Preventing hospital admissions for asthma.
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Anti-Asthmatic Agents↗
Biomedical subjects
M Weinberger
Publications and source records attributed to M Weinberger.
Rapid recovery of a child with Guillain-Barré syndrome using intravenous immunoglobulins.
The purpose of this article is to acknowledge the success of using intravenous immunoglobulins in children with Guillain-Barré syndrome and to review the literature. A 17-year-old African-American young lady with Guillain-Barré syndrome of 11-days duration underwent intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. Within 6 days, the patient was ambulating and was showing significant signs of improvement. The use of intravenous immunoglobulins in children with Guillain-Barré syndrome has been reported in only a few instances.
Adolescent↗
Adverse events after discontinuing medications in elderly outpatients.
BACKGROUND: Discontinuation of drug therapy is an important intervention in elderly outpatients receiving multiple medications, but it may be associated with adverse drug withdrawal events (ADWEs). OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency, types, timing, severity, and factors associated with ADWEs after discontinuing medications in elderly outpatients. PATIENTS: One hundred twenty-four ambulatory elderly participants in 1-year health service intervention trial at the Durham Veterans Affairs General Medicine Clinic in Durham, NC, who stopped taking medications. METHODS: A geriatrician retrospectively reviewed computerized medication records and clinical charts to determine medications no longer being taken and adverse events in the subsequent 4-month period. Possible ADWEs, determined by using the Naranjo causality algorithm, were categorized by therapeutic class, organ system, and severity. RESULTS: Of 238 drugs stopped, 62 (26%) resulted in 72 ADWEs among 38 patients. Cardiovascular (42%) and central nervous system (18%) drug classes were most frequently associated with ADWEs. The ADWEs most commonly involved the circulatory (51%) and central nervous (13%) systems, and 88% were attributed to exacerbations of underlying disease. Twenty-six ADWEs (36%) resulted in hospitalization or an emergency department or urgent care clinic visit. Only the number of medications stopped was associated with ADWE occurrence (adjusted odds ratio, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.33-2.67). CONCLUSIONS: Most medications can be stopped in elderly outpatients without an ADWE occurrence. However, when ADWEs occur they resulted in substantial health care utilization. Practitioners should strive to discontinue drug therapy in the elderly but be vigilant for disease recurrence.
Acute Disease↗
Use of alar batten grafts for correction of nasal valve collapse.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of alar batten grafts for the correction of internal and external nasal valve collapse. DESIGN: In this retrospective study, a questionnaire was used to ask patients to rate their nasal breathing before and after application of alar batten grafts. SETTING: Private practice and academic tertiary referral medical center. PATIENTS: The questionnaire was given to 63 patients who underwent application of alar batten grafts between 1980 and 1995. Forty-six patients (73%) responded and were included in the study. INTERVENTION: Alar batten grafts were applied into a precise pocket via a limited endonasal incision or via the external rhinoplasty approach. The grafts consisted of curved septal cartilage or auricular cartilage and were applied to the site of maximal lateral nasal wall collapse. The convex surface of the cartilage was oriented laterally to allow maximal lateralization of the collapsed portion of the lateral nasal wall. In most cases, alar batten grafts were applied caudal to the existing lateral crura and extended from the lateral one third of the lateral crura to the piriform aperture. OUTCOME MEASURES: The degree of nasal airway obstruction was determined by subjective scoring on a scale from 1 (no obstruction) to 5 (complete obstruction) before and after surgery. The patency of the internal airway was also assessed on physical examination. RESULTS: The results of the study revealed that all but 1 of the 46 patients experienced an improvement in their nasal airway obstruction. The mean improvement in nasal airway obstruction was 2.5 on a scale of 5. Patients that had the least improvement had intranasal scarring in the region of the internal nasal valve, loss of vestibular skin, or excessive narrowing at the piriform aperture. Physical examination revealed a significant increase in the size of the aperture at the internal or external nasal valve after the application of the alar batten grafts. There was minimal postoperative fullness in the supraalar region, where the alar batten grafts were applied. With time, this fullness decreased, leaving little evidence of the graft and an overall improvement in the aesthetic result. CONCLUSIONS: Alar batten grafts are effective for long-term correction of internal and external nasal valve collapse that is not complicated by intranasal scarring in the region of the nasal valve, loss of vestibular skin, or excessive narrowing at the piriform aperture.
Cartilage↗
Increasing fungal isolation from clinical specimens: experience in a university hospital over a decade.
