Browsing by Subject "Aftercare"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Critical Care Follow-up Clinics: A Scoping Review of Interventions and Outcomes
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2016-07) Lasiter, Sue; Oles, Sylwia K.; Mundell, James; London, Susan; Khan, Babar; School of Nursing
    OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this scoping review is to identify evidence describing benefits of interventions provided in intensive care unit (ICU) survivor follow-up clinics. BACKGROUND: Advances in ICU treatments have increased the number of survivors who require specialized care for ICU-related sequelae. Intensive care unit survivor follow-up clinics exist, yet little is known about the nature and impact of interventions provided in such clinics. A scoping review of publications about in-person post-ICU follow-up care was undertaken. METHOD: Ten databases were searched yielding 111 relevant unique publication titles and abstracts. Sample heterogeneity supported using a scoping review method. After excluding nonrelated publications, 33 reports were fully reviewed. Twenty international publications were included that described ICU follow-up clinic interventions and/or outcomes. RESULTS: Authors discussed very diverse interventions in 15 publications, and 9 reported some level of intervention effectiveness. Evidence was strongest that supported the use of prospective diaries as an intervention to prevent or improve psychological symptoms, whereas evidence to support implementation of other interventions was weak. CONCLUSIONS: Although ICU follow-up clinics exist, evidence for interventions and effectiveness of treatments in these clinics remains underexplored. IMPLICATIONS: Intensive care unit survivor follow-up clinics provide a venue for further interdisciplinary intervention research that could lead to better health outcomes for ICU survivors.
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    Optimization of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Medications After an Acute Heart Failure Admission: A Secondary Analysis of the STRONG-HF Randomized Clinical Trial
    (American Medical Association, 2024) Cotter, Gad; Deniau, Benjamin; Davison, Beth; Edwards, Christopher; Adamo, Marianna; Arrigo, Mattia; Barros, Marianela; Biegus, Jan; Celutkiene, Jelena; Cerlinskaite-Bajore, Kamile; Chioncel, Ovidiu; Cohen-Solal, Alain; Damasceno, Albertino; Diaz, Rafael; Filippatos, Gerasimos; Gayat, Etienne; Kimmoun, Antoine; Lam, Carolyn S. P.; Metra, Marco; Novosadova, Maria; Pang, Peter S.; Pagnesi, Matteo; Ponikowski, Piotr; Saidu, Hadiza; Sliwa, Karen; Takagi, Koji; Ter Maaten, Jozine M.; Tomasoni, Daniela; Voors, Adriaan; Mebazaa, Alexandre; Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
    Importance: The Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Rapid Optimization, Helped by N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide Testing of Heart Failure Therapies (STRONG-HF) trial strived for rapid uptitration aiming to reach 100% optimal doses of guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) within 2 weeks after discharge from an acute heart failure (AHF) admission. Objective: To assess the association between degree of GDMT doses achieved in high-intensity care and outcomes. Design, setting, and participants: This was a post hoc secondary analysis of the STRONG-HF randomized clinical trial, conducted from May 2018 to September 2022. Included in the study were patients with AHF who were not treated with optimal doses of GDMT before and after discharge from an AHF admission. Data were analyzed from January to October 2023. Interventions: The mean percentage of the doses of 3 classes of HF medications (renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, β-blockers, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists) relative to their optimal doses was computed. Patients were classified into 3 dose categories: low (<50%), medium (≥50% to <90%), and high (≥90%). Dose and dose group were included as a time-dependent covariate in Cox regression models, which were used to test whether outcomes differed by dose. Main outcome measures: Post hoc secondary analyses of postdischarge 180-day HF readmission or death and 90-day change in quality of life. Results: A total of 515 patients (mean [SD] age, 62.7 [13.4] years; 311 male [60.4%]) assigned high-intensity care were included in this analysis. At 2 weeks, 39 patients (7.6%) achieved low doses, 254 patients (49.3%) achieved medium doses, and 222 patients (43.1%) achieved high doses. Patients with lower blood pressure and more congestion were less likely to be uptitrated to optimal GDMT doses at week 2. As a continuous time-dependent covariate, an increase of 10% in the average percentage optimal dose was associated with a reduction in 180-day HF readmission or all-cause death (primary end point: adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81-0.98; P = .01) and a decrease in 180-day all-cause mortality (aHR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.73-0.95; P = .007). Quality of life at 90 days, measured by the EQ-5D visual analog scale, improved more in patients treated with higher doses of GDMT (mean difference, 0.10; 95% CI, -4.88 to 5.07 and 3.13; 95% CI, -1.98 to 8.24 points in the medium- and high-dose groups relative to the low-dose group, respectively; P = .07). Adverse events to day 90 occurred less frequently in participants with HIC who were prescribed higher GDMT doses at week 2. Conclusions and relevance: Results of this post hoc analysis of the STRONG-HF randomized clinical trial show that, among patients randomly assigned to high-intensity care, achieving higher doses of HF GDMT 2 weeks after discharge was feasible and safe in most patients.
