A High-Value Care Initiative to Reduce the Use of Intravenous Magnesium Sulfate Through an Electronic Indication-Based Order Set.

BACKGROUND: Intravenous (IV) magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) supplementation is common despite limited indications. Oral magnesium oxide (MgO) is an effective, lower-cost alternative. This project aimed to reduce IV MgSO4 use by 20% among the Internal Medicine (IM) service. METHODS: Electronic health record (EHR) orders for MgSO4 and MgO within the IM service were replaced with an indication-based EHR order panel. The project team educated clinicians regarding indications for IV MgSO4 and relative costs. The mean of daily 2 g MgSO4 administrations per week and the mean of weekly proportion of 2 g MgSO4 administrations nine months before and after intervention were compared between IM and Emergency Medicine (EM) (control group). Statistical process control analysis was used to assess for special cause variation in daily MgSO4 per week and weekly proportion of MgSO4 administrations. RESULTS: The mean of daily 2 g IV MgSO4 administrations per week decreased among IM (19.3 vs. 12.1, p < 0.0001) but not EM (3.1 vs. 4.8, p < 0.0001). The mean of weekly proportions of IV MgSO4 administrations decreased among both IM (83.6% vs. 60.7%, p < 0.0001) and EM (97.0% vs. 93.1%, p = 0.0004). For IM, the change in daily MgSO4 per week and weekly proportion of MgSO4 occurred as a discrete initial decline consistent with special cause variation; for EM, changes in both measures were not consistent with special cause variation. CONCLUSION: Replacing stand-alone IV MgSO4 orders with an indication-based order panel along with clinician education reduced IV MgSO4 administrations and may offer a significant opportunity to reduce low-value care.

Geographic barriers to prenatal care access and their consequences.

BACKGROUND: Although prenatal care has long been viewed as an important strategy toward improving maternal morbidity and mortality, limited data exist that support the premise that access to prenatal care impacts perinatal outcomes. Furthermore, little is known about geographic barriers that impact access to care in an underserved population and how this may influence perinatal outcomes. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to (1) evaluate perinatal outcomes among women with and without prenatal care and (2) examine barriers to receiving prenatal care according to block-level data of residence. We hypothesized that women without prenatal care would have worse outcomes and more barriers to receiving prenatal care services. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women delivering at ≥24 weeks' gestation in a large inner-city public hospital system. Maternal and neonatal data were abstracted from the electronic health record and a community-wide data initiative data set, which included socioeconomic and local geographic data from diverse sources. Maternal characteristics and perinatal outcomes were examined among women with and without prenatal care. Prenatal care was defined as at least 1 visit before delivery. Outcomes of interest were (1) preterm delivery at <37 weeks' gestation, (2) preeclampsia or eclampsia, and (3) days in the neonatal intensive care unit after delivery. Barriers to care were analyzed, including public transportation access and location of the nearest county-sponsored prenatal clinic according to block-level location of residence. Statistical analysis included chi-square test and analysis of variance with logistic regression performed for adjustment of demographic features. RESULTS: Between January 1, 2019, and October 31, 2019, 9488 women received prenatal care and 326 women did not. Women without prenatal care differed by race and were noted to have higher rates of substance use (P=.004), preterm birth (P<.001), and longer lengths of newborn admission (P<.001). After adjustment for demographic features, higher rates of preterm birth in women without prenatal care persisted (adjusted odds ratio, 2.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.95-3.55). Women without prenatal care resided in areas that relied more on public transportation and required longer transit times (42 minutes vs 30 minutes; P=.005) with more bus stops (29 vs 17; P<.001) to the nearest county-sponsored prenatal clinic. CONCLUSION: Women without prenatal care were at a significantly increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. In a large inner city, women without prenatal care resided in areas with significantly higher demands for public transportation. Alternative resources, including telemedicine and ridesharing, should be explored to reduce barriers to prenatal care access.

Using Community Partnerships to Integrate Health and Social Services for High-Need, High-Cost Patients.

Issue: Our health care and social services delivery systems are not well-equipped to effectively manage patients with multiple chronic diseases and complex social needs such as food, housing, or substance abuse services. Community-level efforts have emerged across the nation to integrate the activities of disparate social service organizations with local health care delivery systems. Evidence on the experiences and outcomes of these programs is emerging, and there is much to learn about their approaches and challenges. Goal: Profile and classify burgeoning initiatives, understand common challenges, and surface solutions to address those challenges. Methods: Mixed-methods approach, including literature search, surveys, semistructured interviews with program leaders, and consultation with expert panels. Findings and Conclusions: We categorized cross-sector community partnerships in four dimensions. We also identified five common challenges: inadequate strategies to sustain cost-savings, improvement, and funding; lack of accurate and timely measurement of return on investment; lack of mechanisms to share potential savings between health care and social services providers; lack of expertise to integrate multiple data sources during health care or social services provision; and lack of a cross-sector workflow evidence base.

