Effectiveness of a On-site Medicalization Program for Nursing Homes With COVID-19 Outbreaks.

BACKGROUND: Nursing homes are highly vulnerable to the occurrence of COVID-19 outbreaks, which result in high lethality rates. Most of them are not prepared to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. METHOD: A coordinated on-site medicalization program (MP) in response to a sizeable COVID-19 outbreak in 4 nursing homes was organized, with the objectives of improving survival, offering humanistic palliative care to residents in their natural environment, and reducing hospital referrals. Ten key processes and interventions were established (provision of informatics infrastructure, medical equipment, and human resources, universal testing, separation of "clean" and "contaminated" areas, epidemiological surveys, and unified protocols stratifying for active or palliative care approach, among others). Main outcomes were a composite endpoint of survival or optimal palliative care (SOPC), survival, and referral to hospital. RESULTS: Two hundred and seventy-two of 457 (59.5%) residents and 85 of 320 (26.5%) staff members were affected. The SOPC, survival, and referrals to hospital occurred in 77%, 72.5%, and 29% of patients diagnosed before the start of MP, with respect to 97%, 83.7%, and 17% of those diagnosed during the program, respectively. The SOPC was independently associated to MP (OR = 15 [3-81]); and survival in patients stratified to active approach, to the use of any antiviral treatment (OR = 28 [5-160]). All outbreaks were controlled in 39 [37-42] days. CONCLUSIONS: A coordinated on-site MP of nursing homes with COVID-19 outbreaks achieved a higher SOPC rate, and a reduction in referrals to hospital, thus ensuring rigorous but also humanistic and gentle care to residents.

[Drug-drug interactions in multicentre polypathological polymedicated patients]. / Interacciones medicamentosas en pacientes pluripatológicos.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of relevant drug-drug interactions (DDIs) and associated predictor factors in a sample of patients with multiple complex chronic diseases (polypathological patients) receiving multiple drug therapy. Our secondary objective was to determine the acceptance of a drug interaction reporting program with recommendations addressed to the prescribing physicians. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study performed in three primary care centres assigned to a teaching hospital. All patients with 2 or more chronic diseases and treated simultaneously with 5 or more drugs were recruited in the study. DDIs were detected by using Drug-Reax System((R)) (Micromedex) program, the Drug Data Base (Bot) Spanish General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists or literature search when needed. Those DDIs which, according to the opinion of the pharmacist investigators, required any intervention were considered relevant. Acceptance of the reported DDI recommendations was evaluated by means of a survey addressed by primary care physicians ("acceptable," pertinent recommendation to modify treatment). RESULTS: A total of 283 polypathological polymedicated patients were included. Mean age was 74.5 years (range 43-100 years). Mean number of diseases per patient was 2.5 and prescriptions 9.7). Out of a total of 2748 drug prescriptions, 1053 DDIs in 250 patients (96.5%) were identified. Of these, 45% were filtered as relevant DDIs. The presence of ischemic heart disease, two or more hospital admissions and having received 7 or more prescriptions were associated with the presence of DDIs. 177 informs containing 473 recommendations about DDIs were sent to primary care physicians from our Pharmacy Department. 339 recommendations were answered by primary care physicians, and 84% were favourably accepted. CONCLUSIONS: Almost every polypathological polymedicated patient is exposed to at least one DDI and about a 60% would require any intervention. Appropriate filtering and personalising recommendations in a collaborative way may represent an adequate manner to improve the risk-benefit ratio of the drug prescriptions.

[Mortality and associated factors of patients with complex chronic diseases in rural and social transformation areas in Andalusia]. / Mortalidad y factores asociados de los pacientes con enfermedades crónicas complejas del ámbito rural y zonas de transformación social en Andalucía.

OBJECTIVE: To determine one-year mortality and associated factors in patients with complex chronic diseases (CCP) in rural health centres and social transformation needs areas (STNA) in Primary Health Care (PHC) in Andalusia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Design: 1-Year longitudinal observational prospective open study. SETTING: 40 health centre. SUBJECTS: consenting subjects over 18yr according multiple health condition criteria. SAMPLE SIZE: 814 subjects (confidence interval 95%, alpha risk 0.03%, p=.2; 20% of sample increase due to possible losses). End-point: 1-year Mortality. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: socio-demographic, socio-familial, clinical, functional (Barthel Index -BI-, Lawton-Brody Index), cognitive (Pfeiffer Test), prescribed drugs, social healthcare resources consumption, and quality of life (EQ-5D). DATA SOURCE: Interview and computerised clinical history Results: A total of 832 CCP were included (48.8% women). One-year mortality was 17.8% (n=148). Logistic regression model for mortality included: aged 85 and over, having a caregiver, haemoglobin level less 10g/L, hospital admission in last year, BI under 60 points, and active neoplasia. The calibration obtained from model was good (p=.85 in the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test), and the discrimination power also good (AUC=0.772 [0.68-0.77] in ROC curve). CONCLUSIONS: 1-year mortality of CCP in rural centres and STNA in PHC was 17.8%. Knowledge of the factors related to the mortality of CCP helps to approach the needs and social-health resources management.