The local patterns of fungal isolates were studied by a retrospective analysis of fungal species isolated from clinical specimens in a university hospital in Jerusalem. Between 1984 and 1993, 5630 fungi [4071 patient unique isolates (PUI)] were isolated and identified. During the study decade, the annual incidence of all isolates increased 2.7-fold, and PUI increased 1.6-fold. Candida albicans accounted for 61% of PUI; urine was the source of 53%. The intensive care units (ICUs) and the Bone Marrow Transplantation (BMT) Department had the highest incidence of fungal isolation. The following trends were observed: (1) a decrease in the relative frequency of C. albicans and increase in Candida tropicalis; (2) increased number of isolates from urine, surgical wounds and intra-abdominal sites; (3) increased number of isolates from ICUs and BMT. Fungi are emerging as important hospital-acquired pathogens in tertiary care and teaching hospitals, and are associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality. It is important to be familiar with the local patterns of fungal isolation in order to improve treatment.
Adolescent↗
Examination of racial differences in management of cardiovascular disease.
OBJECTIVES: We sought to identify the clinical characteristics associated with, and to investigate the impact of cohort selection criteria on, interracial use of invasive cardiac procedures and to determine survival. BACKGROUND: Although interracial differences in the use of invasive cardiac procedures have been previously reported, the underlying reasons are not known. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Study patients were evaluated for cardiovascular disease between January 1 and December 31, 1993. RESULTS: The study included 1,406 male patients (85% white, 58% married), with a mean age of 63.4 years. African Americans were less likely than whites to undergo procedures (cardiac catheterization: odds ratio [OR] 0.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24 to 0.58; coronary angioplasty: OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.25 to 1.49; coronary bypass surgery: OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.63; any procedure: OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.50). On bivariate analysis, patients who underwent cardiac procedures were more likely to be younger, married and reside nonlocally and less likely to have severe comorbid disease; however, African Americans were less likely to be married and to reside nonlocally and more likely to have severe comorbid disease. Cohorts adjusting for referral status and specified cardiac diagnoses reduced or reversed interracial treatment differences. Thirty-day and 1-year survival rates (96% and 87.6%, respectively) were equivalent. CONCLUSIONS: Racial disparity in invasive cardiac procedure use may be partially explained by clinical differences and cohort selection bias. Despite treatment differences, survival rates were equivalent in African Americans and whites.
Black or African American↗
Assessing inner-city patients' hospital experiences. A controlled trial of telephone interviews versus mailed surveys.
OBJECTIVES: Obtaining accurate and representative patient-centered data may be difficult among poor, inner-city patients because of changing addresses, variable access to telephones, and a higher prevalence of illiteracy than in the populations in which many survey instruments were developed and tested. Assumptions about the usefulness of mailed surveys versus telephone interviews may not hold for the urban poor. Therefore, identifying the most efficient mode of survey administration in this population becomes an important methodological question. METHODS: We conducted a randomized trial of patients discharged from the inpatient medicine service of an urban teaching hospital to compare telephone interview with mailed self-administration of a detailed instrument for measuring patients' experiences with hospital care. Our primary outcomes were response rate, missing data, and data collection costs. Patients were excluded if they were not discharged to home or were mentally or physically unable to complete mailed or telephone interviews. The research assistant contacted eligible patients while hospitalized, informed them of the postdischarge survey, and obtained current phone numbers and addresses. Patients then were randomized to receive a 116-item satisfaction survey via one of two survey methods: mail-first (mailed surveys with follow-up on nonrespondents by telephone) or telephone-first (telephone interviews with follow-up of nonrespondents by mail). RESULTS: Of the 252 patients enrolled, 130 were randomized to the mail-first and 122 to the telephone-first method. Response rates were higher with the telephone-first (73%) compared with the mail-first method (50%; P < 0.0001). Surveys obtained by the telephone-first method had fewer missing data (0.7 +/- 2.39) for those items not involved in skip patterns compared with the mail-first method (7.1 +/- 12.3; P < 0.001) and were 42% less expensive per completed survey ($26.32 versus $37.35; P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: In this survey of patients served by an urban teaching hospital, a strategy of telephone interviews with mail follow-up proved less expensive and yielded a higher response rate with more complete data than using a method where mailed surveys were followed by back-up telephone interviews. In addition, we believe that the improved response rate for telephone interviews compared with those reported in the literature for similar populations is the result of informing inpatients of the survey and obtaining telephone numbers and addresses in the hospital.
Female↗
Adverse drug events in high risk older outpatients.
OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence, types, and consequences of adverse drug events (ADEs) in older outpatients with polypharmacy. DESIGN: A cohort study. SETTING: General Medicine Clinic at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PATIENTS: A total of 167 high risk (taking > or = 5 scheduled medications) ambulatory older veterans who participated in a year long health service intervention trial. MEASUREMENTS: Potential ADEs were identified by asking patients during closeout interviews whether, in the past year, they had experienced any side effects, unwanted reactions, or other problems from any medication. All reported medications and corresponding adverse experiences were assessed for plausibility by a research clinical pharmacist using two standard pharmacological textbooks and categorized by predictability, therapeutic class, and organ system. RESULTS: Eighty self-reported ADEs involving 72 medications taken by 58 (35%) of 167 patients were textbook confirmed. Seventy-six of 80 (95%) ADEs were classified as Type A (predictable) reactions. Cardiovascular (33.3%) and central nervous system (27.8%) medication classes were most commonly implicated. Gastrointestinal (30%) and central nervous system (28.8%) ADE symptoms were common. Sixty-three percent of patients with ADEs required physician contacts, 10% emergency room visits, and 11% hospitalization. Twenty percent of medications implicated with ADEs required dosage adjustments, and 48% of ADE-related medications were discontinued. No significant differences (P > .05) were observed when ADE reporters (n = 58) and nonreporters (n = 109) were compared. CONCLUSION: Predictable ADEs are common in high risk older outpatients, resulting in considerable medication modification and substantial healthcare utilization.
Aged↗
Health status of individuals with mild stroke.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Diminished quality of life and limitations in higher levels of physical functioning are often underestimated in stroke and are not fully captured by measures such as the Barthel Index and the Rankin Outcome Scale. This study used additional measures to assess the health status of 304 persons with mild stroke and to compare these individuals with 184 persons with transient ischemic attack and 654 persons without history of stroke/transient ischemic attack but at elevated risk for stroke (asymptomatic group). METHODS: Subjects were recruited from the Academic Medical Center Consortium (inpatients), the Cardiovascular Health Study (population-based sample of community-dwelling persons 65 years and older), and United HealthCare (inpatients and outpatients typically younger than 65 years). Subjects were interviewed by telephone or in person to assess activities of daily living (Barthel Index), depression (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale), health status (MOS-36), and utility for current health state. RESULTS: Most respondents were independent on all Barthel items. The stroke group was more impaired on the MOS-36 than the asymptomatic group but similar to the group with transient ischemic attack. Health-related quality of life was lowest for persons with stroke. While symptom status and Barthel Index score were the strongest predictors of health status, the Barthel Index showed a consistent ceiling effect when compared with the physical function subscale of the MOS-36. CONCLUSIONS: The consequences of even mild stroke affect all dimensions of health except pain. Standardized assessment of persons with stroke must evaluate across the entire continuum of health-related functions.
Age Distribution↗
Inappropriate prescribing and health outcomes in elderly veteran outpatients.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship of inappropriate prescribing in the elderly to health outcomes. SETTING: General Medical Clinic of the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PATIENTS: A total of 208 veterans more than 65 years old who were each taking five or more drugs and participated in a pharmacist intervention trial. MEASUREMENTS: Prescribing appropriateness was assessed by a clinical pharmacist using the medication appropriateness index (MAI). A summed MAI score was calculated, with higher scores indicating less appropriate prescribing. The health outcomes were hospitalization, unscheduled ambulatory or emergency care visits, and blood pressure control. RESULTS: Bivariate analyses revealed that mean MAI scores at baseline were higher for those with hospital admissions (18.9 vs. 16.9, p = 0.07) and unscheduled ambulatory or emergency care visits (18.8 vs. 16.3, p = 0.05) over the subsequent 12 months than for those without admissions and emergency care visits. MAI scores for antihypertensive medications were higher for patients with inadequate blood pressure control (> 160/90 mm Hg) than for those whose blood pressure was controlled (4.7 vs. 3.1, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Inappropriate prescribing appeared to be associated with adverse health outcomes. This findings needs to be confirmed in future studies that have larger samples and control for potential confounders.
Aged↗
Reliability of drug utilization evaluation as an assessment of medication appropriateness.
OBJECTIVE: To test the reliability of drug utilization evaluation (DUE) applied to medications commonly used by the ambulatory elderly. METHODS: A DUE model was developed for four domains: (1) justification for use, (2) critical process indicators, (3) complications, and (4) clinical outcomes. DUE criteria specific to use in the elderly were developed for angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and histamine2 (H2)-antagonists, and consensus was reached by an external expert panel. After pilot testing, two clinical pharmacists independently evaluated these medications, applying the DUE criteria and rating each item as appropriate or inappropriate. Interrater and intrarater reliability was assessed by using kappa statistics. RESULTS: In a sample of 208 ambulatory elderly veterans, 42 (20.2%) were taking an ACE inhibitor and 56 (26.9%) an H2-antagonist. The interrater agreement for individual domains, represented by kappa statistics, were 0.10-0.58 and 0-0.83 for ACE inhibitors and H2-antagonists, respectively. The kappa statistic for overall agreement, which considered ratings from all criteria across all domains, was 0.24 for ACE inhibitors and 0.18 for H2-antagonists. Intrarater reliability was assessed 3 months later, and kappa statistics were 0.61-0.65 (0.49 overall) and 0-0.96 (0.81 overall) for ACE inhibitors and H2-antagonists, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Intrarater reliability for DUE was good to excellent. However, interrater reliability exhibited only marginal reproducibility, particularly where evaluators were required to use subjective judgement (i.e., complications, clinical outcomes). DUE may not be a suitable standard for assessing medication appropriateness in ambulatory elderly patients.
