Prolonged Prehospital Time Is a Risk Factor for Pneumonia in Trauma (the PRE-TRIP Study): A Retrospective Analysis of the United States National Trauma Data Bank.

BACKGROUND: Although multiple risk factors for development of pneumonia in patients with trauma sustained in a motor vehicle accident have been studied, the effect of prehospital time on pneumonia incidence post-trauma is unknown. RESEARCH QUESTION: Is prolonged prehospital time an independent risk factor for pneumonia? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed prospectively collected clinical data from 806,012 motor vehicle accident trauma incidents from the roughly 750 trauma hospitals contributing data to the National Trauma Data Bank between 2010 and 2016. RESULTS: Prehospital time was independently associated with development of pneumonia post-motor vehicle trauma (P < .001). This association was primarily driven by patients with low Glasgow Coma Scale scores. Post-trauma pneumonia was uncommon (1.5% incidence) but was associated with a significant increase in mortality (P < .001, 4.3% mortality without pneumonia vs 12.1% mortality with pneumonia). Other pneumonia risk factors included age, sex, race, primary payor, trauma center teaching status, bed size, geographic region, intoxication, comorbid lung disease, steroid use, lower Glasgow Coma Scale score, higher Injury Severity Scale score, blood product transfusion, chest trauma, and respiratory burns. INTERPRETATION: Increased prehospital time is an independent risk factor for development of pneumonia and increased mortality in patients with trauma caused by a motor vehicle accident. Although prehospital time is often not modifiable, its recognition as a pneumonia risk factor is important, because prolonged prehospital time may need to be considered in subsequent decision-making.

The dialysis facility levels and sizes are associated with outcomes of incident hemodialysis patients.

The outcomes of patients with incident kidney failure who start hemodialysis are influenced by several factors. Whether hemodialysis facility characteristics are associated with patient outcomes is unclear. We included adults diagnosed as having kidney failure requiring hemodialysis during January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2013 from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to perform this retrospective cohort study. The exposures included different sizes and levels of hemodialysis facilities. The outcomes were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, infection-related death, hospitalization, and kidney transplantation. During 2001-2013, we identified 74,406 patients and divided them in to three groups according to the facilities where they receive hemodialysis: medical center (n = 8263), non-center hospital (n = 40,008), and clinic (n = 26,135). The multivariable Cox model demonstrated that a larger facility size was associated with a low mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] 0.991, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.984-0.998; every 20 beds per facility). Compared with medical centers, patients in non-center hospitals and clinics had higher mortality risks (HR 1.13, 95% CI 1.09-1.17 and HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06-1.15, respectively). Patients in medical centers and non-center hospitals had higher risk of hospitalization (subdistribution HR [SHR] 1.11, 95% CI 1.10-1.12 and SHR 1.22, 95% CI 1.21-1.23, respectively). Patients in medical centers had the highest rate of kidney transplantation among the three groups. In patients with incident kidney failure, a larger hemodialysis facility size was associated with lower mortality. Overall, medical center patients had a lower mortality rate and higher transplantation rate, whereas clinic patients had a lower hospitalization risk.

Significance of Hospital Size in Outcomes of Single-Level Elective Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: A Nationwide Readmissions Database Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To elucidate risk factors for 90-day readmission in anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for small, medium, and large hospitals. To assess differences in length of stay, charges, and complication rates across hospitals of different size. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using elective, single-level ACDF data from 2016 to 2018 in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Readmissions Database. Elective single-level ACDF cases were stratified into 3 groups by hospital bed size (small, medium, and large). All-cause complication rates, mean charges, length of stay, and 90-day readmission rates were compared across hospital size. Frequencies of specific comorbidities were compared between readmitted and nonreadmitted patients for each hospital size. Comorbidities significant on univariate analysis were evaluated as independent risk factors for 90-day readmission for each hospital size using multivariate regression. RESULTS: The overall 90-day readmission rate was 6.43% in 36,794 patients, and the rates for small, medium, and large hospitals were 6.25%, 6.28%, and 6.56%, respectively (P = 0.537). Length of stay increased significantly with hospital size (P < 0.001), and small hospitals had the lowest charges (P < 0.001). Although different independent predictors of 90-day readmission were identified for each hospital size, cardiac arrhythmia, chronic pulmonary disease, neurologic disorders, and rheumatic disease were identified as risk factors for hospitals of all sizes. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital size is a determining factor for charges and length of stay associated with elective single-level ACDF. Variation in risk factors for readmission exists across hospital size in context of similar 90-day readmission rates.

