Emergency Visits for Thunderstorm-Related Respiratory Illnesses Among Older Adults.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Zou E
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7418045 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundUnscheduled emergency department return visits (EDRVs) are key indicators for monitoring the quality of emergency medical care. A high return rate implies that the medical services provided by the emergency department (ED) failed to achieve the expected results of accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. Older adults are more susceptible to diseases and comorbidities than younger adults, and they exhibit unique and complex clinical characteristics that increase the difficulty of clinical diagnosis and treatment. Older adults also use more emergency medical resources than people in other age groups. Many studies have reviewed the causes of EDRVs among general ED patients; however, few have focused on older adults, although this is the age group with the highest rate of EDRVs.ObjectiveThis aim of this study is to establish a model for predicting unscheduled EDRVs within a 72-hour period among patients aged 65 years and older. In addition, we aim to investigate the effects of the influencing factors on their unscheduled EDRVs.MethodsWe used stratified and randomized data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database and applied data mining techniques to construct a prediction model consisting of patient, disease, hospital, and physician characteristics. Records of ED visits by patients aged 65 years and older from 1996 to 2010 in the National Health Insurance Research Database were selected, and the final sample size was 49,252 records.ResultsThe decision tree of the prediction model achieved an acceptable overall accuracy of 76.80%. Economic status, chronic illness, and length of stay in the ED were the top three variables influencing unscheduled EDRVs. Those who stayed in the ED overnight or longer on their first visit were less likely to return. This study confirms the results of prior studies, which found that economically underprivileged older adults with chronic illness and comorbidities were more likely to return to the ED.ConclusionsMedical institutions can use our prediction model as a reference to improve medical management and clinical services by understanding the reasons for 72-hour unscheduled EDRVs in older adult patients. A possible solution is to create mechanisms that incorporate our prediction model and develop a support system with customized medical education for older patients and their family members before discharge. Meanwhile, a reasonably longer length of stay in the ED may help evaluate treatments and guide prognosis for older adult patients, and it may further reduce the rate of their unscheduled EDRVs.
| S-EPMC8367131 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Risk for falls in older adults has been associated with falls efficacy (self-perceived confidence in performing daily physical activities) and postural balance, but available evidence is limited and mixed. We examined the interaction between falls efficacy and postural balance and its association with future falls. We also investigated the association between falls efficacy and gait decline.Falls efficacy, measured by the Modified Falls Efficacy Scale (MFES), and standing postural balance, measured using computerized posturography on a balance board, were obtained from 247 older adults with a falls-related emergency department visit. Six-month prospective fall rate and habitual gait speed at 6 months post baseline assessment were also measured.In multivariable proportional odds analyses adjusted for potential confounders, falls efficacy modified the association between postural balance and fall risk (interaction P?=?0.014): increasing falls efficacy accentuated the increased fall risk related to poor postural balance. Low baseline falls efficacy was strongly predictive of worse gait speed (0.11 m/s [0.06 to 0.16] slower gait speed per IQR decrease in MFES; P?<?0.001).Older adults with high falls efficacy but poor postural balance were at greater risk for falls than those with low falls efficacy; however, low baseline falls efficacy was strongly associated with worse gait function at follow-up. Further research into these subgroups of older adults is warranted.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01713543 .
| S-EPMC5740922 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background/objectiveEmergency department (ED) visits have declined while excess mortality, not attributable to COVID-19, has grown. It is not known whether older adults are accessing emergency care differently from their younger counterparts. Our objective was to determine patterns of ED visit counts for emergent conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic for older adults.DesignRetrospective, observational study.SettingObservational analysis of ED sites enrolled in a national clinical quality registry.ParticipantsOne hundred and sixty-four ED sites in 33 states from January 1, 2019 to November 15, 2020.Main outcome and measuresWe measured daily ED visit counts for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke, sepsis, fall, and hip fracture, as well as deaths in the ED, by age categories. We estimated Poisson regression models comparing early and post-early pandemic periods (defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) to the pre-pandemic period. We report incident rate ratios to summarize changes in visit incidence.ResultsFor AMI, stroke, and sepsis, the older (75-84) and oldest old (85+ years) had the greatest decline in visit counts initially and the smallest recovery in the post-early pandemic periods. For falls, visits declined early and partially recovered uniformly across age categories. In contrast, hip fractures exhibited less change in visit rates across time periods. Deaths in the ED increased during the early pandemic period, but then fell and were persistently lower than baseline, especially for the older (75-84) and oldest old (85+ years).ConclusionsThe decline in ED visits for emergent conditions among older adults has been more pronounced and persistent than for younger patients, with fewer deaths in the ED. This is concerning given the greater prevalence and risk of poor outcomes for emergent conditions in this age group that are amenable to time-sensitive ED diagnosis and treatment, and may in part explain excess mortality during the COVID-19 era among older adults.
