Southern medical journal
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Dialysis access creation is a common outpatient procedure that can be completed using general, regional, or local anesthetic techniques. There are few endorsed guidelines regarding opioid-based pain control following fistula creation. The purpose of this study was to determine whether utilization of regional anesthesia (RA) is associated with the decreased use of narcotics postoperatively. ⋯ Morbidity and mortality related to opiate use continues to be a public health issue in the United States. This study demonstrates that regional anesthetic techniques in comparison to general anesthesia can result in a significant decrease in postoperative opiate consumption.
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Southern medical journal · Apr 2022
Disruption of Pediatric Emergency Department Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
There is evidence of substantial declines in pediatric emergency department (ED) utilization in the United States in the first several months of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Less is known about whether utilization changed differentially for socioeconomically disadvantaged children. This study examined how changes in pediatric ED visits during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic differed by two markers of socioeconomic disadvantage: minoritized race (MR) (compared with non-Hispanic White [NHW]), and publicly insured (compared with privately insured). ⋯ The role of socioeconomic disadvantage and the potential effects on pediatric ED visits during COVID-19 is understudied. Because disadvantaged children sometimes lack access to a usual source of health care, this raises concerns about unmet health needs and worsening health disparities.
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Frailty, a geriatric syndrome associated with high morbidity and mortality, has rarely been assessed in homebound older adults. As such, we evaluated the prevalence of frailty among older adults enrolled in a home-based primary care program. ⋯ Frailty is prevalent in homebound older adults and may be related to slower gait speed, polypharmacy, and/or multimorbidity.