Care Fragmentation, Social Determinants of Health, and Postoperative Mortality in Older Veterans.

INTRODUCTION: Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program (VASQIP) benchmarking algorithms helped the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) reduce postoperative mortality. Despite calls to consider social risk factors, these algorithms do not adjust for social determinants of health (SDoH) or account for services fragmented between the VHA and the private sector. This investigation examines how the addition of SDoH change model performance and quantifies associations between SDoH and 30-d postoperative mortality. METHODS: VASQIP (2013-2019) cohort study in patients ≥65 y old with 2-30-d inpatient stays. VASQIP was linked to other VHA and Medicare/Medicaid data. 30-d postoperative mortality was examined using multivariable logistic regression models, adjusting first for clinical variables, then adding SDoH. RESULTS: In adjusted analyses of 93,644 inpatient cases (97.7% male, 79.7% non-Hispanic White), higher proportions of non-veterans affairs care (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.02, 95% CI = 1.01-1.04) and living in highly deprived areas (aOR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.02-1.29) were associated with increased postoperative mortality. Black race (aOR = 0.77, CI = 0.68-0.88) and rurality (aOR = 0.87, CI = 0.79-0.96) were associated with lower postoperative mortality. Adding SDoH to models with only clinical variables did not improve discrimination (c = 0.836 versus c = 0.835). CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative mortality is worse among Veterans receiving more health care outside the VA and living in highly deprived neighborhoods. However, adjusting for SDoH is unlikely to improve existing mortality-benchmarking models. Reduction efforts for postoperative mortality could focus on alleviating care fragmentation and designing care pathways that consider area deprivation. The adjusted survival advantage for rural and Black Veterans may be of interest to private sector hospitals as they attempt to alleviate enduring health-care disparities.

Social Determinants of Long-Term Opioid Use Following Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) risks persistent pain and long-term opioid use (LTO). The role of social determinants of health (SDoH) in LTO is not well established. We hypothesized that SDoH would be associated with postsurgical LTO after controlling for relevant demographic and clinical variables. This study utilized data from the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program, VA Corporate Data Warehouse, and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including Veterans aged ≥ 65 who underwent elective TKA between 2013 and 2019 with no postsurgical complications or history of significant opioid use. LTO was defined as > 90 days of opioid use beginning within 90 days postsurgery. SDoH variables included the Area Deprivation Index, rurality, and housing instability in the last 12 months identified via medical record screener or International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes. Multivariable risk adjustment models controlled for demographic and clinical characteristics. Of the 9,064 Veterans, 97% were male, 84.2% white, mean age was 70.6 years, 46.3% rural, 11.2% living in highly deprived areas, and 0.9% with a history of homelessness/housing instability. Only 3.7% (n = 336) developed LTO following TKA. In a logistic regression model of only SDoH variables, housing instability (odds ratio [OR] = 2.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.09-5.22) and rurality conferred significant risk for LTO. After adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, LTO was only associated with increasing days of opioid supply in the year prior to surgery (OR = 1.52, 95% CI: 1.43-1.63 per 30 days) and the initial opioid fill (OR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.06-1.08 per day). Our primary hypothesis was not supported; however, our findings do suggest that patients with housing instability may present unique challenges for postoperative pain management and be at higher risk for LTO.

Older Adults' Process of Collaborating With a Support Team During Transitions From Hospital to Home: A Grounded Theory Study.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Little is known about how older adults engage with multiple sources of support and resources during transitions from hospital to home, a period of high vulnerability. This study aims to describe how older adults identify and collaborate with a support team, including unpaid/family caregivers, health care providers, and professional and social networks, during the transition. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This study utilized grounded theory methodology. One-on-one interviews were conducted with adults aged 60 and older following their discharge from a medical/surgical inpatient unit in a large midwestern teaching hospital. Data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. RESULTS: Participants (N = 25) ranged from 60 to 82 years of age, 11 were female, and all participants were White, non-Hispanic. They described a process of identifying a support team and collaborating with that team to manage at home and progress their health, mobility, and engagement. Support teams varied, but included collaborations between the older person, unpaid/family caregiver(s), and their health care providers. Their collaboration was impacted by the participant's professional and social networks. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Older adults collaborate with multiple sources of support and this collaboration is a dynamic process that varies across phases of their transition from hospital to home. Findings reveal opportunities for assessing individual's support and social networks, in addition to health and functional status, to determine needs and leverage resources during transitions in care.

