Spatial patterns of rural opioid-related hospital emergency department visits: A machine learning analysis.

As opioid-related overdose emergency department visits continue to rise in the United States, there is a need to understand the location and magnitude of the crisis, especially in at-risk rural areas. We analyzed sets of ZIP code level electronic health records for emergency department visits from 6 hospitals for two rural regions of Maryland with higher opioid-related overdose rates. Analysis of the demographics of visits found Black or African American emergency department visits in both rural regions were higher than the proportion of their population per region.

Eradicating the Loneliness Epidemic: One Phone Call at a Time.

Loneliness and social isolation are serious problems that can impose negative consequences on individual well-being. Research suggests that loneliness can lead to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and other health issues. Meritus Health, recognizing that loneliness is an issue within its community, has set a goal to comprehensively eradicate loneliness.

Review: Failure of current digoxin monitoring for toxicity: new monitoring recommendations to maintain therapeutic levels for efficacy.

The current recommendations for monitoring digoxin, a narrow therapeutic index drug, are limited to confirming medication use or investigating suspicion of toxicity and fail our oath to do no harm. Numerous meta-analyses evaluating digoxin use consistently recommend frequent monitoring to maintain the level of 0.5 to ≤1.

Hypothyroidism Complicated by Vitamin C and Thiamin Deficiency in Surgical Patients.

Multiple vitamin deficiencies together with endocrinopathy may be encountered in individuals presenting with critical illness. Following the surprise postmortem diagnosis of concomitant scurvy, Wernicke, and hypothyroidism in an elderly woman presenting with a mix of atypical symptoms, patients considered at risk were tested for TSH, vitamin C, and thiamin levels. Between September 1, 2018, and December 31, 2022, 801 vitamin C levels in 679 patients were measured in our rural hospital and 309 (39%) were found <0.