Background Blenderized gastrostomy tube feedings (BGTFs) consist of pureed table foods and liquids that are administered as enteral tube feedings. Compared to commercial enteral formulas (CEFs), BGTF has been shown to have fewer side effects. Despite these results, apprehensions have been raised about microbial contamination, nutritional deficiencies or surplus, risk of gastrostomy tube (GT) blockages, and lack of consistency in clinical outcomes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The mainstay of modern medical therapy for intestinal failure (IF) is parenteral nutrition (PN). The Intestinal Rehabilitation Program (IRP) goal is enhancing nutritional outcomes for patients receiving total parenteral nutrition (TPN), optimizing/transitioning patients from TPN to enteral nutrition (EN), achieving enteral autonomy, monitoring growth and development. The objective of this study is to describe nutritional and clinical outcomes for children undergoing intestinal rehabilitation during 5 years of the program.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Central venous catheters (CVCs) carry a risk for many complications. This can lead to numerous and prolonged hospitalizations for patients undergoing intravenous nutrition. The aim was to create a standardized protocol for the medical facility to expedite the repair process as well as implement a broadened educational effort for the care of CVCs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction As we care for patients during the coronavirus pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is important to learn and analyze the health outcomes for HIV-positive patients who have been infected with COVID-19. The clinical course and outcome of COVID-19 among patients with HIV-1 infection are still unknown and novel. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study of 34 HIV-positive patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study examined whether type of physician practice settings was associated with cultural competency training for newly hired physicians. We used data from the 2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey Supplement on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services for Office-based Physician Survey. The survey contains a sample of 397 office-based physician responses completed during the period from August to December 2016 (weighted n = 293306).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) can lead to increased morbidity and mortality in patients with intestinal failure (IF). We report the case of a premature infant born at 25 weeks' gestation at a neighboring facility that developed surgical necrotizing enterocolitis and secondary IF with 6 cm of small bowel remaining measured from the ligament of treitz with jejunocolonic anastomosis. The patient's course was complicated by IFALD and transferred to our intestinal rehabilitation program at 3 months of age.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective was to identify predictors of utilization for urgent care centers (UCCs), emergency departments (EDs), or for both services for non-emergent health conditions among beneficiaries from a managed care organization (MCO) who resided within a 10-mile radius of UCCs. A cross-sectional design was used to analyze 2016 administrative claims data from an MCO that contracted with a UCC with 12 locations (n = 20,107). Outcome variables were number of visits to UCC, ED, or both.
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