Closing the Gap in Direct Admissions: A Quality Improvement Project.

Background And Objectives: Direct admissions (DAs) are nonemergent admissions to the inpatient unit that bypass the emergency department. Our institution lacked a standardized DA process, which resulted in postponement of prompt patient care. The purpose of the present study was to review and modify the existing DA process and to decrease the time between patient arrival for DA and placement of initial clinician orders.

Safety of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients undergoing carbon dioxide insufflation in extended endoscopic procedures.

Introduction: Carbon dioxide (CO) insufflation for endoscopies has been shown to be more comfortable and safe, but only in patients without underlying chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of this study was to show that using CO is safe in COPD patients.

Methods: Patients were retrospectively identified who underwent extended endoscopic procedures during the time period of January 2012 to December 2017.