Randall J. Smout

RN staffing time and outcomes of long-stay nursing home residents: pressure ulcers and other adverse outcomes are less likely as RNs spend more time on direct patient care.

OBJECTIVE:A clear link has been demonstrated between lower nurse staffing levels in hospitals and adverse patient outcomes, but the results of studies of such relationships in long-term care facilities haven’t been as clear. This study explored the time nurses spent in direct care and how it affected outcomes in long-stay (two weeks or longer) nursing home residents. METHODS:In a retrospective study of data collected as part of the National Pressure Ulcer Long-Term Study (NPULS), we analyzed data on 1,376 residents of 82 long-term care facilities whose lengths of stay were 14 days or longer, who were at risk of developing pressure ulcers but had none at study entry, and who had a Braden Scale score of 17 or less. Primary data came from residents’ medical records during 12-week periods in 1996 and 1997. Dependent variables included development of pressure ulcer or urinary tract infection (UTI), weight loss, deterioration in the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), and hospitalization. Independent variables included resident demographics, severity of illness, nutritional and incontinence interventions, medications, and nurse staffing time. RESULTS:More RN direct care time per resident per day (examined in 10-minute increments up to 30 to 40 minutes per resident per day) was associated with fewer pressure ulcers, hospitalizations, and UTIs; less weight loss, catheterization, and deterioration in the ability to perform ADLs; and greater use of oral standard medical nutritional supplements. More certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse time was associated with fewer pressure ulcers but did not improve other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS:The researchers controlled for important variables in long-stay nursing home residents at risk for pressure ulcers and found that more RN direct care time per resident per day was strongly associated with better outcomes. There’s an urgent need for further research to confirm these findings and, if confirmed, for improving RN staffing in nursing homes to decrease avoidable adverse outcomes and suffering.

Complications in infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis or respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE To characterize complications among infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). STUDY DESIGN Retrospective data from 684 infants with bronchiolitis or RSV pneumonia, < or =1 year old, admitted to 10 childrens hospitals from April 1995 to September 1996. Outcomes included complication rates and effects on hospital and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) length of stay (LOS) and hospital costs. RESULTS Most infants (79%) had one or more complication, with serious complications in 24%. Even minor complications were associated with significantly longer PICU and hospital LOS and higher costs (P<.001). Respiratory complications were most frequent (60%), but infectious (41%), cardiovascular (9%), electrolyte imbalance (19%), and other complications (9%) were common. Complication rates were higher in former premature infants (87%), infants with congenital heart disease (93%), and infants with other congenital abnormalities (90%) relative to infants without risk factors (76%). Infants 33 to 35 weeks gestational age (GA) had the highest complication rates (93%), longer hospital LOS, and higher costs (P<.004) than other former premature infants. CONCLUSIONS Complications were common in infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis or RSV pneumonia and were associated with longer LOS and higher costs. Former premature infants and infants with congenital abnormalities are at significantly greater risk for complications. Broader use of RSV prevention should be considered for these higher-risk infants.

Description of the National Pressure Ulcer Long-Term Care Study

OBJECTIVES: To describe and provide baseline data from The National Pressure Ulcer Long‐Term Care Study (NPULS).

Characterizing Rehabilitation Services for Patients With Knee and Hip Replacement in Skilled Nursing Facilities and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

OBJECTIVE To characterize rehabilitation services for patients with knee and hip replacement in 3 types of postacute facilities in the U.S. DESIGN Multi-site prospective observational cohort study. SETTING Eight freestanding skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), 1 hospital-based SNF, and 11 inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). PARTICIPANTS Patients (N=2158) with knee or hip replacement. INTERVENTIONS No new interventions. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Length of stay (LOS), amount and intensity of physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT), types of therapy activities. RESULTS Average LOS was about 15 days for freestanding SNF patients, and 9 to 10 days for hospital-based SNF and IRF patients. Freestanding SNFs and IRFs provide about the same number of hours of PT and OT; the hospital-based SNF provided 27% fewer hours. Freestanding SNFs and the hospital-based SNF provided fewer hours a day than did IRFs. Joint replacement patients across all 3 types of facilities spent, on average, 70% to 75% of their PT time in just 2 activities--exercise and gait and spent 56% to 66% of their OT time in 3 activities--exercise, functional mobility, and dressing lower body. CONCLUSIONS Both freestanding SNFs and IRFs provided similar amounts of PT with a similar emphasis on exercise and gait activities. IRFs, however, provided more OT than freestanding SNFs. IRFs had shorter LOSs and more intensive therapy services than freestanding SNFs. Study freestanding SNFs exhibited greater variation in LOS and intensity of therapy than IRFs.

