National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 44 Research Studies DisplayedSchnipper JL, Raffel KE, Keniston A
Achieving diagnostic excellence through prevention and teamwork (ADEPT) study protocol: a multicenter, prospective quality and safety program to improve diagnostic processes in medical inpatients.
This paper describes the protocol for a study that will build surveillance for hospital diagnostic errors into usual care, benchmark diagnostic performance across sites, pilot test interventions, and evaluate the program's impact on diagnostic error rates. The authors will test achieving diagnostic excellence through prevention and teamwork (ADEPT), a multicenter, real-world quality and safety program utilizing interrupted time-series techniques to evaluate outcomes. They will use a randomly sampled population of medical patients hospitalized at 16 US hospitals who died, were transferred to intensive care, or had a rapid response during the hospitalization. There will be surveillance for diagnostic errors on 10 events per month per site using a previously established two-person adjudication process. With guidance from national experts in quality and safety, study sites will report and benchmark diagnostic error rates, share lessons regarding underlying causes, and design, implement, and pilot test interventions using both Safety I and Safety II approaches aimed at patients, providers, and health systems. The primary outcome sought after will be the number of diagnostic errors per patient, using segmented multivariable regression to evaluate change in y-intercept and change in slope after initiation of the program.
AHRQ-funded; HS029366.
Citation: Schnipper JL, Raffel KE, Keniston A .
Achieving diagnostic excellence through prevention and teamwork (ADEPT) study protocol: a multicenter, prospective quality and safety program to improve diagnostic processes in medical inpatients.
J Hosp Med 2023 Dec; 18(12):1072-81. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13230..
Keywords: Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Hospitals, Inpatient Care
O'Halloran A, Lockwood J, Sosa T
How do we detect and respond to clinical deterioration in hospitalized children? Results of the Pediatric Care BefOre Deterioration Events (CODE) survey.
This study’s objective was to describe systems to detect/respond to deteriorating hospitalized children at Pediatric Resuscitation Quality Collaborative (pediRES-Q) institutions. The authors performed a cross-sectional survey of pediRES-Q leaders utilizing expert validation and cognitive interviews, with 30 centers (88%) responding. Most institutions (93%) used ≥1 system to detect deterioration: most commonly, early warning scores (83%), watcher lists (55%), and proactive surveillance teams (31%). Most (90%) collect relevant data, including number of rapid responses (88%), arrests outside intensive care units (100%), and serious safety events (88%).
AHRQ-funded; HS026975.
Citation: O'Halloran A, Lockwood J, Sosa T .
How do we detect and respond to clinical deterioration in hospitalized children? Results of the Pediatric Care BefOre Deterioration Events (CODE) survey.
J Hosp Med 2023 Dec; 18(12):1102-08. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13224..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Inpatient Care
O'Leary KJ, Johnson JK, Williams MV
Effect of complementary interventions to redesign care on teamwork and quality for hospitalized medical patients: a pragmatic controlled trial.
The objective of this pragmatic controlled trial was to evaluate the effect of interventions to redesign hospital care delivery on teamwork and patient outcomes. Survey participants were healthcare professionals and hospitalized medical patients in medical units at four U.S. hospitals. The results showed that the median teamwork climate score was higher after the intervention among nurses, but that interventions to redesign care for hospitalized patients were not associated with improved patient outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS02564.
Citation: O'Leary KJ, Johnson JK, Williams MV .
Effect of complementary interventions to redesign care on teamwork and quality for hospitalized medical patients: a pragmatic controlled trial.
Ann Intern Med 2023 Nov; 176(11):1456-64. doi: 10.7326/m23-0953..
Keywords: Teams, Inpatient Care, Hospitals, Quality of Care, Outcomes
Kieren MQ, Kelly MM, Garcia MA
Parent experiences with the process of sharing inpatient safety concerns for children with medical complexity: a qualitative analysis.
The objective of this study was to describe the process of identifying and reporting inpatient safety concerns from the perspective of parents of children with medical complexity (CMC). Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with English and Spanish-speaking parents of CMC at two tertiary children's hospitals. The parents described a multi-step process of reporting their safety concerns and a spectrum of staff response and validation. The researchers concluded that their findings could inform family-centered interventions that support safety concern reporting in the inpatient setting.
AHRQ-funded; HS025781.
