Atrial fibrillation: real-life experience of a rhythm control with electrical cardioversion in a community hospital.

BACKGROUND: Atrial fibrillation is the most prevalent sustained cardiac arrhythmia. Electrical cardioversion, a well-established part of the rhythm control strategy, is probably underused in community settings. Here, we describe its use, safety, and effectiveness in a cohort of patients with atrial fibrillation treated in rural settings. METHODS: It is a retrospective cohort study. Data on all procedures from January 1, 2016, till December 1, 2022, in Tarusa Hospital, serving mostly a rural population of 15,000 people, were extracted from electronic health records. Data on the procedure's success, age, gender, body mass index, comorbidities, previous procedures, echocardiographic parameters, type and duration of arrhythmia, anticoagulation, antiarrhythmic drugs, transesophageal echocardiography, and settings were available. RESULTS: Altogether, 1,272 procedures in 435 patients were performed during the study period. The overall effectiveness of the procedure was 92%. Effectiveness was similar across all prespecified subgroups. Electrical cardioversion was less effective in patients undergoing the procedure for the first time (86%, 95% CI: 82-90) compared to repeated procedures (95%, 95% CI: 93-96), OR 0.39 (95% CI: 0.26-0.59). Complications were encountered in 13 (1.02%) procedures but were not serious. CONCLUSIONS: Electrical cardioversion is an immediately effective procedure that can be safely performed in community hospitals, both in inpatient and outpatient settings. Further studies with longer follow-up are needed to investigate the rate of sinus rhythm maintenance in these patients.

Providing information about medication changes upon discharge from a geriatric unit: the community healthcare professionals' point of view.

INTRODUCTION: It is well known that polypharmacy is associated with adverse drug events. Accordingly, specialist geriatric units have to pay particular attention to the appropriateness of prescription and the withdrawal of potentially inappropriate medications. Even though community healthcare professionals are keen to received medication reconciliation results, the literature data show that the quality of communication between the hospital and the community needs to be improved. OBJECTIVE: To assess community healthcare professionals' opinions about the receipt of medication reconciliation results when a patient is discharged from a specialist geriatric unit. METHOD: We performed a qualitative study of general practitioners, community pharmacists and retirement home physicians recruited by phone in the Indre-et-Loire region of France. A grounded theory method was used to analyze interviews in multidisciplinary focus groups. RESULTS: The 17 community healthcare professionals first explained why the receipt of medication reconciliation results was important to them: clarifying the course and outcomes of hospital stays and reducing the lack of dialogue with the hospital, so that the interviewees could provide the care expected of them. The interviewees also described mistrust of the hospital and uncertainty when the modifications were received; these two concepts accentuated each other over time. Lastly, they shared their opinions about the information provided by the hospital, which could improve patient safety and provide leverage for treatment changes but also constituted a burden. PERSPECTIVES: Our participants provided novel feedback and insight, constituting the groundwork for an improved medication reconciliation form that could be evaluated in future research. Exploring hospital-based professionals' points of view might help to determine whether the requested changes in the medication reconciliation form are feasible and might provide a better understanding of community-to-hospital communication.

A command centre implementation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a community hospital.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the study was to assess the effects of high-reliability system by implementing a command centre (CC) on clinical outcomes in a community hospital before and during COVID-19 pandemic from the year 2016 to 2021. METHODS: A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted at an acute care community hospital. The administrative data included monthly average admissions, intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, average length of stay, total ICU length of stay, and in-hospital mortality. In-hospital acquired events were recorded and defined as one of the following: cardiac arrest, cerebral infarction, respiratory arrest, or sepsis after hospital admissions. A subgroup statistical analysis of patients with in-hospital acquired events was performed. In addition, a subgroup statistical analysis was performed for the department of medicine. RESULTS: The rates of in-hospital acquired events and in-hospital mortality among all admitted patients did not change significantly throughout the years 2016 to 2021. In the subgroup of patients with in-hospital acquired events, the in-hospital mortality rate also did not change during the years of the study, despite the increase in the ICU admissions during the COVID-19 pandemic.Although the in-hospital mortality rate did not increase for all admitted patients, the in-hospital mortality rate increased in the department of medicine. CONCLUSION: Implementation of CC and centralized management systems has the potential to improve quality of care by supporting early identification and real-time management of patients at risk of harm and clinical deterioration, including COVID-19 patients.

