Defining levels of care in cardiogenic shock.

Background: Expert opinion and professional society statements have called for multi-tier care systems for the management of cardiogenic shock (CS). However, little is known about how to pragmatically define centers with different levels of care (LOC) for CS. Methods: Eleven of 23 hospitals within our healthcare system sharing a common electronic health record were classified as different LOC according to their highest mechanical circulatory support (MCS) capabilities: Level 1 (L-1)-durable left ventricular assist device, Level 1A (L-1A)-extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, Level 2 (L-2)-intra-aortic balloon pump and percutaneous ventricular assist device; and Level 3 (L-3)-no MCS. All adult patients treated for CS (International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10 code R57.0) between 2016 and 2022 were included. Etiologies of CS were identified using associated diagnostic codes. Management strategies and outcomes across LOC were compared. Results: Higher LOC centers had higher volumes: L-1 (n = 1): 2,831 patients, L-1A (n = 4): 3,452, L-2 (n = 1): 340, and L-3 (n = 5): 780. Emergency room admissions were more common in lower LOC (96% at L-3 vs. 46% L-1; p < 0.001), while hospital transfers were predominant at higher LOC (40% at L-1 vs. 2.7% at L-3; p < 0.001). Men comprised 61% of the cohort. Patients were younger in the higher LOC [69 (60-78) years at L-1 vs. 77 (67-85) years at L-3; p < 0.001]. Patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI)-CS and acute heart failure (AHF)-CS were concentrated in higher LOC centers while other etiologies of CS were more common in L-2 and L-3 (p < 0.001). Cardiac arrest on admission was more prevalent in lower LOC centers (L-1: 2.8% vs. L-3: 12.1%; p < 0.001). Patients with AMI-CS received more percutaneous coronary intervention in lower LOC (51% L-2 vs. 29% L-1; p < 0.01) but more coronary arterial bypass graft surgery at higher LOC (L-1: 42% vs. L-1A: 23%; p < 0.001). MCS use was consistent across levels for AMI-CS but was more frequent in higher LOC for AHF-CS patients (L-1: 28% vs. L-2: 10%; p < 0.001). Despite increasing in-hospital mortality with decreasing LOC, no significant difference was seen after multivariable adjustment. Conclusion: This is the first report describing a pragmatic classification of LOC for CS which, based on MCS capabilities, can discriminate between centers with distinct demographics, practice patterns, and outcomes. This classification may serve as the basis for future research and the creation of CS systems of care.

Adherence to risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy guidelines among gynecologic oncologists compared to general gynecologists.

BACKGROUND: Risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy reduces mortality from high-grade serous carcinoma in patients with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer associated gene mutations. Ideal surgical management includes 5 steps outlined in 2005 by the Society of Gynecologic Oncology and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In addition, it is recommended that pathologic examination include serial sectioning of specimens. In practice, risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy is performed by both gynecologic oncologists and general gynecologists. To ensure optimal detection of occult malignancy, standardized adherence to outlined guidelines is necessary. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the adherence to optimal surgical and pathologic examination guidelines and to compare the rate of occult malignancy at the time of surgery between 2 provider types. STUDY DESIGN: Institutional review board exemption was obtained. A retrospective review of patients undergoing risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy without hysterectomy from October 1, 2015, to December 31, 2020, at 3 sites within a healthcare system was conducted. The inclusion criteria included age ≥18 years and a documented indication for surgery being a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 or a strong family history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Compliance with 5 surgical steps and pathologic specimen preparation was based on medical record documentation. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine differences in adherence between provider groups and surgical and pathologic examination guidelines. A P value of <.025 was considered statistically significant for the 2 primary outcomes after Bonferroni correction was applied to adjust for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: A total of 185 patients were included. Among the 96 cases performed by gynecologic oncologists, 69 (72%) performed all 5 steps of surgery, 22 (23%) performed 4 steps, 5 (5%) performed 3 steps, and none performed 1 or 2 steps. Among the 89 cases performed by general gynecologists, 4 (5%) performed all 5 steps, 33 (37%) performed 4 steps, 38 (43%) performed 3 steps, 13 (15%) performed 2 steps, and 1 (1%) performed 1 step. Gynecologic oncologists were more likely to document adherence to all 5 recommended surgical steps in their surgical dictation (odds ratio, 54.3; 95% confidence interval, 18.1-162.7; P<.0001). Among the 96 cases documented by gynecologic oncologists, 41 (43%) had serial sectioning of all specimens performed, compared with 23 of 89 cases (26%) performed by general gynecologists. No difference in adherence to pathologic guidelines was identified between the 2 provider groups (P=.0489; note: P value of >.025). Overall, 5 patients (2.70%) had occult malignancy diagnosed at the time of risk-reducing surgery, with all surgeries performed by general gynecologists. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated greater compliance with surgical guidelines for risk-reducing bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in gynecologic oncologists than in general gynecologists. No considerable difference was determined between the 2 provider types in adherence to pathologic guidelines. Our findings demonstrated a need for institution-wide protocol education and implementation of standardized nomenclature to ensure provider adherence to evidence-based guidelines.

