Kojiro Morita

Mortality and morbidity after spinal surgery in patients with Parkinson's disease: a retrospective matched-pair cohort study

BACKGROUND CONTEXT There is a lack of information about postoperative outcomes and related risk factors associated with spinal surgery in patients with Parkinsons disease (PD). PURPOSE This study aimed to investigate the postoperative morbidity and mortality associated with spinal surgery for patients with PD, and the risk factors for poor outcomes. STUDY DESIGN This is a retrospective matched-pair cohort study. PATIENT SAMPLE Data of patients who underwent elective spinal surgery between July 2010 and March 2013 were extracted from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, a nationwide inpatient database in Japan. OUTCOME MEASURES In-hospital mortality and occurrence of postoperative complications. METHODS For each patient with PD, we randomly selected up to four age- and sex-matched controls in the same hospital in the same year. The differences in in-hospital mortality and occurrence of postoperative complications were compared between patients with PD and controls. A multivariable logistic regression model fitted with a generalized estimation equation was used to identify significant predictors of major complications (surgical site infection, sepsis, pulmonary embolism, respiratory complications, cardiac events, stroke, and renal failure). Multiple imputation was used for missing data. RESULTS Among 154,278 patients undergoing spinal surgery, 1,423 patients with PD and 5,498 matched controls were identified. Crude in-hospital mortality was higher in patients with PD than in controls (0.8% vs. 0.3%, respectively). The crude proportion of major complications was also higher in patients with PD (9.8% vs. 5.1% in controls). Postoperative delirium was more common in patients with PD (30.3%) than in controls (4.3%). Parkinsons disease was a significant predictor of major postoperative complications, even after adjusting for other risk factors (odds ratio, 1.74; 95% confidence intervals, 1.37-2.22; p<.001). CONCLUSIONS Patients with PD had a significantly increased risk of postoperative complications following spinal surgery. Postoperative delirium was the most frequently observed complication.

Outcomes after early or late timing of surgery for infective endocarditis with ischaemic stroke: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVES The timing of cardiac surgery for infective endocarditis with ischaemic stroke remains controversial. METHODS Using a nationwide inpatient database in Japan, we conducted a retrospective observational study. We identified patients aged 20 years or older with ischaemic stroke on admission who were diagnosed with infective endocarditis and underwent cardiac surgery during the initial hospitalization between July 2010 and March 2013. In-hospital mortality and perioperative complications were compared between the early (≤7 days) and late (>7 days) surgery groups using logistic regression analyses with adjustment for propensity scores and inverse probability of treatment weighting. RESULTS We identified 253 patients who underwent cardiac valve surgery for infective endocarditis with ischaemic stroke on admission. In-hospital mortality rates were 8.6 and 9.5% in the early (n = 105) and late (n = 148) surgery groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in the in-hospital mortality between the early and late surgery groups in the propensity score-adjusted model [odds ratio (OR), 0.95; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35-2.54] and inverse probability-weighted model (risk difference, -0.82%; 95% CI, -6.43 to 4.84%). The perioperative complication rates were 42.9 and 37.8% in the early and late surgery groups, respectively, and showed no significant differences in the propensity score-adjusted model (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.63-1.97) and inverse probability-weighted model (risk difference, 1.54%; 95% CI, -7.13 to 10.2%). CONCLUSIONS Early timing of surgery for infective endocarditis patients with ischaemic stroke was not associated with higher in-hospital mortality or complications after admission. Early timing of surgery may not be contraindicated for infective endocarditis patients with ischaemic stroke.

Impact of Rehabilitation on Outcomes in Patients With Ischemic Stroke: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in Japan