| S-EPMC8242842 | biostudies-literature
Project description:This review identifies the content of virtual visits in community nursing services to older adults and explores the manner in which service users and the nurses use virtual visits.An integrative literature review.Data collection comprised a literature search in three databases: Cinahl, Medline, and PubMed. In addition, a manual search of reference lists and expert consultation were performed. A total of 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles were reviewed in terms of study characteristics, service content and utilization, and patient and health care provider experience.Our review shows that in most studies the service is delivered on a daily basis and in combination with in-person visits. The findings suggest that older home-dwelling patients can benefit from virtual visits in terms of enhanced social inclusion and medication compliance. Service users and their nurses found virtual visits satisfactory and suitable for care delivery in home care to the elderly. Evidence for cost-saving benefits of virtual visits was not found.The findings can inform the planning of virtual visits in home health care as a complementary service to in-person visits, in order to meet the increasingly complex needs of older adults living at home.
| S-EPMC4258330 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundThe emergency department (ED) is a critical juncture in the care of persons living with dementia (PLwD), as they have a high rate of hospital admission, ED revisits, and subsequent inpatient stays. We examine ED disposition of PLwD compared with older adults with non-dementia chronic disease as well as healthcare utilization and survival.MethodsMedicare claims data were used to identify community-dwelling older adults 66+ years old from 34 hospitals with either Alzheimer's disease/Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD) or a non-AD/ADRD chronic condition between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018. We compared ED disposition at the index visit, as well as healthcare utilization and mortality in the 12 months following an index ED visit, and adjusted for age, gender, and risk of mortality.ResultsThere were 29,626 patients in the AD/ADRD sample, and 317,046 in the comparison sample. The AD/ADRD sample was older (82.4 years old [SD: 8.2] vs. 76.0 years old [SD: 7.7]) and had more female patients (59.9% vs. 54.7%). The AD/ADRD sample was more likely to experience ED disposition to acute care (OR 1.039, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.029-1.050), to have an ED revisit (OR 1.077, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.066-1.087), and an inpatient stay in the subsequent 12 months (OR 1.085, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.075-1.095). ED disposition to hospice was low in both samples (0.2%). AD/ADRD patients had a higher risk of mortality (OR 1.099, p < 0.001, 95% CI 1.091-1.107) and high short-term mortality (31.9% within 12 months) than those without AD/ADRD (15.3% within 12 months).ConclusionsPLwD who visit the ED have high short-term mortality. Despite this, disposition to acute care, ED revisits, and inpatient stays, rather than hospice, remain the predominant mode of care delivery. Transition directly from the ED to hospice for PLwD is rare.