Fifteen-Year Trends in Incidence of Cardiogenic Shock Hospitalization and In-Hospital Mortality in the United States.

Background There is a lack of contemporary data on cardiogenic shock (CS) in-hospital mortality trends. Methods and Results Patients with CS admitted January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2018, were identified from the US National Inpatient Sample. We reported the crude and adjusted trends of in-hospital mortality among the overall population and selected subgroups. Among a total of 563 949 644 hospitalizations during the period from January 1, 2004, to December 30, 2018, 1 254 358 (0.2%) were attributed to CS. There has been a steady increase in hospitalizations attributed to CS from 122 per 100 000 hospitalizations in 2004 to 408 per 100 000 hospitalizations in 2018 (Ptrend<0.001). This was associated with a steady decline in the adjusted trends of in-hospital mortality during the study period in the overall population (from 49% in 2004 to 37% in 2018; Ptrend<0.001), among patients with acute myocardial infarction CS (from 43% in 2004 to 34% in 2018; Ptrend<0.001), and among patients with non-acute myocardial infarction CS (from 52% in 2004 to 37% in 2018; Ptrend<0.001). Consistent trends of reduced mortality were seen among women, men, different racial/ethnic groups, different US regions, and different hospital sizes, regardless of the hospital teaching status. Conclusions Hospitalizations attributed to CS have tripled in the period from January 2004 to December 2018. However, there has been a slow decline in CS in-hospital mortality during the studied period. Further studies are necessary to determine if the recent adoption of treatment algorithms in treating patients with CS will further impact in-hospital mortality.

Adoption rates of electronic health records in Turkish Hospitals and the relation with hospital sizes.

BACKGROUND: Nation-wide adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) in hospitals has become a Turkish policy priority in recognition of their benefits in maintaining the overall quality of clinical care. The electronic medical record maturity model (EMRAM) is a widely used survey tool developed by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to measure the rate of adoption of EHR functions in a hospital or a secondary care setting. Turkey completed many standardizations and infrastructural improvement initiatives in the health information technology (IT) domain during the first phase of the Health Transformation Program between 2003 and 2017. Like the United States of America (USA), the Turkish Ministry of Health (MoH) applied a bottom-up approach to adopting EHRs in state hospitals. This study aims to measure adoption rates and levels of EHR use in state hospitals in Turkey and investigate any relationship between adoption and use and hospital size. METHODS: EMRAM surveys were completed by 600 (68.9%) state hospitals in Turkey between 2014 and 2017. The availability and prevalence of medical information systems and EHR functions and their use were measured. The association between hospital size and the availability/prevalence of EHR functions was also calculated. RESULTS: We found that 63.1% of all hospitals in Turkey have at least basic EHR functions, and 36% have comprehensive EHR functions, which compares favourably to the results of Korean hospitals in 2017, but unfavorably to the results of US hospitals in 2015 and 2017. Our findings suggest that smaller hospitals are better at adopting certain EHR functions than larger hospitals. CONCLUSION: Measuring the overall adoption rates of EHR functions is an emerging approach and a beneficial tool for the strategic management of countries. This study is the first one covering all state hospitals in a country using EMRAM. The bottom-up approach to adopting EHR in state hospitals that was successful in the USA has also been found to be successful in Turkey. The results are used by the Turkish MoH to disseminate the nation-wide benefits of EHR functions.

Determinants of aggression against all health care workers in a large-sized university hospital.

