Large Academic Teaching Hospital Research Articles

Roger’s diffusion of innovations theory and the adoption of a patient portal’s digital anamnesis collection tool: study protocol for the MAiBest project

BackgroundGerman hospitals are legally obliged to implement digital patient portals within the next years. Systematic reviews show that the use of patient portals may be associated with improved patient-centeredness and workflows. However, mandatory digital healthcare innovations are sometimes not used by the target group as planned or even completely rejected. Based on Roger's theory of innovation diffusion, it can be assumed that the time factor is of particular importance for the adoption of the patient portal. The aim of the project is to assess determinants of patient portal adoption and to examine whether Roger’s theory can be confirmed.MethodsThe project investigates the use of the patient portal in three different clinics of a large academic teaching hospital in Germany using a longitudinal study design with three cross-sectional time points (pre, post, post). Doctors and patients are surveyed about factors that predict the use of the patient portal and whether the strength of these factors changes over time. They are also interviewed about possible barriers they experience when using the patient portal or about the reasons why the patient portal is not used. Regression models and content analyses are used to answer the research questions.DiscussionDeterminants of patient portal use will be discussed under the light of the temporal component of Roger's theory. At the same time, it is expected that some determinants will remain unchanged over time. Identifying determinants independent of time allows targeting the groups, enabling specific communication strategies to empower these groups to use the patient portal, contributing to an equal health care system.Trial registrationThe study was prospectively registered in the German register of clinical trials (DRKS00033125) in May 2024.

The influence of context on the implementation of integrated palliative care in an academic teaching hospital in South Africa.

Palliative care (PC) has been integrated to a limited extent in the South African healthcare system. Contextual factors may be a pivotal influence in this integration. This study aims to explore contextual factors that are possibly influencing the integration or lack thereof in an academic teaching hospital (ATH). A mixed-method study was conducted in a large ATH in South Africa. The mixed methods were conducted in parallel and then merged. Findings were integrated to describe the contextual factors influencing PC integration, to develop a timeline of implementation and assess the probable influence of context on the integration process. The mixed-methods phases included a narrative review of published literature related to health systems, integration of health interventions and PC in teaching hospital settings; followed by interviews, documentary and routine data analyses. Semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled participants provided the qualitative data. Primary national, provincial and organizational documents expanded the contextual phenomena and corroborated findings. Routine hospital admission and mortality data was statistically analysed to expand further and corroborate findings. All qualitative data was thematically analysed using deductive coding, drawing from the aspects of the contextual dimensions of integration. Enabling contextual factors for local PC integration were global and local advocacy, demonstrated need, PC being a human right, as well as the personal experiences of hospital staff. Impeding factors were numerous misconceptions, PC not valued as a healthcare priority, as well as limitations in functional elements necessary for PC integration: national and regional political support, leadership at all levels and sustainable financing. The normative and functional contextual aspects interplay at macro, meso and micro levels positively and negatively. How stakeholders understand and value PC directly and indirectly impacts on PC integration. Strategic interventions such as mandatory education are required to ensure PC integration. The health system is dynamic, and understanding the context in which the health system functions is core to the integration of PC. This may assist in developing integration strategies to address PC integration and the transferability of these strategies.

Factors affecting do-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) decisions among adult patients in the emergency department of a general tertiary teaching hospital in China: a retrospective observational study

ObjectiveDo-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) orders are designed to allow patients to opt out of receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the event of a cardiac arrest. While DNAR has become a standard component of...

Enhancing the clinical pharmacy service of a large teaching hospital: Development of a new clinical prioritisation tool