| S-EPMC9489611 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and objectivesMany older adults adopt equipment to address physical limitations and reduce dependence on others to complete basic activities of daily living. Although a few prior studies have considered injuries associated with assistive devices for older adults, those studies focused on older adults' health and functional risks for injury. There is limited analysis of older adult injuries involving defective or malfunctioning assistive devices.Research design and methodsData from this study are from the National Electronic Surveillance System All Injury Program which collected data on consumer product-related injuries from a probability sample of 66 hospital Emergency Departments across the United States. Data from 30 776 older adult Emergency Department (ED) injury narratives from 2016 to 2020 were coded according to the assistive device involved and whether malfunctioning led to the injury. The study team manually examined all narratives in which the assistive device was coded to have malfunctioned.ResultsA total of 10 974 older adult ED cases were treated for 12 488 injuries involving a defective device. Injuries included 4 212 head and neck injuries (eg, concussion), 4 317 trunk injuries (eg, hip fractures), and 3 959 arm or leg injuries (eg, leg fracture). Of these patients, 4 586 were admitted to a hospital ward for further evaluation and treatment. Seventy percent of these patients were injured while using a walker; in contrast, wheelchairs were implicated in only 4% of the above cases. Design flaws were identified in 8 158 cases and part breakage/decoupling incidents in 2 816 cases.Discussion and implicationsOur findings provide evidence that assistive devices are actively involved in older adult injuries. Further research is needed to reduce injuries associated with assistive devices by educating patients and their careproviders about device use and assembly and developing effective methods for informing manufacturers about malfunctioning devices.
| S-EPMC10833462 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:To examine mental health care received by older adults following emergency department (ED) visits for deliberate self-harm. METHODS:This retrospective cohort analysis examined 2015 Medicare claims for adults ≥65 years of age with ED visits for deliberate self-harm (N = 16 495). We estimated adjusted risk ratios (ARR) for discharge disposition, ED coding of mental disorder, and 30-day follow-up mental health outpatient care. RESULTS:Most patients (76.9%) were hospitalized with lower likelihoods observed for African American patients (ARR = 0.86, 99% CI = 0.79-0.94) and patients with either one medical comorbidity (ARR = 0.91, 99% CI = 0.83-0.99) or two to three comorbidities (ARR = 0.93, 99% CI = 0.88-0.99). Hospitalization was associated with recent depression (ARR = 1.09, 99% CI = 1.03-1.16) and recent psychiatric inpatient care (ARR = 1.13, 99% CI = 1.04-1.22). Among patients discharged to the community (n = 3818), 56.4% received an ED mental disorder diagnosis. Predictors of an ED mental disorder diagnosis included younger age (65-69 years; ARR = 1.53, 99% CI = 1.31-1.78), recent mental health care in ED (ARR = 1.50, 99% CI = 1.29-1.74) or outpatient (ARR = 1.62, 99% CI = 1.44-1.82) settings, recent diagnosis of mental disorder (ARR = 1.61, 99% CI = 1.43-1.80), and other/unknown lethality methods of self-harm (ARR = 1.24, 99% CI = 1.01-1.52). Among community discharged patients, 39.0% received 30-day follow-up outpatient mental health care, which was most strongly predicted by an ED diagnosis of mental disorder (ARR = 2.65, 99% CI = 2.25-3.12) and prior outpatient mental health care (ARR = 2.62, 99% CI = 2.28-3.00). CONCLUSION:Most older adult Medicare beneficiaries who present to EDs with self-harm are hospitalized. Of those who are discharged to the community, many are not diagnosed with mental disorder in the ED or receive timely follow-up mental health care.
| S-EPMC6579649 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionPotentially inappropriate medications (PIM) and resulting adverse health outcomes in older adults are a common occurrence. However, PIM prescriptions are still frequent for vulnerable older adults. Here, we sought to estimate the risk of hospitalization and emergency department (ED) visits associated with PIM prescriptions over different exposure periods and PIM drug categories.MethodsWe used the National Health Insurance Service-Elderly Cohort Database (NHIS-ECDB) to construct the cohort and implemented a Self-Controlled Case Series (SCCS) method. Hospitalization or ED visits during the exposure and post-exposure periods were compared to those during the non-exposure period, and six PIM drug categories were evaluated. A conditional Poisson regression model was applied, and the risk of outcomes was presented as the incidence rate ratio (IRR). All potential time-varying covariates were adjusted by year. A total of 43,942 older adults aged ≥65 y who had at least one PIM prescription and the events of either hospitalization or ED visits between Jan 2016 and Dec 2019 were selected..ResultsMean days of each exposure period was 46 d (±123); risk was highest in exposure1 (1-7 d, 37.8%), whereas it was similar during exposure2 (15-28 d), and exposure3 (29-56 d) (16.6%). The mean number of total PIM drugs administered during the study period was 7.34 (±4.60). Both hospitalization and ED visits were significantly higher in both exposure (adjusted IRR 2.14, 95% Confidence Interval (CI):2.11-2.17) and post-exposure periods (adjusted IRR 1.41, 95% CI:1.38-1.44) in comparison to non-exposure period. The risk of adverse health outcomes was highest during the first exposure period (1-14 d), but decreased gradually over time. Among the PIM categories, pain medication was used the most, followed by anticholinergics. All PIM categories significantly increased the risk of hospitalization and ED visits, ranging from 1.18 (other PIM) to 2.85 (pain medication). Sensitivity analyses using the first incidence of PIM exposure demonstrated similar results. All PIM categories significantly increased the risk of hospitalization and ED visits, with the initial period of PIM prescriptions showing the highest risk. In subgroup analysis stratified by the number of medications, PIM effects on the risk of hospitalization and ED visits remained significant but gradually attenuated by the increased number of medications.DiscussionTherefore, the development of deprescribing strategies to control PIM and polypharmacy collectively is urgent and essential.
