Deviating vital signs in continuous monitoring prior to discharge and risk of readmission: an observational study.

Premature discharge may result in readmission while longer hospitalization may increase risk of complications such as immobilization and reduce hospital capacity. Continuous monitoring detects more deviating vital signs than intermittent measurements and may help identify patients at risk of deterioration after discharge. We aimed to investigate the association between deviating vital signs detected by continuous monitoring prior to discharge and risk of readmission within 30 days. Patients undergoing elective major abdominal surgery or admitted with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were included in this study. Eligible patients had vital signs monitored continuously within the last 24 h prior to discharge. The association between sustained deviated vital signs and readmission risk was analyzed by using Mann-Whitney's U test and Chi-square test. A total of 51 out of 265 patients (19%) were readmitted within 30 days. Deviated respiratory vital signs occurred frequently in both groups: desaturation < 88% for at least ten minutes was seen in 66% of patients who were readmitted and in 62% of those who were not (p = 0.62) while desaturation < 85% for at least five minutes was seen in 58% of readmitted and 52% of non-readmitted patients (p = 0.5). At least one sustained deviated vital sign was detected in 90% and 85% of readmitted patients and non-readmitted patients, respectively (p = 0.2). Deviating vital signs prior to hospital discharge were frequent but not associated with increased risk of readmission within 30 days. Further exploration of deviating vital signs using continuous monitoring is needed.

Is There a Correlation Between the Number of Brain Cells and IQ?

Our access to a unique material of postmortem brains obtained from decades of data collection enabled a stereological analysis of the neuron numbers and correlation of results with individual premorbid intelligence quotient (IQ) data. In our sample of 50 brains from men, we find that IQ does not correlate with the number of brain cells in the human neocortex and was only weakly correlated to brain weight. Our stereological examination extended to measures of several other parameters that might be of relevance to intelligence, including numbers of cerebral glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia) and the volume of key areas in the gray and white matter and of the cerebral ventricles, also showing near-zero nonsignificant correlations to IQ.