Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

P H Perlstein

Publications and source records attributed to P H Perlstein.

31 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Computer-assisted newborn intensive care.

A minicomputer has been programmed to aid in the intensive care of high-risk newborn babies. The computer provides 24-hour on-line access to physiologic and environmental data and controls the heating of infant incubators. The control algorithm limits fluctuations in the incubator chamber and protects the infant against escape from neutral thermal conditions. The mortality rate for 105 infants cared for using the computerized systems was significantly reduced when compared to that of 105 matched high-risk infants cared for using standard non-computer-assisted techniques in the same nursery setting.

Computers↗
PubMed1975

Use of pertussis vaccine in an epidemic involving hospital staff.

An epidemic of pertussis occurred among hospital staff caring for paediatric patients. Eight physicians and five nurses were affected. Pertussis developed in six newborn infants exposed to infected hospital staff in the nursery. Erythromycin prophylaxis was used to control the epidemic. Clinical pertussis developed in five adults infected with Bordetella pertussis before erythromycin was used, whereas symptoms developed in only one of the eight adults who became infected after erythromycin prophylaxis was started. Pertussis vaccine was given to adult volunteers in the hospital, and in 77% of two hundred and eighty-six vaccinees there was a fourfold rise in pertussis agglutinins. Local reactions were common, and in two vaccinees generalised rashes developed. One of these required treatment with corticosteroids. The risk of pertussis occurring in adults providing medical care for children should be recognised, and employees with symptoms should be removed from the hospital environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Safety of early discharge for Medicaid newborns.

CONTEXT: Neonates are being discharged from the hospital more rapidly, but the risks associated with this practice, especially for low-income populations, are unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of decreasing postnatal length of stay on rehospitalization rates in the immediate postdischarge period for Medicaid neonates. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective, population-based cohort study using Ohio Medicaid claims data linked to vital statistics files from July 1, 1991, to June 15, 1995. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 102 678 full-term neonates born to mothers receiving Medicaid for at least 30 days after birth. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rehospitalization rates within 7 and 14 days of discharge, postdischarge health care use, and regional variations in length of stay and rehospitalization. RESULTS: The proportion of neonates who were discharged following a short stay (less than 1 day after vaginal delivery, less than 2 days after cesarean birth) increased 185%, from 21% to 59.8% (P<.001) and the mean (SD) length of stay decreased 27%, from 2.2 (1.0) to 1.6 (0.9) days (P<.001), over the course of the study. The proportion of neonates who received a primary care visit within 14 days of birth increased 117% (P = .001). Rehospitalization rates within 7 and 14 days of discharge decreased by 23%, from 1.3% to 1.0% (P=.01), and by 19%, from 2.1% to 1.7% (P=.03), respectively. Short stay across the 6 regions of the state varied significantly over time (P<.001). Factors significantly associated with increased likelihood of rehospitalization within both 7 and 14 days of discharge were white race, shorter gestation, primiparity, earlier year of birth, lower 5-minute Apgar score, vaginal delivery, married mother, and region of the state. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that reductions in length of stay for full-term Medicaid newborns in Ohio have not resulted in an increase in rehospitalization rates in the immediate postnatal period.

Humans↗