BACKGROUND: The paper aims to describe the 3-year incidence (2015/17) of aggressive acts against all healthcare workers to identify risk factors associated to violence among a variety of demographic and professional determinants of assaulted, and risk factors related to the circumstances surrounding these events. METHODS: A retrospective observational study of all 10,970 health workers in a large-sized Italian university hospital was performed. The data, obtained from the "Aggression Reporting Form", which must be completed by assaulted workers within 72 h of aggression, were collected for the following domains: worker assaulted (sex, age class, years worked); profession (nurses, medical doctors, non-medical support staff, administrative staff, midwives); aggressive acts (activity type during aggressive acts, season, time and location of aggressive acts); and type of aggressive acts (verbal, non-verbal, consequences, aggressors). RESULTS: Three hundred sixty-four (3.3%) workers experienced almost one aggression. The majority of the assaulted workers were female (77.5%), had worked for 6/15 years and were Nurses (64.3%). The majority of aggressive acts occurred during assistance and patient care (38.2%), in the spring and during the afternoon/morning shifts and took place in locations where patients were present (47.3%). The most prevalent aggression type was verbal (76.9%). The patient was the most common aggressor (46.7%). 56% of those assaulted experienced interruptions in their work. Being female, being < 50 years of age, having worked for 6-15 years were significant risk factors for aggression. Midwives suffered the highest risk of experiencing aggression (RR = 12.95). The risk analysis showed that non-verbally aggressive acts were related to assistance and patient care with respect to activity type, to the presence of patients and during the spring and afternoon/evening. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest the parallel use of future qualitative studies to clarify the motivation behind aggression. These suggestions are needed for the implementation of additional adequate prevention strategies on either an organizational or a personal level.

Hospital volume-outcome relationship in severe traumatic brain injury: stratified analysis by level of trauma center.

OBJECTIVE: The nature of the volume-outcome relationship in cases with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains unclear, with considerable interhospital variation in patient outcomes. The objective of this study was to understand the state of the volume-outcome relationship at different levels of trauma centers in the United States. METHODS: The authors queried the National Trauma Data Bank for the years 2007-2014 for patients with severe TBI. Case volumes for each level of trauma center organized into quintiles (Q1-Q5) served as the primary predictor. Analyzed outcomes included in-hospital mortality, total hospital length of stay (LOS), and intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Multivariable regression models were performed for in-hospital mortality, overall complications, and total hospital and ICU LOSs to adjust for possible confounders. The analysis was stratified by level designation of the trauma center. Statistical significance was established at p < 0.001 to avoid a type I error due to a large sample size. RESULTS: A total of 122,445 patients were included. Adjusted analysis did not demonstrate a significant relationship between increasing hospital volume of severe TBI cases and in-hospital mortality, complications, and nonhome hospital discharge disposition among level I-IV trauma centers. However, among level II trauma centers, hospital LOS was longer for the highest volume quintile (adjusted mean difference [MD] for Q5: 2.83 days, 95% CI 1.40-4.26 days, p < 0.001, reference = Q1). For level III and IV trauma centers, both hospital LOS and ICU LOS were longer for the highest volume quintile (adjusted MD for Q5: LOS 4.6 days, 95% CI 2.3-7.0 days, p < 0.001; ICU LOS 3.2 days, 95% CI 1.6-4.8 days, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Higher volumes of severe TBI cases at a lower level of trauma center may be associated with a longer LOS. These results may assist policymakers with target interventions for resource allocation and point to the need for careful prehospital decision-making in patients with severe TBI.

Laparoscopic Versus Open Cholecystectomy in Pediatric Patients: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Background: As minimally invasive pediatric surgery becomes standard approach to many surgical solutions, access has become an important point for improvement. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is the gold standard for many conditions affecting the gallbladder; however, open cholecystectomy (OC) is offered as the initial approach in a surprisingly high percentage of cases. Materials and Methods: The Kids' Inpatient Database (1997-2012) was searched for International Classification of Disease, 9th revision, Clinical Modification procedure code (51.2x). LC and OC performed in patients <20 years old were identified. Propensity score-matched analyses using 39 variables were performed to isolate the effects of race, income group, location, gender, payer status, and hospital size on the percentage of LCs and OCs offered. Cases were weighted to provide national estimates. Results: A total of 78,578 cases were identified, comprising LC (88.1%) and OC (11.9%). Girls were 1.6 (CI: 1.4, 1.7) times more likely to undergo LC versus boys. Large facilities were 1.4 (1.3, 1.7) times more likely to perform LCs than small facilities. Children in lower income quartiles were 1.2 (1.1, 1.3) times more likely to undergo LC compared with those in higher income quartiles. Rates of LC were not affected by race, hospital location, or payer status. Conclusions: Risk-adjusted analysis of a large population-based data set demonstrated evidence that confirms, but also refutes, traditional disparities to minimally invasive surgery access. Despite laparoscopic gold standard, OC remains the initial approach in a surprisingly high percentage of pediatric cases independent of demographics or socioeconomic status. Additional research is required to identify factors affecting the distribution of LC and OC within the pediatric population.

