Development of a Medical Complexity Score for Pediatric Aerodigestive Patients.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a complexity scoring system to characterize the diverse population served in pediatric aerodigestive clinics and help predict their treatment outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: A 7-point medical complexity score was developed through an iterative group consensus of relative stakeholders to capture the spectrum of comorbidities among the aerodigestive population. One point was assigned for each comorbid diagnosis in the following categories: airway anomaly, neurologic, cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genetic diagnoses, and prematurity. A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients seen in the aerodigestive clinic who had ≥2 visits between 2017 and 2021. The predictive value of the complexity score for the selected outcome of feeding progression among children with dysphagia was analyzed with univariate and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: We analyzed 234 patients with complexity scores assigned, showing a normal distribution (Shapiro Wilk P = .406) of the scores 1-7 (median, 4; mean, 3.50 ± 1.47). In children with dysphagia, there was waning success in the improvement of oral feeding with increasing complexity scores (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.51-0.84; P = .001). Tube-fed children with higher complexity scores were incrementally less likely to achieve full oral diet (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.40-0.89; P = .01). On multivariable analysis, neurologic comorbidity (OR, 0.26; P < .001) and airway malformation (OR, 0.35; P = .01) were associated with a decreased likelihood to improve in oral feeding. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a novel complexity score for the pediatric aerodigestive population that is easy to use, successfully stratifies diverse presentations, and shows promise as a predictive tool to assist in counseling and resource use.

Frailty in geriatric psychiatry inpatients: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence, clinical determinants, and consequences (falls and hospitalization) of frailty in older adults with mental illness. DESIGN: Retrospective clinical cohort study. SETTING: We collected the data in a specialized psychogeriatric ward, in Boston, USA, between July 2018 and June 2019. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and fourty-four inpatients aged 65 years old and over. MEASUREMENTS: Psychiatric diagnosis was based on a multi-professional consensus meeting according to DSM-5 criteria. Frailty was assessed according to two common instruments, that is, the FRAIL questionnaire and the deficit accumulation model (aka Frailty Index [FI]). Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association between frailty and sample demographics (age, female sex, and non-Caucasian ethnicity) and clinical characteristics (dementia, number of clinical diseases, current infection, number of psychotropic, and non-psychotropic medications in use). Multiple regression between frailty assessments and either falls or number of hospital admissions in the last 6 and 12 months, respectively, were analyzed and adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: Prevalence of frailty was high, that is, 83.6% according to the FI and 55.3% according to the FRAIL questionnaire. Age, the number of clinical (somatic) diseases, and the number of non-psychotropic medications were independently associated with frailty identified by the FRAIL. Dementia, current infection, the number of clinical (somatic) diseases, and the number of non-psychotropic medications were independently associated with frailty according to the FI. Falls were significantly associated with both frailty instruments. However, we found only a significant association for the number of hospital admissions with the FI. CONCLUSION: Frailty is highly prevalent among geriatric psychiatry inpatients. The FRAIL questionnaire and the FI may capture different forms of frailty dimensions, being the former probably more associated with the phenotype model and the latter more associated with multimorbidity.

Medical comorbidity of binge eating disorder.

PURPOSE: To gain further understanding of the general medical comorbidity of binge eating disorder (BED) beyond its association with obesity. METHOD: We reviewed studies of general medical comorbidity in people with BED or clinically significant binge eating behavior beyond obesity. We also reviewed studies of BED in specific medical conditions. RESULTS: Three broad study categories of medical comorbidity in BED were found: cross-sectional studies of medical conditions in BED; prospective studies of medical conditions in BED; and studies of BED in specific medical conditions. Cross-sectional epidemiologic data suggest that BED is associated with medical conditions related to obesity, including diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemias, sleep problems/disorders, and pain conditions, and that BED may be related to these conditions independent of obesity and co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Prospective data suggest that BED may be associated with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. BED or binge eating behavior is also associated with asthma and gastrointestinal symptoms and disorders, and among women, menstrual dysfunction, pregnancy complications, intracranial hypertension, and polycystic ovary syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: BED is associated with substantial medical comorbidity beyond obesity. Further study of the general medical comorbidity of BED and its relationship to obesity and co-occurring psychiatric disorders is greatly needed.

Comorbidades médicas em pacientes ambulatoriais com transtorno do humor bipolar tipo I / General medical comorbidities in Brazilian outpatients with bipolar disorder type I

CONTEXTO: O transtorno do humor bipolar (THB) está associado a altas taxas de comorbidades médicas gerais (CMGs) e fatores de risco para problemas médicos, porém há escassos relatos sobre a prevalência dessas condições em brasileiros com THB. OBJETIVO: Descrever a prevalência de CMGs em uma amostra de pacientes com THB tipo I. MÉTODOS: Dados clínicos de 195 pacientes com THB tipo I foram revisados para identificação de CMGs. Pacientes com e sem CMGs foram comparados usando o teste não paramétrico Mann-Whitney e o teste qui-quadrado. RESULTADOS: Sessenta e três por cento dos pacientes relataram pelo menos uma comorbidade médica. As condições mais prevalentes foram: enxaqueca (31,8%), hipotireoidismo (24,1%), hipertensão (11,3%), traumatismo craniano (10,3%), asma (9,7%), epilepsia (8,2%), diabetes (5,1%), acidente vascular cerebral (2,1%) e hipertireoidismo (1%). Idade e duração da doença foram positivamente associadas à presença de CMGs (p < 0,001). CONCLUSÃO: Em concordância com relatos prévios, a maioria dos pacientes apresentou pelo menos uma doença médica. A principal limitação deste estudo reside no fato de o diagnóstico de CMGs ter sido baseado no autorrelato. Há escassos estudos visando à identificação de comorbidades médicas na população brasileira com THB e este estudo pode contribuir para melhor vigilância diagnóstica, avaliação, tratamento e diminuição da sobrecarga associada ao THB.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BD) has been associated with high rates of general medical comorbidities (GMC) and medical risk factors. There have been scarce reports about this prevalence in Brazilian subjects with BD. OBJECTIVE: Describe the prevalence of GMC in a sample of BD type I patients. METHODS: Clinical records of 195 patients with BD type I were reviewed for identification of GMC. Patients with and without GMC were compared using the Mann-Whitney nonparametric test and the chi-Square test. RESULTS: Sixty-three percent of patients had at least one medical comorbidity. The most prevalent conditions were: migraine (31.8%), hypothyroidism (24.1%), hypertension (11.3%), traumatic brain injuries (10.3%), asthma (9.7%), epilepsy (8.2%), diabetes (5.1%), stroke (2.1%) and hyperthyroidism (1%). Age and duration of illness were positively associated with the presence of GMC (p < 0.001). DISCUSSION: In our study, in accordance with previous reports, the majority of patients presented at least one general medical disorder. The principal limitation of this study is the fact that diagnose of GMC was made based on self-report. There are scarce studies addressing GMC in the Brazilian population with BD and this report can contribute to improve diagnostic vigilance, assessment, treatment planning and decrease the burden associated with BD.