Citation: Kieren MQ, Kelly MM, Garcia MA .
Parent experiences with the process of sharing inpatient safety concerns for children with medical complexity: a qualitative analysis.
Acad Pediatr 2023 Nov-Dec; 23(8):1535-41. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.06.008..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Patient Safety, Inpatient Care, Chronic Conditions
Lefrak L, Schaffer KE, Bohnert J
Blood culture procedures and practices in the neonatal intensive care unit: a survey of a large multicenter collaborative in California.
The objective of this Web-based survey was to describe variation in bedside and laboratory-level blood culture practices in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Participants were 28 NICUs in an antimicrobial stewardship quality improvement program in the California Perinatal Quality Care Collaborative. Results showed that recommended practices for blood culturing were not routinely performed. Most NICUs did not have a procedural competency, did not document sample volume, did not receive a culture contamination report, and/or did not require reporting to the provider if less than 1 mL of blood was drawn. Skin asepsis procedure varied across NICUs.
AHRQ-funded; HS026168.
Citation: Lefrak L, Schaffer KE, Bohnert J .
Blood culture procedures and practices in the neonatal intensive care unit: a survey of a large multicenter collaborative in California.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2023 Oct; 44(10):1576=81. doi: 10.1017/ice.2023.33..
Keywords: Newborns/Infants, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Inpatient Care, Quality of Care
Aklilu AM, Kumar S, Yamamoto Y
Outcomes associated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor use in acute heart failure hospitalizations complicated by AKI.
This retrospective study examined the association of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) use with patients who have KDIGO-defined acute kidney injury (AKI) during acute heart failure (AHF) hospitalizations and their kidney function recovery at 14 days and 30 days using time-varying multivariable Cox-regression analyses. The study looked at 3305 adults hospitalized across 5 Yale New Haven Health Systems between January 2020 and May 2022 with AHF complicated by KDIGO-defined AKI. Of those individuals hospitalized with AHF and AKI, 356 received SGLT2i following AKI diagnosis either as initiation or continuation. The rate of renal recovery was not significantly different among those exposed and unexposed to SGLT2i following AKI (adjusted HR 0.94). SGLT2i exposure was associated with lower risk of 30-day mortality (adjusted HR 0.45). Rates of renal recovery were similar between the exposed and nonexposed cohorts regardless of the proximity of SGLT2i exposure to AKI diagnosis.
AHRQ-funded; HS027626.
Citation: Aklilu AM, Kumar S, Yamamoto Y .
Outcomes associated with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor use in acute heart failure hospitalizations complicated by AKI.
Kidney360 2023 Oct; 4(10):1371-81. doi: 10.34067/kid.0000000000000250..
Keywords: Kidney Disease and Health, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Inpatient Care, Medication, Outcomes
Smith K, Padmanabhan P, Chen A
The impacts of the 340B Program on health care quality for low-income patients.
This study’s objective was to assess the effects of hospital 340B eligibility on quality of inpatient care provided to Medicaid and uninsured patients and for all patients. HCUP State Inpatient Data, Hospital Cost Reporting Information System Data, Office of Pharmacy Affairs Information System Data, and the American Hospital Association Annual Survey were all used to extract inpatient data from general acute care hospitals from 2008 to 2014 in 15 states. Data was linked on hospital 340B eligibility and participation. The authors did not find discontinuities in inpatient care quality across the Program eligibility threshold for Medicaid and uninsured patients; specifically, on all-cause mortality, 30-day readmission rates, or other measures. Among insured and non-Medicaid patients, they found discontinuities for acute myocardial infarction and postoperative sepsis mortality.
AHRQ-funded; HS026980.
Citation: Smith K, Padmanabhan P, Chen A .
The impacts of the 340B Program on health care quality for low-income patients.
Health Serv Res 2023 Oct; 58(5):1089-97. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14204..
Keywords: Low-Income, Hospitals, Vulnerable Populations, Medicaid, Uninsured, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care
Menez S, Coca Moledina, Moledina DG
Evaluation of plasma biomarkers to predict major adverse kidney events in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
There is an increased risk for major adverse kidney events (MAKE) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The purpose of this prospective cohort study was to identify plasma biomarkers predictive of MAKE in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The study found that in total, 95 patients (16%) experienced MAKE. Each 1 SD increase in soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNFR1) and sTNFR2 was significantly associated with an increased risk of MAKE. A limitation of the study was a lack of control group of hospitalized patients without COVID-19.
