Raymond A. Jean

Obstructive sleep apnea and acute respiratory failure: An analysis of mortality risk in patients with pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation.

PURPOSE Although obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common and pneumonia is a frequent cause of acute respiratory failure requiring admission to the intensive care unit, little is known about the effect of OSA on this patient population. This study examined outcomes associated with OSA in patients with pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. MATERIALS AND METHODS The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was investigated for discharges with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia requiring invasive mechanical ventilation between 2009 and 2011. Persons aged 18 to 75 years with OSA were compared with patients without OSA. Outcomes included in-hospital mortality and nonroutine discharges. RESULTS Among 74032 hospitalizations, 13.8% (10227) were obese, and 10.3% (7610) had OSA. Obstructive sleep apnea patients had decreased in-hospital mortality (17.0% vs 25.8%; P < .01) and nonroutine discharge (74.4% vs 79.4%; P < .01) when compared with non-OSA patients. In adjusted logistic models, OSA was associated with a 27% decreased risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.79; P < .01) and a 21% decreased risk of nonroutine discharge (odds ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.74-0.84; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS In mechanically ventilated patients with pneumonia, OSA was associated decreased in-hospital mortality and nonroutine discharge. It is possible that differences in treatment pattern may partially explain improved survival.

Association of Lowering Default Pill Counts in Electronic Medical Record Systems With Postoperative Opioid Prescribing

Importance Reliance on prescription opioids for postprocedural analgesia has contributed to the opioid epidemic. With the implementation of electronic medical record (EMR) systems, there has been increasing use of computerized order entry systems for medication prescriptions, which is now more common than handwritten prescriptions. The EMR can autopopulate a default number of pills prescribed, and 1 potential method to alter prescriber behavior is to change the default number presented via the EMR system. Objective To investigate the association of lowering the default number of pills presented when prescribing opioids in an EMR system with the amount of opioid prescribed after procedures. Design, Setting, and Participants A prepost intervention study was conducted to compare postprocedural prescribing patterns during the 3 months before the default change (February 18 to May 17, 2017) with the 3 months after the default change (May 18 to August 18, 2017). The setting was a multihospital health care system that uses Epic EMR (Hyperspace 2015 IU2; Epic Systems Corporation). Participants were all patients in the study period undergoing 1 of the 10 most common operations and discharged by postoperative day 1. Intervention The default number of opioid pills autopopulated in the EMR when prescribing discharge analgesia was lowered from 30 to 12. Main Outcomes and Measures Linear regression estimating the change in the median number of opioid pills and the total dose of opioid prescribed was performed. Opioid doses were converted into morphine milligram equivalents (MME) for comparison. The frequency of patients requiring analgesic prescription refills was also evaluated. Results There were 1447 procedures (mean [SD] age, 54.4 [17.3] years; 66.9% female) before the default change and 1463 procedures (mean [SD] age, 54.5 [16.4] years; 67.0% female) after the default change. After the default change, the median number of opioid pills prescribed decreased from 30 (interquartile range, 15-30) to 20 (interquartile range, 12-30) per prescription (P < .001). The percentage of prescriptions written for 30 pills decreased from 39.7% (554 of 1397) before the default change to 12.9% (183 of 1420) after the default change (P < .001), and the percentage of prescriptions written for 12 pills increased from 2.1% (29 of 1397) before the default change to 24.6% (349 of 1420) after the default change (P < .001). Regression analysis demonstrated a decrease of 5.22 (95% CI, −6.12 to −4.32) opioid pills per prescription after the default change, for a total decrease of 34.41 (95% CI, −41.36 to −27.47) MME per prescription. There was no statistical difference in opioid refill rates (3.0% [4 of 135] before the default change vs 1.5% [2 of 135] after the default change, P = .41). Conclusions and Relevance Lowering the default number of opioid pills prescribed in an EMR system is a simple, effective, cheap, and potentially scalable intervention to change prescriber behavior and decrease the amount of opioid medication prescribed after procedures.