The Radical Welcome Engagement Restoration Model and Assessment Tool for Community-Engaged Partnerships.

People experiencing addiction, houselessness, or who have a history of incarceration have worse health outcomes compared with the general population. This is due, in part, to practices and policies of historically White institutions that exclude the voices, perspectives, and contributions of communities of color in leadership, socio-economic development, and decision-making that matters for their wellbeing. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches hold promise for addressing health inequities. However, full engagement of people harmed by systemic injustices in CBPR partnerships is challenging due to inequities in power and access to resources. We describe how an Allentown-based CBPR partnership-the Health Equity Activation Research Team of clinicians, researchers, and persons with histories of incarceration, addiction, and houselessness-uses the Radical Welcome Engagement Restoration Model (RWERM) to facilitate full engagement by all partners. Data were collected through participatory ethnography, focus groups, and individual interviews. Analyses were performed using deductive coding in a series of iterative meaning-making processes that involved all partners. Findings highlighted six defining phases of the radical welcome framework: (a) passionate invitation, (b) radical welcome, (c) authentic sense of belonging, (d) co-creation of roles, (e) prioritization of issues, and (f) individual and collective action. A guide to assessing progression across these phases, as well as a 32-item radical welcome instrument to help CBPR partners anticipate and overcome challenges to engagement are introduced and discussed.

Facilitators and barriers to implementing an acute geriatric community hospital in the Netherlands: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: there is a trend across Europe to enable more care at the community level. The Acute Geriatric Community Hospital (AGCH) in the Netherlands in an acute geriatric unit situated in a skilled nursing facility (SNF). It provides hospital-level care for older adults with acute medical conditions. The aim of this study is to identify barriers and facilitators associated with implementing the AGCH in a SNF. METHODS: semi-structured interviews (n = 42) were carried out with clinical and administrative personnel at the AGCH and university hospital and stakeholders from the partnering care organisations and health insurance company. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: facilitators to implementing the AGCH concept were enthusiasm for the AGCH concept, organising preparatory sessions, starting with low-complex patients, good team leadership and ongoing education of the AGCH team. Other facilitators included strong collaboration between stakeholders, commitment to shared investment costs and involvement of regulators.Barriers to implementation were providing hospital care in an SNF, financing AGCH care, difficulties selecting patients at the emergency department, lack of protocols and guidelines, electronic health records unsuited for hospital care, department layout on two different floors and complex shared business operations. Furthermore, transfer of acute care to the community care meant that some care was not reimbursed. CONCLUSIONS: the AGCH concept was valued by all stakeholders. The main facilitators included the perceived value of the AGCH concept and enthusiasm of stakeholders. Structural financing is an obstacle to the expansion and continuation of this care model.

Hospitalization and evaluation of brief resolved unexplained events (BRUEs) from a statewide sample.

