Acute Inpatient Hospital Research Articles

The HOME Study: Statistical and economic analysis plan for a randomised controlled trial comparing the\xa0addition of Proactive Psychological Medicine to usual care, with usual care alone, on the \xa0time spent in hospital by older acute hospital inpatients

BackgroundProlonged acute hospital stays are a problem for older people and for health services. Failure to effectively manage the psychological and social aspects of illness is an important cause of prolonged hospital stay. Proactive Psychological Medicine (PPM) is a new way of providing psychiatry services to medical wards which is proactive, focussed, intensive and integrated with medical care. The primary aim of PPM is to reduce the time older people spend in hospital because of unmanaged psychological and social problems. The HOME Study will test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PPM.Methods/designThe study is a two-arm, parallel-group, randomised, controlled superiority trial with linked health economic analysis and an embedded process evaluation. The target population is people aged 65 years and older admitted to acute hospitals. Participants will be randomly allocated to either usual care plus PPM or usual care alone. The primary outcome is the number of days spent as an inpatient in a general hospital in the month following randomisation. Secondary outcomes include quality of life, cognitive function, independent functioning, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and experience of hospital stay. The cost-effectiveness of usual care plus PPM compared with usual care alone will be assessed using quality-adjusted life-years as an outcome as well as costs from the NHS perspective.DiscussionThis update to the published trial protocol gives a detailed plan of the statistical and economic analysis of The HOME Study.Trial registrationISRCTN registry, ISRCTN86120296. Registered on 3 January 2018.

Patient-on-Staff Assaults: Perspectives of Mental Health Staff at an Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Teaching Hospital in the United States.

Physical assaults perpetrated by patients in psychiatric hospitals against mental health staff (MHS) is a serious concern facing psychiatric hospitals. Assaulted staff reports physical and psychological trauma that affects their personal and professional lives. There is a dearth of literature exploring this phenomenon. To explore MHS perspectives of assault by psychiatric patients. A transcendental phenomenological qualitative design was used to explore and analyze the perspectives of a purposeful sample of 120 MHS perspectives at an acute inpatient psychiatric hospital. Participants' age ranged from 22 to 63 years (mean age = 32.4). Moustakas' theoretical underpinnings guided the study. Two patterns, 8 themes, and 19 subthemes were identified: (a) Psychological impacts revealed four themes-increase of anxiety/fear level, helplessness and hopelessness, flashbacks/burnout, and doubting own competency. (b) Physiosocial impacts revealed four themes-unsupportive superiors, stigmatization of staff victim, failure to report the incident, and environmental safety. Participants verbalized that assaults by patients have instilled fear and trauma in them. Most of the assaults occurred when staff were performing their routine job functions and setting limits to patient's behavior. The study allowed MHS opportunities to narrate their lived experiences of being assaulted by patients and provided validation of their perspectives. Findings illuminated the phenomenon and may help to support policy changes in psychiatric hospitals.

Sepsis Among Medicare Beneficiaries: 2. The Trajectories of Sepsis, 2012-2018.