Does Surgeon Experience Correlate with Crowd-Sourced Skill Assessment in Robotic Bariatric Surgery?

BACKGROUND: The Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (GEARS) rubric provides a measure of skill in robotic surgery. We hypothesize surgery performed by more experienced operators will be associated with higher GEARS scores. METHOD: Patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy from 2016 to 2020 were analyzed. Three groups were defined by time in practice: less than 5, between 5 and 15, and more than 15 years. Continuous variables were compared with ANOVA and multivariable regression was performed. RESULTS: Fourteen operators performing 154 cases were included. More experienced surgeons had higher GEARS scores and shorter operative times. On multivariable regression, operative time (P = 0.027), efficiency (P = .022), depth perception (P = 0.033), and bimanual dexterity (P = 0.047) were associated with experience. CONCLUSIONS: In our video-based assessment (VBA) model, operative time and several GEARS subcomponent scores were associated with surgical experience. Further studies should determine the association between these metrics and surgical outcomes.

Reducing surgical site infections after colectomy: bundle item compliance, process, and outlier identification.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to implement a checklist monitoring system and identify critical surgical checklist items associated with post-colectomy surgical site infections (SSI). The relationship between checklist compliance, infection rates, and identification of non-compliant surgeons was explored. MATERIALS AND METHODS: National Health Safety Network (NHSN) data were imported annually to establish baseline incidence of post-colectomy SSI from 2016 to 2019. A colectomy checklist was used to monitor compliance for 1694 random colectomies (1274 elective; 420 emergency). Reports were generated monthly to profile system, hospital, surgeon-specific infection, and checklist compliance rates. RESULTS: Checklist compliance improved in elective and emergent colectomies to > 90% for all items except oral antibiotic and mechanical bowel prep in elective cases. Annualized total SSI and organ space infection rates in elective cases decreased by 33% and 45%, respectively. Elective and emergency SSI's were reduced for Superficial Incisional Primary (SIP), Deep Incisional Primary (DIP), and Intra-Abdominal Abscess (IAB) by 66%, 60.4%, and 78.3%, respectively. Checklist compliance between low (< 3%) and high (> 3%) infection rate surgeons demonstrated significantly lower utilization of oral antibiotic prep (p < 0.03) and mechanical bowel prep (p < 0.02) in high infection rate surgeons. CONCLUSION: Surgeons compliant with colectomy checklists decreased elective and emergency colectomy infection rates. Ceiling compliance rates > 95% for bundle items are suggested to achieve optimal reductions in SSIs and efforts should be focused on surgeons with NHSN infection rates > 3%. Oral antibiotic prep and mechanical bowel prep compliance rates in elective colectomy appeared to differentiate high infection rate surgeons from low infection rate surgeons.

Blinded intraoperative skill evaluations avoid gender-based bias.