OBJECTIVE: The 2016 clinical practice guideline (CPG) replacing apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) with brief resolved unexplained event (BRUE) was associated with a reduction in hospitalizations and clinical testing among children with this condition in pediatric hospitals. However, as only a minority of acute-care encounters occur in dedicated pediatric centers, the overall effect of this CPG on children with ALTE/BRUE remains unknown. The purpose of this study is to examine changes in the diagnosis and management of BRUE in a statewide sample of non-pediatric hospitals following publication of the CPG. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of encounters of infants (<1 year) presenting to 178 non-pediatric Illinois Emergency Departments (EDs) between 2013 and 2019 with an International Classification of Disease (ICD) 9th and 10th revision billing code of ALTE or BRUE (799.82, ICD-9; R68.13, ICD-10). Our primary outcomes were counts of ALTE/BRUE and the percent of patients with ALTE/BRUE admitted and/or transferred to another facility. Our secondary outcome was clinical testing. We used interrupted time-series analysis for our primary outcome and chi-square testing for secondary outcomes. Results were stratified into academic and community EDs. RESULTS: This study included 4639 ED encounters for infants with BRUE that presented to academic EDs (2229; 48.0%) or community EDs (2410; 52.0%). At academic EDs, ALTE/BRUE diagnoses were increasing by 2.3 per quarter prior to the CPG publication and decreased by 0.5 per quarter after the CPG publication, representing a change in slope of -2.8 per quarter (p < 0.01). The percent of ALTE/BRUE patients admitted/transferred was decreasing by 0.1% per quarter in the pre-intervention period and decreased by 0.3% per quarter in the post-intervention period, representing a change in slope of 0.7% (p = 0.03). At community EDs, ALTE/BRUE diagnoses were increasing by 2.9 per quarter prior to the CPG publication and increased by 1.4 per quarter after the CPG publication, a non-significant change in slope. The percent of ALTE/BRUE patients admitted/transferred was decreasing by 1.6% in the pre-intervention period and decreased by 0.9% in the post-intervention period, a non-significant change in slope. At academic EDs, there was no significant change in clinical testing. At community EDs, a lower proportion of patients in the post-intervention period had chest radiographs, blood cultures, metabolic panels, blood counts, and urine testing, while a higher proportion had pertussis testing and respiratory pathogen testing. CONCLUSIONS: Counts of BRUE diagnoses and the overall proportion of children admitted or transferred showed a consistent decrease at academic EDs but had a nonsignificant change in trend at community EDs following the CPG publication in 2016. There was no significant change in clinical testing at academic EDs while community EDs had a significant decrease in some testing and an increase in other types of testing. Our findings suggest the need for greater implementation efforts in non-pediatric settings, specifically community EDs, where pediatric patients with BRUE present infrequently in order to optimize care for these children.

Optimizing inpatient bed management in a rural community-based hospital: a quality improvement initiative.

BACKGROUND: Appropriate use of available inpatient beds is an ongoing challenge for US hospitals. Historical capacity goals of 80% to 85% may no longer serve the intended purpose of maximizing the resources of space, staff, and equipment. Numerous variables affect the input, throughput, and output of a hospital. Some of these variables include patient demand, regulatory requirements, coordination of patient flow between various systems, coordination of processes such as bed management and patient transfers, and the diversity of departments (both inpatient and outpatient) in an organization. METHODS: Mayo Clinic Health System in the Southwest Minnesota region of the US, a community-based hospital system primarily serving patients in rural southwestern Minnesota and part of Iowa, consists of 2 postacute care and 3 critical access hospitals. Our inpatient bed usage rates had exceeded 85%, and patient transfers from the region to other hospitals in the state (including Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota) had increased. To address these quality gaps, we used a blend of Agile project management methodology, rapid Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, and a proactive approach to patient placement in the medical-surgical units as a quality improvement initiative. RESULTS: During 2 trial periods of the initiative, the main hub hospital (Mayo Clinic Health System hospital in Mankato) and other hospitals in the region increased inpatient bed usage while reducing total out-of-region transfers. CONCLUSION: Our novel approach to proactively managing bed capacity in the hospital allowed the region's only tertiary medical center to increase capacity for more complex and acute cases by optimizing the use of historically underused partner hospital beds.