To distinguish characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries who will have an acute inpatient admission for sepsis from those who have an inpatient admission without sepsis, and to describe their further trajectories during and subsequent to those inpatient admissions. Analysis of paid Medicare claims via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services DataLink Project. All U.S. acute care hospitals, excepting federal hospitals (Veterans Administration and Defense Health Agency). Medicare beneficiaries, 2012-2018, with an inpatient hospital admission including one or more explicit sepsis codes. None. Prevalent diagnoses in the year prior to the inpatient admission; healthcare contacts in the week prior to the inpatient admission; discharges, transfers, readmissions, and deaths (trajectories) for 6 months following discharge from the inpatient admission. Beneficiaries with no sepsis inpatient hospital admission for a year prior to an index hospital admission for sepsis were nearly indistinguishable by accumulated diagnostic codes from beneficiaries who had an index hospital admission without sepsis. Although the timing of healthcare services in the week prior to inpatient hospital admission was similar among beneficiaries who would be admitted for sepsis versus those whose inpatient admission did not include a sepsis code, the setting differed: beneficiaries destined for a sepsis admission were more likely to have received skilled nursing or unskilled nursing (e.g., nursing aide for activities of daily living) care. In contrast, comparing beneficiaries who had been free of any inpatient admission for an entire year and then required an inpatient admission, acute inpatient stays that included a sepsis code led to more than three times as many deaths within 1 week of discharge, with more admissions to skilled nursing facilities and fewer discharges to home. Comparing all beneficiaries who were admitted to a skilled nursing facility after an inpatient hospital admission, those who had sepsis coded during the index admission were more likely to die in the skilled nursing facility; more likely to be readmitted to an acute inpatient hospital and subsequently die in that setting; or if they survive to discharge from the skilled nursing facility, they are more likely to go next to a custodial nursing home. Although Medicare beneficiaries destined for an inpatient hospital admission with a sepsis code are nearly indistinguishable by other diagnostic codes from those whose admissions will not have a sepsis code, their healthcare trajectories following the admission are worse. This suggests that an inpatient stay that included a sepsis code not only identifies beneficiaries who were less resilient to infection but also signals increased risk for worsening health, for mortality, and for increased use of advanced healthcare services during and postdischarge along with an increased likelihood of an inpatient hospital readmission.

The Experiences of Commencing an In Situ Simulation Education Programme in an Acute and Critical Inpatient Hospital Environment

The Experiences of Commencing an In Situ Simulation Education Programme in an Acute and Critical Inpatient Hospital Environment

Do orthopaedic and neurosciences inpatients who are at risk of falls have best practice fall prevention strategies implemented during their acute inpatient hospitalization?

To determine whether inpatients identified as being at high risk for falls received fall prevention interventions as recommended in the Best Practice Guidelines for Australian Hospitals. This cross-sectional study examined medical record data from a convenience sample of inpatients admitted to orthopaedic and neurosciences wards (N=100). Data were compared to the fall prevention recommendations. Percentages were used to describe compliance and independent samples t-tests to assess difference in adherence. Data revealed that 45% and 62% of recommendations were implemented amongst inpatients on orthopaedic and neurosciences ward, respectively (P<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between orthopaedic inpatients at higher risk of falls and those with a greater length of stay [r(39)=.46, P=0.003]. When analysed together, patients who were admitted following a fall had a lower percentage of fall prevention strategies implemented (P<0.001). Implementation of fall prevention strategies is essential to target in the inpatient setting.

Implementation of a Standard Order Set at a Sickle Cell Acute Care Observation Unit