BackgroundThe number and complexity of patients being admitted to hospitals is rising and some patients may not receive a full clinical pharmacy review or be reviewed as regularly as needed during their inpatient stay. This is a risk factor for medication errors. Clinical prioritisation identifies patients who are high-risk and most in need of a pharmacist review, targeting finite pharmacy resources to patients who will benefit the most. ObjectivesAssess and enhance clinical prioritisation within a hospital pharmacy department. MethodsThe study was conducted in a large urban academic teaching hospital. A cross-sectional survey of clinical pharmacists in the hospital was conducted to establish the patient clinical criteria they prioritise in their work. A clinical prioritisation tool was developed based on survey findings and was integrated into an existing electronic pharmacy care interface. A pre- and post-intervention study was conducted, consisting of data collection for five days pre- and five days post-implementation of the tool. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data were analysed by thematic analysis. ResultsOf 39 eligible pharmacists, 37 (95%) responded to the survey. The top-rated prioritisation criteria, including medicines reconciliation tasks and high-risk medicines, helped to inform the content of the clinical prioritisation tool. Post-intervention, there were more Level 1 complex patients reviewed by pharmacists and fewer Level 3 stable patients compared to pre-intervention. Tool sensitivity ranged from 51 to 88%, depending on the experience of the pharmacist using the tool. High levels of satisfaction with clinical prioritisation were reported by those using the tool. ConclusionThis newly developed clinical prioritisation tool has the potential to support pharmacists in identifying and reviewing patients in a more targeted manner than practice prior to tool development. Continued development and validation of the tool is essential, with a focus on developing a fully automated tool.

Department Wide Validation in Digital Pathology—Experience from an Academic Teaching Hospital Using the UK Royal College of Pathologists’ Guidance

Aim: we describe our experience of validating departmental pathologists for digital pathology reporting, based on the UK Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) “Best Practice Recommendations for Implementing Digital Pathology (DP),” at a large academic teaching hospital that scans 100% of its surgical workload. We focus on Stage 2 of validation (prospective experience) prior to full validation sign-off. Methods and results: twenty histopathologists completed Stage 1 of the validation process and subsequently completed Stage 2 validation, prospectively reporting a total of 3777 cases covering eight specialities. All cases were initially viewed on digital whole slide images (WSI) with relevant parameters checked on glass slides, and discordances were reconciled before the case was signed out. Pathologists kept an electronic log of the cases, the preferred reporting modality used, and their experiences. At the end of each validation, a summary was compiled and reviewed with a mentor. This was submitted to the DP Steering Group who assessed the scope of cases and experience before sign-off for full validation. A total of 1.3% (49/3777) of the cases had a discordance between WSI and glass slides. A total of 61% (30/49) of the discordances were categorised as a minor error in a supplementary parameter without clinical impact. The most common reasons for diagnostic discordances across specialities included identification and grading of dysplasia, assessment of tumour invasion, identification of small prognostic or diagnostic objects, interpretation of immunohistochemistry/special stains, and mitotic count assessment. Pathologists showed similar mean diagnostic confidences (on Likert scale from 0 to 7) with a mean of 6.8 on digital and 6.9 on glass slide reporting. Conclusion: we describe one of the first real-world experiences of a department-wide effort to implement, validate, and roll out digital pathology reporting by applying the RCPath Recommendations for Implementing DP. We have shown a very low rate of discordance between WSI and glass slides.

Clinicopathological characteristics of autoimmune gastritis: A single-center retrospective study

Background and AimAutoimmune gastritis (AIG) is a prominent risk factor for pernicious anemia (PA) and gastric neoplasia. This study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics of AIG patients in China, with a focus on those who had positive anti-intrinsic factor antibodies (AIFA). MethodsA total of 103 AIG patients who were diagnosed between January 2018 and August 2022 were reviewed in a large academic tertiary teaching hospital. Patients were divided into two groups based on the presence or absence of AIFA, and their serologic and histopathological characteristics were analyzed. ResultsThe mean age of the 103 AIG patients was 54.16±11.92 years (range 23–79), with 69 (66.99%) being women. AIFA were present in 28.16% of patients. Patients with AIFA-positive had a higher risk of PA than those with AIFA-negative, as demonstrated by a larger mean corpuscular volume (MCV), lower hemoglobin level, and lower vitamin B-12 level (P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in gastric histopathology, gastrin level, and pepsinogen level when patients were divided into AIFA-positive and AIFA-negative group. Of the 103 cases, 34 (33.01%) were concomitant with other autoimmune diseases, with autoimmune thyroid diseases being the most common (25.24%, 26/103). Thyroid peroxidase antibody, which accounted for 45.45% (25/55), was the most prevalent thyroid antibody, followed by anti-thyroglobulin antibody (34.55%, 19/55), thyroid stimulating antibody (12.73%, 7/55), and thyrotropin receptor antibody (3.64%, 2/55). ConclusionThis study highlights the increased risk of severe anemia in AIFA-positive AIG patients, particularly for PA. Clinicians should consider the presence of AIFA as a warning sign for PA and prioritize early diagnosis and appropriate treatment to prevent serious complications.