Pediatric Chest Compression Improvement Via Augmented Reality Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Feedback in Community General Emergency Departments: A Mixed-Methods Simulation-Based Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: Yearly, more than 20,000 children experience a cardiac arrest. High-quality pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is generally challenging for community hospital teams, where pediatric cardiac arrest is infrequent. Current feedback systems are insufficient. Therefore, we developed an augmented reality (AR) CPR feedback system for use in many settings. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate whether AR-CPR improves chest compression (CC) performance in non-pediatric-specialized community emergency departments (EDs). METHODS: We performed an unblinded, randomized, crossover simulation-based study. A convenience sample of community ED nonpediatric nurses and technicians were included. Each participant performed three 2-min cycles of CC during a simulated pediatric cardiac arrest. Participants were randomized to use AR-CPR in one of three CC cycles. Afterward, participants participated in a qualitative interview to inquire about their experience with AR-CPR. RESULTS: Of 36 participants, 18 were randomized to AR-CPR in cycle 2 (group A) and 18 were randomized to AR-CPR in cycle 3 (group B). When using AR-CPR, 87-90% (SD 12-13%) of all CCs were in goal range, analyzed as 1-min intervals, compared with 18-21% (SD 30-33%) without feedback (p < 0.001). Analysis of qualitative themes revealed that AR-CPR may be usable without a device orientation, be effective at cognitive offloading, and reduce anxiety around and enhance confidence in the CC delivered. CONCLUSIONS: The novel CPR feedback system, AR-CPR, significantly changed the CC performance in community hospital non-pediatric-specialized general EDs from 18-21% to 87-90% of CC epochs at goal. This study offers preliminary evidence suggesting AR-CPR improves CC quality in community hospital settings.

A Novel Patient Selection Tool Is Highly Efficacious at Identifying Candidates for Outpatient Surgery When Applied to a Nonselected Cohort of Patients in a Community Hospital.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of validated selection tools to assess which patients can safely and predictably undergo same-day or 23-hour discharge in a community hospital. The purpose of this study was to assess the ability of our patient selection too to identify patients who are candidates for outpatient total joint arthroplasty (TJA) in a community hospital. METHODS: A retrospective review of 223 consecutive (unselected) primary TJAs was performed. The patient selection tool was retrospectively applied to this cohort to determine eligibility for outpatient arthroplasty. Utilizing length of stay and discharge disposition, we identified the proportion of patients discharged home within 23 hours. RESULTS: We found that 179 (80.1%) patients met eligibility criteria for short-stay TJA. Of the 223 patients in this study, 215 (96.4%) patients were discharged home; 17 (7.9%) were on the day of surgery, and 190 (88.3%) within 23 hours. Of the 179 eligible patients for short-stay discharge, 155 (86.6%) patients were discharged home within 23 hours. Overall, the sensitivity of the patient selection tool was 79%, the specificity was 92%, the positive predictive value was 87% and the negative predictive value was 96%. CONCLUSION: In this study, we found that more than 80% of patients undergoing TJA in a community hospital are eligible for short-stay arthroplasty with this selection tool. We found that this selection tool is safe and effective at predicting short-stay discharge. Further studies are needed to better ascertain the direct effects of these specific demographic traits on their effects on short-stay protocols.

Implementation of an interprofessional education program in a community teaching hospital and its impact on student perceptions of other healthcare professions.

In this single-center, prospective study we evaluated the impact of an interprofessional education program (IPE) on healthcare students' perceptions of other healthcare professions. The program consisted of four one-hour, roundtable, case-based sessions with students and several facilitators from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and physician assistant programs. Included students were 18 years of age or older and currently enrolled in a healthcare program during the study time frame. The primary outcome of student perceptions of other healthcare professions was measured by baseline and follow-up surveys using the Adapted Attitudes Toward Interprofessional Health Care Teams scale. Perceptions of students who participated in the IPEP (intervention group) were compared to similar healthcare program students who did not participate in the program (control group). Overall, the intervention group had significantly higher perceptions of other healthcare professions comparing pre-intervention to post -intervention data (pre-intervention mean ± SD of 57.2 ± 5.24; post-intervention mean 60.7 ± 5.63; p = .02). This improvement in perceptions was also seen when comparing the post-intervention group to the control group (control mean 56.7 ± 5.1; post-intervention mean 60.7 ± 5.63; p = .008).

Telestroke Process at a Community Hospital: A Quality Improvement Project.