I NTRODUCTION: Acute painful vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) in sickle cell disease (SCD) are the leading cause of emergency department (ED) encounters and frequent hospital admissions. For patients presenting with an uncomplicated VOC, acute care observation units (ACOU) have previously been shown to reduce admission rates and length of stay. We wished to evaluate if implementing a standardized acute care order set (ACOS) at the University of Illinois Hospital Sickle Cell ACOU would decrease the time to first dose of analgesic medication, inpatient hospital stays, and subsequent admissions to the ACOU. METHODS: The ACOS includes standard orders for laboratory tests to monitor severity of sickle cell hemolysis, intravenous fluids, and analgesic medications including opioids. We conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate if the ACOS enhanced workflow and improved the timeliness of treatment in patients experiencing a VOC. The ACOS was created in April 2017 and we compiled data from the three months before (January-March 2017) and after (May-July 2017) ACOS creation. We collected data on the time it took to administer the first opioid dose, admission rate, length of stay, number of acute care visits, ED visits, and inpatient hospitalizations in a three-month span, and demographics including variations in age, gender, and sickle cell disease genotype. Patient data was collected from a pharmacy-generated list of patients who received narcotics in the ACOU during the aforementioned time period. We analyzed the effect of the ACOS on the aforementioned variables. A mixed effects linear model was used to compare time to first dose of opioids and length of stay between data sets. A mixed effects logistic model was used for binary outcomes. Covariates of age (years), gender, and severity of sickle cell hemoglobin genotype (severe: HbSS, HbS beta0 thalassemia; mild: HbSC, HbS beta+ thalassemia) were included in the models. Statistical analyses were carried out in R version 3.4.3. DISCUSSION: The pre-ACOS data set contains 291 patient encounters for 76 patients with a median age of 37 years (interquartile range [IQR], 30-47 years), 66% female, and 71% with severe genotypes. The post-ACOS data set contained 289 patient encounters for 80 patients with a median age of 32 years (IQR, 27-45 years), 80% female, and 73% with severe genotypes. Implementation of an ACOS was associated with decreased time to pain management by 3.7 minutes (p=0.077) in patients presenting with uncomplicated VOC and with fewer repeat visits to the ACOU in the studied 3-month period [OR 0.35 (95% CI 0.13-1.00), p=0.049]. The median number of opiate doses received by patients in both data sets was 3. Using 3 as a cutoff, the implementation of the ACOS was also associated with more patients receiving &gt;3 doses of opiates [OR=1.84 (95% CI 1.05-3.19), p = 0.033]. We demonstrate that in SCD patients experiencing VOC, a standardized ACOS was associated with a trend to reducing time to receiving pain management, with increased total opioid doses during the ACOU admission (suggesting better pain control), and subsequently with a statistically significant reduction in the number of repeat ACOU visits in the studied 3-month period. We have shown that a standardized ACOS that streamlines workflow in an ACOU may play an important role in delivering timely and quality care to patients with SCD. Disclosures Gordeuk: Pfizer: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Global Blood Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Modus Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria; Ironwood: Research Funding; CSL Behring: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Imara: Research Funding; Inctye: Research Funding; Inctye: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Emmaus: Consultancy, Honoraria; CSL Behring: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Ironwood: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Imara: Research Funding; Modus Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria.

Key features of an innovative sub-acute residential service for young people experiencing mental ill health

BackgroundNumerous studies across international settings have highlighted a need to improve the appropriateness and continuity of services for young people experiencing mental ill health. This paper examines key features of a sub-acute youth mental health residential service model, Youth Prevention and Recovery Care (Y-PARC) service. Y-PARC provides up to 4 weeks care to 16 to 25 year-olds at risk of hospitalisation and to those transitioning out of hospital inpatient units. The research was conducted at one of three Y-PARCs located in Victoria, Australia.MethodsThis paper presents findings from analysis of two data sources collected during evaluation of a Y-PARC service in 2015–17. Routinely collected administrative data of Y-PARC residents (n = 288) were analysed and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 38 participants: a) former residents (n = 14); b) family members of group a) (n = 5); key stakeholders (n = 9); and, Y-PARC staff (n = 10 respondents in 3 group interviews). Analysis of the qualitative data was thematic and structured by the interview guide, which covered the key service aims.ResultsConsistent with the aims of the service, respondents described practice at Y-PARC that aligns with recovery-oriented care. Key features emphasised were: a safe and welcoming environment for residents and families; provision of person-centred care; promotion of autonomy and self-help; informal interactions with staff allowing for formation of naturalistic relationships; time spent with other young people with similar experiences; and, assurance upon exit that the ‘door is always open.’High levels of satisfaction were reported. Outcomes described included: improved resilience; better understanding of mental health; the importance of seeking help; and, stronger connections to therapeutic services. Longer and multiple stays were associated with progressive and sustained change. Family members and stakeholders widely reported that the service fills a gap between community services and acute inpatient mental health hospital wards.Some challenging areas of practice identified included: integration of evidence-based psychosocial interventions; provision of care within a model that blends clinical and psychosocial support services; and, negotiation of family-inclusive practice.ConclusionsThe Y-PARC service model shows promise with young people experiencing mental ill health, particularly in improving the range and availability of options across a spectrum of need.

