Journal of hospital medicine : an official publication of the Society of Hospital Medicine
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Physicians often consider various nonmedical factors in hospital admission decision-making and may admit socially tenuous patients despite low-acuity medical needs. Evidence showing whether these patients are subject to the same risks of hospitalization as those considered definitely medically appropriate is limited. ⋯ We found no difference in the percentage of admissions with AEs between the two groups (27.3% vs 29.3%; risk ratio 0.93, 95% CI 0.65-1.34, P = .70) nor in AEs per 1,000-patient days (76.8 vs 70.4; incidence rate ratio = 1.09, 95% CI 0.77-1.55, P = .61). Thus, the number of AEs experienced during hospitalization does not appear to be related to the appropriateness of admission based on the level of medical acuity.
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Despite national recommendations for early transition to enteral antimicrobials, practice variability has existed at our hospital. ⋯ Standardized communication about criteria for transition from intravenous to enteral antibiotics can lead to earlier transitions for patients with pneumonia or skin and soft tissue infections, subsequently reducing costs and prescribing variability.
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Hip fractures typically occur in frail elderly patients. Preoperative specialty consults, in addition to hospitalist comanagement, are often requested for preoperative risk assessment. ⋯ The majority of preoperative specialty consults did not meaningfully influence management and may have potentially increased morbidity by delaying surgery. Our data suggest that unless a hip fracture patient is unstable and likely to require active management by a consultant, such consults offer limited benefit when weighed against the negative impact of surgical delay.