COVID-19 and Elective Spine Surgery: The Older Persons' Experience of Going It Alone.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Older people with debilitating degenerative spine disease may benefit from surgery. However, recovery is described as a circuitous process. In general, they describe feeling powerless and receiving depersonalized care during hospitalization. Institution of hospital no-visitor policies to reduce COVID-19 spread may have caused additional negative consequences. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to understand experiences of older people who underwent spine surgery during early COVID-19. METHODS: Grounded theory guided this study of people 65 years or older undergoing elective spine surgery. Fourteen individuals were recruited for 2 in-depth interviews at 2 time points: T1 during hospitalization and T2, 1 to 3 months post discharge. All participants were affected by pandemic-imposed restrictions with 4 interviews at T1 with no visitors, 10 with a 1-visitor policy, and 6 interviews at T2 rehabilitation setting with no visitors. Discriminate sampling of data in which participants described their experiences with COVID-19 visitor restrictions was used. Open and axial coding (consistent with grounded theory) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: Three categories, worry and waiting , being alone , and being isolated , emerged from the data. Participants had delays ( waiting ) in getting their surgery scheduled, which produced worry that they would lose more function, become permanently disabled, have increased pain, and experience more complications such as falls. Participants described being alone during their hospital and rehabilitation recovery, without physical or emotional support from family and limited nursing staff contact. Being isolated often occurred from institution policy, restricting participants to their rooms leading to boredom and, for some, panic. CONCLUSIONS: Restricted access to family after spine surgery and during recovery resulted in emotional and physical burden for participants. Our findings support neuroscience nurses advocating for family/care partner integration into patient care delivery and investigation into the effect of system-level policies on patient care and outcomes.

Family Role in Care of Patients With Neurological Conditions: International Neuroscience Nursing Research Symposium Proceedings.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Discussions during the 2022 International Neuroscience Nursing Research Symposium highlighted the impact of family in the care of neuroscience patients. This sparked conversations about the need for understanding global differences in family involvement in the care of patients with neurological conditions. METHODS: Neuroscience nurses from Germany, India, Japan, Kenya, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Vietnam collaborated to provide a short summary of family involvement in caring for patients with neurological conditions in their respective countries. RESULTS: Family roles for neuroscience patients vary across the globe. Caring for neuroscience patients can be challenging. Family involvement in treatment decisions and patient care can be affected by sociocultural beliefs and practices, economic factors, hospital policies, manifestation of the disease, and long-term care requirements. CONCLUSION: Understanding the geographic, cultural, and sociopolitical implications of family involvement in care is of benefit to neuroscience nurses.

Care Partner Inclusion of People Hospitalized With Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Systems Engineering Approach to Designing a Health Care System Toolkit.

BACKGROUND: Research and policy demonstrate the value and need for the systematic inclusion of care partners in hospital care delivery of people living with Alzheimer disease and related dementias (ADRD). Support provided to care partners through information and training regarding caregiving responsibilities is important to facilitating their active inclusion and ultimately improving hospital outcomes of people living with ADRD. To promote care partners' active inclusion, a toolkit that guides health systems in the identification, assessment, and training of care partners is needed. User-centered approaches can address this gap in practice by creating toolkits that are practical and responsive to the needs of care partners and their hospitalized family members and friends living with ADRD. OBJECTIVE: This paper describes the study protocol for the development and refinement of the ADRD Systematic Hospital Inclusion Family Toolkit (A-SHIFT). A-SHIFT will provide health care systems with guidance on how to effectively identify, assess, and train care partners of hospitalized persons living with ADRD. METHODS: The A-SHIFT study protocol will use a 3-aimed, convergent mixed method approach to iteratively develop and refine the toolkit. In Aim 1, we will use a systems-engineering approach to characterize patterns of care partner inclusion in hospital care for people living with ADRD. In Aim 2, we will partner with stakeholders to identify and prioritize health care system facilitators and barriers to the inclusion for care partners of hospitalized people living with ADRD. In Aim 3, we will work with stakeholders to co-design an adaptable toolkit to be used by health systems to facilitate the identification, assessment, and training of care partners of hospitalized people living with ADRD. Our convergent mixed method approach will facilitate triangulation across all 3 aims to increase the credibility and transferability of results. We anticipate this study to take 24 months between September 1, 2022, and August 31, 2024. RESULTS: The A-SHIFT study protocol will yield (1) optimal points in the hospital workflow for care partner inclusion, (2) a prioritized list of potentially modifiable barriers and facilitators to including care partners in the hospitalization of people living with ADRD, and (3) a converged-upon, ready for feasibility testing of the toolkit to guide the inclusion of care partners of people living with ADRD in hospital care. CONCLUSIONS: We anticipate that the resultant A-SHIFT will provide health systems with a readiness checklist, implementation plan, and resources for identifying, assessing, and training care partners on how to fulfill their caregiving roles for people living with ADRD after hospital discharge. A-SHIFT has the potential to not only improve care partner preparedness but also help reduce health and service use outcomes for people living with ADRD after hospital discharge. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/45274.