INTRODUCTION: An updated stroke process was designed and implemented at an Acute Stroke Ready community hospital that relies on telestroke services. The objectives of the current quality improvement project were to describe the updates to the stroke process and compare pre- and postintervention data on nurse-driven elements of the process, namely telestroke notification and neurologist assessment. METHODS: Our multidisciplinary team reviewed quality data over several months to identify areas of improvement in the stroke process. Delays in door to telestroke notification and neurologist assessment were identified. A new process was developed and implemented, including e-alert notification and storing the telestroke cart in the computed tomography suite. The study period was 14 months, with nonrandomized, convenience sample data collected for 7 months before and after intervention. RESULTS: There was a significant reduction in door to telestroke notification and neurologist assessment after implementing the new process. Door to telestroke notification and neurologist assessment were also strongly correlated. DISCUSSION: This project led to significant improvements in nurse-driven elements of the stroke process. It demonstrates effective implementation of e-alert and collaboration with telestroke services at an Acute Stroke Ready Hospital serving rural communities.

Attitude toward care of the dying and practice of peaceful end-of-life care in community hospitals in China.

AIM: To evaluate nurses' attitude toward caring for dying patients, their practice of peaceful end-of-life care in community hospitals, and the association between these two variables. BACKGROUND: Community hospitals play an important role in the peaceful end-of-life care. For nurses, one of the key points of offering high-level care is to improve attitude. However, there are very few studies exploring how the attitude of nurses toward caring for dying patients relates to the practice of peaceful end-of-life care in community hospitals across China. METHODS: A total of 363 questionnaires were included in this study. Simple random sampling was used to recruit participants from six community hospitals in China. A new instrument, Nurses' Practice of Peaceful End-of-Life Care Instrument (NP-PECI), was developed according to the Theory of Peaceful End of Life to assess the practice of nurses. Besides, Frommelt Attitudes toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) was adopted to assess nurses for their attitude toward caring for dying patients. RESULTS: The nurses' attitude toward caring for dying patients showed a significant positive correlation with their practice of peaceful end-of-life care statistically (r = 0.175, p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: For community nurses, it is necessary to improve the attitude of nurses toward the practice of caring for dying patients, thus enhancing the outcome of peaceful end-of-life care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The Theory of Peaceful End of Life provides a theoretical framework and guideline on the practice of clinical nursing for quality control of peaceful end-of-life care, which is significant for improving the palliative care system. In the future, it is worth developing programs based on the Theory of Peaceful End of Life. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY: For healthcare policy makers, this study can be helpful to refine the existing palliative care support policies and strategies targeted at community hospitals and their nurses.

[Implementation, of multidisciplinary consultations for patients with inflammatory arthritis and treated with subcutaneous biologic DMARDs: Assessment at one year and outlook]. / Mise en place de consultations pluridisciplinaires pour des patients atteints de rhumatisme inflammatoire chronique et traités par biothérapie sous-cutanée : bilan à un an et perspectives.

INTRODUCTION: Biologics (bDMARDs) have revolutionized the prognosis of patients with inflammatory arthritis, but are not without serious side effects. The patient must be able to identify them, acquire self-care abilities or skills and adhere to their treatment. Multidisciplinary consultations, including a pharmaceutical consultation could improve the care of these patients. The pharmaceutical presence make it easier to switch to a biosimilar with etended patient support thanks to the community-hospital network. The return on investment is possible thanks to the more frequent use of biosimilars and the pricing of this type of consultation by the "Forfait de Prestation Intermédiaire". METHODOLOGY: Eligible patients are patients with rheumatoid arthritis or spondyloarthritis, treated with subcutaneous bDMARDs. The criteria assessed were patient's knowledge of their biotherapy using the Biosecure score, their medication adherence using the CQR-5, the total of switch to biosimilars perform and the financial statement of the consultations. An assessment of the actions deployed for the community-hospital network. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-five patients (47.4%) benefited multidisciplinary consultation. The mean score of the Biosecure score was 69.6/100 (moderate knowledge) and 261 patients (88.5%) were highly adherent. 57 patients (73%) accepted the switch to biosimilar. 197 pharmacy were contacted, all of witch for patients who receive the switch. Overall patient's satisfaction was 26.9/28. CONCLUSION: Multidisciplinary consultations with involvement of the pharmacist should optimized patient care and the management of outpatients treated with bDMARDs. Patients have already expressed their satisfaction with this course of care and the return on investment is positive.

