Improved Outcomes With Integrated Intensivist Consultation for Cardiac Surgery Patients.

This study examined the impact of integrated intensivist consultation in the immediate postoperative period on outcomes for cardiac surgery patients. A retrospective cohort study was conducted in 1711 adult cardiac surgery patients from a single quaternary care center in Minnesota. Outcomes were compared across 2 consecutive 2-year time periods reflecting an elective intensivist model (n = 801) and an integrated intensivist model (n = 910).

Recognition and Prevention of Nosocomial Malnutrition: A Review and A Call to Action!

Nosocomial malnutrition in hospitalized adults is a morbid, costly, and potentially preventable and treatable problem. Although recognized as contributing to many serious complications of hospitalization, malnutrition is often missed when present on admission and rarely diagnosed if it occurs during hospital stay. Many routine clinical practices such as holding nutrition for testing or failing to address poor intake, when added to acute inflammatory disease states, cause rapid deterioration in nutritional status in up to 70% of inpatients.

Evaluating Automated Rules for Rapid Response System Alarm Triggers in Medical and Surgical Patients.

Background: The use of rapid response systems (RRS), which were designed to bring clinicians with critical care expertise to the bedside to prevent unnecessary deaths, has increased. RRS rely on accurate detection of acute deterioration events. Early warning scores (EWS) have been used for this purpose but were developed using heterogeneous populations.

Incidence and 1-Year Outcomes of Perioperative Atrial Arrhythmia in Elderly Adults After Hip Fracture Surgery.

Objectives: To determine the incidence and 1-year outcomes of an elderly population with perioperative atrial arrhythmia (PAA) within 7 days of hip fracture surgery.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: The Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP).

Nutrition in the hospitalized patient.

Almost 50% of patients are malnourished on admission; many others develop malnutrition during admission. Malnutrition contributes to hospital morbidity, mortality, costs, and readmissions. The Joint Commission requires malnutrition risk screening on admission.

Clinical presentation and outcome of perioperative myocardial infarction in the very elderly following hip fracture surgery.

Background: Patterns of clinical symptoms and outcomes of perioperative myocardial infarction (PMI) in elderly patients after hip fracture repair surgery are not well defined.

Methods: A retrospective 1:2 case-control study in a cohort of 1212 elderly patients undergoing hip fracture surgery from 1988 to 2002 in Olmsted County, Minnesota.

Results: The mean age was 85.

A clinical deterioration prediction tool for internal medicine patients.

Many early warning models for hospitalized patients use variables measured on admission to the hospital ward; few have been rigorously derived and validated. The objective was to create and validate a clinical deterioration prediction tool using routinely collected clinical and nursing measurements. Multivariate regression analysis was used to determine clinical variables statistically associated with clinical deterioration; subsequently, the model tool was retrospectively validated using a different cohort of medical inpatients.

Do timely outpatient follow-up visits decrease hospital readmission rates?

It is widely believed that timely follow-up decreases hospital readmissions; however, the literature evaluating time to follow-up is limited. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of patients discharged from a tertiary care academic medical center and evaluated the relationship between outpatient follow-up appointments made and 30-day unplanned readmissions. Of 1044 patients discharged home, 518 (49.

The Charlson Comorbidity Index Score as a predictor of 30-day mortality after hip fracture surgery.

This study is a retrospective chart review to determine the association of Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), age, body mass index (BMI), and admission glucose with the incidence of postoperative 30-day mortality in older patients undergoing hip fracture surgery from January 1, 2000, to June 30, 2002. A total of 40 (8%) of 485 eligible patients died within 30 days after hip fracture surgery. The factors associated with 30-day mortality were age > 90 years (odds ratio [OR] = 2.

Unplanned transfers to the intensive care unit: the role of the shock index.

Background: Unplanned (unexpected) transfers to the intensive care unit (ICU) are typically preceded by physiologic instability. However, trends toward instability may be subtle and not accurately reflected by changes in vital signs. The shock index (SI) (heart rate/systolic blood pressure as an indicator of left ventricular function, reference value of 0.

Gaining efficiency and satisfaction in the handoff process.

Background: Handoffs, or transfers of patient care responsibility, occur frequently on hospitalist teams. The reliability and efficiency of the handoff process is a national and local concern. Most studies in the literature regard physicians-in-training.

Approaching hospital administration about adopting cooling technologies.

The purpose of this article is to provide intensivists with information and examples regarding cooling technology selection, cost assessment, adaptation, barriers, and presentation to hospital administrators. A review of medical and business literature was conducted using the following search terms: technology assessment, organizational innovation, intensive care, critical care, hospital administration, and presentation to administrators. General recommendations for intensivists are made for assessing cooling technology with descriptions of common new technology implementation stages.