Death risk stratification in elderly patients with covid-19. A comparative cohort study in nursing homes outbreaks.

Elderly people are more severely affected by COVID-19. Nevertheless scarce information about specific prognostic scores for this population is available. The main objective was to compare the accuracy of recently developed COVID-19 prognostic scores to that of CURB-65, Charlson and PROFUND indices in a cohort of 272 elderly patients from four nursing homes, affected by COVID-19. Accuracy was measured by calibration (calibration curves and Hosmer-Lemeshov (H-L) test), and discriminative power (area under the receiver operation curve (AUC-ROC). Negative and positive predictive values (NPV and PPV) were also obtained. Overall mortality rate was 22.4 %. Only ACP and Shi et al. out of 10 specific COVID-19 indices could be assessed. All indices but CURB-65 showed a good calibration by H-L test, whilst PROFUND, ACP and CURB-65 showed best results in calibration curves. Only CURB-65 (AUC-ROC = 0.81 [0.75-0.87])) and PROFUND (AUC-ROC = 0.67 [0.6-0.75])) showed good discrimination power. The highest NPV was obtained by CURB-65 (95 % [90-98%]), PROFUND (93 % [77-98%]), and their combination (100 % [82-100%]); whereas CURB-65 (74 % [51-88%]), and its combination with PROFUND (80 % [50-94%]) showed highest PPV. PROFUND and CURB-65 indices showed the highest accuracy in predicting death-risk of elderly patients affected by COVID-19, whereas Charlson and recent developed COVID-19 specific tools lacked it, or were not available to assess. A comprehensive clinical stratification on two-level basis (basal death risk due to chronic conditions by PROFUND index, plus current death risk due to COVID-19 by CURB-65), could be an appropriate approach.

Hip fracture co-management in the elderly in a tertiary referral hospital: A cohorts study. / Comanejo de la fractura de cadera del anciano en un hospital de tercer nivel: un estudio de cohortes.

INTRODUCTION: Hip fracture in the elderly is one of the most prevalent diagnoses in Orthopedic Surgery Departments. It has a great impact in medical, economic and social terms. Our objective is to analyze clinical impact of a co-management care model between orthopedic surgery and internal medicine departments for elderly patients admitted with hip fracture in a tertiary referral hospital. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients older than 65 years old admitted with hip fracture between January 2005-August 2006 (HIST cohort) without a co-management care model, and between January 2008-August 2010 (COFRAC cohort) with a co-manEdadment care model. Analysis of demographic, clinical and surgery characteristics, complications incidence and mortality and re-admissions at 30 days was made. RESULTS: A total of 701 patients were included (471 HIST, 230 COFRAC). There were no differences in sex, gender, time to surgery, type of anesthesia and surgery, length of stay, ambulation at discharge and 30-days emergency room consultation, readmissions or mortality at 30 days. There were differences in identification of polypatological patients (16.8 vs. 24.4%, P=0.02), presence of osteoporosis (3.9 vs. 7.6%, P=0.03), motor deficit (3.5 vs. 8.8%, P=0.03), number of chronic drugs (3.7±2.5 vs. 4.3±3.2, P<0.01), diagnosis of delirium (15.6 vs. 20.9%, P=0.048), constipation (80.3 vs. 74.7%, p<0.001), monitoring of anemia (83.3 vs. 97.1%, P>0.01) and renal failure at discharge (44.5 vs. 97.3%, P<0.01) and hospital mortality (4.6 vs. 1.3%, P=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Co-management for elderly patients admitted with hip fracture provides a better information about previously chronic conditions, a higher control of hospital complications and decreases hospital mortality.