Older Adults' Experiences Living With and Having Spine Surgery for Degenerative Spine Disease.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Globally, older adults are undergoing spine surgery for degenerative spine disease at exponential rates. However, little is known about their experiences of living with and having surgery for this debilitating condition. This study investigated older adults' understanding and experiences of living with and having surgery for degenerative spine disease. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Qualitative methods, grounded theory, guided the study. Fourteen older adults (≥65 years) were recruited for in-depth interviews at 2 time-points: T1 during hospitalization and T2, 1-3-months postdischarge. A total of 28 interviews were conducted. Consistent with grounded theory, purposive, and theoretical sampling were used. Data analysis included open, axial, and selective coding. RESULTS: A conceptual model was developed illustrating the process older adults with degenerative spine disease experience, trying to get their life back. Three key categories were identified (1) Losing Me, (2) Fixing Me, and (3) Recovering Me. Losing Me was described as a prolonged process of losing functional independence and the ability to socialize. Fixing Me consisted of preparing for surgery and recovery. Recovering Me involved monitoring progression and reclaiming their personhood. Conditions, including setbacks and delays, slowed their trajectory. Throughout, participants continually adjusted expectations. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: The conceptual model, based on real patient experiences, details how older adults living with and having surgery for degenerative spine disease engage in recovering who they were prior to the onset of symptoms. Our findings provide a framework for understanding a complex, protracted trajectory that involves transitions from health to illness working toward health again.

In-hospital medical complication in older people after spine surgery: A scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Worldwide, older people are suffering from lumbar degenerative disease at an annual rate of 266 million. Although spine surgeries restore mobility, reduce pain and resolve neurological damage, these procedures can place older persons at high-risk for medical complications due to multiple comorbid conditions that are often present in this population. However, the prevalence of complications occurring in older people prior to discharge is unknown. Postoperative medical complications lead to increased healthcare costs as well as pain and potential harm for the patient. Hence, this scoping review aimed to provide an overview of the current knowledge state regarding in-hospital medical postoperative complications in older people (≥65 years) after elective spine surgery. METHOD: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley's framework. Four databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus and CINAHL) were systematically searched. Inclusion criteria were medical complication(s) after elective spine surgery prior to discharge, age ≥65 years and English language. Co-occurrence analysis was used to examine how often each complication was examined in the literature and how often the complications co-occur. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies met inclusion criteria. The most frequently examined postoperative medical complications after spine surgery are delirium and urinary tract infection, followed by gastrointestinal and pulmonary embolus. Despite the list of in-hospital medical complications, definitions or criteria for measurement of any identified complication were sparse and inconsistent. There is a lack of definition or instruments to comprehensively assess medical complications incurred by older people following spine surgery, including characteristics, classification methodology and temporality. To date, no research has been conducted on how older people experience or perceive a medical complication after elective spine surgery. CONCLUSION: The findings highlight the importance to develop comprehensive instruments to assess co-occurrence of postoperative medical complications and design interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of medical complications incurred by older people after spine surgery.

Cultural Perspectives on Pain Assessment and Opioid Use: International Neuroscience Nursing Research Symposium Conference Proceedings.

ABSTRACT: INTRODUCTION: In August of 2020, the 4th International Neuroscience Nursing Research Symposium was held. The purpose of the symposium was to share neuroscience nursing research from around the world. One of the topics thought most notable that stimulated a crucial conversation was how different countries assessed pain and their use of opioids for pain management. BACKGROUND: Neuroscience nurses are global. What is not known is their experience with and what challenges exist with pain management for human beings in their country. Crossing geographic and cultural boundaries, pain affects all human beings. Each culture has unique values and beliefs regarding pain. Patient barriers, pivotal in this article, included poverty, poor health literacy, opioid phobia, and cultural as well as social beliefs. RESULTS: Neuroscience nurses from Australia, Brazil, Germany, Singapore, India, Ghana, Kenya, Philippines, South Africa, and the United States each collaborated to provide a short summary of assessing pain and use of opioids for pain management for the neuroscience patient. CONCLUSION: Neuroscience patients have varying degrees of pain based on many factors. Various countries have religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions that influence the reporting and management of pain. Pain assessment and management can be challenging, especially for the neuroscience nurses around the world.

Upper Thoracic Spine Synovial Cyst Resulting in Paraplegia Following Transient Hypotension.

