Patient engagement and prescription opioid use in perioperative pain management.

Objective: To examine (1) patient perceptions regarding their engagement and the engagement of their families in perioperative pain management, (2) demographic and clinical characteristics associated with perceived patient and family engagement, and (3) the association between perceived patient and family engagement and patient outcomes.

Design: A prospective, observational study.

Setting: The Personalized Pain Program (PPP) at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Thromboendarterectomy in a patient with Systemic Lupus and antiphospholipid Syndrome, lessons learned from a complex disease interaction.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is the prototypic multisystem autoimmune disorder with a broad spectrum of clinical presentations encompassing almost all organs and tissues. Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the occurrence of venous and/or arterial thrombosis and pregnancy morbidity in the presence of pathogenic autoantibodies known as antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Chronic thromboembolism is one of the well-known established pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension, known as chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

Quality Improvement Initiative to Improve Postoperative Pain with a Clinical Pathway and Nursing Education Program.

Background And Aims: We created a multicomponent intervention to improve pain management in the immediate postoperative period with the goal of improving the quality of patient recovery.

Design: A multicomponent intervention to improve pain management in the immediate postoperative period with the goal of improving the quality of patient recovery.

Settings: Pain management education of postanesthesia recovery room nurses through a practical intervention has the potential to improve patient pain experience, especially in those with a history of opioid tolerance.

The degree of hair graying as an independent risk marker for coronary artery disease, a CT coronary angiography study.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death worldwide. Aging is an unavoidable coronary risk factor and is associated with dermatological signs that could be a marker for increased coronary risk. We tested the hypothesis that hair graying as a visible marker of aging is associated with risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) independent of chronological age.