Simplification of the Barthel scale for screening for frailty and severe dependency in polypathological patients. / Simplificación de la escala de Barthel para el cribado de fragilidad y dependencia severa en pacientes pluripatológicos.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive (PPV) and negative predictive (NPV) values of each measure of the Barthel index (BI) compared with the full questionnaire for polypathological patients (PPPs). METHODS: Multicentre cross-sectional study. We considered 2 cut-off points for the BI (≥90 points for screening frailty and <60 points for diagnosing severe dependence). For each measure and combination of 2 measures, we calculated the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV with respect to the full BI. RESULTS: The mean BI of the 1,632 included PPPs (mean age, 77.9±9.8years; 53% men) was 69±31 (<90 for 58.7% and <60 for 31.4% of the patients). The "feeding" measure achieved the highest NPV, for a BI ≥60 and ≥90 points (87% and 99.6%, respectively). The "walking" and "going up and down stairs" measures achieved the highest PPV, for a BI ≥60 and ≥90 (99.2%/99.5% and 81%/92%, respectively. The combination of the 2 measures increased the PPV to 95% and 99.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: PPPs in hospital settings have a high rate of functional impairment. The measure for feeding achieved the highest NPV and can therefore be employed for diagnosing severe dependence. The combination of the measures for walking and going up and down stairs achieved the highest PPV and can therefore be employed to propose frailty screening for PPPs.

Diagnostic value of a simplified Pfeiffer questionnaire for polypathological patients. / Valor diagnóstico de un cuestionario de Pfeiffer simplificado en pacientes pluripatológicos.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse the correlation, sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive (PPV) and negative predictive (NPV) values of each question on the Pfeiffer questionnaire (SPMSQ) compared with the full questionnaire for polypathological patients (PPPs). METHODS: Multicentre cross-sectional study. An SPMSQ score is considered pathological if 3 or more errors are recorded. For each question and combination of 2 questions, we calculated the correlation (kappa index), sensitivity, specificity and predictive values compared with the full SPMSQ. RESULTS: Of the 1632 PPPs included (mean age, 77.9±9.8 years, 53% men), 1434 performed the SPMSQ (the remaining presented delirium); 39% of the PPPs were pathological. The question "What day is it today?" and the command "Count backwards by 3s from 20" obtained good correlation and NPV (85 and 89%, respectively); the combination of both increased the NPV to 97%. The question "When were you born?' achieved good correlation and greater PPV (93%). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of the question "What day is it today?" and the command "Count backwards by 3s from 20" achieved a high NPV. The question related to the date of birth achieved the highest PPV.

Prognostic stratification and healthcare approach in patients with multiple pathologies. / Estratificación pronóstica y abordaje asistencial de los pacientes pluripatológicos.

Polypathological patients constitute a prevalent, fairly homogeneous population, which is characterised by high clinical complexity, substantial vulnerability and significant resource consumption, in addition to high mortality and the need for comprehensive, coordinated care. It is particularly important to establish a reliable prognosis in these patients. It is also extremely useful for professionals involved in the decision-making process for patients and their families in vital planning and their preferences, for strategic health planning in management fields, and for clinical research, by facilitating their incorporation into clinical trials and other intervention studies. Two prognostic instruments stand out in terms of suitability for polypathological patients: PROFUND and PROFUNCTION. The former faithfully stratifies the risk of dying at 12 months and four years and the latter, the risk of suffering a significant functional deterioration at 12 months. In terms of the healthcare approach in patients with multiple pathologies, creating and executing a consensual, personalised action plan that is adapted to the patient's reality is encouraged. The plan will consider the prognosis, and the evidence and viability of interventions; its ultimate aim will be to ensure the synergy and alignment of the health team's goals and strategies with peoples' values and preferences, in order to achieve a more proactive health model focused on supporting patients in their ability to manage their illnesses. In the personalised action plan, the main areas of intervention are: health promotion and prevention; patient and caregiver activation and self-management; activation of a social support network and social support; optimisation of pharmacotherapy; rehabilitation, functional and cognitive preservation measures; and anticipated decision planning.

Concordance of Barthel Index, ECOG-PS, and Palliative Performance Scale in the assessment of functional status in patients with advanced medical diseases.

