Articles: mortality.
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High rates of antipsychotic drug prescribing in nursing homes can signal poor quality processes, but also raise concerns about drug safety due to the mortality risk of this therapy. Determining the extent to which variations in antipsychotic use are a symptom of facility-level quality problems as compared with a drug safety issue is important for selecting the correct interventions to effect change. ⋯ Residents were at increased risk of death simply by being admitted to a facility with a higher intensity of antipsychotic drug use, despite similar clinical characteristics at admission.
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The details hidden within the recent increase (1999-2004) in unintentional injury mortality have not been studied. ⋯ Specific subgroups of whites have recently experienced the most marked increases in fatal unintentional injuries, including falls, poisoning, motor-vehicle crashes, suffocation, fire/burns, and drowning. These increases merit further attention from researchers and policymakers.
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To compare the risk of mortality of nonagenarian siblings with that of sporadic nonagenarians (not selected on having a nonagenarian sibling) and to compare the prevalence of morbidity in their offspring with that of the offsprings' partners. ⋯ The lower mortality rate of nonagenarian siblings and lower prevalence of morbidity in their middle-aged offspring reinforce the notion that resilience against disease and death have similar underlying biology that is determined by genetic or familial factors.
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Total pancreatectomy (TP) is performed for various indications. Historically, morbidity and mortality have been high. Recent series reporting improved peri-operative mortality have renewed interest in TP. We performed a national review of TP including indication, patient/hospital characteristics, complications and peri-operative mortality. ⋯ TP is increasingly performed nationwide with a concomitant decrease in peri-operative mortality. Patient characteristics, rather than hospital volume, predicted increased mortality.