Mental Health and Access to Medical Care in Patients with Chronic Cardiovascular Conditions: An Analysis of the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System

Introduction. Poor mental health is associated with worse outcomes for chronic diseases. It is unclear whether mental illness predisposes to difficulties with healthcare access. Methods. Using a combined dataset of the 2016-2019 behavioral risk factor surveillance system, we included individuals who reported a chronic cardiovascular condition. Weighted multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to explore the association between domains of mental health and measures of healthcare access including delaying medical care, > 1 year since last routine checkup, lack of a primary care physician (PCP), and cost-related medication nonadherence (CRMNA). Results. Among 1,747, 397 participants, 27% had a chronic cardiovascular condition, 12% had clinical depression, and 12% had poor mental health. Those with poor mental health (OR 3.20 [3.08 – 3.33]) and clinical depression (OR 2.43 [2.35 – 2.52]) were more likely to report delays in medical care. Those with greater stress frequency (OR 8.47 [6.84 -10.49] stressed all of the time), lower levels of emotional support received (OR 3.07 [2.21 – 4.26] rarely get needed emotional support), and greater life dissatisfaction (6.66 [4.14 – 10.70] very dissatisfied) reported greater delays in medical care. Conclusions. Individuals with poor mental health have greater difficulty accessing medical care independent of socioeconomic variables.

Thromboelastography after Cardiopulmonary Bypass: Does it Save Blood Products?

Introduction. This study aimed to determine if thromboelastography (TEG) is associated with reduced blood product use and surgical re-intervention following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) compared to traditional coagulation tests. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of 698 patients who underwent CPB at a tertiary-care, community-based, university-affiliated hospital from February 16, 2014 – February 16, 2015 (Period I) and May 16, 2015 - May 16, 2016 (Period II). Traditional coagulation tests guided transfusion during Period I and TEG guided transfusion during Period II. Intraoperative and postoperative administration blood products (red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate), reoperation for hemorrhage or graft occlusion, duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay and mortality were recorded. Results. Use of a TEG-directed algorithm was associated with a 13.5% absolute reduction in percentage of patients requiring blood products intraoperatively (48.2% vs. 34.7%, p <0.001). TEG resulted in a 64.3% and 43.1% reduction in proportion of patients receiving FFP and platelets, respectively, with a 50% reduction in volume of FFP administered (0.3 vs. 0.6 units, p < 0.001). Use of TEG was not observed to significantly decrease postoperative blood product usage or mortality. The median length of hospital stay was reduced by 1 day after TEG guided transfusion was implemented (nine days vs. eight days, p = 0.01). Conclusions. Use of TEG-directed transfusion of blood products following CPB appears to decrease the need for intraoperative transfusions, but the effect on clinical outcomes has yet to be clearly determined.

Hematologic Involvement as a Predictor of Mortality in COVID-19 Patients in a Safety Net Hospital

Introduction. COVID-19 affects the hematologic system. We evaluate the impact of hematologic involvement of different blood cell line parameters of white blood cells including absolute neutrophil count (ANC), hemoglobin, and platelets in COVID-19 patients and their association with hospital mortality and length of stay (LOS). Methods. This is a retrospective study of 475 patients with confirmed positive COVID-19 infection and hematologic abnormalities in the metropolitan New York City area. Results. Increased (ANC) (OR:1.20; 95% CI:1.02-1.42, p<0.05) increased days to hematologic involvement (OR:4.44, 95% CI:1.42-13.90; p<0.05), and persistence of hematologic involvement at discharge (OR:2.87, 95% CI:1.20, 6.90, p<0.05) were associated with higher mortality. Higher hemoglobin at admission (OR:0.77, 95% CI:0.60-0.98, p<0.001) and platelets peak (OR:0.995, 95% CI 95%:0.992-0.997, p<0.001) were associated with decreased mortality. Patients with higher white blood cell peak (B=0.46, SE=0.07, p<0.001) and higher hemoglobin at admission (B=0.05, SE=0.01, p<0.001) were associated with higher LOS. Those with higher hemoglobin nadir (B=-0.06, SE=0.01, p<0.001), higher platelets nadir (B=-0.001, SE=<0.001, p<0.001), and hematologic involvement at discharge/death (B=-0.06, SE=0.03, p<0.05) were associated with lower LOS. Conclusions. These findings can be used by clinicians to better risk-stratify patients with hematologic involvement in COVID-19 and tailor therapies to potentially improve patient outcomes.