OBJECTIVE: Analysing most relevant clinical features and concordance between different functional scales in patients with advanced medical diseases (PAMD). METHODS: Cross-sectional multicentre study that included PAMD (heart, lung, kidney, liver, and neurological diseases) in hospital settings from February 2009 to October 2010. We analysed clinical, biological and functional features in performing activities of daily living (ADL) by medians of Barthel Index (BI); additionally we assessed their performance status by medians of Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group-Performance Status (ECOG-PS) and Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) scores. We evaluated the concordance of these instruments in assessing functional impairment by κ and intraclass correlation coefficient tests. RESULTS: 1847 patients were included (average age 79 years, 50.1% men). Most common symptoms were dyspnoea (62.31%), asthenia (23%) and delirium (20.14%). Functional assessment showed a high prevalence of severe or total impairment in performing basic ADL by medians of used instruments (BI median=35 (IQR=70), and 52.1% of patients with severe-total impairment; ECOG-PS median=2 (IQR 30), and 44% of patients with severe-total impairment; and PPS median=50 (IQR 30), and 32% of patients with severe-total impairment). Concordance among these instruments was acceptably good (κ indexes ranging from 0.653 to 0.745 (p<0.0001)). CONCLUSIONS: PAMD represent a population with severe functional impairment, which requires a multidisciplinary approach for proper management. Assessment of functional ability in this population by BI, ECOG-PS, and PPS showed good concordance.

[Concordance between stratification systems and identification of patients with multiple chronic diseases in Primary Care]. / Concordancia entre sistemas de estratificación e identificación de pacientes crónicos complejos en Atención Primaria.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of patients with multiple chronic diseases in Primary Care using the multiple morbidity criteria and Clinical Risk Groups, and the agreement in identifying high-risk patients that require case management with both methods. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 240 patients, selected by random sampling of 16 care quotas from two Primary Health Care centres of a health area. Informed consent was obtained to access their electronic medical records for the study, and a record was made of age, sex, health status of Clinical Risk Groups, severity, multiple morbidity criteria, and Charlson index by physicians during clinical practice. Three patients were excluded due to incomplete data. RESULTS: The prevalence of patients with multiple chronic diseases following the criteria of the Ministry of Health among users was 4.11 (95% CI; 2.13-7.30). The frequency of patients with high risk Clinical Risk Groups (G3) in the chronicity strategy of Valencian Community was 7.59 (95% CI; 4.70-11.70), which includes patients with health status 6 and complexity level 5-6, and health status 7, 8, and 9. Agreement between the two classifications was low, with a kappa index 0.17 (95% CI; 0-0.5) CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence did not differ significantly from that expected, and the agreement between the two stratifications was very weak, not selecting the same patients for highly complex case management.

Validation of PROFUND prognostic index over a four-year follow-up period.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The PROFUND index stratifies accurately the 12-month mortality risk of polypathological patients (PPs), but its fitness over a longer follow-up period remains unknown. We aimed to explore the calibration and discrimination power of PROFUND index over 4-years, in order to assess its follow-up interval generalizability. DESIGN: Multicenter prospective cohort-study. SETTING: 33 Spanish hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: PPs included after hospital discharge, outpatient clinics, or home hospitalization. MEASUREMENTS: Mortality over a 4-year follow-up period. METHODS: PROFUND index calibration was assessed by risk-quartiles predicted/observed mortality (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test), and its discrimination power by ROC curves. RESULTS: A total of 768 patients were included (630 [82%] of them completed the 4-year follow-up). Global mortality rate was 63.5%. When assessing individual patient scores, mortality was 52% in the lowest risk group (0-2 points in PROFUND score); 73.5% in the low-intermediate risk group (3-6 points), 85% in the intermediate-high group (7-10 points); and 92% in the highest risk group (≥11 points). Accuracy testing of the PROFUND index showed good calibration (P=.8 in the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test), and also a good discrimination power (AUC=0.71 [0.67-0.77] in ROC curve). CONCLUSIONS: The PROFUND index maintained its accuracy in predicting mortality of polypathological patients over a 4-year follow-up period. This index may be of potential usefulness in deciding the most appropriate health-care interventions in populations with multimorbidity.

Treatment compliance in chronic illness: Current situation and future perspectives. / Adherencia terapéutica en la enfermedad crónica: estado de la situación y perspectiva de futuro.

Long-term chronic diseases have a high mortality rate around the world, affecting both genders equally. Despite improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of various health problems, lack of treatment compliance remains an obstacle to improving health and patient quality of life, and it carries a high associated socio-healthcare cost. The objectives of this study were to develop the concept of «therapeutic adherence¼, which includes both pharmacological compliance as well as non-pharmacological (level of agreement and patient involvement, lifestyle changes, etc.) treatments. The study also aimed to establish the clinical and socio-health impact of non-compliance, the reasons for non-compliance, and methods and strategies to improve compliance. The results of this study support therapeutic adherence as an essential goal of the healthcare system that encompasses all stakeholders involved in patient health.

