Southern medical journal
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Southern medical journal · Dec 2023
Associations between Sexual Minority Identities, Heterosexism, Identity Concealment, and Depression in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Emerging Adults: Adjusting for the Effects of General Stressors.
Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals experience stressors distinctively tied to their sexual identities, such as externalized and internalized heterosexism and identity concealment, which are correlated with increased psychological distress, including depression. The present study examined the variance in depression scores resulting from heterosexism, LGB identity concealment, and minority sexual identities, after adjusting for race/ethnicity and interpersonal violence victimization experiences. ⋯ Findings emphasize the importance of assessing minority stressors and taking them into account when providing clinical interventions to LGB individuals.
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Southern medical journal · Dec 2023
Rise in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Rate Is Associated with Increase in Buprenorphine Prescription Numbers.
Southern Appalachia is a region of the United States that is disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic and by increasing rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). NAS rates increased approximately 400% between 1999 and 2012. Buprenorphine prescriptions written to treat opioid use disorder also increased dramatically. The present study was undertaken to ascertain any relationship between the number of buprenorphine prescriptions compared with NAS rates in southern Appalachia. ⋯ This is the first report that documents an association between rising NAS rates and increasing buprenorphine prescribing. Between the years 2010 and 2018, the NAS rate in southern Appalachia rose by 335%, and the number of buprenorphine prescriptions rose by 413%. Discussions regarding the current policies for buprenorphine management during pregnancy are warranted. We suggest a reevaluation of buprenorphine prescribing recommendations during pregnancy and further research on establishing the lowest effective buprenorphine dose for each pregnant patient.
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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.