Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Hospital readmission is common among patients with heart failure. Vulnerability to decline in physical function may increase the risk of noncardiovascular readmission for these patients, but the association between vulnerability and the cause of unplanned readmission is poorly understood, inhibiting the development of effective interventions. ⋯ Vulnerability to functional decline predicted noncardiovascular readmission risk among hospitalized patients with heart failure. The VES-13 is a brief, validated, and freely available tool that should be considered in planning care transitions. Additional work is needed to examine the efficacy of interventions to monitor and mitigate noncardiovascular concerns among vulnerable patients with heart failure being discharged from the hospital.
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Multicenter Study
The association between opioid use disorder and skilled nursing facility acceptances: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.
Prior single-hospital studies have documented barriers to acceptance that hospitalized patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) face when referred to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). ⋯ This multicenter retrospective cohort study found that hospitalizations of patients with OUD had more SNF referrals sent and fewer referrals accepted. Further work is needed to address the limited discharge options for patients with OUD.
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Racial and ethnic differences in drug testing have been described among adults and newborns. Less is known regarding testing patterns among children and adolescents. We sought to describe the association between race and ethnicity and drug testing at US children's hospitals. We hypothesized that non-Hispanic White children undergo drug testing less often than children from other groups. ⋯ Hospitalized Black children were more likely than White children to undergo drug testing at US children's hospitals, though this varied by diagnosis and hospital. Our results support efforts to better understand and address healthcare disparities, including the contributions of implicit bias and structural racism.