Emergent political remittances during the pandemic: Evidence from a survey of overseas Filipino workers.

This article examines the experiences and assessments of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) on the Philippine government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is part of the growing migration literature exploring the formation of political remittances, defined as political principles, norms and practices migrants acquire during the migration process and what these imply for democratization, particularly in migrants' home countries. Data for the study came from an online survey of OFWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from the ordered logistic regression suggest that overseas Filipinos' experiences of successful pandemic management and aid distribution in host countries may influence OFWs to expect and demand similar measures in the Philippines.

Optimizing Neuroscience Mortality: A Collaborative Approach to Documentation Improvement.

Background and Objectives: Mortality index is the ratio of observed-to-expected mortality. Accurate and thorough documentation of patient comorbidities and conditions is the key determinant of neuroscience expected mortality. In this study, we focused on reviewing neuroscience documentation, as optimizing mortality index provides accurate assessment of the quality of care provided, improves service-line rankings, and affects reimbursement. Methods: We assembled an interprofessional team of a neurologist and clinical documentation integrity (CDI) specialists to review clinical documentation of all mortalities from the neuroscience service lines at a tertiary academic medical center over 9 months. We identified common documentation opportunities among high acuity neuroscience patients to improve accuracy of expected mortality. Using the mortality risk adjustment method from Vizient Inc., we compared baseline and postreview expected mortality. Results: We reviewed 70 mortality charts over a 9-month period. Opportunities to improve documentation were present in 60%. Common underreported comorbidities included aspiration pneumonia, shock, encephalopathy, thrombocytopenia, hemorrhagic disorder due to anticoagulation, and nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. The number of diagnoses identified per patient that affected mortality increased between the first and last quarter from 4.3 to 7.8 (p < 0.0001). Physician-identified additional diagnoses per patient decreased from 1.0 to 0.3 (p = 0.0037), as CDI specialists had increased capture of neuroscience specific diagnoses throughout the intervention. The average expected mortality significantly increased from baseline 0.33 to 0.42 (p < 0.0001). Discussion: Collaboration between physicians and CDI specialists optimizes expected mortality by identification of common gaps in documentation specific to neuroscience patients. Neurologist engagement is beneficial in CDI and lays the framework for clinical documentation education for neurology physicians.

Debut de cáncer gástrico con metástasis cerebral: manejo clínico quirúrgico

El cáncer gástrico es uno de los más frecuentes a nivel mundial. Las metástasis cerebrales por cáncer gástrico son poco frecuentes y se diagnostican en menos del 1% de los pacientes. Presentamos el caso de una mujer de 61 años con historia de disminución de la agudeza visual, cefalea y movimientos involuntarios. Le realizan una resonancia magnética que muestra una lesión de apariencia extraparenquimal occipital izquierda. El PET scan revela una zona hipermetabólica en curvatura menor del estómago, y la endoscopia evidencia una lesión sugerente de neoplasia maligna en fondo gástrico Borrmann I. Se decide realizar una excéresis tumoral por neurocirugía, cuyo estudio de anatomía patológica reveló adenocarcinoma metastásico a cerebro. Se le realiza una gastrectomía total D2, no se evidencian otras metástasis. La paciente evoluciona favorablemente en el postoperatorio. El estudio anatomopatológico revelo adenocarcinoma pobremente diferenciado. En Perú y en el mundo, aún no se han establecido recomendaciones estándar sobre cómo tratar a estos pacientes, aunque se sabe que la resección quirúrgica de metástasis cerebrales puede disminuir significativamente la morbilidad y prolongar la supervivencia en comparación con los enfoques no quirúrgicos. Hasta donde sabemos, es el primer reporte de este tipo que se presenta en el país.

Gastric cancer is one of the most frequent worldwide. Brain metastases from gastric cancer are rare and are diagnosed in less than 1% of patients with gastric cancer. We present the case of a 61-year-old woman with a history of decreased visual acuity, headache, and involuntary movements. She underwent an MRI that showed a left occipital extraparenchymal appearance lesion. The PET scan reveals a hypermetabolic zone in the lesser curvature of the stomach, and the endoscopy reveals a lesion suggestive of gastric malignant neoplasia in the Borrmann I fundus. It was decided to perform a tumor excision by neurosurgery, whose pathological anatomy study revealed metastatic adenocarcinoma to the brain. She undergoes a total D2 gastrectomy, no other metastases are evident. The patient evolves favorably in the postoperative period. The pathology study revealed a poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. In Peru and in the world, standard recommendations on how to treat these patients have not yet been established, although it is known that surgical resection of brain metastases can significantly decrease morbidity and prolong survival compared to non-surgical approaches. As far as we know, it is the first report of this type presented in the country.