AHRQ-funded; HS027626.
Citation: Menez S, Coca Moledina, Moledina DG .
Evaluation of plasma biomarkers to predict major adverse kidney events in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
Am J Kidney Dis 2023 Sep; 82(3):322-32.e1. doi: 10.1053/j.ajkd.2023.03.010..
Keywords: COVID-19, Kidney Disease and Health, Inpatient Care
Chen JT, Mehrizi R, Aasman B
Long short-term memory model identifies ARDS and in-hospital mortality in both non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 cohort.
The objective of this study was to identify risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and in-hospital mortality using a long short-term memory (LSTM) framework in mechanically ventilated (MV) COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 cohorts. The results indicated that the LSTM algorithm accurately identified the risk of ARDS or death in both non-COVID-19 and COVID MV patients. The researchers concluded that a tool that alerts to the risk of ARDS or death can improve the implementation of evidence-based ARDS management and facilitate goals-of-care discussions involving high-risk patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS026188.
Citation: Chen JT, Mehrizi R, Aasman B .
Long short-term memory model identifies ARDS and in-hospital mortality in both non-COVID-19 and COVID-19 cohort.
BMJ Health Care Inform 2023 Sep; 30(1). doi: 10.1136/bmjhci-2023-100782..
Keywords: COVID-19, Mortality, Hospitals, Inpatient Care
Rolfzen ML, Wick A, Mascha EJ
Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial.
This study tested the hypothesis that a decision-support tool embedded in electronic health records (EHRs) leads clinicians to prescribe fewer opioids at discharge after inpatient surgery. Over 21,000 surgical inpatient discharges in a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial in four Colorado hospitals were included. The results indicated that within the context of vigorous opioid education and awareness efforts a decision-support tool incorporated into EHRs did not reduce discharge opioid prescribing for postoperative patients. The authors concluded that opioid prescribing alerts might be valuable in other contexts.
AHRQ-funded; HS027795.
Citation: Rolfzen ML, Wick A, Mascha EJ .
Best Practice Alerts Informed by Inpatient Opioid Intake to Reduce Opioid Prescribing after Surgery (PRIOR): a cluster randomized multiple crossover trial.
Anesthesiology 2023 Aug 1; 139(2):186-96. doi: 10.1097/aln.0000000000004607..
Keywords: Opioids, Medication, Surgery, Inpatient Care, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Health Information Technology (HIT)
Volerman A, Balachandran U, Zhu M
Evaluating inhaler education interventions for hospitalized children with asthma: a randomized controlled trial.
The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the technology-based intervention-Virtual Teach-to-Goal (V-TTG) could lead to less inhaler misuse among children hospitalized with asthma. A single-center randomized controlled trial of V-TTG vs brief intervention was conducted with children aged 5-10 with asthma. At baseline, nearly all children misused inhalers; inhaler misuse decreased significantly in both V-TTG and brief intervention. The researchers suggested that future studies evaluate V-TTG intervention across diverse populations and disease severities to identify its greatest impact.
AHRQ-funded; HS027804.
Citation: Volerman A, Balachandran U, Zhu M .
Evaluating inhaler education interventions for hospitalized children with asthma: a randomized controlled trial.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2023 Aug; 131(2):217-23.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.anai.2023.02.023..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Asthma, Respiratory Conditions, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Inpatient Care
Faerber JA, Xiao R, Makeneni S
Sustainment of continuous pulse oximetry deimplementation: analysis of eliminating monitor overuse study data from six hospitals.
The purpose of this longitudinal analysis from the Eliminating Monitor Overuse (EMO) study was to evaluate changes in continuous pulse oximetry cSpO(2) overuse before, during, and after intensive cSpO(2) -deimplementation efforts in six hospitals. The researchers collected monitoring data during three phases of the study: 1) "P1" baseline, 2) "P2" active deimplementation (all sites involved in education and audit and feedback strategies), and 3) "P3" sustainment (a new baseline measured after strategies were withdrawn). 2,053 observations were analyzed. The study found that each hospital experienced reductions during active deimplementation (P2), with overall adjusted cSpO(2) overuse decreasing from 53% to 22%, between P1 and P2. However, following the withdrawal of deimplementation strategies, overuse rebounded in all six sites, with overall adjusted cSpO(2) overuse increasing to 37% in P3.