Clinical characteristics, appropriateness of empiric antibiotic therapy, and outcome of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia across multiple community hospitals.

There is relatively little contemporary information regarding clinical characteristics of patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia (PAB) in the community hospital setting. This was a retrospective, observational cohort study examining the clinical characteristics of patients with PAB across several community hospitals in the USA with a focus on the appropriateness of initial empirical therapy and impact on patient outcomes. Cases of PAB occurring between 2016 and 2019 were pulled from 8 community medical centers. Patients were classified as having either positive or negative outcome at hospital discharge. Several variables including receipt of active empiric therapy (AET) and the time to receiving AET were collected. Variables with a p value of < 0.05 in univariate analyses were included in a multivariable logistic regression model. Two hundred and eleven episodes of PAB were included in the analysis. AET was given to 81.5% of patients and there was no difference in regard to outcome (p = 0.62). There was no difference in the median time to AET in patients with a positive or negative outcome (p = 0.53). After controlling for other variables, age, Pitt bacteremia score ≥ 4, and septic shock were independently associated with a negative outcome. A high proportion of patients received timely, active antimicrobial therapy for PAB and time to AET did not have a significant impact on patient outcome.

Delivering collaborative mental health care within supportive housing: implementation evaluation of a community-hospital partnership.

BACKGROUND: Approaches to address unmet mental health care needs in supportive housing settings are needed. Collaborative approaches to delivering psychiatric care have robust evidence in multiple settings, however such approaches have not been adequately studied in housing settings. This study evaluates the implementation of a shifted outpatient collaborative care initiative in which a psychiatrist was added to existing housing, community mental health, and primary care supports in a women-centered supportive housing complex in Toronto, Canada. METHODS: The initiative was designed and implemented by stakeholders from an academic hospital and from community housing and mental health agencies. Program activities comprised multidisciplinary support for tenants (e.g. multidisciplinary care teams, case conferences), tenant engagement (psychoeducation sessions), and staff capacity-building (e.g. formal trainings, informal ad hoc questions). This mixed methods implementation evaluation sought to understand (1) program activity delivery including satisfaction with these activities, (2) consistency with team-based tenant-centered care and with pre-specified shared lenses (trauma-informed, culturally safe, harm reduction), and (3) facilitators and barriers to implementation over a one-year period. Quantitative data included reporting of program activity delivery (weekly and monthly), staff surveys, and tenant surveys (post-group surveys following tenant psychoeducation groups and an all-tenant survey). Qualitative data included focus groups with staff and stakeholders, program documents, and free-text survey responses. RESULTS: All three program activity domains (multidisciplinary supports, tenant engagement, staff capacity-building) were successfully implemented. Main program activities were multidisciplinary case conferences, direct psychiatric consultation, tenant psychoeducation sessions, formal staff training, and informal staff support. Psychoeducation for tenants and informal/formal staff support were particularly valued. Most activities were team-based. Of the shared lenses, trauma-informed care was the most consistently implemented. Facilitators to implementation were shared lenses, psychiatrist characteristics, shared time/space, balance between structure and flexibility, building trust, logistical support, and the embedded evaluation. Barriers were that the initial model was driven by leadership, confusion in initial processes, different workflows across organizations, and staff turnover; where possible, iterative changes were implemented to address barriers. CONCLUSIONS: This evaluation highlights the process of successfully implementing a shifted outpatient collaborative mental health care initiative in supportive housing. Further work is warranted to evaluate whether collaborative care adaptations in supportive housing settings lead to improvements in tenant- and program-level outcomes.

