Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2023
Multicenter StudyAssociation between the Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Inpatient Mortality in Hospitalized Older Veterans with COVID-19 Infection.
Determine the association of high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) values with inpatient mortality and other outcomes in older veterans hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). ⋯ The NLR score is a clinically useful tool to predict in-hospital mortality in older patients with COVID-19.
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2023
Observational StudyReal-World Evaluation of a Chest Pain Digital Triage Platform at the Point of Care.
The triple aim of population health focuses on providing the right care to the right patient at the right time. Patient use of digital health tools may reduce the overuse of emergency services. We tested the safety and clinical applicability of a patient-facing, automated digital urgent care triage tool (UCTT) for patients with chest pain. ⋯ No high-risk conditions were missed by the UCTT. Our UCTT was more conservative than MD decision making, providing a sizable safety margin and adequate patient triage.
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2023
Evaluation of an Advanced Practice Provider Onboarding and Development Program.
To evaluate the impact of implementing a comprehensive secondary onboarding and development program within a hospital medicine group at a large tertiary academic medical institution. ⋯ For quantitative results, there were a total of 25 APPs who completed the pre- and posttest and were evaluated by at least 9 physicians. The average pretest score for APPs was 71.7% and the average posttest score was 83.0%. The average score for physicians' evaluations of APPs was 4.24/5 and increased to 4.38/5 in the postprogram evaluations. The average score for APP self-assessment pretraining was 3.52/5 and after the 12-month onboarding training, average scores increased to 3.84/5. For qualitative results, 4 APPs and 6 physicians were interviewed. Three of the APPs reported having more confidence in treating patients, whereas 1 APP viewed the program as a refresher course. All of the APPs mentioned that they would recommend the program to other APPs. Physicians reported that the program was beneficial in standardizing the care provided among the different types of APPs (physician assistants and nurse practitioners). All of the physicians also would recommend the program to other physicians and APPs.
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2023
Availability of Specialty Services for Cardiovascular Prevention Practice in the Southeastern United States.
A comprehensive cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention approach should address patients' medical, behavioral, and psychological issues. The aim of this study was to understand the clinician-reported availability of a pertinent CVD preventive workforce across various specialties using a survey study in the southeastern United States, an area with a disproportionate burden of CVD and commonly known as the Stroke Belt. ⋯ A majority of providers expressed having adequate specialists for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, obesity, smoking cessation, diet/nutrition, and exercise counseling. Most worked together with APPs and pharmacists but less frequently with exercise therapists, psychologists, behavioral counselors, and preventive cardiologists. Further research should explore approaches to use and expand less commonly available specialists for optimal CVD preventive care.
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Southern medical journal · Nov 2023
Characteristics of Sports-Related Injuries Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department.
Pediatric injuries associated with participation in sports are common. Understanding the epidemiology and trends of sports-related injuries is an important component of injury prevention efforts and is the objective of this study. ⋯ Sports injuries that are commonly encountered in the ED differ in age and sex. Basketball and soccer injuries were more likely to be encountered in older females, whereas baseball and football injuries were more likely seen in younger males. This may reflect efforts that have been previously focused on the sports considered to be higher risk, especially for concussive injuries. This information can help guide future preventive efforts provided by primary physicians, schools, and coaches.