Adaptation of the Palliative Prognostic Index in patients with advanced medical conditions.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the accuracy of the Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) in patients with advanced medical diseases and to recalibrate it in order to adapt it to the profile of these patients. METHODS: Multicenter, prospective, observational study that included patients with one or more advanced medical diseases. Calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness of fit) and discriminative power (ROC and area under the curve [AUC]) of PPI were analyzed in the prediction of mortality at 180 days. Recalibration was carried out by analyzing the scores on the PPI of each quartile upward of dying probability. Accuracy of PPI was compared with that obtained for the Charlson index. RESULTS: Overall mortality of the 1.788 patients was 37.5%. Calibration in the prediction of mortality was good (goodness of fit with P=.21), the prognostic probabilities ranging from 0-0,25 in the first quartile of risk and from 0,48-0,8 in the last quartile. Discriminative power was acceptable (AUC=69; P=.0001). In recalibrated groups, mortality of patients with 0/1-2/2.5-9.5/≥10 points was 13, 23, 39 and 68%, respectively. Sensitivity (S) and negative predicative value (NPF) of the cutoff point above 0 points were 96 and 87%, respectively; while specificity (sp) and positive predictive value (PPV) of the cutoff point above 9.5 points were 95 and 68%. Calibration of the Charlson index was good (P=.2), and its discriminative power (AUC=.52; P=.06) was suboptimal. CONCLUSIONS: PPI can be a useful tool in predicting 6-month survival of patients with advanced medical conditions.

[Health care models for patients with multiple chronic conditions and the role of the hospital pharmacy/the hospital pharmacist]. / Modelos de atención al paciente pluripatológico y el papel de la farmacia hospitalaria.

INTRODUCTION: Managing care for patients with chronic conditions currently represents one of the greatest challenges to health care systems. As a subgroup of these patients, those with multiple chronic conditions are at greater risk for death or disability, and they consume more resources. They are characterized by the coexistence of two or more chronic illnesses lasting a year or longer which require ongoing medical attention and/or interfere with their daily activities. For these polypathological patients pharmaceutical care would be of special benefit, thus, their needs should be a priority objective for hospital pharmacy. OBJECTIVE: To increase awareness of this type of patients and the characteristics of the principal approaches and health care models proposed to improve chronic disease management, as well as to emphasize the urgency for hospital pharmacists to join these models, and to present various activities that pharmacists might carry out as an integral part of these approaches. RESULTS: Numerous models exist internationally, including the Chronic Care Model and the Kaiser Permanente pyramid of risks. In our country a growing number of initiatives has culminated in the recent Seville Declaration. For the hospital pharmacy, caring for the chronically ill patient following a model that is multi-professional, cooperative, integral, and patient centered, is an enormous task. Pharmacy departments and the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy should reorient their strategies for pharmaceutical care, training, and research. Of special interest are those activities designed to improve adherence, adequacy, and continuity in treatments, all the while emphasizing active patient participation.

A multi-institutional, hospital-based assessment of clinical, functional, sociofamilial and health-care characteristics of polypathological patients (PP).

Little is known about the main features of the emergent population of PP. Our objective was to determine the clinical, care and social characteristics of a multi-institutional population of PP, by means of a cross-sectional study including a reference population of hospital-based PP from 36 hospitals. The main clinical, functional, mental and social features and their associated factors were assessed: 1632 PP (53% males, mean age 77.9±9.8 years) were included. An informal caregiver was required by 52% (78% of caregivers were close female relatives). The mean inclusion criteria (Cat): were 2.7±0.8 (49.5% presented ≥3 Cat). The most frequent inclusion Cat were heart (77.5%), lung (45.6%), neurological (38.2%), and kidney diseases (32.2%), whereas the mean of other comorbidities was 4.5±2.7 per PP. The mean Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) was 4; 47.6%, and 52.4% presented dyspnea ≥3 on the NYHA, and on the MRC, respectively; nearly 19% required home oxygen therapy, 19% had suffered >1 fall in previous year, and 11% suffered an active neoplasia. The mean hospital admissions in last 12/3 months, and chronically prescribed drugs were 2/1, and 8±3, respectively. More than 70% presented obesity, while 60% had hypoalbuminemia. The basal/inclusion Barthel index (BI) score was 69±31/58±34 (BI score<60 was present in 31.5%/44%, respectively); and the mean Pfeiffer score was 2.94±3.2 (43% answered with ≥3 errors). More than half of the subjects were at risk or already had established social problems. This emergent population is considerably homogeneous, highly complex, clinically vulnerable, functionally impaired, dependent on caregivers and socially fragile. They need to receive more attention in clinical research and more support in health interventions based on comprehensive attention and continuity of care.