AHRQ-funded; HS026763.
Citation: Faerber JA, Xiao R, Makeneni S .
Sustainment of continuous pulse oximetry deimplementation: analysis of eliminating monitor overuse study data from six hospitals.
J Hosp Med 2023 Aug; 18(8):724-29. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13154..
Keywords: Hospitals, Inpatient Care
Trenaman L, Harrison M, Hoch JS
Medicare beneficiaries' perspectives on the quality of hospital care and their implications for value-based payment.
The objective of this study was to estimate the relative importance of the 4 quality domains in the Medicare's Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) program from the perspective of Medicare beneficiaries and the impact of using beneficiary value weights on incentive payments for hospitals enrolled in FY 2019. A nationally representative sample of 1025 Medicare beneficiaries was recruited through Ipsos KnowledgePanel for an online survey. Hospital performance on clinical outcomes was most highly valued by beneficiaries, followed by safety, patient experience, and efficiency. The authors concluded that current HVBP program value weights do not reflect beneficiary preferences, suggesting that the use of beneficiary value weights may exacerbate disparities by rewarding larger, high-volume hospitals.
AHRQ-funded; HS027853.
Citation: Trenaman L, Harrison M, Hoch JS .
Medicare beneficiaries' perspectives on the quality of hospital care and their implications for value-based payment.
JAMA Netw Open 2023 Jun; 6(6):e2319047. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.19047..
Keywords: Medicare, Inpatient Care, Hospitals
Auerbach AD, Astik GJ, O'Leary KJ
Prevalence and causes of diagnostic errors in hospitalized patients under investigation for COVID-19.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians were required to address a disease with continuously changing traits while simultaneously complying with changes in care (e.g., physical distancing) that could contribute to diagnostic errors (DEs). The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency of DEs and their causes in patients hospitalized under investigation (PUI) for COVID-19. The researchers randomly selected up to 8 cases per site per month for evaluation, with each case evaluated by two clinicians to determine whether a DE occurred, and whether any diagnostic process faults took place. The study found that wo hundred and fifty-seven patient charts were evaluated, of which 14% contained a DE. Patients with and without DE were statistically similar in socioeconomic factors, comorbidities, risk factors for COVID-19, and COVID-19 test turnaround time and eventual positivity. The most common diagnostic process issues contributing to DE were problems with clinical assessment, testing choices, history taking, and physical examination. Diagnostic process issues related with COVID-19 policies and procedures were not related with DE risk. 35.9% of patients with errors and 5.4% of patients overall suffered harm or death due to diagnostic error.
AHRQ-funded; HS027369.
Citation: Auerbach AD, Astik GJ, O'Leary KJ .
Prevalence and causes of diagnostic errors in hospitalized patients under investigation for COVID-19.
J Gen Intern Med 2023 Jun; 38(8):1902-10. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08176-6..
Keywords: COVID-19, Diagnostic Safety and Quality, Hospitals, Inpatient Care, Quality of Care
Kuzma N, Khan A, Rickey L
Effect of Patient and Family Centered I-PASS on adverse event rates in hospitalized children with complex chronic conditions.
This study’s objective was to compare the effect of the intervention Patient and Family Centered (PFC)I-PASS on adverse events (AE) rates in children with and without complex chronic conditions (CCCs). A cohort of 3106 hospitalized children from seven North American pediatric hospitals between December 2014 and January 2017 were included. An effect modification analysis did not show difference in the intervention on children with and without CCCs. There was no statistically significant change in AEs for children with or without CCCs.
AHRQ-funded; HS022986.
Citation: Kuzma N, Khan A, Rickey L .
Effect of Patient and Family Centered I-PASS on adverse event rates in hospitalized children with complex chronic conditions.
J Hosp Med 2023 Apr;18(4):316-20. doi: 10.1002/jhm.13065.
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Chronic Conditions, Adverse Events, Inpatient Care, Transitions of Care
Martino SC, Reynolds KA, Grob R
Evaluation of a protocol for eliciting narrative accounts of pediatric inpatient experiences of care.