Collaborating with Culturally Competent Prenatal Education among Hispanic Communities

Introduction. Hispanics represent the largest minority group in the United States. In Kansas, the population of Hispanics has been increasing; unfortunately, their infant mortality rate has increased as well. Baby Talk is a prenatal education program promoting maternal and infant health through risk-reduction strategies and healthy decision-making. The aim of this pilot project was to develop and evaluate a Spanish curriculum for Baby Talk. Methods. A collaborative partnership between community members and bilingual health professionals from different origins, nationalities, and Spanish dialects was formed to create a culturally and linguistically appropriate Spanish Baby Talk curriculum. This interventional pilot study employed survey and interviews to evaluate participant knowledge, intentions, satisfaction and perceptions of the newly developed curriculum. Results. Fifteen pregnant women participated in Spanish Baby Talk. Of those, 12 participated in either phone interviews (n=6) or a focus group (n=6). All respondents described their experience with the Spanish Baby Talk program as “excellent”. Significant increases in knowledge were seen related to topics such as benefits of full-term pregnancy and benefits of breastfeeding. Four themes were identified from the focus group and interviews: 1) lack of accessible community resources; 2) sense of community; 3) Spanish Baby Talk strengths; and 4) areas for improvements. Conclusions. Findings suggested that the Spanish Baby Talk curriculum was linguistically appropriate and resulted in increases in knowledge and intentions related to health and safety behaviors. Areas for improvement were related to marketing the program and referring to resources that provide material supports (i.e., diapers) to continue the move towards a culturally competent program.

Octogenarian Motor Vehicle Collisions: Injury Patterns Matter

Introduction. Motor vehicle collision (MVC) is the second most common mechanism of injury among octogenarians and is on the rise. These “oldest old” trauma patients have much higher mortality rates than expected. This study examined potential factors influencing this increased mortality including comorbidities, medications, injury patterns, and hospital interventions. Methods. A 10-year retrospective review was conducted of patients aged 80 and over who were injured in a MVC. Data collected included patient demographics, comorbidities, medication use prior to injury, collision details, injury severity and patterns, hospitalization details, outcomes, and discharge disposition. Results. We identified 239 octogenarian patients involved in a MVC. Overall mortality was 18.8%. We recognized an increased mortality for specific injury patterns, patients injured in a rural setting, and those who were transfused, intubated, or admitted to the ICU. We found no correlation between mortality and medications or comorbidities. Conclusions. The high mortality rate for octogenarian patients involved in a MVC is related to injury severity, type of injury, and in-hospital complications, and not due to comorbidities and prior medications.

Understanding Medication Adherence in Patients with Limited English Proficiency

Introduction. Approximately 41.6% of the US population who speak a language other than English (20% over all) and have limited English proficiency (LEP) status.1 Health outcomes for patients with LEP status or who are language discordant (speak a different language than their clinicians) have been studied in several settings, including the hospital and outpatient, with results widely demonstrating that these patients have worse outcomes when a professional interpreter is not used consistently. 2,3 The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of preferred language and language discordance on medication adherence. Methods. Data were collected via review of pharmacy-acquired medication profiles for three primary language cohorts: Nepali, Spanish, and English. Total Days of Adherence, Adherence Ratio, and Maximum Days Non-adherent were calculated and compared between language groups. We examined these statistics for regular and long-acting insulin, metformin and ACE inhibitors, testing for differences between language groups and those who experienced greater vs less than the median value for language concordant clinical encounters. Results. The most adherent group over all (highest adherence-ratio) were the Nepali-speaking, but the results showed high variability across outcomes and medications. Conclusions. After adjustment and stratification for greater vs lesser language concordant patient visit experience, we found that language-spoken plays an important role in the clinical encounter, and that LEP patients could have improved outcomes in their adherence to medications by having providers who speak their language or use an interpreter.

Rural-Urban Differences in Esophagectomy for Cancer

Background: Patients who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or in rural areas may not pursue surgery at high-volume centers, where outcomes are better for some complex procedures. The objective of this study was to determine and compare rural and urban patient differences and outcomes after undergoing esophagectomy for cancer. Study Design: An analysis of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample (HCUP NIS) database was performed, capturing adult patients with esophageal cancer who underwent esophagectomy. Patients were stratified into rural or urban groups by the National Center for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme. Demographics, hospital variables, and outcomes were compared. Results: A total of 2,877 patients undergoing esophagectomy for esophageal cancer were captured by the database, with 228 (7.92%) rural and 2,575 (89.50%) urban patients. The rural and urban groups had no difference in age, race, insurance status, and many common comorbidities. Major outcomes of mortality and length of stay were similar for both rural and urban patients (3.95% versus 4.27%, p=0.815) and (15.75±13.22 versus 15.55±14.91 days, p=0.828), respectively. There was a trend for rural patients to be more likely to discharge home (35.96% versus 29.79%, OR 0.667 [95%CI 0.479-0.929]; p=0.0167). Conclusions: This retrospective administrative database study indicates that rural and urban patients receive equivalent postoperative care after undergoing esophagectomy. The findings are reassuring as there does not appear to be a disparity in major outcomes depending on the location of residence, but further studies are necessary to assure equitable treatment for rural patients.