New Admissions (new + admission)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


The Relationship of Indwelling Urinary Catheters to Death, Length of Hospital Stay, Functional Decline, and Nursing Home Admission in Hospitalized Older Medical Patients

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007
Jayna M. Holroyd-Leduc MD
OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between indwelling urinary catheterization without a specific medical indication and adverse outcomes. DESIGN: Prospective cohort. SETTING: General medical inpatient services at a teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred thirty-five patients aged 70 and older admitted without a specific medical indication for urinary catheterization. INTERVENTION: Indwelling urinary catheterization within 48 hours of admission. MEASUREMENTS: Death, length of hospital stay, decline in ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs), and new admission to a nursing home. RESULTS: Indwelling urinary catheters were placed in 76 of the 535 (14%) patients without a specific medical indication. Catheterized patients were more likely to die in the hospital (6.6% vs 1.5% of those not catheterized, P=.006) and within 90 days of hospital discharge (25% vs 10.5%, P<.001); the greater risk of death with catheterization persisted in a propensity-matched analysis (hazard ratio (HR)=2.42, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.04,5.65). Catheterized patients also had longer lengths of hospital stay (median, 6 days vs 4 days; P=.001); this association persisted in a propensity-matched analysis (HR=1.46, 95% CI=1.03,2.08). Catheterization was not associated (P>.05) with decline in ADL function or with admission to a nursing home. CONCLUSION: In this cohort of older patients, urinary catheterization without a specific medical indication was associated with greater risk of death and longer hospital stay. [source]


Randomized Trial of a Delirium Abatement Program for Postacute Skilled Nursing Facilities

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 6 2010
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OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a delirium abatement program (DAP) can shorten duration of delirium in new admissions to postacute care (PAC). DESIGN: Cluster randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Eight skilled nursing facilities specializing in PAC within a single metropolitan region. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred fifty-seven participants with delirium at PAC admission. INTERVENTION: The DAP consisted of four steps: assessment for delirium within 5 days of PAC admission, assessment and correction of common reversible causes of delirium, prevention of complications of delirium, and restoration of function. MEASUREMENTS: Trained researchers screened eligible patients. Those with delirium defined according to the Confusion Assessment Method were eligible for participation using proxy consent. Regardless of location, researchers blind to intervention status re-assessed participants for delirium 2 weeks and 1 month after enrollment. RESULTS: Nurses at DAP sites detected delirium in 41% of participants, versus 12% in usual care sites (P<.001), and completed DAP documentation in most participants in whom delirium was detected, but the DAP intervention had no effect on delirium persistence based on two measurements at 2 weeks (DAP 68% vs usual care 66%) and 1 month (DAP 60% vs usual care 51%) (adjusted P,.20). Adjusting for baseline differences between DAP and usual care participants and restricting analysis to DAP participants in whom delirium was detected did not alter the results. CONCLUSION: Detection of delirium improved at the DAP sites, but the DAP had no effect on the persistence of delirium. This effectiveness trial demonstrated that a nurse-led DAP intervention was not effective in typical PAC facilities. [source]


Nursing Home Facility Risk Factors for Infection and Hospitalization: Importance of Registered Nurse Turnover, Administration, and Social Factors

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 12 2002
Sheryl Zimmerman PhD
OBJECTIVES: Determine the relationship between a broad array of structure and process elements of nursing home care and (a) resident infection and (b) hospitalization for infection. DESIGN: Baseline data were collected from September 1992 through March 1995, and residents were followed for 2 years; facility data were collected at the midpoint of follow-up. SETTING: A stratified random sample of 59 nursing homes across Maryland. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand fifteen new admissions aged 65 and older. MEASUREMENTS: Facility-level data were collected from interviews with facility administrators, directors of nursing, and activity directors; record abstraction; and direct observation. Main outcome measures included infection (written diagnosis, a course of antibiotic therapy, or radiographic confirmation of pneumonia) and hospitalization for infection (indicated on medical records). RESULTS: The 2-year rate of infection was 1.20 episodes per 100 resident days, and the hospitalization rate for infection was 0.17 admissions per 100 resident days. Except for registered nurse (RN) turnover, which related to both infection and hospitalization, different variables related to each outcome. High rates of incident infection were associated with more Medicare recipients, high levels of physical/occupational therapist staffing, high licensed practical nurse staffing, low nurses' aide staffing, high intensity of medical and therapeutic services, dementia training, staff privacy, and low levels of psychotropic medication use. High rates of hospitalization for infection were associated with for-profit ownership, chain affiliation, poor environmental quality, lack of resident privacy, lack of administrative emphasis on staff satisfaction, and low family/friend visitation rates. Adjustment for resident sex, age, race, education, marital status, number of morbid diagnoses, functional status, and Resource Utilization Group, Version III score did not alter the relationship between the structure and process of care and outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The association between RN turnover and both outcomes underscores the relationship between nursing leadership and quality of care in these settings. The relationship between hospitalization for infection and for-profit ownership and chain affiliation could reflect policies not to treat acute illnesses in house. The link between social factors of care (environmental quality, prioritizing staff satisfaction, resident privacy, and facility visitation) and hospitalization indicates that a nonmedical model of care may not jeopardize, and may in fact benefit, health-related outcomes. All of these facility characteristics may be modifiable, may affect healthcare costs, and may hold promise for other, less-medical, forms of residential long-term care. [source]


Testing for Quasi-Market Forces in Secondary Education

OXFORD BULLETIN OF ECONOMICS & STATISTICS, Issue 3 2000
Steve Bradley
This paper investigates the effect of introducing quasi-market forces into secondary education on the allocation of pupils between schools and on the exam performance of pupils. A unique database is used which covers all publicly-funded secondary schools in England over the period 1992,98. We find several effects consistent with the operation of a quasi-market. Firstly, new admissions are found to be positively related to a school's own exam performance and negatively related to the exam performance of competing schools. Secondly, a school's growth in pupil numbers is positively related to its exam performance compared to its immediate competitors. Thirdly, there is strong evidence that schools experiencing an excess demand for places have responded by increasing their physical capacity. Fourthly, there is some evidence of an increase in the concentration of pupils from poor family backgrounds in those schools with the poorest exam performance of schools during 1992,98 can be attributed to the introduction of quasi-market forces. [source]


Uses of Diverted Methadone and Buprenorphine by Opioid-Addicted Individuals in Baltimore, Maryland

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL ON ADDICTIONS, Issue 5 2009
Shannon Gwin Mitchell PhD
This study examined the uses of diverted methadone and buprenorphine among opiate-addicted individuals recruited from new admissions to methadone programs and from out-of-treatment individuals recruited from the streets. Self-report data regarding diversion were obtained from surveys and semi-structured qualitative interviews. Approximately 16% (n = 84) of the total sample (N = 515) reported using diverted (street) methadone two,three times per week for six months or more, and for an average of 7.8 days (SD = 10.3) within the past month. The group reporting lifetime use of diverted methadone as compared to the group that did not report such use was less likely to use heroin and cocaine in the 30 days prior to admission (ps < .01) and had lower ASI Drug Composite scores (p < .05). Participants in our qualitative sub-sample (n = 22) indicated that street methadone was more widely used than street buprenorphine and that both drugs were largely used as self-medication for detoxification and withdrawal symptoms. Participants reported using low dosages and no injection of either medication was reported. [source]