Hospital practice (1995)
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Hospital practice (1995) · Aug 2017
An economic analysis of tolvaptan compared with fluid restriction among hospitalized patients with hyponatremia.
The vasopressin-receptor antagonist tolvaptan is used for the treatment of hyponatremia (HN) in hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) or syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). The objective of this economic modeling study was to assess the potential cost and health outcomes associated with tolvaptan in comparison with fluid restriction (FR). ⋯ Decision-analytic modeling based on published data for hospitalized CHF and SIADH patients with severe HN, indicates that tolvaptan compared with FR has the potential to improve health outcomes and produce cost-savings that more than offset the cost of tolvaptan.
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Hospital practice (1995) · Aug 2017
Nuts and bolts of running a pulmonary embolism response team: results from an organizational survey of the National PERT™ Consortium members.
Pulmonary embolism response teams (PERT) are developing rapidly to operationalize multi-disciplinary care for acute pulmonary embolism patients. Our objective is to describe the core components of PERT necessary for newly developing programs. ⋯ PERT programs can be implemented, with similar structures, at small and large, community and academic medical centers. While all PERT programs incorporate team-based multi-disciplinary care into their core structure, several different models exist with varying personnel and resource utilization. Understanding how different PERT programs impact clinical care remains to be investigated.
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Hospital practice (1995) · Aug 2017
The creation and implementation of an outpatient pulmonary embolism treatment protocol.
The ability to rapidly and accurately risk-stratify patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE), and the availability of direct acting oral anticoagulants have reduced the need for intravenous anticoagulation for patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). Emergency physicians are generally reluctant to discharge patients with VTE without defined and reliable follow up in place, and VTE patients treated with anticoagulants can be at risk for complications related to recurrent VTE and bleeding. In addition, screening for associated diseases (e.g. cancer, hypercoagulable states) may be indicated. ⋯ Our protocol is data driven and designed to address barriers to outpatient VTE management. We expect our protocol to result in improved patient satisfaction, more efficient emergency department (ED) throughput, and decreased cost. Applied nationally, the outpatient treatment of select patients with DVT and PE could have major public health and economic impact.
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The standard of care for oral anticoagulation therapy has primarily been warfarin, which is limited by its indirect mechanism-of-action, variable kinetics, tolerability, and routine monitoring concerns. The direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) have predictable pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and improved safety and efficacy compared to warfarin for the prevention of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and prevention or management of venous thromboembolism. Consequential bleeding is a concern with all anticoagulants. ⋯ However, this does not guarantee complete hemostasis, especially if a patient has underlying comorbidities such as renal or liver disease, or has experienced recent trauma that requires urgent surgery. In these cases, concomitant supportive therapy and/or administration of concentrated clotting factors may be considered. Emerging data from ongoing trials and clinical experience will further inform providers regarding optimal approaches for anticoagulation reversal.
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Hospital practice (1995) · Apr 2017
Early primary care follow-up after ED and hospital discharge - does it affect readmissions?
After hospitalization, timely discharge follow-up has been linked to reduced readmissions in the heart failure population, but data from general inpatients has been mixed. The objective of this study was to determine if there was an association between completed follow-up appointments within 14 days of hospital discharge and 30-day readmission amongst primary care patients at an urban academic medical center. Index discharges included both inpatient and emergency room settings. A secondary objective was to identify patient factors associated with completed follow-up appointments within 14 days. ⋯ Early follow-up within 14 days after discharge from general inpatient services was associated with a trend toward lower hazard of 30-day readmission though this finding was not significant. Future studies should focus on identifying additional cohorts of patients in which readmission is reduced by early follow-up, so that access to primary care appointments is not compromised.