INTRODUCTION: Gender bias has been identified consistently in written performance evaluations. Qualitative tools may provide a standardized way to evaluate surgical skill and minimize gender bias. We hypothesized that there is no difference in operative time or GEARS scores in robotic hysterectomy for men vs women surgeons. METHODS: Patients undergoing robotic hysterectomies performed between June 2019 and March 2020 at 8 hospitals within the same hospital system were captured into a prospective database. GEARS scores were assigned by crowd-sourced evaluators by a third party blinded to any surgeon- or patient-identifying information. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the mean operative time and GEARS scores for each group, and significant variables were included in a one-way ANCOVA to control for confounders. Two-tailed p-value < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Seventeen women and 13 men performed a total of 188 hysterectomies; women performed 34 (18%) and men performed 153 (81%). Women surgeons had a higher mean operative time (133 ± 58 vs 86.3 ± 46 min, p = 0.024); after adjustment, there were no significant differences in operative time (p = 0.607). There was no significant difference between the genders in total GEARS score (20.0 ± 0.77 vs 20.2 ± 0.70, p = 0.415) or GEARS subcomponent scores: bimanual dexterity (3.98 ± 0.03 vs 4.00 ± 0.03, p = 0.705); depth perception (4.04 ± 0.04 vs 4.05 ± 0.02, p = 0.799); efficiency (3.79 ± 0.02 vs 3.82 ± 0.02, p = 0.437); force sensitivity (4.01 ± 0.04 vs 4.05 ± 0.05, p = 0.533); or robotic control (4.16 ± 0.03 vs 4.26 ± 0.01, p = 0.079). CONCLUSION: There was no difference in GEARS score between men vs women surgeons performing robotic hysterectomies. Video-based blinded assessment of skills may minimize gender biases when evaluating surgical skill for competency evaluation and credentialing.

The Risk of Readmission after Early Postpartum Discharge during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether early postpartum discharge during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was associated with a change in the odds of maternal postpartum readmissions. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective analysis of uncomplicated postpartum low-risk women in seven obstetrical units within a large New York health system. We compared the rate of postpartum readmissions within 6 weeks of delivery between two groups: low-risk women who had early postpartum discharge as part of our protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 1-June 15, 2020) and similar low-risk patients with routine postpartum discharge from the same study centers 1 year prior. Statistical analysis included the use of Wilcoxon's rank-sum and chi-squared tests, Nelson-Aalen cumulative hazard curves, and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: Of the 8,206 patients included, 4,038 (49.2%) were patients who had early postpartum discharge during the COVID-19 pandemic and 4,168 (50.8%) were patients with routine postpartum discharge prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rates of postpartum readmissions after vaginal delivery (1.0 vs. 0.9%; adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39-1.45) and cesarean delivery (1.5 vs. 1.9%; adjusted OR: 0.65, 95% CI: 0.29-1.45) were similar between the two groups. Demographic risk factors for postpartum readmission included Medicaid insurance and obesity. CONCLUSION: Early postpartum discharge during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with no change in the odds of maternal postpartum readmissions after low-risk vaginal or cesarean deliveries. Early postpartum discharge for low-risk patients to shorten hospital length of stay should be considered in the face of public health crises. KEY POINTS: · Early postpartum discharge was not associated with an increase in odds of hospital readmissions after vaginal delivery.. · Early postpartum discharge was not associated with an increase in odds of hospital readmissions after cesarean delivery.. · Early postpartum discharge for low-risk patients should be considered during a public health crisis..

Cognitive bias and severity of harm following surgery: Plan for workflow debiasing strategy.

INTRODUCTION: This study analyzes the relationship between cognitive bias (CB) and harm severity as measured by Clavien-Dindo Scores (CD). METHODS: A prospectively collected series of 655 severity matched general surgical cases with complications were analyzed. Cases were evaluated for CB and assigned harm scores as defined by CD grade. Potentially mitigating "debiasing" strategies were identified for each bias attribution. RESULTS: Among cases with CB, 24% (55/232) were CD(I-II) and 76% (177/232) were CD(III-V). Odds ratio suggests that serious complications occur nearly 60% more frequently when CB is identified. The CBs identified with severe harm were Overconfidence, Commission, Anchoring, Confirmation, and Diagnosis Momentum. Preliminary data on debiasing strategies suggest diagnosis review, linear reasoning and Type II thinking may be relevant in over 85% of complications. CONCLUSION: The incidence of CB is increased in patients sustaining severe harm. Understanding the specific CBs identified and their mitigating debiasing strategies may improve outcomes.