74.2 ACUTE INPATIENT PSYCHIATRIC CARE OF PATIENTS WITH EATING DISORDERS

Despite the lack of empirical support, youth with severe eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa sometimes require acute inpatient mental health hospitalization because of the severity of their illness, complexity, or severity of mental health or medical comorbidity, lack of access to intensive outpatient treatment, or other clinical features. This discussion will examine challenges that arise in the inpatient mental health setting and will present possible solutions.

Variations in indwelling urinary catheter use in four Australian acute care hospitals.

To identify the point prevalence of indwelling urinary catheters (IDCs) in adult inpatients in acute care hospitals, and to describe the indications for IDC insertion based on patient age, gender, specialty and hospital. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are preventable healthcare-associated infections. IDC duration is the strongest predictor of CAUTI, and little is known about characteristics of patients who receive an IDC. Two single-day point prevalence surveys collected baseline patient data as part of a larger pre-post control-intervention study. Surveys were conducted at four acute care hospitals in NSW, Australia, for all adult patients. Data collection included IDC presence, insertion details and urine culture collection. Point prevalence data were linked with electronically extracted patient demographic data. This study is presented in line with STROBE checklist (See Supplementary File 1). Data from 1,630 patients were analysed, with 196 patients (12%) identified as having an IDC on the survey dates. IDC prevalence rates were higher in males (13%) than in females (11%). Critical care had the highest rate of patients with IDCs (42%). Urine cultures were collected in 70 patients with an IDC (43%). Findings indicated similar rates of IDC use in males and females, and there was no significant difference in age between patients with or without an IDC. However, indication for IDC varied by patient age and gender. High rates of urine culture collection may represent routine collection. IDC use is found across genders, all age groups and specialties. Nurses should be aware that any of their patients may have an IDC and be particularly aware of certain indications based on patient age and gender. Routine urine culture collection is not advised, and instead, nurses should be guided by clinical decision-making tools.

188 The Use of a Group Based Upper Limb Programme in Improving Outcome in Acute Stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract Background After a stroke 85% of patients experience altered arm function. Current research demonstrates that increasing upper limb rehabilitation results in improved outcomes (Ward et al., 2019). The Graded Repetitive Arm Supplementary Programme (GRASP) group is an established adjunctive therapy in the stroke service. The group provides additional therapy for suitable patients with upper extremity deficits. The group is run jointly by a physiotherapist and an occupational therapist. Patients attend twice weekly for a one hour period in addition to their regular therapy. The GRASP group consists of 3 levels of varying abilities and patients are categorised by their Fugl-Meyer score. Methods A prospective audit was completed in 2019 and data was collected using a word document and excel spread sheet. Standardised outcome measures were completed on admission and discharge to establish upper limb ability. The primary outcome measure was the Fugl-Meyer and the secondary outcome measures were the nine hole peg test and grip strength using the Dynamometer. Results 12 patients attended the GRASP group over this period. 75% were males. The average age was 76 years with the age range from 48-95 years. 58% of patients experienced upper limb weakness in their non-dominant hand. Post intervention data was not obtained for 5 patients due to unforeseeable discharge from the acute setting. Preliminary data to date shows that our primary outcome measure improved in 86% of patients with increases ranging from 2-11 points on the Fugl-Meyer score (Minimally Clinical Important Difference =5points). Our secondary outcome measures demonstrated patients had no change (28%) or an improvement (72%) in grip strength and 100% of patients improved on the time taken to complete the nine hole peg test. Conclusion The GRASP group was found to be effective in improving upper limb outcome measures in an acute stroke inpatient hospital setting.

