Update on Dr. Thomas Butler.
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Bioterrorism↗
Biomedical subjects
William B Greenough
Publications and source records attributed to William B Greenough.
Burden of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea in a long-term care facility.
OBJECTIVES: To describe the incidence and prevalence of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) in a long-term care facility (LTCF). DESIGN: Retrospective review of CDAD cases between July 2001 and December 2003. SETTING: Two hundred two-bed LTCF affiliated with an academic medical center in Baltimore, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: All residents of the facility during July 2001 to December 2003. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical and laboratory-confirmed cases of CDAD. RESULTS: Incidence of CDAD ranged from 0 to 2.62 cases per 1,000 resident days. The highest rates were observed in residents of subacute units, whereas incidence was much lower on traditional nursing home units. Prevalence of CDAD at admission was greater on units (subacute and rehabilitative) where the majority of patients were admitted from hospital settings than on those where the majority of patients were admitted from the community (nursing home units). Recurrent disease occurred in 21.7% of patients with CDAD. CONCLUSION: CDAD remains a problem in the long-term care setting, and importation from the acute care setting accounts for a large proportion of the C. difficile seen LTCFs. As the population continues to age, issues of disease and infection in long-term care are expected to increase. New prevention and control strategies are needed to control the spread of CDAD in LTCFs.
Aged↗
Satisfaction with hospital at home care.
OBJECTIVES: To examine differences in satisfaction with acute care between patients who received treatment in a physician-led substitutive Hospital at Home program and those who received usual acute hospital care. DESIGN: Survey questionnaire of participants in prospective, nonrandomized clinical trial. SETTING: Three Medicare-managed care health systems and a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred fourteen community-dwelling elderly patients who required acute hospital admission for community-acquired pneumonia, exacerbation of chronic heart failure, exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cellulitis, 84 of whom were treated in Hospital at Home and 130 in the acute care hospital. INTERVENTION: Treatment in a Hospital at Home model of care that substitutes for treatment in an acute care hospital. MEASUREMENTS: A 40-question survey measuring nine domains of care for patients and a 37-question survey measuring eight domains of care for family members. RESULTS: A higher proportion of patients were satisfied with treatment in Hospital at Home than with the acute care hospital in eight of nine domains, and this difference was statistically different in four domains. Hospital at Home patients were more likely than acute hospital patients to be satisfied with their physician (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 3.84, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.32-11.19), comfort and convenience of care (AOR = 6.52, 95% CI = 1.97-21.56), admission processes (AOR = 5.90, 95% CI = 2.21-5.76), and the overall care experience (AOR = 2.98, 95% CI = 1.08-8.21). Family members of patients treated in Hospital at Home were also more likely to be satisfied with multiple domains of care. CONCLUSION: Hospital at Home care was associated with greater satisfaction than acute hospital inpatient care for patients and their family members. These findings support further dissemination of the Hospital at Home care model.
Aged↗
Hospital at home: feasibility and outcomes of a program to provide hospital-level care at home for acutely ill older patients.
BACKGROUND: Acutely ill older persons often experience adverse events when cared for in the acute care hospital. OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical feasibility and efficacy of providing acute hospital-level care in a patient's home in a hospital at home. DESIGN: Prospective quasi-experiment. SETTING: 3 Medicare-managed care (Medicare + Choice) health systems at 2 sites and a Veterans Administration medical center. PARTICIPANTS: 455 community-dwelling elderly patients who required admission to an acute care hospital for community-acquired pneumonia, exacerbation of chronic heart failure, exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cellulitis. INTERVENTION: Treatment in a hospital-at-home model of care that substitutes for treatment in an acute care hospital. MEASUREMENTS: Clinical process measures, standards of care, clinical complications, satisfaction with care, functional status, and costs of care. RESULTS: Hospital-at-home care was feasible and efficacious in delivering hospital-level care to patients at home. In 2 of 3 sites studied, 69% of patients who were offered hospital-at-home care chose it over acute hospital care; in the third site, 29% of patients chose hospital-at-home care. Although less procedurally oriented than acute hospital care, hospital-at-home care met quality standards at rates similar to those of acute hospital care. On an intention-to-treat basis, patients treated in hospital-at-home had a shorter length of stay (3.2 vs. 4.9 days) (P = 0.004), and there was some evidence that they also had fewer complications. The mean cost was lower for hospital-at-home care than for acute hospital care (5081 dollars vs. 7480 dollars) (P < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: Possible selection bias because of the quasi-experimental design and missing data, modest sample size, and study site differences. CONCLUSIONS: The hospital-at-home care model is feasible, safe, and efficacious for certain older patients with selected acute medical illnesses who require acute hospital-level care.
Acute Disease↗
Destroying the life and career of a valued physician-scientist who tried to protect us from plague: was it really necessary?
Thomas Campbell Butler, at 63 years of age, is completing the first year of a 2-year sentence in federal prison, following an investigation and trial that was initiated after he voluntarily reported that he believed vials containing Yersinia pestis were missing from his laboratory at Texas Tech University. We take this opportunity to remind the infectious diseases community of the plight of our esteemed colleague, whose career and family have, as a result of his efforts to protect us from infection by this organism, paid a price from which they will never recover.
Bioterrorism↗
Oral versus intravenous rehydration of moderately dehydrated children.
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Child↗
Vitamin D deficiency as a contributor to multiple forms of chronic pain.
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Chronic Disease↗
Abdominal pain in an elderly osteoporotic patient: ribs on pelvis syndrome.
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Abdominal Pain↗
The human, societal, and scientific legacy of cholera.
The recent history of research on cholera illustrates the importance of establishing research and care facilities equipped with advanced technologies at locations where specific health problems exist. It is in such settings, where scientific research is often considered difficult due to poverty and the lack of essential infrastructure, that investigators from many countries are able to make important advances. On this, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B), this article seeks to recount the Centre's demonstration of how high-quality research on important global health issues, including cholera, can be accomplished in conditions that may be considered by many as unsuitable for scientific research.
Child, Preschool↗
Formulation of oral rehydration solution.
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Adult↗