Impact of Timing of Tocilizumab Use in Hospitalized Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) continues to be a global challenge due to the lack of definitive treatment strategies. We sought to determine the efficacy of early administration of anti-interleukin 6 therapy in reducing hospital mortality and progression to mechanical ventilation. METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review of 11,512 patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 who were admitted to a New York health system from March to May 2020. Tocilizumab was administered to subjects at the nasal cannula level of oxygen support to maintain an oxygen saturation of >88%. The Charlson comorbidity index was used as an objective assessment of the burden of comorbidities to predict 10-year mortality. The primary outcome of interest was hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were progression to mechanical ventilation; the prevalence of venous thromboembolism and renal failure; and the change in C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and ferritin levels after tocilizumab administration. Propensity score matching by using a 1:2 protocol was used to match the tocilizumab and non-tocilizumab groups to minimize selection bias. The groups were matched on baseline demographic characteristics, including age, sex, and body mass index; Charlson comorbidity index score; laboratory markers, including ferritin, D-dimer, lactate dehydrogenase, and C-reactive protein values; and the maximum oxygen requirement at the time of tocilizumab administration. Mortality outcomes were evaluated based on the level of oxygen requirement and the day of hospitalization at the time of tocilizumab administration. RESULTS: The overall hospital mortality was significantly reduced in the tocilizumab group when tocilizumab was administered at the nasal cannula level (10.4% vs 22.0%; P = .002). In subjects who received tocilizumab at the nasal cannula level, the progression to mechanical ventilation was reduced versus subjects who were initially on higher levels of oxygen support (6.3% vs 18.7%; P < .001). There was no improvement in mortality when tocilizumab was given at the time of requiring non-rebreather, high-flow nasal cannula, noninvasive ventilator, or invasive ventilator. CONCLUSIONS: Early use of anti-interleukin 6 therapy may be associated with improved hospital mortality and reduction in progression to more severe coronavirus disease 2019.

Increased Inpatient Mortality for Cardiovascular Patients During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Epidemic in New York.

Background The acuity and magnitude of the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic in New York mandated a drastic change in healthcare access and delivery of care. Methods and Results We retrospectively studied patients admitted with an acute cardiovascular syndrome as their principal diagnosis to 13 hospitals across Northwell Health during March 11 through May 26, 2020 (first COVID-19 epidemic wave) and the same period in 2019. Three thousand sixteen patients (242 COVID-19 positive) were admitted for an acute cardiovascular syndrome during the first COVID-19 wave compared with 9422 patients 1 year prior (decrease of 68.0%, P<0.001). During this time, patients with cardiovascular disease presented later to the hospital (360 versus 120 minutes for acute myocardial infarction), underwent fewer procedures (34.6% versus 45.6%, P<0.001), were less likely to be treated in an intensive care unit setting (8.7% versus 10.8%, P<0.001), and had a longer hospital stay (2.91 [1.71-6.05] versus 2.87 [1.82-4.95] days, P=0.033). Inpatient cardiovascular mortality during the first epidemic outbreak increased by 111.1% (3.8 versus 1.8, P<0.001) and was not related to COVID-19-related admissions, all cause in-hospital mortality, or incidence of out-of-hospital cardiac deaths in New York. Admission during the first COVID-19 surge along with age and positive COVID-19 test independently predicted mortality for cardiovascular admissions (odds ratios, 1.30, 1.05, and 5.09, respectively, P<0.0001). Conclusions A lower rate and later presentation of patients with cardiovascular pathology, coupled with deviation from common clinical practice mandated by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, might have accounted for higher in-hospital cardiovascular mortality during that period.

Core Competency Self-Assessment Enhances Critical Review of Complications and Entrustable Activities.

BACKGROUND: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has defined six core competencies (CCs) that every successful physician should possess. However, the assessment of CC achievement among trainees is difficult. This project was designed to prospectively evaluate the impact of resident identification of CC as a component of morbidity review on error identification and standard of care (SOC) assessments. The platform was assessed for its reliability as a measure of resident critical analysis of complication causality across postgraduate year (PGY). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 1945 general surgery cases with complications were assessed for error identification and SOC management between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018. CC identification was additionally assessed between January 1, 2019, and December 31, 2019, and included 708 general surgery cases. Data were evaluated for error assessments and overall SOC management. PGY4 and 5 residents were compared for number of cases and complications reviewed, severity, error causation, and CC relevance. RESULTS: Study groups were equivalent by Clavien-Dindo scores. Error identification significantly increased in all categories: diagnostic (P < 0.001), technical (P < 0.05), judgment (P < 0.001), system (P < 0.001), and communication (P < 0.001). Overall SOC assessments validated by a supervising surgical quality officer were unchanged. An increased exposure to cases with severe complications, error causation, and CC relevance was noted across PGY. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of CC assessment into morbidity review appears to improve the critical thinking of evaluating residents by increasing the identification of management errors. Used as an element of prospective self-assessment, teaching residents to identify CC principles in cases with complications may assist in learner progression toward clinical competence and critical thinking.

