Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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In-hospital arrests are uncommon in pediatrics, making it difficult to identify the risk factors for unrecognized deterioration and to determine the effectiveness of rapid response systems. An emergency transfer (ET) is a transfer from an acute care floor to an intensive care unit (ICU) where the patient received intubation, inotropes, or ≥3 fluid boluses in the first hour after arrival or before transfer. ⋯ Controls were matched in terms of age, hospital unit, and time of year. Patients who experienced an ET had a significantly higher likelihood of in-hospital mortality (22% vs 9%), longer ICU length of stay (4.9 vs 2.2 days), and longer posttransfer length of stay (26.4 vs 14.7 days) compared with controls (P < .03 for each).
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Although neonatal herpes simplex virus (HSV) causes significant morbidity, utilization of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) HSV polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test remains variable. Our objective was to examine the association of CSF HSV PCR testing with length of stay (LOS) in a 20-center retrospective cohort of hospitalized infants aged ≤60 days undergoing evaluation for meningitis after adjustment for patient-level factors and clustering by center. ⋯ Infants who had a CSF HSV PCR test performed had a 23% longer hospital LOS (incident rate ratio 1.23; 95% CI: 1.14-1.33). Targeted CSF HSV PCR testing may mitigate the impact on LOS for low-risk infants.
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In the hospitalized patient, nephrotoxin exposure is one potentially modifiable risk factor for acute kidney injury (AKI). Clinical decision support based on nephrotoxin ordering was developed at our hospital to assist inpatient providers with the prevention or mitigation of nephrotoxin-related AKI. The initial decision support algorithm (Algorithm 1) was modified in order to align with a national AKI collaborative (Algorithm 2). ⋯ Modifications to our AKI detection system by adopting Algorithm 2, which included an expanded list of nephrotoxins and equally weighting each medication, did not improve our nephrotoxin-related AKI detection. It did improve our system's specificity. Sensitivity increased by >50% when we applied a novel algorithm based on observed data with identification of key medication combinations.
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An Academic Research Coach: An Innovative Approach to Increasing Scholarly Productivity in Medicine.
Academic faculty who devote most of their time to clinical work often struggle to engage in meaningful scholarly work. They may be disadvantaged by limited research training and limited time. Simply providing senior mentors and biostatistical support has limited effectiveness. ⋯ Employing a dedicated health services researcher as part of a faculty development program is an effective way to engage clinically oriented faculty in meaningful scholarship. Key aspects of the program included an accessible and knowledgeable coach and an ongoing marketing strategy.