Bridging the gap: a resident-led transitional care clinic to improve post hospital care in a safety-net academic community hospital.

The transitional period between hospital discharge and primary care follow-up is a vulnerable time for patients that can result in adverse health outcomes and preventable hospital readmissions. This is especially true for patients of safety-net hospitals (SNHs) who often struggle to secure primary care access when leaving the hospital due to social, economic and cultural barriers. In this study, we describe a resident-led postdischarge clinic that serves patients discharged from NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, an urban safety-net academic hospital. In our multivariable analysis, there was no statistical difference in the readmission rate between those who completed the transitional care management and those who did not (OR 1.32 (0.75-2.36), p=0.336), but there was a statistically significant increase in primary care provider (PCP) engagement (OR 0.53 (0.45-0.62), p<0.001). Overall, this study describes a postdischarge clinic model embedded in a resident clinic in an urban SNH that is associated with increased PCP engagement, but no reduction in 30-day hospital readmissions.

EAACI Molecular Allergology User's Guide 2.0.

Since the discovery of immunoglobulin E (IgE) as a mediator of allergic diseases in 1967, our knowledge about the immunological mechanisms of IgE-mediated allergies has remarkably increased. In addition to understanding the immune response and clinical symptoms, allergy diagnosis and management depend strongly on the precise identification of the elicitors of the IgE-mediated allergic reaction. In the past four decades, innovations in bioscience and technology have facilitated the identification and production of well-defined, highly pure molecules for component-resolved diagnosis (CRD), allowing a personalized diagnosis and management of the allergic disease for individual patients. The first edition of the "EAACI Molecular Allergology User's Guide" (MAUG) in 2016 rapidly became a key reference for clinicians, scientists, and interested readers with a background in allergology, immunology, biology, and medicine. Nevertheless, the field of molecular allergology is moving fast, and after 6 years, a new EAACI Taskforce was established to provide an updated document. The Molecular Allergology User's Guide 2.0 summarizes state-of-the-art information on allergen molecules, their clinical relevance, and their application in diagnostic algorithms for clinical practice. It is designed for both, clinicians and scientists, guiding health care professionals through the overwhelming list of different allergen molecules available for testing. Further, it provides diagnostic algorithms on the clinical relevance of allergenic molecules and gives an overview of their biology, the basic mechanisms of test formats, and the application of tests to measure allergen exposure.

The Effect of Pedal Pump Lymphatic Technique Versus Passive Recovery Following Maximal Exercise: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial.

CONTEXT: Muscle damage and delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) can occur following intense exercise. Various modalities have been studied to improve blood lactate accumulation, which is a primary reason for DOMS. It has been well established that active recovery facilitates blood lactate removal more rapidly that passive recovery due to the pumping action of the muscle. The pedal pump is a manual lymphatic technique used in osteopathic manipulative medicine to increase lymphatic drainage throughout the body. Pedal pump has been shown to increase lymphatic flow and improve immunity. This may improve circulation and improve clearance of metabolites post-exercise. OBJECTIVE: This study compared the use of pedal pump lymphatic technique to passive supine recovery following maximal exercise. METHODS: 17 subjects (male n = 10, age 23 ± 3.01; female n = 7, age 24 ± 1.8), performed a maximal volume O2 test (VO2 max) using a Bruce protocol, followed by a recovery protocol using either pedal pump technique or supine passive rest for 10 min, followed by sitting for 10 min. Outcome measures included blood lactate concentration (BL), heart rate (HR), systolic blood pressure (SBP) and VO2. Subjects returned on another day to repeat the VO2 max test to perform the other recovery protocol. All outcomes were measured at rest, within 1- minute post-peak exercise, and at minutes 4, 7, 10 and 20 of the recovery protocols. A 2 × 6 repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare outcome measures (p ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: No significant differences were found in VO2, HR, or SBP between any of the recovery protocols. There was no significant difference in BL concentrations for recovery at minutes 4, 7, or 10 (p > 0.05). However, the pedal pump recovery displayed significantly lower BL concentrations at minute 20 of recovery (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: The pedal pump significantly decreased blood lactate concentrations following intense exercise at recovery minute 20. The use of manual lymphatic techniques in exercise recovery should be investigated further.