This study’s objective was to evaluate the measurement properties of a set of six items designed to elicit narrative accounts of pediatric inpatient experience. This cross-sectional survey with follow-up phone interviews used data from 163 participants recruited from a probability-based online panel of US adults. Eligible participants were family members of a child who had an overnight hospital stay in the past 12 months. Participants completed an online (n = 129) or phone (n = 34) survey about their child's hospitalization experience that contained closed-ended items from the Child HCAHPS Survey followed by the six narrative items. About two weeks after completing the survey, 47 participants additionally completed a one-hour, semi-structured phone interview, the results of which served as a "gold standard" for evaluating the fidelity of narrative responses. The average narrative was 248 words, with 79% of narratives mentioning a topic included on the Child HCAHPS survey; 89% mentioning a topic not covered by that survey; 75% including at least one detailed description of an actionable event. Overall, there was a 66% correspondence between narrative and interview responses, with higher correspondence in the phone than in the online condition (75% vs. 59%).
AHRQ-funded; HS025920; HS016978.
Citation: Martino SC, Reynolds KA, Grob R .
Evaluation of a protocol for eliciting narrative accounts of pediatric inpatient experiences of care.
Health Serv Res 2023 Apr;58(2):271-81. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.14134.
Keywords: Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS), Patient Experience, Inpatient Care
Blike GT, Perreard IM, McGovern KM
A pragmatic method for measuring inpatient complications and complication-specific mortality.
This study’s objective was to develop hospital-level metrics of major complications associated with mortality that allows for the identification of opportunities for improvement and to improve upon current metrics for failure to rescue (i.e., death from serious but treatable complications.). The authors used AHRQ metrics as the basis for identifying specific complications related to major organ system morbidity associated with death. Using component ICD, 10th Revision codes, complication-specific occurrence rates, observed mortality, and risk-adjusted mortality indices were calculated for the study institution and 182 peer organizations. Statistically significant differences in the study hospital occurrence rates and associated mortality rates compared with peer institutions were shown with the complication-specific method. Use of a monthly control-chart presentation of these metrics provides assessment of hospital-level interventions to prevent complications and/or reduce failure to rescue deaths.
AHRQ-funded; HS024403.
Citation: Blike GT, Perreard IM, McGovern KM .
A pragmatic method for measuring inpatient complications and complication-specific mortality.
J Patient Saf 2022 Oct 1;18(7):659-66. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000000984..
Keywords: Inpatient Care, Adverse Events, Patient Safety
Halvorson EE, Thurtle DP, Easter A
Disparities in adverse event reporting for hospitalized children.
The authors compared the adverse event (AE) rate identified by voluntary event reporting (VER) with that identified using the Global Assessment of Pediatric Patient Safety (GAPPS) between hospitalized children by weight category, race, and English proficiency. In the population studied, they identified 288 total AEs, 270 by the GAPPS and 18 by VER. They found a disparity in AE reporting for children with limited English proficiency, with fewer AEs by VER compared with no difference in AEs by GAPPS. They identified no disparities by weight category or race. They concluded that voluntary event reporting may systematically underreport AEs in hospitalized children with limited English proficiency.
AHRQ-funded; HS026038.
Citation: Halvorson EE, Thurtle DP, Easter A .
Disparities in adverse event reporting for hospitalized children.
J Patient Saf 2022 Sep 1;18(6):e928-e33. doi: 10.1097/pts.0000000000001049..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Disparities, Adverse Events, Medical Errors, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Hospitalization, Inpatient Care
Deshpande A, Klompas M, Yu PC A, Klompas M, Yu PC
Influenza testing and treatment among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.
This study looked at testing rates for influenza in hospitalized patients admitted for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and whether it is associated with antiviral treatment and shorter antibiotic courses. The study included patients admitted in 179 US hospitals with pneumonia from 2010 to 2015. The authors assessed influenza testing and compared antimicrobial utilization and the outcomes of test-positive, test-negative, and untested patients. Among 166,268 patients with CAP, 23.3% were tested for influenza, of whom 11.5% tested positive. Testing increased from 15.4% to 35.5% from 2010 to 2015 and was more than triple the rate during flu season (October-May) vs June to September. Patients who tested positive for influenza received antiviral agents more often and antibiotics less often and for shorter courses than patients testing negative. Patients who received early antiviral treatment with oseltamivir experienced lower 14-day in-hospital mortality, lower costs, and shorter length of stay vs patients receiving oseltamivir later or not at all.
AHRQ-funded; HS024277.
