The Impact of an Educational Intervention on Nursing Staff Attitudes Toward Patients Experiencing Homelessness and Mental Illness.

OBJECTIVE: Patients who experience homelessness and have mental illness can have frequent and challenging hospitalizations. Nurses caring for this vulnerable population may have negative attitudes, which can be mitigated by education and improved for the benefit of patients. This study aimed to assess the impact of an educational intervention on the attitudes of nursing staff toward individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness. METHODS: Using a pre-post design, a revised version of the Health Professionals' Attitudes Toward the Homeless Inventory (HPATHI) assessed 23 nursing staff working on inpatient medicine units surrounding a brief educational session about persons experiencing homelessness and mental illness. Data were also collected from open-ended questions. RESULTS: There was a small positive increase in mean HPATHI scores postintervention (74.783 [SD = 5.485] to 77.13 [SD = 6.312]) indicating more positive participant attitudes toward homeless individuals. The HPATHI also revealed a 6% increase in score for participant comfortability providing care for homeless persons with major mental illness postintervention. Some participants likely interpreted their answers as displaying more positive and less cynical attitudes based on their comments, while the HPATHI scored them as more negative. Qualitative feedback revealed both positive and negative attitudes toward this patient population, and various associated barriers to care. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing staff will likely provide care for patients who experience homelessness with concomitant mental illness. Educating nurses about the needs of this population is feasible and could be beneficial for patient care.

Against Medical Advice Discharge: A Narrative Review and Recommendations for a Systematic Approach.

Approximately 1%-2% of hospitalizations in the United States result in an against medical advice discharge. Still, the practice of discharging patients against medical advice is highly subjective and variable. Discharges against medical advice are associated with physician distress, patient stigma, and adverse outcomes, including increased morbidity and mortality. This review summarizes discharge against medical advice research, proposes a definition for against medical advice discharge, and recommends a standard approach to a patient's request for discharge against medical advice.

Radiation Therapy Adherence Among Patients Experiencing Homelessness.

PURPOSE: Radiation therapy is a valuable, yet time- and resource-intense therapy. Patients experiencing homelessness (PEH) face many barriers related to the timely receipt of radiation therapy. Owing to a paucity of data regarding cancer treatment and homelessness, clinicians have a limited evidence base when recommending therapy to PEH. This study was performed to evaluate adherence to radiation therapy treatment regimens in PEH with cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The study cohort was primarily derived from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Homeless Health Services program. Patients in the Homeless Health Services program with radiation oncology visits were identified by query of the electronic medical record. Manual chart review was performed to gather standard treatment parameters and data describing missed appointments. A comparison group of patients not experiencing homelessness (non-PEH) was generated by aggregating appointment data for all other patients receiving similar treatments at Vanderbilt University Medical Center during multiple, consecutive years. RESULTS: In the study, 3408 PEH were identified, of whom 48 underwent radiation oncology consultation. Thirty-two were prescribed at least 1 course of radiation therapy, for a total of 54 unique courses. Out of these courses, 34 (62.9%) were completed as prescribed without delay, 12 (22.2%) were completed with delay(s), and 8 (14.8%) were not fully completed. Although the PEH cohort had significantly higher rates of delayed and undelivered fractions, the proportion of delayed or incomplete courses was not significantly different from the comparison group of non-PEH, particularly for courses with 10 or fewer fractions. Reasons for missed appointments for PEH were variable. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first publication describing adherence to radiation therapy in PEH. Our data suggest that PEH are as likely as non-PEH to complete a course of radiation therapy, albeit with more treatment interruptions. When treatment courses of >10 fractions are expected, PEH may benefit from more hypofractionated regimens, provided they have equivalent clinical efficacy to longer regimens. Documenting reasons for missed appointments will be essential to further understanding the needs of PEH. This study serves as a foundation for further analysis regarding homelessness and radiation therapy.

Medical Care of the Homeless: An American and International Issue.

Homeless persons die significantly younger than their housed counterparts. In many cases, relatively straightforward primary care issues escalate into life-threatening, expensive emergencies. Poor health outcomes driven by negative interactions between comorbid symptoms meet the definition of a health syndemic in this population. Successful primary care of patients struggling with homelessness may result in long-term lifesaving measures along with decreased expenditure to hospital systems. This primary prevention requires patience, creativity, and acknowledgment that the source of many confounders may lay outside the control of these patients.

Identifying and Addressing the Hidden Reasons Why Patients Refuse Discharge From the Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Consultation-liaison psychiatrists are often asked to evaluate patients who refuse discharge from a medical facility. Literature to guide clinicians on the management of these patients is very limited. OBJECTIVE: This article seeks to explain this phenomenon through a case series, provide a differential diagnosis of patients who request to stay in the hospital, as well as provide clinicians with direction in the management of these difficult situations. METHODS: We discuss a case series of 3 patients treated at a large academic medical center, who refused discharge, discuss potential differential diagnoses, and provide management recommendations to guide clinicians. DISCUSSION: Providing care for a patient who refuses discharge can present several dilemmas for the treatment provider. Additionally, patients who refuse discharge may face emotional, physical, and financial costs secondary to continued unnecessary medical hospitalization. A variety of psychiatric conditions may contribute to a patient׳s desire to stay in the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who refuse medical discharge can present unique challenges for hospital-based medical providers as well as consultation psychiatrists who care for these patients. Careful consideration of diagnostic etiologies as well as coordination of care across the treatment team may be required to manage these unique and challenging cases.