Development of synovial cysts in the rigid thoracic spine is rare. Additionally, synovial cysts with compression of nerve roots typically cause subacute or chronic radiculopathy. We present a patient who had a new diagnosis of upper thoracic (T1-2) synovial cyst that caused acute paraplegia while hospitalized for therapies and surgical planning. The patient is a 56-year-old male with a history of congestive heart failure secondary to alcoholic cardiomyopathy. He presented with a progressive bilateral lower extremity discoordination, urinary incontinence, and altered perineal sensation. His examination revealed intact strength to bedside assessment, intact rectal tone, but upgoing toes on Babinski testing. Given concern for myelopathy, MRI thoracic spine was obtained and demonstrated large T1-2 synovial cyst causing severe compression with associated T2 signal change within the spinal cord. He underwent expedited cardiac optimization that included resumption of outpatient antihypertensive medications and the addition of a single dose of intravenous diuretic. The patient had subsequent transient hypotension following significant diuresis and developed acute paraplegia in his bilateral lower extremities. Fluids and vasopressors were initiated, and he underwent emergent surgery for decompression and synovial cyst resection. The patient did very well and had normalization of his neurological exam within 24 hours. We present a case of acute paraplegia secondary to hypotension and spinal cord hypoperfusion in a patient with upper thoracic synovial cyst. This is rare pathology with an even more unique presentation. The authors recommend careful perioperative hemodynamic monitoring to help avoid acute worsening in this patient population.

Comparison of perioperative oral multimodal analgesia versus IV PCA for spine surgery.

STUDY DESIGN: A preintervention and postintervention design was used to examine a total of 200 patients. OBJECTIVE: After successful implementation at our institution of a perioperative oral multimodal analgesia protocol in major joint arthroplasty, a modified regimen was provided to patients undergoing spine procedures. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: A proactive, multimodal approach is currently recommended for the management of acute postoperative pain. Inadequate postoperative analgesia can negatively influence surgical outcome and duration of rehabilitation. Routine use of intravenous patient controlled analgesia (IV PCA) after surgery can result in substantial functional interference, side effects, and lead to untoward events as a result of programming errors. METHODS: A preintervention and postintervention design was used to compare a historical control group of spine surgery patients who received conventional IV PCA (N=100) with a prospective group who received some form of perioperative oral multimodal analgesia (N=100). The new regimen included preoperative and postoperative scheduled extended-release oxycodone, gabapentin, and acetaminophen, intraoperative dolasetron and as-needed postoperative short-acting oral oxycodone. Patient surveys and chart audits were used to measure pain intensity, functional interference from pain, opioid consumption, analgesic-related side effects, and patient satisfaction over the first 24 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: Patients who received the new perioperative multimodal oral regimen had significantly less opioid consumption (P<0.001), lower ratings of Least Pain (P<0.01), and experienced less nausea (P<.001), drowsiness (P<0.05), interference with walking (P=0.05), and coughing and deep breathing (P<0.05) compared with the IV PCA group. CONCLUSIONS: This quality improvement study shows some safety and significant advantages of a multimodal perioperative oral analgesic regimen compared with standard IV PCA after spine surgery.

Lumbar spine: common pathology and interventions.

Lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus (HNP) and lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) are common spine pathologies with different clinical presentations and interventions. HNP generally has an acute onset often without a precipitating event. Unless there is a significant or emergent neurologic deficit, nonsurgical medical management is warranted for 6 or more weeks after the onset of symptoms. If there is no improvement in 6 weeks, surgical intervention may be indicated. Microdiscectomy is the gold standard treatment for uncomplicated HNP. LSS has an insidious onset. Often, clinical presentation is a long history of intermittent back pain and gradual decrease in ambulation due to leg pain-which quickly subsides upon sitting. Medical management is the first treatment choice. If there is no improvement in the patient's condition, surgery may be necessary. As with any spine surgery, patient symptoms, clinical exam, and diagnostics must correlate. Postoperative care differs for microdiscectomy and decompressive laminectomy because the surgical pathology and interventions are different. The usual age variation of patients undergoing either of the two procedures will also change postoperative care needs. Neuroscience nurses provide ongoing patient education, and ensure a complete understanding of the proposed surgical intervention and outcome that may be expected by the patient and family. Congruent expectations between the patient and provider are vital. In addition, accurate assessment and evaluation of the patient's physical and functional progress by neuroscience nurses is of the utmost importance.

Upper cervical spine chordoma: a case study.

Cervical chordomas are rare, slow-growing, but locally aggressive tumors. Predominantly found in people 50-69 years old, a chordoma arises from remnants of the primitive notochord. It is most often found in the sacrococcygeal or skull base areas. However, it can be found throughout the spine. Because chordomas are slow growing, they may reach considerable size before the patient becomes symptomatic. Surgical resection with a wide margin is the only curative procedure. Usually, because of tumor location and infiltration, this is not possible. Although this type of tumor is generally considered radioresistant, radiation therapy is often prescribed after surgical resection. The following case study illustrates the clinical presentation, surgical interventions, and neuroscience nursing considerations for a patient undergoing a posterior stabilization as well as a midline mandibulotomy-glossotomy approach for an upper cervical spine chordoma resection.