Citation: Deshpande A, Klompas M, Yu PC A, Klompas M, Yu PC .
Influenza testing and treatment among patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia.
Chest 2022 Sep;162(3):543-55. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2022.01.053..
Keywords: Influenza, Pneumonia, Community-Acquired Infections, Outcomes, Medication, Inpatient Care
Calcaterra SL, Martin M, Bottner R
Management of opioid use disorder and associated conditions among hospitalized adults: a consensus statement from the Society of Hospital Medicine.
This paper discusses the findings of a Society of Hospital Medicine working group convened to develop a Consensus Statement on the management of opioid use disorder (OUD) and associated conditions among hospitalized adults. The statement is intended for clinicians practicing medicine in the inpatient setting (e.g., hospitalists, primary care physicians, family physicians, advanced practice nurses, and physician assistants) and is intended to apply to hospitalized adults at risk for, or diagnosed with, OUD. The first step of the working group to develop the statement was to conduct a systematic review of relevant guidelines and compose a draft statement based on extracted recommendations. In the next step the working group obtained feedback on the draft statement from external experts in addiction medicine, SHM members, professional societies, harm reduction organizations and advocacy groups, and peer reviewers. This iterative development process resulted in a final Consensus Statement consisting of 18 recommendations covering the following topics: (1) identification and treatment of OUD and opioid withdrawal, (2) perioperative and acute pain management in patients with OUD, and (3) methods to optimize care transitions at hospital discharge for patients with OUD.
AHRQ-funded; HS026215.
Citation: Calcaterra SL, Martin M, Bottner R .
Management of opioid use disorder and associated conditions among hospitalized adults: a consensus statement from the Society of Hospital Medicine.
J Hosp Med 2022 Sep;17(9):744-56. doi: 10.1002/jhm.12893..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines, Inpatient Care
Calcaterras SL, Bottner R, Martin M
Management of opioid use disorder, opioid withdrawal, and opioid overdose prevention in hospitalized adults: a systematic review of existing guidelines.
This study evaluated the quality and content of existing guidelines for in-hospital opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and management. A literature search was done on several databases, websites of relevant societies and advocacy organizations, and selected international search engines. Nineteen guidelines published between January 2010 and June 2020 met the selection criteria. The majority of guidelines were based on observational studies or expert consensus. They recommended the use of nonstigmatizing language among patients with OUD; to assess patients with unhealthy opioid use for OUD using the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Diseases-5th Edition criteria; use of methadone or buprenorphine to treat OUD and opioid withdrawal; use of multimodal, nonopioid therapy, and when needed, short-acting opioid analgesics in addition to buprenorphine or methadone, for acute pain management; ensuring linkage to ongoing methadone or buprenorphine treatment; referring patients to psychosocial treatment; and ensuring access to naloxone for opioid overdose reversal.
AHRQ-funded; HS026215.
Citation: Calcaterras SL, Bottner R, Martin M .
Management of opioid use disorder, opioid withdrawal, and opioid overdose prevention in hospitalized adults: a systematic review of existing guidelines.
J Hosp Med 2022 Sep;17(9):679-92. doi: 10.1002/jhm.12908..
Keywords: Opioids, Substance Abuse, Behavioral Health, Evidence-Based Practice, Guidelines, Inpatient Care
Mercer AN, Mauskar S, Baird J
Family safety reporting in hospitalized children with medical complexity.
This prospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate safety concerns from families of hospitalized children with medical complexity (CMC) who are at high risk of medical errors. This survey was done predischarge with English- and Spanish-speaking parents/staff of hospitalized CMC on 5 units caring for complex care patients at a tertiary care children's hospital. A total of 155 parents and 214 staff completed surveys, with 43% (n = 66) having ≥1 hospital safety concerns, totaling 115 concerns (1-6 concerns each). A physician review found that 69% of concerns were medical errors, and 22% nonsafety-related quality issues. Most parents (68%) reported concerns to staff, particularly bedside nurses, but only 32% of parents recalled being told how to report safety concerns. Higher education and longer length of stay were associated with family safety concerns.
AHRQ-funded; HS025781.
Citation: Mercer AN, Mauskar S, Baird J .
Family safety reporting in hospitalized children with medical complexity.