Relationship between hospital size and teaching status on outcomes for reverse shoulder arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The use of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) continues to grow with expanding indications and increased surgeon awareness. Previous data for other lower extremity joint replacements indicate that high-volume centers have better outcomes, with lower complication rates, decreased length of stay, and complications for both hemiarthroplasty and total shoulder arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of hospital size and setting on adverse events for RSA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Inpatient Sample database was queried for RSA performed using ICD-9 codes. Primary outcomes included length of stay (LOS), total hospital charges, discharge disposition, and postoperative complications. Odds ratios were used to assess the risk of inpatient postoperative complications. RESULTS: A weighted national estimate of 24,056 discharges for patients undergoing RSA was included in the study. Patients at larger hospitals experienced higher total charges, increased average LOS, and slightly higher complication rates compared to those of small and medium hospitals. Patients in larger hospitals had significantly increased rates of genitourinary and central nervous system complications, while patients in small/medium hospitals experienced higher rates of hematoma/seroma. CONCLUSION: Results from this study indicate that large and non-teaching hospitals overall tend to burden the patients with higher hospital charges, longer hospital stay, and more frequent non-routine discharges. Also, larger hospitals are associated with higher risk of genitourinary and central nervous system complications rates, whereas non-teaching hospitals are associated with lower risk of infection and higher risk of anemia after RSA. With the growth in RSA in the USA, continued attention needs to be placed on improving outcomes and resource utilization for RSA patients even in larger hospitals.

Changes In Physician Consolidation With The Spread Of Accountable Care Organizations.

While early evidence suggests that accountable care organizations (ACOs) are associated with higher quality and lower costs, there have been simultaneous concerns that ACOs may incentivize consolidation of physician groups. This is particularly concerning as previous research has shown that consolidation is associated with lower quality and higher prices. Using a difference-in-differences strategy and data from the Medicare Shared Savings Program, which began in 2012, we examined whether physician practices consolidated after ACOs entered health care markets. We observed a 4.0-percentage-point increase in large practices (those with fifty or more physicians) in counties with the greatest ACO penetration, compared to counties with zero ACO penetration, and a 2.7-percentage-point decline in the percentage of small practices (ten or fewer physicians) from 2010 to 2015. The growth of large practices was concentrated in specialty and hospital-owned practices. These findings suggest that ACOs may contribute to the concentration of physician practices.

The Impact of Hospital Size on National Trends and Outcomes Following Open Esophagectomy.

Background and Objectives: Previous studies have demonstrated superior patient outcomes for thoracic oncology patients treated at high-volume surgery centers compared to low-volume centers. However, the specific role of overall hospital size in open esophagectomy morbidity and mortality remains unclear. Materials and Methods: Patients aged >18 years who underwent open esophagectomy for primary malignant neoplasia of the esophagus between 2002 and 2014 were identified using the National Inpatient Sample. Minimally invasive procedures were excluded. Discharges were stratified by hospital size (large, medium, and small) and analyzed using trend and multivariable regression analyses. Results: Over a 13-year period, a total of 69,840 open esophagectomy procedures were performed nationally. While the proportion of total esophagectomies performed did not vary by hospital size, in-hospital mortality trends decreased for all hospitals (large (7.2% to 3.7%), medium (12.8% vs. 4.9%), and small (12.8% vs. 4.9%)), although this was only significant for large hospitals (P < 0.01). After controlling for patient demographics, comorbidities, admission, and hospital-level factors, hospital length of stay (LOS), total inflation-adjusted costs, in-hospital mortality, and complications (cardiac, respiratory, vascular, and bleeding) did not vary by hospital size (all P > 0.05). Conclusions: After risk adjustment, patient morbidity and in-hospital mortality appear to be comparable across all institutions, including small hospitals. While there appears to be an increased push for referring patients to large hospitals, our findings suggest that there may be other factors (such as surgeon type, hospital volume, or board status) that are more likely to impact the results; these need to be further explored in the current era of episode-based care.

