Articles: hospitals.
-
This retrospective study compared unilateral pedicle screw combined with contralateral translaminar facet joint screw (UPS+TFS) fixation with bilateral pedicle screw (BPS) fixation in patients undergoing minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) for single-segment lumbar degenerative disease. ⋯ UPS+TFS and BPS fixation during MIS-TLIF can achieve favorable clinical outcomes with no difference in long-term clinical efficacy. UPS+TFS demonstrates perioperative advantages such as reduced intraoperative blood loss, shorter operation time, reduced postoperative hospital stay, and less iatrogenic injury. Therefore, MIS-TLIF with UPS+TFS fixation is a reliable treatment for single-segment lumbar degenerative disease.
-
Nonprofit hospitals are under increasing scrutiny to justify the generous tax benefit they receive due to their tax-exempt status. Quantifying the value of the tax benefit they receive at the federal, state, and local levels is critical for designing informed public health policies and ensuring nonprofit hospitals' taxpayer accountability. ⋯ This study highlights the wide variation of nonprofit hospitals' tax benefit across states, its high concentration among a small number of hospitals, and the primary role played by state and local taxes. Policy efforts to strengthen nonprofit hospitals' taxpayer accountability are likely to be more effective when pursued at the local level. The detailed standardized estimation road map can be used by various stakeholders to estimate tax benefit for external valuation and reporting purposes, updated as laws change, and improved upon as better data sources become available.
-
Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) for refractory in-hospital cardiac arrest has been associated with improved survival compared with conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Perioperative patients represent a unique of the inpatient population. This study aims to describe and analyze the characteristics and outcomes of patients who received ECPR for perioperative cardiac arrest (POCA). ⋯ The use of ECPR for adults with POCA can be associated with excellent survival with neurologically favorable outcomes in carefully selected patients. Longer CPR time, higher lactate levels, and lower pH were associated with increased mortality. Given the small sample size, no other prognostic factors were identified, though certain trends were detected between survival groups.
-
Diuresis for hospitalized patients with acute decompensated heart failure is a routine clinical practice but one that remains reliant on error-prone and resource-intensive intake and output and weight measurements and is subject to wide provider variation. We sought to use quality improvement approaches to implement a data-driven predictive diuresis protocol based on natriuresis using the electronic health record to titrate dosing. Our initiative did not result in significant reductions in length of stay but did demonstrate a significant increase in the use of urine studies to guide diuresis and signals toward more aggressive diuretic dosing without an increase in adverse outcomes.
-
Treatment of alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) in hospitals is inconsistent. Electronic health record (EHR) order sets protocolize care. ⋯ We observed frequent organizational inclusion of guideline-concordant medications and symptom scores but rare and/or poorly defined guidance for evaluating risk of severe AWS, escalation of care, and MAUD.