MP) is a condition characterised by abnormal sensations on the anterolateral aspect of the thigh due to the dysfunction of the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve. Here, I present a case of a 64-year-old female cook who attended the General Medicine clinic with 2 months of persistent numbness and ‘burning’ sensation over the right anterolateral thigh. Subsequent physical examination revealed the diagnosis of meralgia paresthetica. The significance of good history taking and thorough physical examination in reaching the diagnosis of meralgia paresthetica cannot be overemphasized. In most typical presentations, advanced imaging and neurodiagnostic testing do not add value to confirm the diagnosis. If the clinical diagnosis is doubtful, nerve conduction study and magnetic resonance imaging may still be performed to exclude other mimicking pathologies. Increasing awareness of MP among doctors unfamiliar with this condition will prevent the ordering of excessive investigations.

Prescribing pattern of proton pump inhibitors among patients visiting the outpatient general medicine clinic in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Nepal

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to evaluate the prescribing pattern of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) in patients visiting the outpatient general medical clinic in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital.Design/methodology/approachA hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 419 patients aged ≥18 years, visiting the outpatient general medicine clinic of a tertiary hospital and prescribed with at least one PPI, from July to September 2016 using a purposive sampling technique. Descriptive statistics were performed using IBM-SPSS 20.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA).FindingsPatients were mostly less than 30 years (30.78%) and female (58.95%). Pantoprazole was the most frequently prescribed PPIs (57.04%). The majority of PPIs were prescribed for acid peptic disorder (APD) (33.65%), followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) prophylaxis (30.79%). Most of the PPIs were prescribed for twice-daily administration (68.26%). Nearly one-fourth (21.72%) of the patients presented with at least one additional medical condition, and almost all (99%) patients were receiving at least one additional drug along with PPIs.Originality/valueThe study suggests that PPIs are frequently prescribed and their use has been extended to other conditions that in fact do not require acid anti-secretory therapy. Result has highlighted the need for an interdisciplinary collaboration between pharmacists and medical professionals for the rational use of PPIs and promotion of PPIs prescription from the National List of Essential Medicines.

Abstract 13456: Association of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases With Incident Atrial Fibrillation

Introduction: Inflammation plays a vital role on the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF). Although it is hypothesized that chronic inflammatory diseases (CIDs) may increase the risk for incident AF, data are scarce regarding whether CIDs are associated with incidence of AF. Objectives: To determine associations of CIDs with incident AF in a large cohort comprised of patients with multiple different CIDs. Methods: Patients who visited outpatient clinic regularly due to CIDs (human immunodeficiency virus infection, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis [SSc], and systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]) and frequency-matched controls (in regular primary care/general medicine clinic) were extracted from the Northwestern electronic health records between 1/1/2000-1/1/2019. Multiple imputation was used for imputing missing values and all following statistical analyses. Cumulative incidence of AF was estimated by the Kaplan Meier Curve, and adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to compute hazard ratio (HR) for each CID. Results: We analyzed a total number of 37,601 patients (18,847 CIDs and 19,871 controls without CIDs, median age 48.4 years, male 43%). During a median follow-up period of 3.6 years, 1076 cases (2.9%) of incident AF were observed. After adjusting for covariates included in CHARGE-AF risk score, baseline year, insurance type, baseline hypertension, and estimated glomerular filtration rate, both SSc (HR, 2.29: 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.72 - 3.06; p < 0.01) and SLE (HR, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.65 - 2.90; p < 0.01) were associated with a significantly elevated incidence of AF (Table). Conclusions: Patients with SSc or SLE had a significantly elevated incidence of AF after multivariable adjustment. Future studies should investigate mechanisms underlying these findings to generate both disease-specific knowledge and more generalizable knowledge regarding inflammatory contributors to AF.

The electronic health record as a patient engagement tool: mirroring clinicians’ screen to create a shared mental model

Objective Electronic health records (EHRs) in physician offices can both enhance and detract from the patient experience. Best practices have emerged focusing on screen sharing. We sought to determine if adding a second monitor, mirroring the EHR for patients, would be welcome and useful for patients and clinicians. Materials and Methods This mixed-method study was conducted in a general medicine clinic from March to June 2016. Clinicians and patients met in a specially equipped exam room with a patient-facing monitor. Visits were video-recorded to assess time spent viewing the EHR and followed by interviews, which were transcribed and analyzed using established qualitative methods. Results Eight clinicians and 24 patients participated. Main themes included the second screen serving as a catalyst for patient engagement, augmenting the clinic visit in a meaningful way, improving transparency of the care process and documentation, and providing a substantially different experience for patients than a shared single screen. Concerns and suggestions for improvement were also reported. Quantitative results showed high patient engagement times with the EHR (25% of the visit length) compared to reports in previous studies. The median satisfaction score was 5 out of 5 for patients and 3.3 out of 5 for clinicians. Discussion and Conclusion Providing patient access to the EHRs with this design was linked with several benefits including improved patient engagement, education, transparency, comprehension, and trust. Future studies should explore how best to display information in such screens for patients and identify impact on care, safety, and quality.

A Simulation Model for Performance Improvement of Triage-Based Emergency Care

Abstract— The paper presents a discrete event simulation model to evaluate the performance in an emergency department. Following evaluation of current state of emergency care, the study proposes establishing a general medicine clinic within or next to the emergency department such that patients with low emergency priorities can be directed to the clinic where they can see a non emergency physician. Results obtained from testing the proposed model illustrate performance advantage with respect to urgent classified cases ranging from 19.27% to 24.36% reduction in waiting time compared to it in the traditional emergency department system.

Implementation of an Audio Computer-Assisted Self-Interview (ACASI) System in a General Medicine Clinic

Summary Background: Routine implementation of instruments to capture patient-reported outcomes could guide clinical practice and facilitate health services research. Audio interviews facilitate self-interviews across literacy levels. Objectives: To evaluate time burden for patients, and factors associated with response times for an audio computer-assisted self interview (ACASI) system integrated into the clinical workflow. Methods: We developed an ACASI system, integrated with a research data warehouse. Instruments for symptom burden, self-reported health, depression screening, tobacco use, and patient satisfaction were administered through touch-screen monitors in the general medicine clinic at the Cook County Health & Hospitals System during April 8, 2011-July 27, 2012. We performed a cross-sectional study to evaluate the mean time burden per item and for each module of instruments; we evaluated factors associated with longer response latency. Results: Among 1,670 interviews, the mean per-question response time was 18.4 [SD, 6.1] seconds. By multivariable analysis, age was most strongly associated with prolonged response time and increased per decade compared to < 50 years as follows (additional seconds per question; 95% CI): 50–59 years (1.4; 0.7 to 2.1 seconds); 60–69 (3.4; 2.6 to 4.1); 70–79 (5.1; 4.0 to 6.1); and 80–89 (5.5; 4.1 to 7.0). Response times also were longer for Spanish language (3.9; 2.9 to 4.9); no home computer use (3.3; 2.8 to 3.9); and, low mental self-reported health (0.6; 0.0 to 1.1). However, most interviews were completed within 10 minutes. Conclusions: An ACASI software system can be included in a patient visit and adds minimal time burden. The burden was greatest for older patients, interviews in Spanish, and for those with less computer exposure. A patient’s self-reported health had minimal impact on response times. Citation: Trick WE, Deamant C, Smith J, Garcia D, Angulo F. Implementation of an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) system in a general medicine clinic – patient response burden. Appl Clin Inf 2015; 6: 148–162http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2014-09-RA-0073