Epidemiology of Anaphylaxis in Critically Ill Children in the United States and Canada.

BACKGROUND: Anaphylaxis is a rapid-onset, multisystem, and potentially fatal hypersensitivity reaction with varied reports of prevalence, incidence, and mortality. There are limited cases reported of severe and/or fatal pediatric anaphylaxis. OBJECTIVE: This study describes the largest cohort of intensive care unit pediatric anaphylaxis admissions with a comprehensive analysis of identified triggers, clinical and demographic information, and probability of death. METHODS: We describe the epidemiology of pediatric anaphylaxis admissions to North American pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) that were prospectively enrolled in the Virtual Pediatric Systems database from 2010 to 2015. One hundred thirty-one PICUs in North America (United States and Canada) were queried for anaphylaxis International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision or International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes from the Virtual Pediatric Systems database from 2010 to 2015 in the United States and Canada. One thousand nine hundred eighty-nine patients younger than 18 years were identified out of 604,279 total number of patients admitted to a PICU in the database during this time frame. RESULTS: The primary outcome was mortality, which was compared with patient and admission data using Fisher exact test. Secondary outcomes (intubation, length of stay, mortality risk scores, systolic blood pressure, and pupillary reflex) were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test, as appropriate. One thousand nine hundred eighty-nine patients with an anaphylaxis International Classification of Diseases code were identified in the database. One percent of patients died because of critical anaphylaxis. Identified triggers for fatal cases were peanuts, milk, and blood products. Peanuts were the most common trigger. Children were mostly male when younger than 13 years, and mostly female when 13 years and older. Average length of stay was 2 days. There was a higher proportion of Asian patients younger than 2 years or when the trigger was food. CONCLUSIONS: This is the largest study to describe pediatric critical anaphylaxis cases in North America and identifies food as the most common trigger. Death occurs in 1% of cases, with intubation occurring most commonly in the first hour. The risk for intensive care unit admission in children underscores the serious nature of anaphylaxis in this population.

Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization in Texas 1999 to 2010.

The primary purpose of the study was to examine the role public sector payers (Medicare and Medicaid) and providers (Texas state mental health hospitals) play in psychiatric hospitalization, using Texas annual hospital discharge files from 1999 to 2010. Psychiatric hospitalization, as defined by a primary behavioral health diagnosis (ICD-9 diagnoses 290-314.99) averaged 146,876 discharges per year, approximately 5.24% of all hospitalizations in the state. Children younger than 18 years accounted for 27,035 discharges per year. The top 4 diagnostic groups were depression (29%), bipolar disorder (22%), schizophrenia (18%), and alcohol-drug disorders (14%). More patients with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders were served by the public sector, while more patients with depression or alcohol-drug disorders were served by private insurance. Interestingly, patients with bipolar disorder were distributed relatively evenly across both payment groups and ages. Length of stay decreased from 10.5 days in 1999 to 8.1 days in 2010. Most psychiatric discharges (69%) were served by a small group of 42 large psychiatric hospitals.

Interhospital transfer in low-volume and high-volume emergency departments and survival outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A nationwide observational study and propensity score-matched analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Post-resuscitation care of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients often involves inter-hospital transfer (IHT). We aimed to determine the association between IHT and outcomes of OHCA. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used data from the nationwide emergency medical services (EMS)-based OHCA registry in Korea. All cases of adult patients with OHCA with a presumed cardiac aetiology and a sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) at hospitals between 2015 and 2016 were analysed. The primary outcome was a good neurological recovery at discharge, defined as cerebral performance in categories 1 or 2. We compared the primary outcome between a non-IHT group and an IHT group, using a propensity score-matching analysis. All analyses were performed separately by mean annual volume of patients with OHCA initially visiting high-volume emergency departments (HVEDs; >100 OCHA patients) and low-volume emergency departments (LVEDs; ≤100 OHCA patients). RESULTS: Of 54,779 OHCA patients, 11,632 were included. Of 4477 patients who visited LVEDs initially, 1360 (30%) patients were transferred. Of 7155 patients who visited HVEDs initially, 604 (8%) patients were transferred. In the propensity score-matching analysis, the IHT group was more likely to have good neurological recovery than was the non-IHT group [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.34; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-1.67] in LVED visitors, but there was no significant difference of good neurological recovery between the non-IHT group and the IHT group (adjusted OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.63-1.13) in HVED visitors. CONCLUSION: IHT should be considered when treating OHCA patients in LVEDs.