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    Post-Discharge Mortality in Recently Hospitalized African Children: A Hidden Crisis
    (American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2023-08-28) John, Chandy C.; Hamer, Davidson H.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
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    Short-Stay Units vs Routine Admission From the Emergency Department in Patients With Acute Heart Failure
    (American Medical Association, 2024-01-02) Pang, Peter S.; Berger, David A.; Mahler, Simon A.; Li, Xiaochun; Pressler, Susan J.; Lane, Kathleen A.; Bischof, Jason J.; Char, Douglas; Diercks, Deborah; Jones, Alan E.; Hess, Erik P.; Levy, Phillip; Miller, Joseph B.; Venkat, Arvind; Harrison, Nicholas E.; Collins, Sean P.; Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine
    Importance: More than 80% of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute heart failure (AHF) are hospitalized. With more than 1 million annual hospitalizations for AHF in the US, safe and effective alternatives are needed. Care for AHF in short-stay units (SSUs) may be safe and more efficient than hospitalization, especially for lower-risk patients, but randomized clinical trial data are lacking. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of SSU care vs hospitalization in lower-risk patients with AHF. Design, setting, and participants: This multicenter randomized clinical trial randomly assigned low-risk patients with AHF 1:1 to SSU or hospital admission from the ED. Patients received follow-up at 30 and 90 days post discharge. The study began December 6, 2017, and was completed on July 22, 2021. The data were analyzed between March 27, 2020, and November 11, 2023. Intervention: Randomized post-ED disposition to less than 24 hours of SSU care vs hospitalization. Main outcomes and measures: The study was designed to detect at least 1-day superiority for a primary outcome of days alive and out of hospital (DAOOH) at 30-day follow-up for 534 participants, with an allowance of 10% participant attrition. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment was truncated at 194 participants. Before unmasking, the primary outcome was changed from DAOOH to an outcome with adequate statistical power: quality of life as measured by the 12-item Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ-12). The KCCQ-12 scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better quality of life. Results: Of the 193 patients enrolled (1 was found ineligible after randomization), the mean (SD) age was 64.8 (14.8) years, 79 (40.9%) were women, and 114 (59.1%) were men. Baseline characteristics were balanced between arms. The mean (SD) KCCQ-12 summary score between the SSU and hospitalization arms at 30 days was 51.3 (25.7) vs 45.8 (23.8) points, respectively (P = .19). Participants in the SSU arm had 1.6 more DAOOH at 30-day follow-up than those in the hospitalization arm (median [IQR], 26.9 [24.4-28.8] vs 25.4 [22.0-27.7] days; P = .02). Adverse events were uncommon and similar in both arms. Conclusions and relevance: The findings show that the SSU strategy was no different than hospitalization with regard to KCCQ-12 score, superior for more DAOOH, and safe for lower-risk patients with AHF. These findings of lower health care utilization with the SSU strategy need to be definitively tested in an adequately powered study.
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    Verbal Autopsy to Assess Postdischarge Mortality in Children With Suspected Sepsis in Uganda
    (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2023) Knappett, Martina; Hooft, Anneka; Maqsood, Muhammad Bilal; Lavoie, Pascal M.; Kortz, Teresa; Mehta, Sonia; Duby, Jessica; Akech, Samuel; Maina, Michuki; Carter, Rebecca; Popescu, Constantin R.; Daftary, Rajesh; Mugisha, Nathan Kenya; Mwesigwa, Douglas; Kabakyenga, Jerome; Kumbakumba, Elias; Ansermino, J. Mark; Kissoon, Niranjan; Mutekanga, Andrew; Hau, Duncan; Moschovis, Peter; Kangwa, Mukuka; Chen, Carol; Firnberg, Maytal; Glomb, Nicolaus; Argent, Andrew; Reid, Stephen J.; Bhutta, Adnan; Wiens, Matthew O.; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Background: Reducing child mortality in low-income countries is constrained by a lack of vital statistics. In the absence of such data, verbal autopsies provide an acceptable method to determining attributable causes of death. The objective was to assess potential causes of pediatric postdischarge mortality in children younger than age 5 years (under-5) originally admitted for suspected sepsis using verbal autopsies. Methods: Secondary analysis of verbal autopsy data from children admitted to 6 hospitals across Uganda from July 2017 to March 2020. Structured verbal autopsy interviews were conducted for all deaths within 6 months after discharge. Two physicians independently classified a primary cause of death, up to 4 alternative causes, and up to 5 contributing conditions using the Start-Up Mortality List, with discordance resolved by consensus. Results: Verbal autopsies were completed for 361 (98.6%) of the 366 (5.9%) children who died among 6191 discharges (median admission age: 5.4 months [interquartile range, 1.8-16.7]; median time to mortality: 28 days [interquartile range, 9-74]). Most deaths (62.3%) occurred in the community. Leading primary causes of death, assigned in 356 (98.6%) of cases, were pneumonia (26.2%), sepsis (22.1%), malaria (8.5%), and diarrhea (7.9%). Common contributors to death were malnutrition (50.5%) and anemia (25.7%). Reviewers were less confident in their causes of death for neonates than older children (P < .05). Conclusions: Postdischarge mortality frequently occurred in the community in children admitted for suspected sepsis in Uganda. Analyses of the probable causes for these deaths using verbal autopsies suggest potential areas for interventions, focused on early detection of infections, as well as prevention and treatment of underlying contributors such as malnutrition and anemia.