Plos One
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Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer screenings can detect precancerous cells and allow for earlier diagnosis and treatment. Our purpose was to better understand risk factors for cancer screenings and assess the effect of cancer screenings on changes of Cardiovascular health (CVH) measures before and after cancer screenings among patients. ⋯ Deep learning algorithm could be used to investigate the associations between time-series CVH measures and cancer screenings in an ambulatory population. Patients with more adverse CVH profiles tend to be screened for cancers, and cancer screening may also prompt favorable changes in CVH. Cancer screenings may increase patient CVH health, thus potentially decreasing burden of disease and costs for the health system (e.g., cardiovascular diseases and cancers).
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Interfacility transfers may reflect a time delay of definitive surgical care, but few studies have examined the prevalence of interfacility transfers in the urban low- and middle-income (LMIC) setting. The aim of this study was to determine the number of interfacility transfers required for surgical and obstetric conditions in an urban MIC setting to better understand access to definitive surgical care among LMIC patients. ⋯ Surgical and obstetric conditions account for nearly half of all urban interfacility ambulance transfers. The most common reasons for transfer are basic surgical conditions with public healthcare facilities transferring a greater proportion of patient with surgical conditions than private facilities. Timely access to an initial healthcare facility may not be a reliable surrogate of definitive surgical care given the substantial need for interfacility transfers.
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A debate about the scientific quality of COVID-19 themed research has emerged. We explored whether the quality of evidence of COVID-19 publications is lower when compared to nonCOVID-19 publications in the three highest ranked scientific medical journals. ⋯ We conclude that the quality of COVID-19 publications in the three highest ranked scientific medical journals is below the quality average of these journals. These findings need to be verified at a later stage of the pandemic.
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Patients with comorbid conditions have a higher risk of mortality with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection, but the impact on heart failure patients living near a disease hotspot is unknown. Therefore, we sought to characterize the prevalence and outcomes of COVID-19 in a live registry of heart failure patients across an integrated health care system in Connecticut. ⋯ In this real-world snapshot of COVID-19 infection among a large cohort of heart failure patients, we found that a small proportion had undergone testing. Patients found to be COVID-19+ tended to be black with multiple comorbidities and clustered around lower socioeconomic status communities. Elderly COVID-19+ patients were very likely to be admitted to the hospital and experience high rates of mortality.
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In the early phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, mainly data related to the burden of care required by infected patients were reported. The aim of this study was to illustrate the timeline of actions taken and to measure and analyze their impact on surgical patients. ⋯ While allowing for maximal care of Covid-19 patients during the pandemic, the shift of resources limited the access to elective surgical care, with less impact on cancer care.