Southern medical journal
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Personal health behavior can influence the academic development of healthcare students. This study was designed to evaluate the personal health behavior, including sleep time, of healthcare students at a large health sciences center. ⋯ Although most healthcare students report adequate sleep times, more than half of them rate their sleep as fair or poor. In addition, some have poor health habits, including excessive alcohol use. Health science centers should introduce programs to promote healthy behaviors and reduce stress in healthcare students.
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Southern medical journal · Mar 2020
Improving Critical Value Read-Back Failure Rate by Modifying the Notification Procedure.
The aim of the study was to determine whether a system process change improved successful read-back of critical values by the appropriate provider. ⋯ We recommend the use of the physician who has most recently engaged with the patient as documented in the medical record for the daily note as the primary source of contact for reporting critical values.
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Southern medical journal · Mar 2020
Temporal Trends and Geographic Variations in Mortality Rates from Prescription Opioids: Lessons from Florida and West Virginia.
To explore temporal trends and geographic variations in mortality from prescription opioids from 1999 to 2016. ⋯ These data show markedly divergent temporal trends and geographic variations in mortality rates from prescription opioids, especially in the southern United States. Specifically, although initial rates were high and continued to increase alarmingly in West Virginia, they increased but then decreased in Florida. These descriptive data generate hypotheses requiring testing in analytic epidemiological studies. Understanding the divergent patterns of prescription opioid-related deaths, especially in West Virginia and Florida, may have important clinical and policy implications.
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Southern medical journal · Mar 2020
Are Salt Tablets Effective in the Treatment of Euvolemic Hyponatremia?
There is limited evidence for the use of salt tablets in the treatment of hyponatremia. This retrospective study evaluated the effectiveness of salt tablet administration in euvolemic hyponatremia. ⋯ The use of salt tablets in the treatment of euvolemic hyponatremia is associated with a small but significant improvement in serum sodium compared with patients who did not receive such therapy, even after adjusting for age, sex, weight, and initial serum sodium. This study supports the effectiveness of salt tablets in the treatment of euvolemic hyponatremia in medical patients.
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Southern medical journal · Mar 2020
Characterization of Young Children Presenting to the Emergency Department for Mental Health Complaints.
From 2011 to 2015, psychiatric emergency department visits among youth in the United States increased 28% and psychiatric visits made up 10% of all pediatric emergency department (ED) visits. Previous research has focused on adolescent mental health, with little characterization of children 10 years of age and younger with mental health complaints. The primary objective of this study was to describe these children who presented to a pediatric ED for mental health complaints in terms of demographics and psychosocial factors. ⋯ The pediatric ED sees a significant number of children ages 10 years and younger for mental health-related complaints. Nearly half of these children were admitted for psychiatric care. Several factors were found to predict admission, which reflect psychosocial influences. These psychosocial factors are important targets for intervention both in the ED and in the community.