The demographics of dog bites due to K-9 (legal intervention) in the United States.

BACKGROUND: There is sparse literature regarding K-9 (legal intervention) dog bites. It was the purpose of this study to analyze the demographics of K-9 dog bites using a national data base. METHODS: This was a retrospective study of prospectively collected data from National Electronic Injury Surveillance System - All Injury Program for years 2005-2013. Patients with dog bites were identified and those due to legal intervention were analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed with SUDAAN 11.0.01™ software. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: There were an estimated 32, 951 K-9 dog bite ED visits, accounting for 1.1% of all ED dog bite visits. The K-9 group was nearly all male (95.0 vs 52.1%) and more commonly Black (42.0 vs 13.0%) compared to the non K-9 group. Bites to the head/neck and upper extremity were less frequent and lower extremity bites more frequent in the K-9 group; K-9 bites more commonly occurred outside the home. Within the K-9 group, the proportion of White patients increased with increasing age and smaller hospital size. Patients seen in small and medium size hospitals were in the middle age ranges, while those in the very young and >64 years of age were only seen at large hospitals. The average annual incidence of K-9 dog bites seen in the ED for US was 2.43 per 100,000 males with no changes over time. CONCLUSIONS: In the US, 1.1% of all ED visits for dog bites are due to K-9 intervention with no change in incidence, even though this study spanned the time when it was encouraged to change K-9 intervention; from "find and bite" to "find and bark". The K-9 dog bite patient is nearly always male, more commonly Black, occurred away from home, and has a 3.7% hospital admission rate. Bites to the head/neck are less common compared to the non K-9 dog bite group.

Radiation Dose for Pediatric CT: Comparison of Pediatric versus Adult Imaging Facilities.

Background The American College of Radiology Dose Index Registry for CT enables evaluation of radiation dose as a function of patient characteristics and examination type. The hypothesis of this study was that academic pediatric CT facilities have optimized CT protocols that may result in a lower and less variable radiation dose in children. Materials and Methods A retrospective study of doses (mean patient age, 12 years; age range, 0-21 years) was performed by using data from the National Radiology Data Registry (year range, 2016-2017) (n = 239 622). Three examination types were evaluated: brain without contrast enhancement, chest without contrast enhancement, and abdomen-pelvis with intravenous contrast enhancement. Three dose indexes-volume CT dose index (CTDIvol), size-specific dose estimate (SSDE), and dose-length product (DLP)-were analyzed by using six different size groups. The unequal variance t test and the F test were used to compare mean dose and variances, respectively, at academic pediatric facilities with those at other facility types for each size category. The Bonferroni-Holm correction factor was applied to account for the multiple comparisons. Results Pediatric radiation dose in academic pediatric facilities was significantly lower, with smaller variance for all brain, 42 of 54 (78%) chest, and 48 of 54 (89%) abdomen-pelvis examinations across all six size groups, three dose descriptors, and when compared with that at the other three facilities. For example, abdomen-pelvis SSDE for the 14.5-18-cm size group was 3.6, 5.4, 5.5, and 8.3 mGy, respectively, for academic pediatric, nonacademic pediatric, academic adult, and nonacademic adult facilities (SSDE mean and variance P < .001). Mean SSDE for the smallest patients in nonacademic adult facilities was 51% (6.1 vs 11.9 mGy) of the facility's adult dose. Conclusion Academic pediatric facilities use lower CT radiation dose with less variation than do nonacademic pediatric or adult facilities for all brain examinations and for the majority of chest and abdomen-pelvis examinations. © RSNA, 2019 See also the editorial by Strouse in this issue.