| S-EPMC10352109 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPrevious analyses have suggested that unregulated private drinking water wells carry a higher risk of exposure to microbial contamination than regulated community water systems. In North Carolina, ~35% of the state's population relies on private wells, but the health impact associated with widespread reliance on such unregulated drinking water sources is unknown.ObjectivesWe estimated the total number of emergency department visits for acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) attributable to microbial contamination in private wells in North Carolina per year, the costs of those visits, and the potential health benefits of extending regulated water service to households currently relying on private wells for their drinking water.MethodsWe developed a population intervention model using 2007-2013 data from all 122 North Carolina emergency departments along with microbial contamination data for all 2,120 community water systems and for 16,138 private well water samples collected since 2008.ResultsAn estimated 29,400 (95% CI: 26,600, 32,200) emergency department visits per year for acute gastrointestinal illness were attributable to microbial contamination in drinking water, constituting approximately 7.3% (95% CI: 6.6, 7.9%) of all AGI-related visits. Of these attributable cases, 99% (29,200; 95% CI: 26,500, 31,900) were associated with private well contamination. The estimated statewide annual cost of emergency department visits attributable to microbiological contamination of drinking water is 40.2 million USD (95% CI: 2.58 million USD, 193 million USD), of which 39.9 million USD (95% CI: 2.56 million USD, 192 million USD) is estimated to arise from private well contamination. An estimated 2,920 (95% CI: 2,650, 3,190) annual emergency department visits could be prevented by extending community water service to 10% of the population currently relying on private wells.ConclusionsThis research provides new evidence that extending regulated community water service to populations currently relying on private wells may decrease the population burden of acute gastrointestinal illness.CitationDeFelice NB, Johnston JE, Gibson JM. 2016. Reducing emergency department visits for acute gastrointestinal illnesses in North Carolina (USA) by extending community water service. Environ Health Perspect 124:1583-1591;?http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/EHP160.
| S-EPMC5047767 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundAT-HARM10 is a research tool to identify possible drug-related hospital admissions. It is unclear whether the tool can be applied to emergency department visits as well.AimThe aim of this study was to investigate the applicability and reliability to identify drug-related emergency department visits in older patients with AT-HARM10.MethodA random sample of 400 patients aged 65 years or older from a clinical trial in four Swedish hospitals was selected. All patients' emergency department visits within 12 months after discharge were assessed with AT-HARM10. The main outcome measures were the percentage of successfully assessed visits for applicability and the interrater reliability (Cohen's kappa).ResultsOf the initial sample (n = 400), 113 patients [median age (interquartile range): 81 (76-88) years] had at least one emergency department visit within 12 months. The patients had in total 184 visits, of which 179 (97%) were successfully assessed. Fifty-three visits (29%) were possibly drug-related. The Cohen's kappa value was 0.70 (substantial).ConclusionIt seems applicable and reliable to identify possible drug-related emergency department visits in addition to hospital admissions in older patients with AT-HARM10. As a consequence, the tool has been updated to support its novel use in clinical research.
| S-EPMC9393129 | biostudies-literature