Pediatrics 2022 Aug 1; 150(2):e2021055098. doi: 10.1542/peds.2021-055098..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Family Health and History, Chronic Conditions, Patient Safety, Medical Errors, Adverse Events, Inpatient Care
Cutler GJ, Bergmann KR, Doupnik SK
Pediatric mental health emergency department visits and access to Inpatient care: a crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of this study was to explore the author’s previous research findings on trends in pediatric emergency department (ED) visits for mental health (MH) vs non-mental health in light of more recent related data corresponding with the COVID-19 pandemic. The study found that recent research supports the dramatic increase in pediatric MH ED visits found in the author’s previous research and provides additional evidence that the increase has been driven by specific MH diagnoses. The researchers conclude that depressive disorders, self-harm behavior, and non-alcohol substance use disorders should be prioritized for the development of ED- and hospital-based strategies, and that EDs, hospitals, health systems, and the government urgently need to increase capacity for MH services and identify innovative solutions to improve access to high quality MH care for children.
AHRQ-funded; HS026385.
Citation: Cutler GJ, Bergmann KR, Doupnik SK .
Pediatric mental health emergency department visits and access to Inpatient care: a crisis worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Acad Pediatr 2022 Aug;22(6):889-91. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2022.03.015..
Keywords: Children/Adolescents, COVID-19, Behavioral Health, Emergency Department, Access to Care, Public Health, Inpatient Care
Prescott HC, Seelye S, Wang XQ
Temporal trends in antimicrobial prescribing during hospitalization for potential infection and sepsis.
This study examined whether the push to administer antimicrobials to prevent sepsis has increased antimicrobial use in general. This observational cohort study of hospitalized patients at 152 hospitals in 2 health care systems during 2013 to 2018 looked at almost 1.6 million patients (81% male), admitted via the emergency department with 2 or more systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) criteria. From 2013 to 2018 first antimicrobial administration to patients with sepsis decreased by 37 minutes. At the same time, antimicrobial use within 48 hours, days of antimicrobial therapy, and receipt of broad-spectrum coverage decreased among the broader cohort of patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). This may have caused a decrease in in-hospital mortality, 30-day mortality, length of hospitalization, new MDR culture positivity, and new MDR blood culture positivity over the study period among both patients with sepsis and those with SIRS. For the overall hospital population there was no evidence that increasing antimicrobial timing for sepsis was associated with increasing antimicrobial use or impaired antimicrobial stewardship.
AHRQ-funded; HS026725.
Citation: Prescott HC, Seelye S, Wang XQ .
Temporal trends in antimicrobial prescribing during hospitalization for potential infection and sepsis.
JAMA Intern Med 2022 Aug;182(8):805-13. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2022.2291..
Keywords: Antimicrobial Stewardship, Antibiotics, Medication, Sepsis, Inpatient Care, Hospitals
Eldridge N, Wang Y, Metersky M
AHRQ Author: Eldridge N, Perdue-Puli J, Brady PJ, Grace E, Rodrick D
Trends in adverse event rates in hospitalized patients, 2010-2019.
This AHRQ-authored serial cross-sectional study’s objective was to determine the change in the rate of adverse events in hospitalized patients from 2010 to 2019. The study used data from the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System and included 244,542 adult patients hospitalized in 3156 acute care hospitals across 4 condition groups: acute myocardial infarction (17%), heart failure (17%) pneumonia (21%), major surgical procedures (22%), and all other conditions (22%). Information on adverse events collected included 21 measures across 4 adverse event domains: adverse drug events, hospital-acquired infections, adverse events after a procedure, and general adverse events such as pressure ulcers and falls. The study sample included 190,286 hospital discharges in the combined 4 condition-based groups and 54,256 hospital discharges for all other conditions. From 2010 to 2019, the total change for adverse events per 1000 discharges for acute myocardial infarction decreased from 218 to 139, from 168 to 116 for heart failure, from 195 to 119 for pneumonia, and from 204 to 130 for major surgical procedures. The rate for all other conditions remained unchanged at 70 adverse events per 1000 discharges.
AHRQ-authored; AHRQ-funded; 290201800005C.
Citation: Eldridge N, Wang Y, Metersky M .
Trends in adverse event rates in hospitalized patients, 2010-2019.
JAMA 2022 Jul 12;328(2):173-83. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.9600..
Keywords: Adverse Events, Patient Safety, Hospitals, Inpatient Care