Recurrent Falls Among Elderly Patients and the Impact of Anticoagulation Therapy

BackgroundFalls are the leading source of injury and trauma-related hospital admissions for elderly adults in the USA. Elderly patients with a history of a fall have the highest risk of falling again, and the decision on whether to continue anticoagulation after a fall is difficult. To inform this decision, we evaluated the rate of recurrent falls and the impact of anticoagulation on outcomes.MethodsAll patients of age  ≥ 65 years and hospitalized for a fall in the first 6 months of 2013 and 2014 were identified in the nationwide readmission database, a nationally representative all-payer database tracking patient readmissions. Readmissions for a recurrent fall within 6 months, and mortality and bleeding injuries (intracranial hemorrhage, solid organ bleed, and hemothorax) during readmission were identified. Logistic regression evaluated factors associated with mortality on repeat falls.ResultsOf the 331,982 patients admitted for a fall, 15,565 (4.7%) were admitted for a recurrent fall within 6 months. The median time to repeat fall was 57 days (IQR 19–111 days), and 9.0% (1406) of repeat fallers were on anticoagulation. The rate of bleeding injury was similar regardless of anticoagulation status (12.8 vs. 12.7% not on anticoagulation, p = 0.97); however, among patients with a bleeding injury, those on anticoagulation had significantly higher mortality (21.5 vs. 6.9% not on anticoagulation, p < 0.01).ConclusionAmong patients hospitalized for a fall, 4.7% will be hospitalized for a recurrent fall within 6 months. Patients on anticoagulation with repeat falls do not have increased rates of bleeding injury but do have significantly higher rates of death with a bleeding injury. This information is essential to discuss with patients when deciding to restart their anticoagulation.

Delayed discharge does not decrease the cost of readmission after pulmonary lobectomy

Background: Readmission after pulmonary lobectomy has become a potentially avoidable source of excess health care costs. Initiatives that focus on expedited discharge after lobectomy may decrease costs, but a criticism of this approach is that expedited discharge may be associated with more frequent and more expensive readmissions. We explored whether patients are at greater risk for costly readmission after expedited discharge. Methods: The Nationwide Readmission Database was queried for cases of lobectomy for lung cancer between 2010 and 2014. Patients 65 years of age and older were categorized into three groups: patients discharged between hospital day 1 and 3 (expedited), between hospital days 4 and 7 (routine), or discharge after day 8 (late). Risk‐adjusted 90‐day readmission rates and hospital costs for readmission were compared among groups. Results: A total of 104,905 patients underwent lobectomy for lung cancer during the study period. There were 18,652 (17.8%) expedited discharges, 54,551 (52.0%) routine discharges, and 31,702 (30.2%) late discharges. Compared with the expedited group, patients in the routine discharge group had a 3.2% greater risk‐adjusted readmission rate (P < .0001), and patients in the late discharge group had 12.7% greater risk‐adjusted readmission rate (P < .0001). After adjustment, expedited discharge was associated with a

When good operations go bad: The additive effect of comorbidity and postoperative complications on readmission after pulmonary lobectomy

4,066 decrease in index hospital costs compared with routine discharge, and a

Endovascular interventions decrease length of hospitalization and are cost-effective in acute mesenteric ischemia

19,233 decrease compared with late discharges (both P < .0001) but was not associated with costlier readmission (routine mean –

Increased mortality in octogenarians treated for lifestyle limiting claudication

24 ± standard error

Overutilization of Cross-Sectional Imaging in the Lower Extremity Trauma Setting

153, P = .87; late mean +

Analyzing Risk Factors for Morbidity and Mortality after Lung Resection for Lung Cancer Using the NSQIP Database

2,528 ± standard error

Kidney Transplantation With and Without Native Nephrectomy for Polycystic Kidney Disease: Results of the National Inpatient Sample and the Rationale for a 2-Staged Procedure

178; P < .0001). Conclusion: Expedited discharge after lobectomy is associated with a greater risk‐adjusted readmission rate and greater index hospital costs over routine and late discharge, with no increased costs for readmission. These data demonstrate that prolonged hospital duration of stay does not decrease the risk of 90‐day readmission after lobectomy, providing support for protocols that expedite patient discharge and decrease overall health care utilization.