Estudio de la hiperfrecuentación en un distrito de atención primaria / Frequent attendance in a Primary Health Care District

Objetivo: Describir la distribución de los pacientes hiperfrecuentadores en los diferentes centros de atención primaria del Distrito Sanitario Córdoba-Guadalquivir. Métodos: Estudio de diseño ecológico, que incluye datos de 2011 a 2015. Se define hiperfrecuentador como aquel paciente que realiza más de 12 visitas por año. Se analiza de manera independiente para enfermería, medicina familiar y pediatría. Las variables dependientes son la prevalencia de hiperfrecuentación y la ratio de pacientes hiperfrecuentadores por profesional. Otras variables examinadas son las características demográficas de los usuarios del Distrito, el número de profesionales de la salud de cada centro y la utilización de las consultas por la población general. Para el estudio de la distribución de los hiperfrecuentadores se clasifican los centros de atención primaria en función del tamaño y del medio territorial (urbano, suburbano y rural). Resultados: La prevalencia media de hiperfrecuentadores es, para enfermería, del 10,86% (error estándar [EE]: 0,5); para medicina familiar, del 21,70% (EE: 0,7); y para pediatría, del 16,96% (EE: 0,7). Las ratios de pacientes hiperfrecuentadores en las diferentes categorías profesionales son 101,07 (EE: 5,0) para enfermería; 239,74 (EE: 9,0) para medicina familiar y 159,54 (EE: 9,8) para pediatría. Conclusiones: Existe una parte importante de usuarios de atención primaria que realiza un número elevado de consultas. De este grupo, las mujeres utilizan más las consultas de enfermería y medicina que los hombres. Se observa una mayor prevalencia en centros de menor tamaño en áreas rurales. Tomando como medida la ratio de pacientes hiperfrecuentadores por profesional, los centros de tamaño intermedio son los que presentan mayor hiperfrecuentación

Objective: To describe the distribution of frequent attenders (FA) through the different primary care practices in Cordoba-Guadalquivir Health District (Córdoba, Spain). Methods: An ecological study was performed, including data from 2011 to 2015. Defining FA as those subjects who made12 or more appointments per year; independently analysed for nursing, general practice and paediatrics. Prevalence of frequent attendance and FA/professional ratio were used as dependent variables. Demographic characteristics from district population, number of health professionals and use of general facilities were also examinated. Aiming to understand FA distribution, primary health settings were classified according to facility size and environmental location (urban, suburban and rural). Results: The mean prevalence for FA was 10.86% (0.5 SE) for nursing; general practice 21.70% (0.7 SE) and for paediatrics 16.96% (0.7 SE). FA/professional ratios for the different professional categories were: 101.07 (5.0 SE) for nursing, 239.74 (9.0 SE) for general practice and 159.54 (9.8 SE) for paediatrics. Conclusions: A major part of primary health care users make a high number of consultations. From this group, women overuse nursing and general practitioner services more compared to men. A higher prevalence of FAs was observed in smaller settings, in rural areas. Although taking the FAs:professional ratio as the bar, medium-size practices are more highly overused

[Waiting Times For Admission Into A Psychotherapeutic Inpatient Treatment - Results of A Prospective Study In South-Württemberg]. / Wartezeiten auf die Aufnahme in eine Psychosomatische Klinik ­ Ergebnisse einer prospektiven Studie in Südwürttemberg.

INTRODUCTION: Waiting times for the admission into a so called psychosomatic hospital in Germany prevent the necessary immediate treatment. They lead to further incapacity for work and chronic manifestation of the disease. It is reported that most psychosomatic hospitals have waiting times, but there are no studies on data on that. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to access prospectively in a defined region, how long it takes for the patients to get an outpatient preliminary talk and thereafter, how long they have to wait for their admission. METHODS: 7 hospitals out of the region of South-Württemberg took part on this study, 2 of them had bigger day hospitals. Data were assessed prospectively in 2015 over 9 months, in total 916 admissions were assessed. RESULTS: The waiting time until a preliminary talk, in which the indication for inpatient treatment was secured, was in the mean 25 days (SD=31). The waiting time after this talk until admission was 56 days (SD=47). Patients who waited for a day treatment had to wait even longer. An urgency remark, given by the therapist of the preliminary talk, as well as a private illness insurance led to shorter waiting times. The diagnosis had no influence on the waiting time. CONCLUSIONS: The waiting times are substantial and imply a burden for the patient and also for the health care system. It is recommended to assess and publish these waiting times on a regularly basis. Politics, but also the actors in the health care system should discuss if and how this deficit can be changed.

