An innovative approach to the multidisciplinary treatment of uninsured breast cancer patients.

Purpose: A significant proportion of many populations remain uninsured. The aim of the study was to assess differences in breast cancer outcomes before and after the implementation of an innovative approach to the multidisciplinary treatment of uninsured breast cancer patients.

Methods: Retrospective review was performed of patients seen at a safety net hospital from January 2000 to December 2020.

Psychiatric Risk Factors and Burn Severity in Self-immolation.

Self-immolation, a form of self-harm involving setting oneself on fire, is associated with high mortality, morbidity, and healthcare burden. This study aimed to characterize potential clinical correlates and predisposing factors for self-immolation based on burn severity using TBSA percentage scoring. Additional objectives included identifying motivational elements, associated risk factors, and clinical characteristics to optimize patient care and reduce future self-immolation incidents.

Medical events in SARS-Cov-2 infected psychiatric inpatients with and without pre-existing co-morbid medical conditions.

SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection can be associated with significant medical complications. This risk could be even higher in psychiatric patients due to an increased risk of medical co-morbidity. In addition, psychiatric patients are also vulnerable to acquiring SARS-CoV2 infection due to homelessness, living in crowded areas, and poor adherence to recommended preventive measures.

Neuroblastoma RAS viral oncogene homolog (N-RAS) deficiency aggravates liver injury and fibrosis.

Progressive hepatic damage and fibrosis are major features of chronic liver diseases of different etiology, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms remain to be fully defined. N-RAS, a member of the RAS family of small guanine nucleotide-binding proteins also encompassing the highly homologous H-RAS and K-RAS isoforms, was previously reported to modulate cell death and renal fibrosis; however, its role in liver damage and fibrogenesis remains unknown. Here, we approached this question by using N-RAS deficient (N-RAS) mice and two experimental models of liver injury and fibrosis, namely carbon tetrachloride (CCl) intoxication and bile duct ligation (BDL).

Post Treatment Mastalgia is a Common Complaint but not an Indication of Recurrence or Second Primary Breast Cancer.

Background: Post-treatment mastalgia is a common complaint in up to 68% of patients after treatment. This symptom is worrisome to patients as many believe it is a sign of recurrence. The current study was performed to evaluate if post-treatment mastalgia is associated with a second breast cancer diagnosis.

Risk factors for rehospitalization for patients following release from court-ordered evaluation: A retrospective study.

We have noticed an increase in the number of patients who go through the court-ordered evaluation (COE) process but are not placed on a court-ordered treatment, and who then return to the hospital on another COE petition within one year from their initial discharge. The aim of this study is to examine what factors might be involved in rehospitalization in this population of psychiatric patients. The records of 146 readmitted patients and 146 randomized patients not readmitted were compared for various risk factors.

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs: Does the Arizona CSPMP Provide More Information than Routinely Collected in an Inpatient Psychiatric Facility?

Background: Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been implemented as tools to help identify misuse of prescription medications. There has been mixed data regarding the efficacy of PDMP, and physician attitudes towards it vary. In an inpatient psychiatric hospital, history of substance use, including prescription medications, and results of urine drug screens (UDS) are obtained during the admission interview.

Assessment of inpatient psychiatric readmission risk among patients discharged on an antipsychotic polypharmacy regimen: A retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Patients are frequently prescribed multiple antipsychotic medications, leading to higher healthcare costs and increased risk for side effects. The efficacy of multiple versus single antipsychotics to prevent acute relapse, measured by incidence of inpatient readmission, is investigated in Arizona, USA.

Method: A retrospective chart review compared socio-demographic and clinical data from 1,010 patients discharged on a single and 377 discharged on multiple antipsychotic medications.

Voluntariness to consent to research in a voluntarily and involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric population.

The purpose of our study was to examine rates of consent to participate in research in voluntarily and involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric patients in order to evaluate factors that may influence the decision to participate in research. We used logistic regression models to evaluate differences and found that involuntary patients were less likely to consent to participate. After adjustment for covariates, we found that consent rates did not differ between the involuntary and voluntary population, but that lower Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores and psychosis negatively affected the decision to consent to research.

Civil commitment outcomes of incompetent defendants.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, most defendants who are found not competent and not restorable (NCNR) are admitted involuntarily to an acute-care inpatient hospital. Many of these patients would most likely not have met the State's usual admission criteria for acute inpatient care had they not been evaluated in relation to a criminal offense. Is this group treated differently from their peers who are not involved in the criminal justice system? We examined records for 293 NCNR admissions, retrospectively, to assess their admission status and the outcomes of their commitment.

Feasibility and cost-effectiveness of standardised second-line drug treatment for chronic tuberculosis patients: a national cohort study in Peru.

Background: There are no data on the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of using second-line drugs to treat patients with chronic tuberculosis, many of whom are infected with multidrug resistant (MDR) strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in low or middle-income countries.

Methods: A national programme to treat chronic tuberculosis patients with a directly observed standardised 18-month daily regimen, consisting of kanamycin (3 months only), ciprofloxacin, ethionamide, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol, was established in Peru in 1997. Compliance and treatment outcomes were analysed for the cohort started on treatment between October, 1997, and March, 1999.