23 The Implementation of a Hospital “Buddy Walking Programme” to Improve Access to Mobility for Acute Hospital in-Patients

Abstract Background An acute hospital admission often means that patient’s mobility can decline if not maintained and encouraged throughout their inpatient stay. The “Buddy Walking Programme” is a joint initiative between the physiotherapy department, nursing department and hospital volunteers. The aim of this research was to implement a hospital “Buddy Walking Programme” within a teaching hospital in Cork to allow the provision of accompanied walking sessions by members of the hospital’s volunteer team. Methods Ward based physiotherapy staff and nursing staff identify suitable patients and add their bed number and mobility status to a list each morning. Patients are identified who are independently mobile or can safely mobilise with the supervision of one person, with or without a mobility aid and who are cognitively capable of simple commands. Physiotherapists and nursing staff are made aware of the programme at induction. Volunteers partake in an educational session and manual handling training prior to offering supervised walking sessions. Results A standard operating procedure has been developed for the “Buddy Walking Programme”. Training has been rolled out hospital wide amongst nursing staff, physiotherapy staff and hospital volunteers. Conclusion This programme will help encourage a culture of physical activity within the hospital in-patient setting and improve mobility levels. Further research is warranted to explore the beliefs and perceptions of hospital staff and volunteers regarding the initiative and to examine barriers and facilitators to the programme.

Mini-Cog for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease dementia and other dementias within a secondary care setting.

The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease dementia and other dementias relies on clinical assessment. There is a high prevalence of cognitive disorders, including undiagnosed dementia in secondary care settings. Short cognitive tests can be helpful in identifying those who require further specialist diagnostic assessment; however, there is a lack of consensus around the optimal tools to use in clinical practice. The Mini-Cog is a short cognitive test comprising three-item recall and a clock-drawing test that is used in secondary care settings. The primary objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Mini-Cog for detecting Alzheimer's disease dementia and other dementias in a secondary care setting. The secondary objectives were to investigate the heterogeneity of test accuracy in the included studies and potential sources of heterogeneity. These potential sources of heterogeneity will include the baseline prevalence of dementia in study samples, thresholds used to determine positive test results, the type of dementia (Alzheimer's disease dementia or all causes of dementia), and aspects of study design related to study quality. We searched the following sources in September 2012, with an update to 12 March 2019: Cochrane Dementia Group Register of Diagnostic Test Accuracy Studies, MEDLINE (OvidSP), Embase (OvidSP), BIOSIS Previews (Web of Knowledge), Science Citation Index (ISI Web of Knowledge), PsycINFO (OvidSP), and LILACS (BIREME). We made no exclusions with regard to language of Mini-Cog administration or language of publication, using translation services where necessary. We included cross-sectional studies and excluded case-control designs, due to the risk of bias. We selected those studies that included the Mini-Cog as an index test to diagnose dementia where dementia diagnosis was confirmed with reference standard clinical assessment using standardised dementia diagnostic criteria. We only included studies in secondary care settings (including inpatient and outpatient hospital participants). We screened all titles and abstracts generated by the electronic database searches. Two review authors independently checked full papers for eligibility and extracted data. We determined quality assessment (risk of bias and applicability) using the QUADAS-2 tool. We extracted data into two-by-two tables to allow calculation of accuracy metrics for individual studies, reporting the sensitivity, specificity, and 95% confidence intervals of these measures, summarising them graphically using forest plots. Three studies with a total of 2560 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria, set in neuropsychology outpatient referrals, outpatients attending a general medicine clinic, and referrals to a memory clinic. Only n = 1415 (55.3%) of participants were included in the analysis to inform evaluation of Mini-Cog test accuracy, due to the selective use of available data by study authors. There were concerns related to high risk of bias with respect to patient selection, and unclear risk of bias and high concerns related to index test conduct and applicability. In all studies, the Mini-Cog was retrospectively derived from historic data sets. No studies included acute general hospital inpatients. The prevalence of dementia ranged from 32.2% to 87.3%. The sensitivities of the Mini-Cog in the individual studies were reported as 0.67 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63 to 0.71), 0.60 (95% CI 0.48 to 0.72), and 0.87 (95% CI 0.83 to 0.90). The specificity of the Mini-Cog for each individual study was 0.87 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.92), 0.65 (95% CI 0.57 to 0.73), and 1.00 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.00). We did not perform meta-analysis due to concerns related to risk of bias and heterogeneity. This review identified only a limited number of diagnostic test accuracy studies using Mini-Cog in secondary care settings. Those identified were at high risk of bias related to patient selection and high concerns related to index test conduct and applicability. The evidence was indirect, as all studies evaluated Mini-Cog differently from the review question, where it was anticipated that studies would conduct Mini-Cog and independently but contemporaneously perform a reference standard assessment to diagnose dementia. The pattern of test accuracy varied across the three studies. Future research should evaluate Mini-Cog as a test in itself, rather than derived from other neuropsychological assessments. There is also a need for evaluation of the feasibility of the Mini-Cog for the diagnosis of dementia to help adequately determine its role in the clinical pathway.