Capacity assessment of the health laboratory system in two resource-limited provinces in China.

BACKGROUND: Strong laboratory capacity is essential for detecting and responding to emerging and re-emerging global health threats. We conducted a quantitative laboratory assessment during 2014-2015 in two resource-limited provinces in southern China, Guangxi and Guizhou in order to guide strategies for strengthening core capacities as required by the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). METHODS: We selected 28 public health and clinical laboratories from the provincial, prefecture and county levels through a quasi-random sampling approach. The 11-module World Health Organization (WHO) laboratory assessment tool was adapted to the local context in China. At each laboratory, modules were scored 0-100% through a combination of paper surveys, in-person interviews, and visual inspections. We defined module scores as strong (> = 85%), good (70-84%), weak (50-69%), and very weak (< 50%). We estimated overall capacity and compared module scores across the provincial, prefecture, and county levels. RESULTS: Overall, laboratories in both provinces received strong or good scores for 10 of the 11 modules. These findings were primarily driven by strong and good scores from the two provincial level laboratories; prefecture and county laboratories were strong or good for only 8 and 6 modules, respectively. County laboratories received weak scores in 4 modules. The module, 'Public Health Functions' (e.g., surveillance and reporting practices) lagged far behind all other modules (mean score = 46%) across all three administrative levels. Findings across the two provinces were similar. CONCLUSIONS: Laboratories in Guangxi and Guizhou are generally performing well in laboratory capacity as required by IHR. However, we recommend targeted interventions particularly for county-level laboratories, where we identified a number of gaps. Given the importance of surveillance and reporting, addressing gaps in public health functions is likely to have the greatest positive impact for IHR requirements. The quantitative WHO laboratory assessment tool was useful in identifying both comparative strengths and weaknesses. However, prior to future assessments, the tool may need to be aligned with the new WHO IHR monitoring and evaluation framework.

The Sustain and Spread Framework: strategies for sustaining and spreading nutrition care improvements in acute care based on thematic analysis from the More-2-Eat study.

BACKGROUND: Successful improvements in health care practice need to be sustained and spread to have maximum benefit. The rationale for embedding sustainability from the beginning of implementation is well recognized; however, strategies to sustain and spread successful initiatives are less clearly described. The aim of this study is to identify strategies used by hospital staff and management to sustain and spread successful nutrition care improvements in Canadian hospitals. METHODS: The More-2-Eat project used participatory action research to improve nutrition care practices. Five hospital units in four Canadian provinces had one year to improve the detection, treatment, and monitoring of malnourished patients. Each hospital had a champion and interdisciplinary site implementation team to drive changes. After the year (2016) of implementing new practices, site visits were completed at each hospital to conduct key informant interviews (n = 45), small group discussions (4 groups; n = 10), and focus groups (FG) (11 FG; n = 71) (total n = 126) with staff and management to identify enablers and barriers to implementing and sustaining the initiative. A year after project completion (early 2018) another round of interviews (n = 12) were conducted to further understand sustaining and spreading the initiative to other units or hospitals. Verbatim transcription was completed for interviews. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts, FG notes, and context memos was completed. RESULTS: After implementation, sites described a culture change with respect to nutrition care, where new activities were viewed as the expected norm and best practice. Strategies to sustain changes included: maintaining the new routine; building intrinsic motivation; continuing to collect and report data; and engaging new staff and management. Strategies to spread included: being responsive to opportunities; considering local context and readiness; and making it easy to spread. Strategies that supported both sustaining and spreading included: being and staying visible; and maintaining roles and supporting new champions. CONCLUSIONS: The More-2-Eat project led to a culture of nutrition care that encouraged lasting positive impact on patient care. Strategies to spread and sustain these improvements are summarized in the Sustain and Spread Framework, which has potential for use in other settings and implementation initiatives. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Retrospectively registered ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02800304 , June 7, 2016.