Equivalent VTE rates after total joint arthroplasty using thromboprophylaxis with aspirin versus potent anticoagulants: retrospective analysis of 4562 cases across a diverse healthcare system.

BACKGROUND: Guidelines support aspirin thromboprophylaxis for primary total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA) but supporting evidence has come from high volume centers and the practice remains controversial. METHODS: We studied 4562 Medicare patients who underwent elective primary THA (1736, 38.1%) or TKA (2826, 61.9%) at 9 diverse hospitals. Thirty-day claims data were combined with data from the health system's electronic medical records to compare rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE) between patients who received prophylaxis with: (1) aspirin alone (47.3%), (2) a single, potent anticoagulant (29%), (3) antiplatelet agents other than aspirin or multiple anticoagulants (21.5%), or (4) low-dose subcutaneous unfractionated heparin or no anticoagulation (2.2%). Sub-analyses separately evaluating THA, TKA and cases from lower volume hospitals (n = 975) were performed. RESULTS: The 30-day VTE incidence was 0.6% (29/4562). VTE rates were equal in patients receiving aspirin and those receiving a single potent anticoagulant (0.5% in both groups). Patients with VTE were significantly older than patients without VTE (mean 76.5 vs. 73.1 years, P = 0.04). VTE rate did not associate with sex or hospital case volume. On bivariate analysis considering age, aspirin did not associate with greater VTE risk compared to a single potent anticoagulant (OR = 2.1, CI = 0.7-6.3) with the numbers available. Odds of VTE were increased with use of subcutaneous heparin or no anticoagulant (OR = 6.4, CI = 1.2-35.6) and with multiple anticoagulants (OR = 3.6, CI = 1.1-11.2). THA and TKA demonstrated similar rates of VTE (0.5% vs. 0.7%, respectively, P = 0.43). Of 975 cases done at lower volume hospitals, 387 received aspirin, none of whom developed VTE. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further support for aspirin as an effective form of pharmacological VTE prophylaxis after total joint arthroplasty in the setting of a multi-modal regimen using 30-day outcomes. VTE occurred in 0.7% of primary joint arthroplasties. Aspirin prophylaxis did not associate with greater VTE risk compared to potent anticoagulants in the total population or at lower volume hospitals.

Cognitive Bias Impact on Management of Postoperative Complications, Medical Error, and Standard of Care.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive bias (CB) is increasingly recognized as an important source of medical error and up to 75% of errors in internal medicine are thought to be cognitive in origin (O'Sullivan ED, Schofield SJ. Cognitive bias in clinical medicine. J R Coll Physicans Edinb. 2018;48;225-232). However, primary data regarding the true incidence of bias is lacking. A prospective evaluation of CB in the management of surgical cases with complications has not been reported. This study reports the incidence and distribution of various types of CBs, and evaluates their impact on management errors and standard of care (SOC). METHODS: A prospectively collected series of 736 general surgical cases with complications from three university hospitals was analyzed. Surgical residents evaluated cases for 22 types of CBs (Croskerry P. The importance of cognitive errors in diagnosis and strategies to minimize them. Acad Med. 2003;78:775-780). Supervising quality officers validated all quality assessments. Data were assessed for the incidence of CBs, error assessments (diagnostic, technical, judgment, system, communication, therapeutic, and professionalism), and SOC. RESULTS: CB was attributed in 32.7% (241/736) of all cases with complications. The most common CBs identified, both singly and in groups, were anchoring, confirmation, omission, commission, overconfidence, premature closure, hindsight, diagnosis momentum, outcome, and ascertainment bias. The attribution of CB was correlated to a statistically significant increase in the incidence of management errors by the surgical team and lower SOC assessments. CONCLUSIONS: CBs are identified in the management of cases with complications and are associated with an increase in management errors and a degradation in SOC. Insight into the types of CBs and their association with the type and severity of management errors may prove useful in improving quality care.