Development of a new predictive model for polypathological patients. The PROFUND index.

BACKGROUND: There is a concern about the accuracy of the available prognostic indexes when applying them to the emergent population of polypathological patients (PP). METHODS: To develop a 1-year mortality predictive index on PP, we developed a multicenter prospective cohort-study recruiting 1.632 PP after hospital discharge, outpatient clinics, or home hospitalization, from 33 hospitals. Potential risk factors were obtained in the 1.525 PP who completed follow-up. Each factor independently associated with mortality in the derivation cohort (757 PP from western hospitals) was assigned a weight, and risk scores were calculated by adding the points of each factor. Accuracy was assessed in the validation cohort (768 PP from eastern hospitals) by risk quartiles calibration, and discrimination power, by ROC curves. Finally, accuracy of the index was compared with that of the Charlson index. RESULTS: Mortality in the derivation/validation cohorts was 35%/39.5%, respectively. Nine independent mortality predictors were identified to create the index (age ≥85 years, 3 points; No caregiver or caregiver other than spouse, 2 points; active neoplasia, 6 points; dementia, 3 points; III-IV functional class on NYHA and/or MRC, 3 points; delirium during last hospital admission, 3 points; hemoglobinemia <10 g/dl, 3 points; Barthel index <60 points, 4 points; ≥4 hospital admissions in last 12 months, 3 points). Mortality in the derivation/validation cohorts was 12.1%/14.6% for patients with 0-2 points; 21.5%/31.5% for those with 3-6 points; 45%/50% for those with 7-10 points; and 68%/61.3% for those with ≥11 points, respectively. Calibration was good in derivation/validation cohorts, and discrimination power by area under the curve was 0.77/0.7. Calibration of the Charlson index was good, but discrimination power was suboptimal (area under the curve, 0.59). CONCLUSIONS: This prognostic index provides an accurate and transportable method of stratifying 1-year death risk in PP.

Peeking through the cracks: an assessment of the prevalence, clinical characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of people with polypathology in a hospital setting.

Little is known about the prevalence of the recently defined polypathology notion in hospital populations. Patients admitted to medical wards were assessed using established criteria of polypathology. Prevalence of polypathology, interobserver reliability, clinical features, nutritional status, and HRQoL were assessed using clinical data and interview, mini-nutritional assessment (MNA), and the 12-item short-form health survey (SF-12) scales. Of a total of 812 patients studied, 196 (24%) met polypathology criteria (65% men, of mean age 71.3+/-11.6 years, mean defining chronic diseases 2.4+/-0.046, and other comorbidities 2.6+/-0.094). Interobserver reliability for the detection of cases was good (kappa=0.628). Their mean Charlson index/prescribed drugs were 3.3/6, respectively. Severe dyspnea, delirium, or active neoplasia were present in 44, 15, and 11%. A bad nutritional status/risk of malnutrition was evident in 10.3/52.6%, and correlated with the number of previous hospitalizations (p=0.041), and the presence of active neoplasia (p=0.037). Mean physical/mental summaries of HRQoL were 33.9+/-10, and 42+/-13, and correlated with a better nutritional status (p=0.011, and p=0.001, respectively). Polypathology affects one quarter of inpatients in a hospital setting, and can be easily and reliably identified. The diversity and complexity of patient needs underscore the need for continuity of care between community and hospital, crossing sub-speciality lines and institutional boundaries.

[Evaluation of the satisfaction with a care coordination program between Primary Care and general internists]. / Evaluación de la satisfacción de un programa de colaboración entre Atención Primaria y Medicina Interna.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the level of knowledge, participation and satisfaction with a continuity of care program between Primary Care and a group of general internists, and to analyse the most frequent reasons for consulting. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study including all primary care physicians from 10 Family Practice Care Centres using a questionnaire containing these objectives. RESULTS: Eighty-three family physicians (92.2%) answered the survey. All physicians knew of the collaboration program and had also participated. The most common clinical problems seen were: patients with multiple health problems(26.5%), cardiovascular risk factors (16.8%) and diagnosis of the asthenia syndrome (141%), with these three problems obtaining the best evaluation in the satisfaction survey. Almost all (98.8%) of the family physicians were satisfied with the program. CONCLUSIONS: Our continuity care program was very well evaluated in the satisfaction survey by family physicians. The participation index was very high and the clinical problems most frequently consulted and best evaluated were those that traditionally have been seen by the internists.