The HOME Study: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing the addition of Proactive Psychological Medicine to usual care, with usual care alone, on the time spent in hospital by older acute hospital inpatients

BackgroundProlonged acute hospital stays are a major problem for older people and for health services. Failure to effectively manage the psychological and social aspects of illness is an important cause of prolonged hospital stays. Proactive Psychological Medicine (PPM) is a new way of providing psychiatry services to medical wards. PPM is proactive, focussed, intensive and integrated with medical care. A major aim of PPM is to reduce the time older people spend in hospital because of unmanaged psychological and social problems. The HOME Study will test the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PPM.Methods/designA two-arm parallel-group randomised controlled superiority trial, with a linked health economic analysis and an embedded process evaluation, will be conducted at three sites. A total of 3588 participants will be recruited and randomised to usual care or usual care plus PPM. The primary outcome is the number of days spent as an inpatient in a general hospital in the month (30 days) post-randomisation. Secondary outcomes for each participant (measured at 1 and 3 months) include quality of life, independent functioning, symptoms of anxiety and depression, cognitive function, and their experience of the hospital stay.DiscussionThe trial has been designed to produce findings that are generalisable to all older medical inpatients (including those with cognitive impairment). It will provide information on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PPM, which we hope will be of value to patients, clinicians, managers and service planners.Trial registrationISRCTN86120296. Registered on 3 January 2018.

Malnutrition risk prevalence and clinical outcomes among acute hospital inpatients in Hong Kong

Malnutrition risk prevalence and clinical outcomes among acute hospital inpatients in Hong Kong

LIMPRINT: Estimation of the Prevalence of Lymphoedema/Chronic Oedema in Acute Hospital in In-Patients.

Background: To estimate the prevalence of lymphedema/chronic edema (CO) and wounds in acute hospital inpatients in five different countries.Methods and Results: A point-prevalence study was carried out during working day periods in six general hospitals in four countries (Denmark, France, United Kingdom, and Australia) and one hospital oncology inpatient unit in one other country (Ireland). The study used validated clinical tools for the assessment and collection of data. Data were collected by expert clinicians through interviews and physical examination of the patients present in the wards. A total of 1905 patients could be included and investigated among the 3041 total bed occupancy in the seven hospitals. Lymphedema/CO was present in 723 of them (38%). Main risk factors associated with CO were age, morbid obesity, and heart failure, as well as chair bound immobility and neurological deficiency. History of cellulitis was frequent in patients with CO and wounds (24.8%) and CO alone (14.1%) compared to the 1.5% prevalence in patients without CO.Conclusion: Lymphedema/CO is very frequent in patients hospitalized in hospital acute wards. It is strongly associated with obesity, venous insufficiency, and heart failure. Our results strongly suggest a hidden health care burden and cost linked to CO independently of chronic wounds.

Implementation of a QTc-interval monitoring protocol by pharmacists to decrease cardiac risk in at-risk patients in an acute care inpatient psychiatric facility.

