Articles: mortality.
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A national audit of surgical deaths can be seen as the final step in what has been termed the 'journey of care' for both the individual patient and for the population as a whole. ⋯ These figures reflect the high quality of vascular services in Scotland, where there is a considerable consultant presence in the management of high-risk patients. This consultant involvement is higher than in other subspecialties and, bearing in mind the high percentage of emergencies, has significant resource implications for the delivery of vascular services.
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · May 1999
The Minimum Data Set 2.0: a functional assessment to predict mortality in nursing home residents.
Measures of functional assessment, such as the Karnofsky Scale, the Modified ADL Scale, and the Descriptive Scale, have been used to predict appropriateness for hospice care. A tool is needed to assess functional status across all treatment settings, including acute care, long-term care, and hospice. The objective of this paper is to determine whether the Minimum Data Set, when utilized in conjunction with physical assessment tools to determine prognosis, is accurate in predicting short-term mortality in nursing home residents. ⋯ The data were then analyzed to determine whether there existed a correlation between a significant change, as documented on the Minimum Data Set, and subsequent death of the patient. If there existed a correlation, the data were further studied to determine consistency in the categories of change that might demonstrate predictors of short-term mortality in nursing home residents. A decline in functional status, as documented on the Minimum Data Set 2.0 in the areas of cognitive functioning, communication, activities of daily living, incontinence, and nutrition, are strong predictors of short-term mortality in nursing home residents, independent of age, gender, and diagnosis.
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To investigate whether interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels predict all-cause and cause-specific mortality in a population-based sample of nondisabled older people. ⋯ Higher circulating levels of interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein were associated with mortality in this population-based sample of healthy older persons. These measures may be useful for identification of high-risk subgroups for anti-inflammatory interventions.
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Depressive symptoms are common in hospitalized older persons. However, their relation to long-term mortality is unclear because few studies have rigorously considered potential confounders of the relation between depression and mortality, such as comorbid illness, functional impairment, and cognitive impairment. ⋯ Depressive symptoms are associated with long-term mortality in older patients hospitalized with medical illnesses. This association is not fully explained by greater levels of comorbid illness, functional impairment, and cognitive impairment in patients with more depressive symptoms.
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Although the recent decline in child mortality in Bangladesh is remarkable, death from causes other than infectious diseases and malnutrition remains an important component of child mortality. Death from drowning of children can be expected to be a problem in Bangladesh given the geographical features of the country. ⋯ A substantial proportion of child deaths could be averted if parents and other close relatives paid more attention to the safety of children. The Child Health Programme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh should develop health education programmes for villagers alerting them to the dangers of drowning and measures to prevent it.