Comorbid depression in surgical cancer patients associated with non-routine discharge and readmission

ObjectiveTo characterize the rates of depression across primary cancer sites, and determine the effects of comorbid depression among surgical cancer patients on established quality of care indicators, non-routine discharge and readmission.MethodsPatients undergoing surgical resection for cancer were selected from the Nationwide Readmissions Database (2010–2014). Multivariable analysis adjusted for patient and hospital level characteristics to ascertain the effect of depression on post-operative outcomes and 30-day readmission rates. Non-routine discharge encompasses discharge to skilled nursing, inpatient rehabilitation, and intermediate care facilities, as well as discharge home with home health services.ResultsAmong 851,606 surgically treated cancer patients, 8.1% had a comorbid diagnosis of depression at index admission (n = 69,174). Prevalence of depression was highest among patients with cancer of the brain (10.9%), female genital organs (10.9%), and lung (10.5%), and lowest among those with prostate cancer (4.9%). Depression prevalence among women (10.9%) was almost twice that of men (5.7%). Depression was associated with non-routine discharge after surgery (OR 1.20, CI:1.18–1.23, p < 0.0001*) and hospital readmission within 30 days (OR 1.12, CI:1.09–1.15, p < 0.001*).ConclusionRates of depression vary amongst surgically treated cancer patients by primary tumor site. Comorbid depression in these patients is associated with increased likelihood of non-routine discharge and readmission.     

正常产后48h母婴出院联合家庭访视的可行性研究

目的:评价经选择的母婴正常产后48 h出院联合家庭访视的可行性。方法:选择在深圳妇幼保健院正常产并接受产后家庭访视的10 172例产妇和9 297例新生儿为研究A组,同期拆线后出院的正常产产妇5 286例和新生儿4 604例为对照A组,比较两组产妇会阴伤口愈合不良发生率和婴儿再入院率。产后42天对1 000例产妇进行有关母乳喂养和产褥期母婴情况的问卷调查,按照是否曾接受产后访视将调查对象分为研究B组和对照B组,比较两组母乳喂养成功率和产褥期抑郁症的发生率。结果:通过产后家庭访视,平均缩短住院时间(1.76±0.44)天,研究A组产妇会阴伤口愈合不良发生率明显低于对照A组(P<0.05);研究A组婴儿再入院率和对照A组相比,差异无统计学意义(P>0.05);研究B组母乳喂养成功率明显高于对照组(P<0.05);研究B组产褥期抑郁症的发生率明显低于对照B组(P<0.05)。结论:对于经过选择的低风险产妇和婴儿,正常产后48 h出院联合家庭访视安全、经济、有效。     

Application of Independent Component Analysis for the Data Mining of Simultaneous Eeg–fMRI: Preliminary Experience on Sleep Onset

The simultaneous acquisition of electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional MRI (fMRI) signals is potentially advantageous because of the superior resolution that is achieved in both the temporal and spatial domains, respectively. However, ballistocardiographic artifacts along with ocular artifacts are a major obstacle for the detection of the EEG signatures of interest. Since the sources corresponding to these artifacts are independent from those producing the EEG signatures, we applied the Infomax-based independent component analysis (ICA) technique to separate the EEG signatures from the artifacts. The isolated EEG signatures were further utilized to model the canonical hemodynamic response functions (HRFs). Subsequently, the brain areas from which these EEG signatures originated were identified as locales of activation patterns from the analysis of fMRI data. Upon the identification and subsequent evaluation of brain areas generating interictal epileptic discharge (IED) spikes from an epileptic subject, the presented method was successfully applied to detect the theta and alpha rhythms that are sleep onset-related EEG signatures along with the subsequent neural circuitries from a sleep-deprived volunteer. These results suggest that the ICA technique may be useful for the preprocessing of simultaneous EEG–fMRI acquisitions, especially when a reference paradigm is unavailable.     

The Financial Impact of a Hospital-Based Care Coordination Program for Children With Special Health Care Needs

Care coordination programs are important in caring for medically complex pediatric patients, particularly for children with special health care needs. This study is a retrospective financial analysis of a hospital-based care coordination program involving one procedural subgroup of children with special health care needs: those receiving pediatric tracheostomy. Hospital records were reviewed for patients who received a tracheostomy at a large Midwestern U.S. hospital from 1999 through 2015. The population was divided into two subgroups: patients who received a tracheostomy before the development of a care coordination program and patients who received a tracheostomy after enrollment in the care coordination program. Patient records were reviewed for length of stay, readmissions related to respiratory and tracheostomy management, and total hospital charges. Enrollment in a care coordination program for the pediatric tracheostomy patient resulted in a decrease in mean length of stay and reduced hospital charges and a slight increase in readmissions. Further analysis using larger sample sizes and multiple centers is necessary to determine whether such outcomes are the direct result of enrollment in a care coordination program.     

Using a Decision Support Algorithm for Referrals to Post-Acute Care

Objectives

Although hospital clinicians strive to effectively refer patients who require post-acute care (PAC), their discharge planning processes often vary greatly, and typically are not evidence-based.

BOOK REVIEWS

No abstract available for this article.     

The existence of propagated sensation along the meridian proved by neuroelectrophysiology

Propagated sensation along the meridian can occur when acupoints are stimulated by acupuncture or electrical impulses. In this study, participants with notable propagated sensation along the me-ridian ...