Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Oct 2020
Do clinical nurse specialist led stroke follow-up clinics reduce post-stroke hospital readmissions and recurrent vascular events?
Post-discharge stroke follow-up clinics intend to improve care and may reduce readmission. Pre-2013, there was no consistent post-stroke specialist follow up offered at Wellington Hospital. We tested whether the establishment of a clinical nurse specialist follow-up clinic reduced the 12-month readmission rate. ⋯ There was no reduction in the 1-year hospital readmission or vascular event recurrence rate for patients admitted with stroke following the establishment of a specialist nurse-led stroke follow-up clinic. Actual clinic attendance, however, did appear to confer some benefit. This study suggests that more consistent and potentially earlier timed follow up is probably desirable.
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Internal medicine journal · Oct 2020
Serum pre-albumin is prognostic for all-cause mortality in patients with community-acquired and post-operative acute kidney injury.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a critical clinical syndrome characterised by a rapid decrease in renal filtration, with the accumulation of products of metabolism such as creatinine and urea. In recent years, the incidence of AKI has increased not only in critically ill hospitalised patients but also in community patients. Also, the prognosis of AKI is poor and treatment is limited in these populations. The increasing incidence and poor prognosis may be the reasons why more investigators are involved in epidemiological and risk factor analysis of AKI. ⋯ Serum PA may serve as a prognostic marker for CA-AKI and PO-AKI, and further research is warranted to confirm this finding.
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Internal medicine journal · Oct 2020
Hospital-in-the-home experience of first 23 COVID-19 patients at a regional NSW hospital.
Ambulatory care is an important service for patients with the COVID-19 infection especially in a regional area where most of the patients underwent home isolation. Escalation of treatment and timely transition to inpatient care are critical when COVID-19 patients deteriorate. Equally important is ensuring transfer into facility is carried out in a well-planned, safe manner to prevent exposure to health care professionals as well as other inpatients. This study is a summary of our COVID Hospital-in-the-Home (HITH) service and clinical presentation of COVID-19 patients.