Vitamin K2 supplementation and arterial stiffness among renal transplant recipients-a single-arm, single-center clinical trial.

Subclinical vitamin K deficiency is prevalent among renal transplant recipients and is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the association between vitamin K supplementation and improvement of arterial stiffness has not been explored in the renal transplant population. The KING trial (vitamin K2 In reNal Graft) is a single-arm study that evaluated the association between the change in vitamin K status and indices of arterial stiffness following 8 weeks of menaquinone-7 (vitamin K2) supplementation (360 µg once daily) among renal transplant recipients (n = 60). Arterial stiffness was measured using carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). Subclinical vitamin K deficiency was defined as plasma concentration of dephosphorylated-uncarboxylated matrix Gla protein (dp-ucMGP) >500 pmol/L.At baseline, 53.3% of the study subjects had subclinical vitamin K deficiency. Supplementation was associated with a 14.2% reduction in mean cfPWV at 8 weeks (cfPWV pre-vitamin K2 = 9.8 ± 2.2 m/s vs. cfPWV post-vitamin K2 = 8.4 ± 1.5 m/s; P < .001). Mean dp-ucMGP concentrations were also significantly reduced by 55.1% following menaquinone-7 supplementation with a reduction in the prevalence of subclinical deficiency by 40% (P = .001). When controlled for age, durations of hemodialysis and transplantation, and the change in 24-hour mean arterial pressure, the improvement in arterial stiffness was independently associated with the reduction in dp-ucMGP concentration (P = .014).Among renal transplant recipients with stable graft function, vitamin K2 supplementation was associated with improvement in subclinical vitamin K deficiency and arterial stiffness. (Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02517580).

Hypotonic and hyporesponsive episodes after diptheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis vaccination.

Administration of the discontinued diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine was occasionally associated with a hypotonic-hyporesponsive episode in infants. The whole bacterial cell pertussis component was the likely culprit. For this reason, an acellular pertussis component was developed and incorporated into a new vaccine commonly called diptheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP). Administration of DTaP vaccine has been followed by remarkably few hypotonic or hyporesponsive episodes. This report describes one of these unusual events.

Cyclosporine lymphocyte maximum level: a new alternative for cyclosporine monitoring in kidney transplantation.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the relationship between clinical outcome, lymphocyte count (LC), and cyclosporine (CsA) lymphocyte maximum level (LT(m)L) in kidney transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CsA LT(m)L was determined in patients with biopsy-proven graft dysfunction and in patients with normal graft function. Clinical outcome was compared according to CsA LT(m)L, dosage, blood trough (C(0)) and maximum (C(max)) levels, hematocrit level, and LC. RESULTS: Rejecting patients had significantly lower LT(m)L than did those with normal graft function (27 -/+ 11 pg/Lc vs 71 -/+ 79 pg/Lc; P < 0.01) and similar LTmL to those with nephrotoxicity (27 -/+ 8 pg/Lc). Patients with normal graft function exhibited significantly lower LC (0.001292 -/+ 696 x 10(9)/L) and serum creatinine levels (88.4 -/+ 35 micromol/L) when compared with rejecting patients (0.001717 -/+ 364 x 10(9)/L, 132.6 -/+ 8.8 micromol/L) and those with nephrotoxicity (0.001884 -/+ 582 x 10(9)/L, 123.7 -/+ 8.8 micromol/L) (P < 0.03, P < 0.001). No significant difference was observed among the 3 groups with regard to CsA dosage, C(0), C(max), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) dosage, and mycophenolic acid (MPA) plasma levels. CsA LT(m)L closely correlated in an exponential (R(2) = 0.98) and linear (R(2) = 0.35) fashion with LC and hematocrit level, respectively. Conversely, CsA C(max) failed to correlate with C(0) and these 2 latter parameters. Weak correlations were observed between CsA C(max) and its corresponding LT(m)L. CONCLUSIONS: CsA LT(m)L appears to correlate better than CsA C(max) with rejection-free outcome and LC. An increase in hematocrit appears to have an adverse effect on CsA lymphocyte binding. CsA LT(m)L may offer a new alternative for CsA monitoring in kidney transplantation.