Learn, Earn, Return

Recently, I attended the 25th anniversary celebration for the Power of Nursing Leadership event hosted by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Nursing (CON). Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Joan Shaver, dean of the CON, observed that across the greater metro Chicago-land area, there were many integrated health care delivery systems, community and public health agencies, and large academic teaching hospitals with affiliated colleges of nursing (in addition to other nursing colleges and schools); however, there was little formal acknowledgment in the area about the contributions nurse scientists, leaders, faculty, and staff were making.

Deprescribing Medications that Increase the Risk of Falls in Older People: Exploring Doctors' Perspectives Using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

Falls can lead to hospitalisation and death in older people. Polypharmacy is a major risk factor, and deprescribing fall-risk increasing drugs (FRIDs) is one of several possible important preventive measures. The objective of this study was to explore the factors that influence doctors when deprescribing FRIDs in a hospital setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with consultant geriatricians and hospital doctors experienced in dealing with patients aged 65 years or older, at a large academic teaching hospital (~ 1000 beds), Dublin, Ireland. The interviews were directed by an interview guide and audio recorded and transcribed verbatim, with subsequent thematic analysis in NVivo 12 software. A total of 18 participants were interviewed. Barriers to deprescribing included: insufficient time, incomplete patient records, changing medications initiated by other specialists and difficulties following up patients after discharge. Facilitators included: enhanced documentation through electronic patient records, the support of other healthcare professionals such as clinical pharmacists, and patients' engagement, which is considered essential for the success of the deprescribing process's outcome. Deprescribing FRIDs in older adults in the hospital setting is challenging. Implementation of the process in practice requires combined effort from stakeholders to tackle everyday work environment challenges. Future studies are required examining the clinical effect of the suggested interventions and exploring patients' involvement in deprescribing decisions.

351 PRIDE IN AGEING - DEVELOPING LGBTQ+ EDUCATION TO DRIVE INCLUSION IN OLDER PERSONS CARE

Abstract Background Older LGBTQ+ people are more likely to have diminished support networks and increased health risk factors, creating a greater reliance on healthcare. Within the literature concerns are voiced that fear of discrimination leads to mistrust and therefore underutilisation of health and social services among older LGBTQ+ people, leading to a lack of understanding of the specific needs and experiences of this cohort of patients. This mistrust of healthcare professionals and systems can negatively impact upon quality of life as older LGBTQ+ people do not avail of the health and social services they need to age well. Methods The author attended an international workshop to hear first-hand the lived experiences of older LGBTQ+ people from five European countries. A systematic literature review was completed to gain greater understanding of the challenges and discrimination faced by older LGBTQ+ people while accessing health and social care services. The author then received training with a leading LGBTQ+ organisation in order to gain insights into the experiences and concerns of older LGBTQ+ people in Ireland. Practical learning was gained on how to foster inclusion, provide education and create change within older persons services. Staff and patient engagement, feedback and evaluation was used to establish requirements for education, training and service development. Results LGBTQ+ education and training was developed for all disciplines working across acute, rehabilitation and residential older persons services in a large academic teaching hospital. This education is now delivered monthly to drive inclusion in older persons care. Staff feel more equipped and confident to provide inclusive care. There has been improved staff well-being and pride as the hospital moves towards being an inclusive and safe space for all. Conclusion There is a need for sustained education and training to equip staff with the skills and confidence to provide inclusive care to older LGBTQ+ patients accessing health and social care services.

The Risk of Major Bleeding With Apixaban Administration in Patients With Acute Kidney Injury.