Correlation between operative time and crowd-sourced skills assessment for robotic bariatric surgery.

INTRODUCTION: Operative time has been traditionally used as a proxy for surgical skill and is commonly utilized to measure the learning curve, assuming that faster operations indicate a more skilled surgeon. The Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (GEARS) rubric is a validated Likert scale for evaluating technical skill. We hypothesize that operative time will not correlate with the GEARS score. METHODS: Patients undergoing elective robotic sleeve gastrectomy at a single bariatric center of excellence hospital from January 2019 to March 2020 were captured in a prospectively maintained database. For step-specific scoring, videos were broken down into three steps: ligation of short gastric vessels, gastric transection, and oversewing the staple line. Overall and step-specific GEARS scores were assigned by crowd-sourced evaluators. Correlation between operative time and GEARS score was assessed with linear regression and calculation of the R2 statistic. RESULTS: Sixty-eight patients were included in the study, with a mean operative time of 112 ± 27.4 min. The mean GEARS score was 20.1 ± 0.81. Mean scores for the GEARS subcomponents were: bimanual dexterity 4.06 ± 0.17; depth perception 3.96 ± 0.24; efficiency 3.82 ± 0.19; force sensitivity 4.06 ± 0.20; robotic control 4.16 ± 0.21. Operative time and overall score showed no correlation (R2 = 0.0146, p = 0.326). Step-specific times and scores showed weak correlation for gastric transection (R2 = 0.0737, p = 0.028) and no correlation for ligation of short gastric vessels (R2 = 0.0262, p = 0.209) or oversewing the staple line (R2 = 0.0142, p = 0.344). CONCLUSIONS: Operative time and crowd-sourced GEARS score were not correlated. Operative time and GEARS scores measure different performance characteristics, and future studies should consider using both a validated skills assessment tool and operative time for a more complete evaluation of skill.

Implementation of a Standardized Post-Cesarean Delivery Order Set with Multimodal Combination Analgesia Reduces Inpatient Opioid Usage.

Background: Opioid use has emerged as a leading cause of death in the US. Given that 1 in 300 opioid-naive patients exposed to opioids after cesarean birth will become persistent users, hospitals should strive to limit exposure to these medications. We set out to evaluate whether transitioning to a standardized order set based on multimodal combination analgesic therapy decreases the exposure to opioids after cesarean delivery. Methods: Our health system's post-cesarean pain management electronic medical record (EMR) order set was changed from standing NSAIDs (Ibuprofen 600 mg every 6 h) and additional acetaminophen and opioid medications (Oxycodone 5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg every 3 h or Oxycodone 10 mg/acetaminophen 650 mg every 6 h for moderate and severe pain, respectively) as needed (PRN) to a multimodal combination therapy with acetaminophen (975 mg every 6 h) and NSAIDs (Ibuprofen 600 mg every 6 h) as primary analgesics and opioids PRN (Oxycodone immediate release (IR) 5 mg every 3 h for moderate to severe pain). We performed a retrospective analysis across seven hospitals comparing inpatient opioid use, administration of other analgesics, and severe pain episodes (pain score ≥ 7) between the patients who were treated before and after implementation of the multimodal order set. Chi square and Student t-test were used for statistical analysis with significance determined as p < 0.05. Results: A total of 12,898 cesarean births were included (8696 prior and 4202 after implementation). The multimodal order set was associated with marked decrease in the incidence of post cesarean opioid use (45.4% vs. 67.5%; p < 0.0001), lower average opioid dose (26.7 mg vs. 36.6 mg of oxycodone; p < 0.0001), and increased dose of acetaminophen (8422 mg vs. 4563 mg; p < 0.0001), while severe pain scores were less frequent (46.3% vs. 56.6%, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Multimodal analgesic therapy for post-cesarean pain management reduces inpatient opioid use while improving pain control. Incorporation of a multimodal order set as a default in the EMR facilitates effective and widespread implementation on a large scale. Obstetric units should consider standardizing post-cesarean pain management orders to include routine (not PRN) multimodal combination therapy with acetaminophen and NSAIDs as primary analgesics.

