Publications by authors named "L Herwaldt"
Article Synopsis
- This study focused on understanding how common diagnostic uncertainty is when critically ill children are admitted to Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs) and what factors contribute to it.
- Researchers reviewed medical records from 882 pediatric patients across four hospitals to assess the presence of diagnostic uncertainty at admission and how it changed by the time of discharge.
- Key findings indicated that 25.9% of patients showed diagnostic uncertainty upon PICU admission, with significant factors being the time of admission, illness severity, atypical symptoms, and discrepancies in diagnoses between different healthcare providers.
SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity among healthcare professionals in a rural state.
Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
October 2024
Objectives: We evaluated SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid (anti-N) seroconversion and seroreversion rates, risk factors associated with SARS-CoV-2 seroconversion, and COVID-19 risk perceptions among academic healthcare center employees in a rural state.
Methods: Among employees aged ≥18 years who completed a screening survey (n = 1,377), we invited all respondents reporting previous COVID-19 (n = 85; 82 accepted) and a random selection of respondents not reporting previous COVID-19 (n = 370; 220 accepted) to participate. Participants completed surveys and provided blood samples at 3-month intervals (T0, T3, T6, T9).
Background: A substantial proportion of patients undergoing hemodialysis carry in their noses, and carriers are at increased risk of bloodstream infections. Our pragmatic clinical trial implemented nasal povidone-iodine (PVI) decolonization for the prevention of bloodstream infections in the novel setting of hemodialysis units.
Objective: We aimed to identify pragmatic strategies for implementing PVI decolonization among patients in outpatient hemodialysis units.
Dr. Loreen Herwaldt on research, writing, sabbaticals, and planks.
Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol
March 2024
Objectives: For patients requiring transfer to a higher level of care, excellent interfacility communication is essential. Our objective was to characterize verbal handoffs for urgent interfacility transfers of children to the PICU and compare these characteristics with known elements of high-quality intrahospital shift-to-shift handoffs.
Design: Mixed methods retrospective study of audio-recorded referral calls between referring clinicians and receiving PICU physicians for urgent interfacility PICU transfers.