Prognostic models of abdominal wound dehiscence after laparotomy

BACKGROUND Portions of the prospective, multi-institutional National Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program were used to develop and validate a perioperative risk index to predict abdominal wound dehiscence after laparotomy. METHODS Perioperative data from 17,044 laparotomies resulting in 587 (3.4%) wound dehiscences performed at 132 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers between October 1, 1996, and September 30, 1998, were used to develop the model. Data from 17,763 laparotomies performed between October 1, 1998, and September 30, 2000, resulting in 562 (3.2%) dehiscences were used to validate the model. Models were developed using multivariable stepwise logistic regression with preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables entered sequentially as independent predictors of wound dehiscence. The model was used to create a scoring system, designated the abdominal wound dehiscence risk index. RESULTS Factors contributing significantly to the model and their point values (in parentheses) for the risk index include CVA with no residual deficit (4), history of COPD (4), current pneumonia (4), emergency procedure (6), operative time greater than 2.5 h (2), PGY 4 level resident as surgeon (3), clean wound classification (-3), superficial (5), or deep (17) wound infection, failure to wean from the ventilator (6), one or more complications other than dehiscence (7), and return to OR during admission (-11). Scores of 11-14 are predictive of 5% risk of dehiscence while scores of >14 predict 10% risk. CONCLUSIONS This abdominal wound dehiscence risk index identifies patients at risk for dehiscence and may be useful in guiding perioperative management.

Associations Between Treatment Processes, Patient Characteristics, and Outcomes in Outpatient Physical Therapy Practice

OBJECTIVE To identify how treatment processes are related to functional outcomes for patients seeking treatment for musculoskeletal impairments while controlling for demographic and health characteristics at intake. DESIGN Prospective, observational cohort study. Treatment processes were not altered. Data were collected continuously from June 2005 to January 2008. Descriptive statistics were applied to compare patient characteristics, interventions, and outcomes between impairment categories. Ordinary least-squares multiple regressions were used to examine associations between patient characteristics at intake, treatment processes, and functional outcomes. SETTING Fifty-four community-based outpatient physical therapy clinics of Maccabi Healthcare Services, a public health plan in Israel. PARTICIPANTS A consecutive sample of 22,019 adult patients (mean age 51.2 y, standard deviation=15.7, range 18-96, 58% women) seeking treatment due to lumbar spine, knee, cervical spine, or shoulder impairments with functional measurements at intake and discharge. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Functional status at discharge. RESULTS Explanatory power ranged from 30% to 39%. Better outcomes were associated with patient compliance with self-exercise and therapy attendance, application of therapeutic exercise and manual therapy, and completion of 3 or more functional surveys during the episode of care. Worse outcomes were associated with women, electrotherapy for pain management, and therapeutic ultrasound for shoulder impairments. Mixed results were found for group exercise programs. CONCLUSIONS The study of associations between treatment processes, patient characteristics, and outcomes helps to describe practice and can be used to suggest ways to improve outcomes in outpatient physical therapy practice.

Agitation and Depression in Frail Nursing Home Elderly Patients With Dementia: Treatment Characteristics and Service Use

OBJECTIVE The authors describe characteristics, treatment, and acute service use associated with agitation and depression in dementia. METHODS Authors used retrospective chart review of symptoms, physician-level prescribing, and acute service use over 3 months for 2,487 physically frail older residents, including 1,836 with dementia, (mean age: 79.8 years) in 109 long-term care facilities, describing differences between uncomplicated dementia and three mutually exclusive subgroups of complicated dementia, including dementia with agitation-only, dementia with depression-only, and dementia with mixed agitation and depression. RESULTS Compared with the other subgroups, frail elderly patients with dementia complicated by mixed agitation and depression have the highest rate of hospitalization, the greatest number of medical diagnoses, and the greatest medical severity, and they receive the greatest number of psychiatric medications. Depression in dementia (either alone or mixed with agitation) was associated with greater prevalence of pain. CONCLUSIONS Dementia complicated by mixed agitation and depression accounts for over one-third of complicated dementia and is associated with multiple psychiatric and medical needs, intensive pharmacological treatment, and use of high-cost services. Research should target this complex, high-risk group to develop appropriate diagnostic criteria and effective treatment interventions.