Clinical outcomes for intracoronary imaging strategies at different medical facilities in Japanese patients with coronary artery disease: the SAKURA imaging PCI Registry.

The relationships between intracoronary imaging modalities and outcomes among Japanese patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) based on the type of medical facility providing outpatient care remain unclear. In this multicenter prospective study (SAKURA PCI Registry), we aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of patients with CAD who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between April 2015 and December 2018. In this registry, we investigated differences in patient characteristics, intracoronary imaging modalities, and clinical outcomes between two types of medical facilities. Of the 414 patients enrolled in this registry, 196 were treated at two university hospitals, and 218 were treated at five community hospitals (median follow-up 11.0 months). The primary endpoint was clinically relevant events (CREs), including a composite of all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, clinically driven target lesion revascularization, stent thrombosis, stroke, and major bleeding. Patients treated at university hospitals had higher rates of diabetes (50% vs. 38%, p = 0.015) and malignant tumors (12% vs. 6%, p = 0.015) and more frequent use of multiple intracoronary imaging modalities than patients treated at community hospitals (21% vs. 0.5%, p < 0.001). The Kaplan-Meier incidence of CREs at 1 year was comparable between university hospitals and community hospitals (8.8% vs. 7.3%, p = 0.527, log-rank test). Despite the relatively higher risk among patients in university hospitals with frequent use of multi-intracoronary imaging modalities, adverse clinical events appeared to be comparable between patients with CAD treated at university and community hospitals in Japan.

Real world utilization of Dalbavancin at a rural community emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: Acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSI) are frequently encountered in the emergency department and compromise more than 700,000 hospital admissions annually. Dalbavancin is a single dose long acting semi-synthetic lipogylcopepitde antibiotic with coverage against gram-positive organisms including methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Recent data from large tertiary care centers have shown a decrease in hospital admissions and repeat emergency department visits for ABSSI's but little data is available for those who practice in a rural community setting. The primary objective of this study was to describe the use of dalbavancin at a single rural emergency department. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of all adult patients who received dalbavancin between 2019 and 2021 while in the emergency department was completed. Abstracted data included patient demographics, infection location by body region, emergency department return visits, hospital admissions, and length of stay. Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney test for continuous data, and the chi-squared analysis for nominal data. RESULTS: A total of 125 patients were included in the final analysis with 35.2% being female. The median age of those treated with dalbavancin was 54 years (42.0-64.0) and the most common infection site was the lower extremities. A total of 35 patients re-presented to the emergency department following treatment with dalbavancin within 30 days and 16 were admitted to the hospital. Of those who re-presented to the emergency department, the median age was 56 (40.0-66.0) and the median re-presentation was 9 days (3-17) after dalbavancin administration. A total of 16 patients (12.8%) were subsequently admitted to the hospital with a median length of stay of 5.5 days (3.0-8.0). 30-day readmission rates were 23.9% in those who had an abnormal WBC count at initial presentation, 26.1% for those with congestive heart failure, 20.3% for those with hypertension, and 26.0% in those who had diabetes mellitus. CONCLUSION: Following the administration of dalbavancin for ABSSI at a rural emergency department, few patients are subsequently admitted within the following 30 days. To further decrease this number and alleviate the burden on emergency departments and hospitals, local treatment algorithms should be developed to minimize the risk of representation and hospitalization following administration.