Background and Purpose— We aimed to examine the concurrent effects of timing and intensity of rehabilitation on improving activities of daily living (ADL) among patients with ischemic stroke. Methods— Using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination inpatient database, we retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with ischemic stroke at admission who received rehabilitation (n=100 719) from April 2012 to March 2014. Early rehabilitation was defined as that starting within 3 days after admission. The average rehabilitation intensity per day was calculated as the total units of rehabilitation during hospitalization divided by the length of hospital stay. A multivariable logistic regression analysis with multiple imputation and an instrumental variable analysis were performed to examine the association of early and intensive rehabilitation with the proportion of improved ADL score. Results— The proportion of improved ADL score was higher in the early and intensive rehabilitation group. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that significant improvements in ADL were observed for early rehabilitation (odds ratio: 1.08; 95% confidence interval: 1.04–1.13; P<0.01) and intensive rehabilitation of >5.0 U/d (odds ratio: 1.87; 95% confidence interval: 1.69–2.07; P<0.01). The instrumental variable analysis showed that an increased proportion of improved ADL was associated with early rehabilitation (risk difference: 2.8%; 95% confidence interval: 2.0–3.4%; P<0.001) and intensive rehabilitation (risk difference: 5.6%; 95% confidence interval: 4.6–6.6%; P<0.001). Conclusions— The present results suggested that early and intensive rehabilitation improved ADL during hospitalization in patients with ischemic stroke.

Association between sugammadex and anaphylaxis in pediatric patients: A nested case‐control study using a national inpatient database

Sugammadex is used as a reversal drug during anesthesia. Although several case reports have described anaphylaxis following sugammadex infusion, little is known about the relationship between sugammadex and anaphylaxis, particularly in pediatric patients.

Factors Affecting Discharge to Home of Geriatric Intermediate Care Facility Residents in Japan: Factors affecting long-term care facility discharge

To investigate factors associated with lower likelihood of discharge to home from geriatric intermediate care facilities in Japan.

Hospital quality reporting and improvement in quality of care for patients with acute myocardial infarction

BackgroundAlthough public reporting of hospital performance is becoming common, it remains uncertain whether public reporting leads to improvement in clinical outcomes. This study was conducted to evaluate whether enrollment in a quality reporting project is associated with improvement in quality of care for patients with acute myocardial infarction.MethodsWe conducted a quasi-experimental study using hospital census survey and national inpatient database in Japan. Hospitals enrolled in a ministry-led quality reporting project were matched with non-reporting control hospitals by one-to-one propensity score matching using hospital characteristics. Using the inpatient data of acute myocardial infarction patients hospitalized in the matched hospitals during 2011–2013, difference-in-differences analyses were conducted to evaluate the changes in unadjusted and risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates over time that are attributable to intervention.ResultsMatching between hospitals created a cohort of 30,220 patients with characteristics similar between the 135 reporting and 135 non-reporting hospitals. Overall in-hospital mortality rates were 13.2% in both the reporting and non-reporting hospitals. There was no significant association between hospital enrollment in the quality reporting project and change over time in unadjusted mortality (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.80–1.22). In 28,168 patients eligible for evaluation of risk-adjusted mortality, enrollment was also not associated with change in risk-adjusted mortality (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.81–1.17).ConclusionsEnrollment in the quality reporting project was not associated with short-term improvement in quality of care for patients with acute myocardial infarction. Additional efforts may be necessary to improve quality of care.

Association between advanced practice nursing and 30-day mortality in mechanically ventilated critically ill patients: A retrospective cohort study

Purpose: Little is known about the association between advanced practice nursing and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of advanced practice nurses (APN), that is, certified nurse (CN) and certified nurse specialist (CNS) in intensive care, is associated with 30‐day mortality for mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. Materials and methods: Using a Japanese national in‐patient database, we identified 45,620 patients who were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) and received mechanical ventilation within 2 days of hospital admission between 1 April 2014 and 31 March 2015. We assessed the association between the number of CN/CNSs per 10 adult ICU beds and 30‐day mortality. Results: We examined 8955 patients in 134 hospitals without CN/CNSs and 36,665 in 284 hospitals with CN/CNSs. Overall, the number of CN/CNSs per 10 adult ICU beds ranged from 0 to 7.5. In the multivariable analysis, the number of CN/CNSs per 10 adult ICU beds was significantly associated with a reduction in 30‐day mortality (adjusted odds ratio 0.97; 95% confidence interval, 0.94–1.00; P = 0.023). Conclusions: Our findings show that APNs may play an important role in improving patient outcome in the adult ICU. HIGHLIGHTSAdvanced practice nursing was significantly associated with reduction in mortality in mechanically ventilated patients.Advanced practice nursing may be important for improved patient outcomes in the Japanese adult ICU.This study has important implication for health care decision makers and policy makers.