IntroductionMany medications commonly prescribed in psychiatric hospitals can cause QTc-interval prolongation, increasing a patient's risk for torsades de pointes and sudden cardiac death. There is little guidance in the literature to determine when an electrocardiogram (ECG) and QTc-interval monitoring should be performed. The primary end point was improvement of the appropriateness of ECGs and QTc-interval monitoring of at-risk psychiatric inpatients at Barnabas Health Behavioral Health Center (BHBH) and Monmouth Medical Center (MMC) following implementation of a standardized monitoring protocol. The secondary end point was the number of pharmacist-specific interventions at site BHBH only.MethodsPatients who met the inclusion criteria were assessed using a standardized QTc-prolongation assessment algorithm for ECG appropriateness. A retrospective analysis of a control group (no protocol) from January 1, 2016, to July 17, 2017, was compared with a prospective analysis of the intervention group (with protocol) from December 11, 2017, to March 11, 2018.ResultsAt BHBH, appropriate ECG utilization increased 25.5% after implementation of a standardized protocol (P = .0172) and appropriate omission of ECG utilization improved by 26% (P < .00001). At MMC, appropriate ECGs decreased by 5%, and appropriate ECG omissions increased by 28%, neither of which were statistically significant (P = 1.0 and P = .3142, respectively). There was an increase in overall pharmacist monitoring.DiscussionThe study demonstrated that pharmacist involvement in ECG and QTc-interval monitoring utilizing a uniform protocol may improve the appropriateness of ECG and QTc-interval monitoring in patients in an acute care inpatient psychiatric hospital.

Apnoea and hypopnoea scoring for people with spinal cord injury: new thresholds for sleep disordered breathing diagnosis and severity classification.

Descriptive study. To determine the effect of respiratory event rule-set changes on the apnoea hypopnoea index, and diagnostic and severity thresholds in people with acute and chronic spinal cord injury. Eleven acute spinal cord injury inpatient hospitals across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England; community dwelling chronic spinal cord injury patients in their own homes. Polysomnography of people with acute (n = 24) and chronic (n = 78) tetraplegia were reanalysed from 1999 American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) respiratory scoring, to 2007 AASM 'alternative' and 2012 AASM respectively. Equivalent cut points for published 1999 AASM sleep disordered breathing severity ranges were calculated using receiver operator curves, and results presented alongside analyses from the able-bodied. In people with tetraplegia, shift from 1999 AASM to 2007 AASM 'alternative' resulted in a 22% lower apnoea hypopnoea index, and to 2012 AASM a 17% lower index. In people with tetraplegia, equivalent cut-points for 1999 AASM severities of 5,15 and 30 were calculated at 2.4, 8.1 and 16.3 for 2007 AASM 'alternative' and 3.2, 10.0 and 21.2 for 2012 AASM. Interpreting research, prevalence and clinical polysomnography results conducted over different periods requires knowledge of the relationship between different rule-sets, and appropriate thresholds for diagnosis of disease. This project was proudly supported by the Traffic Accident Commission (Program grant) and the National Health and Medical Research Council (PhD stipend 616605).

Decreasing Physical Restraint in Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: A systematic review was conducted to identify methods used to decrease the application of physical restraints in acute inpatient psychiatric hospitals. METHOD: A literature search followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines using key words related to physical restraint. RESULTS: Three data-based studies met eligibility criteria. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that multimodal intervention strategies may reduce the number of hours of physical restraint used in inpatient psychiatric settings, but quality evidence to support specific strategies is lacking. The search highlights the need for more quality research using standardized restraint reporting measures.

Cyberbullying and Depression Among Adolescents in an Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital

Cyberbullying and Depression Among Adolescents in an Acute Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital

287Factors Affecting Discharge Destination of Older Patients After a Period of Rehabilitation Following Acute Inpatient Hospital Admission

287Factors Affecting Discharge Destination of Older Patients After a Period of Rehabilitation Following Acute Inpatient Hospital Admission