Aged↗
[Analysis of implant component stability of new materials in axis adjusted knee joint prostheses using finite element analysis].
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Biomechanical Phenomena↗
Physician agreement with pharmacist-suggested drug therapy changes for elderly outpatients.
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Aged↗
Does increased access to primary care reduce hospital readmissions? Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Group on Primary Care and Hospital Readmission.
BACKGROUND: For chronically ill patients, readmission to the hospital can be frequent and costly. We studied the effect of an intervention designed to increase access to primary care after discharge from the hospital, with the goals of reducing readmissions and emergency department visits and increasing patients' quality of life and satisfaction with care. METHODS: In a multicenter randomized, controlled trial at nine Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, we randomly assigned 1396 veterans hospitalized with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or congestive heart failure to receive either usual care or an intensive primary care intervention. The intervention involved close follow-up by a nurse and a primary care physician, beginning before discharge and continuing for the next six months. RESULTS: The patients were severely ill. Half of those with congestive heart failure (504 patients) had disease in New York Heart Association class III or IV; 30 percent of those with diabetes (751 patients) had end-organ damage; and a quarter of those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (583 patients) required home oxygen treatment or oral corticosteroids. The patients had extremely poor quality-of-life scores. Although they received more intensive primary care than the controls, the patients in the intervention group had significantly higher rates of readmission (0.19 vs 0.14 per month, P = 0.005) and more days of rehospitalization (10.2 vs 8.8, P = 0.041). The patients in the intervention group were more satisfied with their care (P < 0.001), but there was no difference between the study groups in quality-of-life scores, which remained very low (P = 0.53). CONCLUSIONS: For veterans discharged from Veterans Affairs hospitals, the primary care intervention we studied increased rather than decreased the rate of rehospitalization, although patients in the intervention group were more satisfied with their care.
Aged↗
Classifying general medicine readmissions. Are they preventable? Veterans Affairs Cooperative Studies in Health Services Group on Primary Care and Hospital Readmissions.
OBJECTIVES: To describe a new quality assessment method used to classify the preventability of hospitalization in terms of patient, clinician, or system factors. DESIGN: The instrument was developed in two phases. Phase 1 was a prospective comparison of admitting residents' and their attending physicians' classifications of the perceived preventability of consecutive admissions to one Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) excluding admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU). In phase 2, a panel of 10 physicians rated 811 abstracted records of readmissions from nine VAMCs. SETTING: Nine VAMCs across the United States with varying degrees of university hospital affiliation. PATIENTS: Phase 1, 156 patients admitted to the general medicine service at the Durham VAMC. Phase 2, 514 patients accounting for 811 readmissions within 6 months of a general medicine service discharge at nine VAMCs. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Physicians used a checklist to record the reason for hospitalization, the preventability of the hospitalization, and, if preventable, a reason defining preventability, which was classified in terms of system, clinician, and patient factors. In phase 2, two physician panelists assessed preventability for each chart. When two panelists disagreed on the preventability of hospitalization, a third panelist, blind to the original assessments, rated the chart. In phase 1, residents and attending physicians rated 33% and 34% of admissions as preventable (kappa = 0.41), respectively. In phase 2, 277 (34%) of 811 readmissions were deemed preventable. Intraobserver accuracy for the assessment of preventability was 96% (kappa = 0.89). interobserver accuracy was 73% (kappa = 0.43). Hospital system factors accounted for 37% of preventable readmissions, clinician factors for 38%, and patient factors for 21%. The nine hospitals differed markedly in their profile of reasons for preventable readmissions (p = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Using a new method of determining the preventability of hospitalizations, we identified several factors that might avert hospitalizations. Focusing efforts to identify preventable hospitalizations may yield better methods for managing patients' total health care needs; however, the content of those efforts will vary by institution.
Adult↗
Are health-related quality-of-life measures affected by the mode of administration?
While measures of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are increasingly being used as outcomes in clinical trials, it is unknown whether HRQOL assessments are influenced by the method of administration. We compared telephone, face-to-face, and self-administration of a commonly-used HRQOL measure, the SF-36. Veterans (N = 172) receiving care in the General Medicine Clinic were randomized into groups differing only in order of administration. All patients were asked to complete the SF-36 three times over a 4-week period. The SF-36 demonstrated high internal consistency, regardless of mode of administration, but showed large variation over short intervals. This variation may: (1) increase dramatically sample size requirements to detect between-group differences in randomized trials and (2) reduce the SF-36's usefulness for clinicians wishing to follow individual patients over time.
Activities of Daily Living↗