The American journal of the medical sciences
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Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are commonly overused in hospitalized patients. The objectives of this study were to determine the extent of their inappropriate initiation in patients with low risk for gastrointestinal hemorrhage, factors associated with their continuation on discharge and potential cost of this trend. ⋯ PPIs are overused in the majority of hospitalized patients with low risk for gastrointestinal bleeding and this practice gets perpetuated at discharge, especially in older patients. The cost of this phenomenon is alarming.
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Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious disease worldwide and it leads to several serious hepatic sequels. Some studies find possible correlation between HCV and ischemic heart disease in retrospective observations. Based on lacked community-based evidence, the study aims to assess correlation between ischemic heart disease and chronic HCV infection via electrocardiogram (ECG) because its abnormalities is strongly associating with cardiovascular disease mortality. ⋯ HCV was strongly associated with ischemic ECG findings in this community study, and it could be a nonconventional risk factor for coronary artery disease.
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Discharge summaries are an important component of hospital care transitions typically completed by interns in teaching hospitals. However, these documents are often not completed in a timely fashion or do not include pertinent details of hospitalization. This report outlines the development and impact of a curriculum intervention to improve the quality of discharge summaries by interns and residents in Internal Medicine. A previous study demonstrated that a discharge summary curriculum featuring individualized feedback was associated with improved summary quality, but few subsequent studies have described implementation of similar curricula. No information exists on the utility of other strategies such as team-based feedback or academic detailing. ⋯ A comprehensive discharge summary curriculum can be feasibly implemented within the context of a residency program. Team-based feedback and academic detailing may serve to reinforce individual feedback and extend program reach.