Hospital factor and prognosis of COVID-19 in New York City, the United States of America: insights from a retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: April 22nd, 2020, New York City (NYC) was the epicenter of the pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the US with differences of death rates among its 5 boroughs. We aimed to investigate the difference in mortality associated with hospital factors (teaching versus community hospital) in NYC. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: We obtained medical records of 6509 hospitalized patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 from the Mount Sinai Health System including 4 teaching hospitals in Manhattan and 2 community hospitals located outside of Manhattan (Queens and Brooklyn) retrospectively. Propensity score analysis using inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) with stabilized weights was performed to adjust for differences in the baseline characteristics of patients initially presenting to teaching or community hospitals, and those who were transferred from community hospitals to teaching hospitals. RESULTS: Among 6509 patients, 4653 (72.6%) were admitted in teaching hospitals, 1462 (22.8%) were admitted in community hospitals, and 293 (4.6%) were originally admitted in community and then transferred into teaching hospitals. Patients in community hospitals had higher mortality (42.5%) than those in teaching hospitals (17.6%) or those transferred from community to teaching hospitals (23.5%, P < 0.001). After IPTW-adjustment, when compared to patients cared for at teaching hospitals, the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of mortality were as follows: community hospitals 2.47 (2.03-2.99); transfers 0.80 (0.58-1.09)). CONCLUSIONS: Patients admitted to community hospitals had higher mortality than those admitted to teaching hospitals.

Total Ankle Arthroplasty Can Be Safely and Effectively Performed in the Community Hospital Setting: A Case Series of 65 Patients.

The use of total ankle arthroplasty has expanded over the past decade, primarily due to improvements in implant design and survivorship that have significantly reduced the high failure rates observed in first-generation implants. A retrospective review of 65 consecutive patients undergoing primary total ankle arthroplasty with a single senior orthopedic surgeon in a community hospital from January 2014 to December 2019 was performed. All procedures were performed for end stage osteoarthritis, with the most common secondary diagnoses being Achilles contracture (23%), retained hardware (17%) and calcaneovalgus deformity (11%). Preoperatively, patients averaged 10.45 ̊ ± 10.00 ̊ of non-weightbearing dorsiflexion and 30.00 ̊ ± 8.79 ̊ of plantarflexion. Postoperatively, patients averaged 13.33 ̊ ± 7.62 ̊ dorsiflexion, and 25.48 ̊ ± 7.87 ̊ of plantarflexion. A total of 8 (12.3%) patients required reoperation, and average time to reoperation was 1.55 ± 1.58 years. Implant failure, defined as reoperation requiring prosthesis removal, occurred in 2 (3.1%) patients, with an average time to failure of 342 days (105 days in failure due to periprosthetic joint infection and 582 days in failure due to subsidence). Patients undergoing total ankle arthroplasty at our institution had a 12.3% reoperation rate, and a 96.9% implant survival rate over an average follow-up period of 2.42 years, results that compare favorably with previously reported outcomes. Based on these findings, we suggest that this procedure, which is often offered only in academic tertiary care facilities, can be safely and effectively performed by experienced surgeons in the community hospital setting.

No Implementation Without Representation: Real-Time Pharmacist Intervention Optimizes Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Bacteremia at a Small Community Hospital.

Background: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for bacteremia allow for early antimicrobial therapy modification based on organism and resistance gene identification. Studies suggest patient outcomes are optimized when infectious disease (ID)-trained antimicrobial stewardship personnel intervene on RDT results. However, data are limited regarding RDT implementation at small community hospitals, which often lack access to on-site ID clinicians. Methods: This study evaluated the impact of RDTs with and without real-time pharmacist intervention (RTPI) at a small community hospital with local pharmacist training and asynchronous support from a remote ID Telehealth pharmacist. Time to targeted therapy (TTT) in patients with bacteremia was compared retrospectively across 3 different time periods: a control without RDT, RDT-only, and RDT with RTPI. Results: Median TTT was significantly faster in both the RDT with RTPI and RDT-only groups compared with the control group (2 vs 25 vs 51 hours respectively; P < .001). TTT was numerically faster for RDT with RTPI compared with RDT-only but did not reach statistical significance (P = .078). Median time to any de-escalation was significantly shorter for RDT with RTPI compared with both RDT-only (14 vs 33 hours; P = .012) and the control group (14 vs 45 hours; P < .001). Median length of stay was also significantly shorter in both RDT groups compared with the control group (4.0 vs 4.1 vs 5.5 hours; P = .013). Conclusion: This study supports RDT use for bacteremia in a small community hospital with ID Telehealth support, suggesting additional benefit with RTPI.