Early postpartum discharge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives To report our experience with early postpartum discharge to decrease hospital length of stay among low-risk puerperium patients in a large obstetrical service during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. Methods Retrospective analysis of all uncomplicated postpartum women in seven obstetrical units within a large health system between December 8th, 2019 and June 20th, 2020. Women were stratified into two groups based on date of delivery in relation to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (Mid-March 2020); those delivering before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compared hospital length of stay, defined as time interval from delivery to discharge in hours, between the two groups and correlated it with the number of COVID-19 admissions to our hospitals. Statistical analysis included use of Wilcoxon rank sum test and Chi-squared test with significance defined as p-value<0.05. Results Of the 11,770 patients included, 5,893 (50.1%) delivered prior to and 5,877 (49.9%) delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. We detected substantial shortening in postpartum hospital length of stay after vaginal delivery (34 vs. 48 h, p≤0.0001) and cesarean delivery (51 vs. 74 h, p≤0.0001) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions We report successful implementation of early postpartum discharge for low-risk patients resulting in a significantly shorter hospital stay during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. The impact of this strategy on resource utilization, patient satisfaction and adverse outcomes requires further study.

Enoxaparin dosing errors in the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to determine the frequency of enoxaparin dosing errors for patients who had a measured emergency department (ED) weight compared to those who did not have a measured ED weight, and to determine if demographic variables (e.g., weight, height, age, English-speaking, race) impact the likelihood of receiving an inappropriate dose. METHODS: This is a retrospective, electronic chart review of patients who received a dose of enoxaparin in the ED between January 1, 2008 and July 1, 2013. We identified all patients >18 years who received a dose of enoxaparin while in the ED, were admitted, and had at least one inpatient weight within the first four days of hospitalization. Patients were excluded if they received enoxaparin for prophylaxis or a dose of more than 1.25 mg/kg. RESULTS: A total of 1,944 patients were included. Patients were more likely to experience an error if they did not have a measured ED weight. Over-doses of >10 mg were more likely to occur in patients without a measured ED weight. Patients with no documented ED weight or with a staff-estimated ED weight were more likely to experience a dosing error than those with a patient-stated weight. Patients were more likely to experience an error if their first inpatient weight was more than 96 kg, they were more than 175-cm tall, or were English speaking. CONCLUSION: Dosing errors are more likely to occur when patients are not weighed in the ED. Modifications to current workflows to incorporate weighing those patients who receive weight-dosed medications may be warranted.

Enoxaparin dosing errors in the emergency department / 世界急诊医学杂志（英文）

BACKGROUND:The study aimed to determine the frequency of enoxaparin dosing errors for patients who had a measured emergency department (ED) weight compared to those who did not have a measured ED weight, and to determine if demographic variables (e.g., weight, height, age, English-speaking, race) impact the likelihood of receiving an inappropriate dose. METHODS:This is a retrospective, electronic chart review of patients who received a dose of enoxaparin in the ED between January 1, 2008 and July 1, 2013. We identified all patients >18 years who received a dose of enoxaparin while in the ED, were admitted, and had at least one inpatient weight within the first four days of hospitalization. Patients were excluded if they received enoxaparin for prophylaxis or a dose of more than 1.25 mg/kg. RESULTS:A total of 1,944 patients were included. Patients were more likely to experience an error if they did not have a measured ED weight. Over-doses of >10 mg were more likely to occur in patients without a measured ED weight. Patients with no documented ED weight or with a staff-estimated ED weight were more likely to experience a dosing error than those with a patient-stated weight. Patients were more likely to experience an error if their first inpatient weight was more than 96 kg, they were more than 175-cm tall, or were English speaking. CONCLUSION:Dosing errors are more likely to occur when patients are not weighed in the ED. Modifications to current workflows to incorporate weighing those patients who receive weight-dosed medications may be warranted.

Measuring the Degree of Unmatched Patient Records in a Health Information Exchange Using Exact Matching.

