Inferior vena cava diameter change after intravenous furosemide in patients diagnosed with acute decompensated heart failure.

PURPOSE: Measurement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameters may improve decision-making for patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure. Nevertheless, little is known about how the IVC is affected by loop diuretics. We sought to determine if bolus infusions of intravenous furosemide affect IVC diameters measured by hand-carried ultrasonography. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study at a public teaching hospital from September 2009 through June 2010. Physician investigators performed IVC ultrasonography on a convenience sample of 70 hospitalized adults who were prescribed intravenous furosemide for the diagnosis of acute decompensated heart failure. RESULTS: Participants' median baseline IVC diameter was 2.38 cm (interquartile range, 1.91-2.55 cm). At 1-2 hours after furosemide, IVC diameters decreased an average of 0.21 cm (95% CI, 0.13-0.29 cm) and remained significantly below baseline at 2-3 hours after furosemide by an average of 0.15 cm (95% CI, 0.07-0.22 cm). CONCLUSIONS: IVC diameters of adults diagnosed with acute decompensated heart failure become measurably smaller after single doses of intravenous furosemide. Whether this represents a true change in volume status has not been studied.

Hand-carried echocardiography by hospitalists: a randomized trial.

BACKGROUND: Hospitalists can use hand-carried echocardiography for accurate point-of-care information, but patient outcome data for its application are sparse. METHODS: We performed an unblinded, parallel-group randomized trial between July 2008 and March 2009 at one teaching hospital in Chicago, Illinois. We randomly assigned adult general medicine inpatients referred for standard echocardiography with indications investigatable by hand-carried echocardiography to care guided by hand-carried echocardiography or usual care. The main outcome measure was length of stay on the referring hospitalist's service. Secondary outcomes included a before-after analysis of reported changes in management due to hand-carried echocardiography and the diagnostic accuracy of hand-carried echocardiography. RESULTS: The difference in length of stay between 226 participants randomized to care guided by hand-carried echocardiography (geometric mean 46.1 hours, interquartile range 29.0-70.9 hours) and 227 participants randomized to usual care (46.9 hours, interquartile range 34.1-68.3 hours) corresponded to a 1.7% reduction in length of stay that was not statistically significant (95% confidence interval, -12.1 to 9.8%). In post hoc subgroup analyses, care guided by hand-carried echocardiography reduced length of stay in participants who were referred for heart failure (P=.0008). Among participants who underwent both hand-carried and standard echocardiography, hospitalists changed management due to hand-carried echocardiography in 37%. Despite the favorable diagnostic accuracy of hand-carried echocardiography, most changes to the timing of hospital discharge occurred after standard echocardiography. CONCLUSION: Hospitalist care guided by hand-carried echocardiography for unselected general medicine patients does not meaningfully affect length of stay. Whether or not it affects care quality remains unstudied.

Diagnostic accuracy of hospitalist-performed hand-carried ultrasound echocardiography after a brief training program.

BACKGROUND: The duration of training needed for hospitalists to accurately perform hand-carried ultrasound echocardiography (HCUE) is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of HCUE performed by hospitalists after a 27-hour training program. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Large public teaching hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 322 inpatients referred for standard echocardiography (SE) between March and May 2007. INTERVENTION: Blinded to SE results, attending hospitalist physicians performed HCUE within hours of SE. MEASUREMENTS: Diagnostic characteristics of HCUE as a test for 6 cardiac abnormalities assessed by SE: left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction; severe mitral regurgitation (MR); moderate or severe left atrium (LA) enlargement; moderate or severe LV hypertrophy; medium or large pericardial effusion; and dilatation of the inferior vena cava (IVC). RESULTS: A total of 314 patients underwent both SE and HCUE within a median time of 2.8 hours (25th to 75th percentiles, 1.4 to 5.1 hours). Positive and negative likelihood ratios for HCUE increased and decreased, respectively, the prior odds by 5-fold or more for LV systolic dysfunction, severe MR regurgitation, and moderate or large pericardial effusion. Likelihood ratios changed the prior odds by 2-fold or more for moderate or severe LA enlargement, moderate or severe LV hypertrophy, and IVC dilatation. Indeterminate HCUE results occurred in 2% to 6% of assessments. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy of HCUE performed by hospitalists after a brief training program was moderate to excellent for 6 important cardiac abnormalities.

A hospitalist-run short-stay unit: features that predict length-of-stay and eventual admission to traditional inpatient services.

BACKGROUND: Short-stay units (SSUs) provide an alternative to traditional inpatient services for patients with short anticipated hospital stays. Yet little is known about which patient types predict SSU success. OBJECTIVE: To describe patients admitted to our hospitalist-run SSU and explore predictors of length-of-stay (LOS) and eventual admission to traditional inpatient services. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Large public teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Consecutive admissions (n = 755) to the SSU over 4 months. INTERVENTION: Hospitalist attending physicians prospectively collected data from patients' histories, physical exams, and medical records upon admission and discharge. MEASUREMENTS: Risk assessments were made for patients with our most common provisional diagnoses: possible acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and heart failure. Patient stays were considered successful when LOS was less than 72 hours and eventual admission to traditional inpatient services was not required. RESULTS: Of 738 eligible patients, 79% (n = 582) had successful SSU stays. In a multivariable model, the provisional diagnosis of heart failure predicted stays longer than 72 hours (P = 0.007) but risk assessments were unimportant. Patients who received specialty consultations were most likely to need eventual admission (odds ratio [OR], 13.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.9-24.9), and the likelihood of long stays was inversely proportional to the accessibility of diagnostic tests. CONCLUSIONS: In our hospitalist-run SSU, the inaccessibility of diagnostic tests and the need for specialty consultations were the most important predictors of unsuccessful stays. Designs for other SSUs that care for mostly low-risk patients should focus on matching patients' diagnostic and consultative needs with readily accessible services.

Impact of a bedside procedure service on general medicine inpatients: A firm-based trial.

BACKGROUND: Procedure services may improve the training of bedside procedures. However, little is known about how procedure services may affect the demand for and success of procedures performed on general medicine inpatients. OBJECTIVE: Determine whether a procedure service affects the number and success of 4 bedside procedures (paracentesis, thoracentesis, lumbar puncture, and central venous catheterization) attempted on general medicine inpatients. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Large public teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Nineteen hundred and forty-one consecutive admissions to the general medicine service. INTERVENTION: A bedside procedure service was offered to physicians from 1 of 3 firms for 4 weeks. This service then crossed over to physicians from the other 2 firms for another 4 weeks. MEASUREMENTS: Data on all procedure attempts were collected daily from physicians. We examined whether the number of attempts and the proportion of successful attempts differed based on whether firms were offered the beside procedure service. RESULTS: The number of procedure attempts was 48% higher in firms offered the service (90 versus 61 per 1000 admissions; RR 1.48, 95% CI 1.06-2.10; P = .030). More than 85% of the observed increase was a result of procedures with therapeutic indications. There were no differences between firms in the proportions of successful attempts or major complications. CONCLUSIONS: The availability of a procedure service may increase the overall demand for bedside procedures. Further studies should refine the indications for and anticipated benefits from these commonly performed invasive procedures.