Joint Replacement Rehabilitation Outcomes on Discharge From Skilled Nursing Facilities and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities

OBJECTIVE To compare functional outcomes at discharge across postacute settings. DESIGN Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING Eleven inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), 8 freestanding skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and 1 hospital-based SNF from across the United States. PARTICIPANTS Consecutively enrolled patients (N=2152): patients with knee replacement (n=1401) and patients with hip replacement (n=751). INTERVENTIONS None; examination of existing practice patterns. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE FIM discharge motor score. RESULTS Freestanding SNF patients entered with higher motor FIM scores and left with higher scores than did IRF patients. IRF patients, however, achieved larger motor FIM gains and achieved them in a shorter time. In multivariate models controlling for patient differences and onset days, IRFs were associated with better discharge motor outcomes, but the overall setting effect was not large. The largest motor FIM differences were between medium-volume IRFs and low-volume freestanding SNFs: 4.6 motor FIM points for patients with knee replacement and 7.3 motor FIM points for patients with hip replacement. Other differences between settings were much smaller. Multivariate models explained between a third and a half of the variance in outcome. CONCLUSIONS As a group, IRFs had better motor FIM outcomes than did SNFs, but the size of the IRF advantage was not large. Other important facility and practice characteristics also were associated with discharge outcomes after joint replacement rehabilitation. Earlier and more intensive rehabilitation was associated with better outcomes. The volume of joint replacement patients seen by a facility also plays a part: medium-volume facilities among both SNFs and IRFs had better outcomes.

Rehospitalization in the First Year of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury After Discharge From Medical Rehabilitation

OBJECTIVE To determine rates of rehospitalization among discharged rehabilitation patients with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in the first 12 months postinjury, and to identify factors associated with rehospitalization. DESIGN Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING Six geographically dispersed rehabilitation centers in the U.S. PARTICIPANTS Consecutively enrolled individuals with new traumatic SCI (N=951), who were discharged from participating rehabilitation centers and participated in a 1-year follow-up survey. INTERVENTIONS Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Occurrence of postrehabilitation rehospitalization within 1 year of injury, length of rehospitalization stays, and causes of rehospitalizations. RESULTS More than one third (36.2%) of participants were rehospitalized at least once in the 12-month follow-up period; 12.5% were rehospitalized at least twice. The average number of rehospitalizations among those rehospitalized at least once was 1.37 times, with an average length of stay (LOS) of 15.5 days across all rehospitalization episodes. The 3 most common health conditions associated with rehospitalization were those related to the genitourinary system (eg, urinary tract infection), respiratory system (eg, pneumonia), and skin and subcutaneous tissue (eg, pressure ulcer). Being a woman (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.034-2.279), having Medicaid as the main payer (95% CI, 1.303-2.936), and more severe case mix were associated with increased odds of rehospitalization. Those who had more intensive physical therapy (95% CI, .960-.981) had lower odds of rehospitalization. Some center-to-center variation in rehospitalization rates remained unexplained after case mix and practice differences were considered. The 6 SCI rehabilitation centers varied nearly 2-fold in rates at which their former SCI patients were rehospitalized--from 27.8% to 50%. Center-to-center variation diminished when patient case mix was considered. CONCLUSIONS Compared with earlier studies, rehospitalization rates among individuals with SCI in the first postinjury year remain high and vary by level and completeness of injury. Rehospitalization risk was associated with younger age, being a woman, unemployment and retirement, and Medicaid coverage. Those who had more intensive physical therapy had lower odds of rehospitalization. Future studies should examine center-to-center variations in rehospitalization rates and availability of patient education and community resources.

Prediction of 3-yr cadaveric graft survival based on pre-transplant variables in a large national dataset

Abstract: Pre‐ and post‐transplant predictive factors of graft survival for optimal and expanded criteria grafts have been studied in the past. The goal of our study was to evaluate the recent large set of United Network of Organ Sharing records (1990–1998) to generate a prediction algorithm of 3‐yr graft survival based on pre‐transplant variables alone. The dataset of patients with end‐stage renal disease and cadaveric kidney or kidney–pancreas transplantation (1990–1998) used in the study consisted of 37 407 records. Logistic regression (LM) and a tree‐based model (TBM) were used to identify predictors of 3‐yr allograft survival and to generate prediction algorithm. Donor and recipient demographic characteristics (age, race, and gender) and body mass index showed non‐linear, while human leukocyte antigen match showed strong linear relationships with 3‐yr graft survival. Prediction of the probability of graft survival from the model, achieved a good match with the observed survival of the separate dataset, with a correlation of r = 0.998 for LM and r = 0.984 for TBM. The positive predictive value (PV) of allograft survival with LM and TBM was 76.0% and the negative PV was 63 and 53.8% for LM and TBM, respectively. Both LM and the TBM can potentially be used in clinical practice for long‐term prediction of kidney allograft survival based on pre‐transplant variables.