BACKGROUND: Health information exchange (HIE) facilitates the exchange of patient information across different healthcare organizations. To match patient records across sites, HIEs usually rely on a master patient index (MPI), a database responsible for determining which medical records at different healthcare facilities belong to the same patient. A single patient's records may be improperly split across multiple profiles in the MPI. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the how often two individuals shared the same first name, last name, and date of birth in the Social Security Death Master File (SSDMF), a US government database containing over 85 million individuals, to determine the feasibility of using exact matching as a split record detection tool. We demonstrated how a method based on exact record matching could be used to partially measure the degree of probable split patient records in the MPI of an HIE. METHODS: We calculated the percentage of individuals who were uniquely identified in the SSDMF using first name, last name, and date of birth. We defined a measure consisting of the average number of unique identifiers associated with a given first name, last name, and date of birth. We calculated a reference value for this measure on a subsample of SSDMF data. We compared this measure value to data from a functioning HIE. RESULTS: We found that it was unlikely for two individuals to share the same first name, last name, and date of birth in a large US database including over 85 million individuals. 98.81% of individuals were uniquely identified in this dataset using only these three items. We compared the value of our measure on a subsample of Social Security data (1.00089) to that of HIE data (1.1238) and found a significant difference (t-test p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This method may assist HIEs in detecting split patient records.

Hurricane Sandy: Impact on Emergency Department and Hospital Utilization by Older Adults in Lower Manhattan, New York (USA).

BACKGROUND: On October 29th, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused a storm surge interrupting electricity with disruption to Manhattan's (New York, USA) health care infrastructure. Beth Israel Medical Center (BIMC) was the only fully functioning major hospital in lower Manhattan during and after Hurricane Sandy. The impact on emergency department (ED) and hospital use by geriatric patients in lower Manhattan was studied. METHODS: The trends of ED visits and hospitalizations in the immediate post-Sandy phase (IPS) during the actual blackout (October 29 through November 4, 2012), and the extended post-Sandy phase (EPS), when neighboring hospitals were still incapacitated (November 5, 2012 through February 10, 2013), were analyzed with baseline. The analysis was broken down by age groups (18-64, 65-79, and 80+ years old) and included the reasons for ED visits and admissions. RESULTS: During the IPS, there was a significant increase in geriatric visits (from 11% to 16.5% in the 65-79 age group, and from 6.5% to 13% in the 80+ age group) as well as in hospitalizations (from 22.7% to 25.2% in the 65-79 age group, and from 17.6% to 33.8% in the 80+ age group). However, these proportions returned to baseline during the EPS. The proportions of the categories "dialysis," "respiratory device," "social," and "syncope" in geriatric patients in ED visits were significantly higher than younger patients. The increases of the categories "medication," "dialysis," "respiratory device," and "social" represented two-thirds of absolute increase in both ED visits and admissions for the 65-79 age group, and half of the absolute increase in ED visits for the 80+ age group. The categories "social" and "respiratory device" peaked one day after the disaster, "dialysis" peaked two days after, and "medication" peaked three days after in ED visit analysis. CONCLUSIONS: There was a disproportionate increase in ED visits and hospitalizations in the geriatric population compared with the younger population during the IPS. The primary factor of the disproportionate impact on the geriatric population appears to be from indirect effects of the hurricane, mainly due to the subsequent power outages, such as "dialysis," "respiratory device," and "social." Further investigation by chart review may provide more insights to better aid with future disaster preparedness.

Identifying homelessness using health information exchange data.

BACKGROUND: Homeless patients experience poor health outcomes and consume a disproportionate amount of health care resources compared with domiciled patients. There is increasing interest in the federal government in providing care coordination for homeless patients, which will require a systematic way of identifying these individuals. OBJECTIVE: We analyzed address data from Healthix, a New York City-based health information exchange, to identify patterns that could indicate homelessness. METHODS: Patients were categorized as likely to be homeless if they registered with the address of a hospital, homeless shelter, place of worship, or an address containing a keyword synonymous with "homelessness." RESULTS: We identified 78,460 out of 7,854,927 Healthix patients (1%) as likely to have been homeless over the study period of September 30, 2008 to July 19, 2013. We found that registration practices for these patients varied widely across sites. CONCLUSIONS: The use of health information exchange data enabled us to identify a large number of patients likely to be homeless and to observe the wide variation in registration practices for homeless patients within and across sites. Consideration of these results may suggest a way to improve the quality of record matching for homeless patients. Validation of these results is necessary to confirm the homeless status of identified individuals. Ultimately, creating a standardized and structured field to record a patient's housing status may be a preferable approach.