Demographics, comorbidities, and laboratory parameters in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV2 infection at a community hospital in rural Pennsylvania.

INTRODUCTION: Inherent differences as well as health disparities among rural and urban populations warrant further studies focused on the characteristics and outcomes in COVID-19 patients in a rural setting. The aim of this study was to describe these elements in patients infected with SARS-CoV2, hospitalized at a single center in rural Pennsylvania. METHODS: Patients with SARS-CoV2 infections hospitalized between March-December 2020 were studied. Data were obtained from electronic health records generated reports and was retrospectively analyzed. Patients were classified into three groups according to severity. Distribution of variables was studied among these three groups. Using certain variables, we ran logistic regression analysis to study the odds of death and requirement of mechanical ventilation (MV). RESULTS: Among 335 hospitalized patients infected with SARS-CoV2, age more than 65 years increased the severity of clinical status and in-hospital mortality. Gender did not affect odds of death nor need for MV. Hypertension was the most common comorbidity, but diabetes mellitus and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increased the risk of death. In terms of laboratory parameters, our data suggests that maximum LDH marginally increased the risk of death and maximum WBC marginally increased the risk of need for MV and death. CONCLUSION: Through our basic analysis of various characteristics of SARS-CoV2 positive patients admitted in a rural hospital, we have identified certain risk factors associated with severe disease and increased in-hospital mortality. These were found to be largely similar to current literature from studies in urban populations, bolstering the reproducibility and generalizability of existing knowledge. This information lays the foundation for future studies to investigate the role of these factors in morbidity and mortality associated with COVID-19 in depth.

False Negative Urine Pregnancy Test: Hook Effect Revealed.

The urine pregnancy kit tests are commonly used in women of childbearing age to detect pregnancy. However, these tests may fail to detect pregnancy, rarely leading to inadvertent lab and radiation exposure. The hook-effect is a rare but important phenomenon, rendering the kit tests false negative due to an improper antigen-antibody ratio.

Caregiver Needs Assessment in Primary Care: Views of Clinicians, Staff, Patients, and Caregivers.

OBJECTIVES: To understand current practices, challenges, and opportunities for a systematic assessment of family caregivers' needs and risks in primary care. DESIGN: Qualitative study consisting of in-depth semi-structured interviews. SETTING: Four primary care practices located in urban and rural settings. PARTICIPANTS: Primary care clinicians, staff, and administrators (N = 30), as well as older adult patients and family caregivers (N = 40), recruited using purposive and maximum variation sampling. MEASUREMENTS: Current experiences, challenges, and opportunities for integrating standardized caregiver assessment into primary care delivery. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed; transcripts were analyzed using the constant comparative method of data analysis. RESULTS: Participating clinicians had been in practice for an average of 12.8 years (range = 1-36 y). Patients had a mean age of 84.0 years (standard deviation [SD] = 9.7); caregivers had a mean age of 67.0 years (SD = 9.3). There was wide variability in current practices for identifying caregivers' needs and risks, encompassing direct and indirect approaches, when such issues are considered. Participants posited that integrating standardized caregiver assessment into primary care delivery could help improve patient care, enhance clinician-caregiver communication, and validate caregivers' efforts. Barriers to assessment included insufficient time and reimbursement, liability concerns, lack of awareness of community resources, and concerns about patient autonomy. To facilitate future uptake of caregiver assessment, participants recommended brief self-administered assessment tools and post-screen discussions with practice staff. CONCLUSION: Identification of caregivers' needs and risks in primary care is highly variable. Integration of standardized caregiver assessment into practice requires coordinated changes to policy, revision of practice workflows, and an interdisciplinary approach to the development of appropriate assessment tools. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1262-1270, 2020.

Epstein Barr Virus-induced Antiphospholipid Antibodies Resulting in Splenic Infarct: A Case Report.

Splenic infarction is a rare cause of abdominal pain. We herein reported a unique case of a 30-year-old male patient who developed a splenic infarct during the acute phase of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated infectious mononucleosis (IM) and was subsequently found to have the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (APA).

Causation and Treatment Algorithms for Elderly Patients who have Fallen in the Twin Tiers.

Introduction One-third of people aged 65 years of age and older fall annually. Vitamin D is key in maintaining muscle mass and bone structure. The purpose of this quality improvement project is to evaluate the current treatment of elderly patients who experience falls, educate providers on the importance of vitamin D, and measure the changes. Methods We obtained baseline data from the electronic medical records (EMR) of patients who had experienced falls from over a two-year period. We also surveyed providers from the departments of internal medicine (IM) and family medicine (FM) to evaluate fall treatment, educated providers on new protocols, reviewed EMRs of patients that had fallen and surveyed FM and IM providers after education. Results We found that vitamin D supplementation and home health (HH) referral were marginally improved after education and that significant improvement was found in patients being referred to physical therapy (PT). Conclusion Establishing a fall treatment protocol leads to more consistent care among FM and IM providers. Reviewing and updating of the protocol based on outcomes and subsequent research is recommended for improvement in patient care.

Intravascular lymphomatosis presenting as systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

Intravascular lymphomatosis is an unusual form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma characterized by intravascular proliferation of atypical lymphoid cells in multiple organs. It can cause systemic inflammatory response syndrome due to primary release of cytokines by the tumor cells or secondary release of cytokines after vascular occlusion by the tumor cells. It is a potentially fatal condition, because multiorgan failure can ensue due to thrombotic vascular occlusion. This is a very rare condition and most cases are diagnosed post mortem. We present a case of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and subsequent death from multiorgan failure in a patient with intravascular lymphoma.