Ethics and the Treatment of the Mentally Ill, Homeless Person: a Perspective on Psychiatry Resident Training.

OBJECTIVE: The authors outline the unique ethical challenges that psychiatry residents face in working with individuals who are homeless and mentally ill. The authors also propose steps to develop effective teaching methods with residents working with these patients. METHODS: The authors reviewed literature relevant to the training of psychiatry residents in ethics and treating individuals who are homeless and mentally ill. RESULTS: The authors summarize current literature and, with the use of case examples, provide guidelines for effective teaching. CONCLUSIONS: Teaching psychiatry residents who are working in the community with individuals who are mentally ill and homeless needs to address a number of unique ethical conflicts that arise in this area. The authors outline approaches to this teaching.

Psychogenic pseudosyncope: diagnosis and management.

Psychogenic pseudosyncope (PPS) is the appearance of transient loss of consciousness (TLOC) in the absence of true loss of consciousness. Psychiatrically, most cases are classified as conversion disorder, which is hypothesized to represent the physical manifestation of internal stressors. The incidence of PPS is likely under-recognized and the disorder is under investigated in the unexplained syncope population, yet it can be diagnosed accurately with a focused history and confirmed with investigations including head-up tilt testing (HUTT), electroencephalogram (EEG; sometimes combined with video) or, in some centers, transcranial Doppler (TCD). Patients are more likely to be young females with an increased number of episodes over the past 6months. They frequently experience symptoms prior to their episodes including light-headedness, shortness of breath and tingling. Conversion disorder is associated with symptomatic chronicity, increased psychiatric and physical impairment, and diminished quality of life. Understanding the epidemiology, biological underpinnings and approach to diagnosis of PPS is important to improve the recognition of this disorder so that patients may be managed appropriately. The general treatment approach involves limiting unnecessary interventions, providing the patient with needed structure, and encouraging functionality. While there are no treatment data available for patients with PPS, studies in related conversion disorder populations support the utility of psychotherapy. Psychotropic medications should be considered in patients with comorbid psychiatric disorders.

Corticosteroid injections in the treatment of trigger finger: a level I and II systematic review.

Trigger finger is a tendinitis (stenosing tenosynovitis) with multiple management approaches. We conducted an evidence-based medicine systematic review of level I and II prospective randomized controlled trials to determine the effectiveness of corticosteroid injection in managing trigger finger. MEDLINE, Cochrane database, and secondary references were reviewed to locate all English-language prospective randomized controlled trials evaluating trigger finger treatment. Four studies using injectable corticosteroids were identified, based on the following inclusion criteria: all were prospective randomized controlled trials of adults with >85% follow-up. This review indicates that the incidence of trigger finger is greatest in women (75%), with an average patient age range of 52 to 62 years. Combined analysis of these four studies shows that corticosteroid injections are effective in 57% of patients.

Clinical outcome at a minimum of five years after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament.

BACKGROUND: We are not aware of any previous studies in which independent measurements of function with validated outcome questionnaires such as the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score and the International Knee Documentation Committee score were evaluated five years after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. We hypothesized that patient demographics, mechanism of injury, and intra-articular injuries and their treatment are factors associated with function five years after reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. METHODS: A consecutive series of unilateral, arthroscopically assisted primary reconstructions of the anterior cruciate ligament performed by one surgeon using a patellar tendon graft was evaluated. Data on patient demographics, injury variables, and intra-articular lesions noted at the time of surgery were collected prospectively. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of outcomes as measured with five questionnaires. RESULTS: Sixty-nine percent (217) of 314 knees with a reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament were followed for an average of 5.4 years. The average age at the time of the operation was twenty-seven years. Independent predictors of a worse outcome, which was measured with the overall Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, the International Knee Documentation Committee score, the Lysholm score, and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index score, included the patient's recollection of hearing or feeling a pop at the time of the injury, a weight gain of >15 lb (6.8 kg), and no change in educational level since the surgery. There was a lack of association between the outcome and either the occurrence or the form of treatment of a meniscal tear or chondromalacia of the articular cartilage. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge, we performed the first prospective cohort study to evaluate the prognosis following reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament by identifying significant associations between multiple variables and clinical outcomes as measured with validated questionnaires. The clinician can counsel patients about the intermediate-term functional outcomes of reconstructions of the anterior cruciate ligament on the basis of these findings. Suggestions regarding weight control and future education may improve intermediate-term outcomes.