Apixaban is eliminated by the kidneys and in acute kidney injury (AKI) there is potential for an increase in apixaban exposure and bleeding events. In one instance, data have shown higher than normal bleed risk in patients with AKI, unless calibrated anti-factor Xa monitoring is used, which is not widely available. To evaluate bleeding with apixaban administration to hospitalized patients with an AKI in an unmonitored real-world scenario. We conducted a retrospective study of patients admitted to a large urban academic teaching hospital from April 2015 to March 2022, who received apixaban for venous thromboembolism or nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). The primary outcome evaluated major bleeding when apixaban was administered to patients with or without an AKI. A total of 232 patients were evaluated (116 per group). Most patients (79.7%) were on apixaban for NVAF, 32.7% had chronic kidney disease, 58.2% were on a medication increasing bleed risk, and HAS-BLED score was a median of 2 in both groups. No differences were noted between groups for bleeding (AKI group 7.8% vs non-AKI 3.4%; P = 0.15), and on regression analysis, coadministration of a P2Y12 inhibitor was predictive of major bleeding (odds ratio = 5.9; 95% confidence interval = 1.4-23.6). Although no differences between groups were noted, apixaban use in the AKI group resulted in a higher than normally reported incidence of apixaban-associated major bleeding, and concomitant antiplatelet use increased bleed risk as well. Cautious use of apixaban and further investigation with larger studies are warranted in this area.

Interprofessional peer-to-peer writing group to support the development of manuscripts for publication: A call to action for leaders

At a large academic teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, we have established a Practice-based Research and Innovation (PBRI) portfolio within interprofessional clinical practice to foster, build and support a culture of research and scholarship [1]. Our program has committed to purposefully promote knowledge dissemination among our health professionals by supporting them in sharing their research with the broader healthcare workforce through formalized publications [1].

Exposure to incivility does not hinder speaking up: a randomised controlled high-fidelity simulation-based study

BackgroundSpeaking up with concerns is critical for patient safety. We studied whether witnessing a civil (i.e. polite, respectful) response to speaking up would increase the occurrence of further speaking up by hospital staff members as compared with witnessing a pseudo-civil (i.e. vague and slightly dismissive) or rude response. MethodsIn this RCT in a single, large academic teaching hospital, a single simulated basic life support scenario was designed to elicit standardised opportunities to speak up. Participants in teams of two or three were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions in which the degree of civility in reacting to speaking up was manipulated by an embedded simulated person. Speaking up behaviour was assessed by behaviour coding of the video recordings of the team interactions by applying 10 codes using The Observer XT 14.1. Data were analysed using multilevel modelling. ResultsThe sample included 125 interprofessional hospital staff members (82 [66%] women, 43 [34%] men). Participants were more likely to speak up when they felt psychologically safe (γ=0.47; standard error [se]=0.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09–0.85; P=0.017). Participants were more likely to speak up in the rude condition than in the other conditions (γ=0.28; se=0.12; 95% CI, 0.05–0.52; P=0.019). Across conditions, participants spoke up most frequently by structuring inquiry (n=289, 31.52%), proactive (n=240, 26.17%), and reactive (n=148, 16.14%) instruction statements, and gestures (n=139, 15.16%). ConclusionOur study challenges current assumptions about the interplay of civility and speaking up behaviour in healthcare.

680 An Incidental Finding of Pneumatosis of the Colon in a Patient with Mesothelioma Being Treated with Nivolumab

Abstract A 75-year-old woman attended a large academic teaching hospital for a computed tomography (CT) of the chest for a T3 N0 M0 epithelioid mesothelioma of the right pleura (to assess treatment response). The malignancy was diagnosed one year previously, and the patient was being treated with second line immunotherapy, Nivolumab (a human immunoglobulin G4 monoclonal antibody) with palliative intent. To date, the patient was showing a partial response to this treatment. The CT chest incidentally showed locules of gas under the right diaphragm and therefore an urgent CT of the abdomen and pelvis was performed. This scan re-demonstrated a small pneumoperitoneum, but also an incidental finding of pneumatosis involving the hepatic flexure. Prior to Nivolumab treatment, there were no abnormalities noted on the most recent abdominal CT scan. The patient was admitted to hospital as an emergency under the care of oncology. The patient was entirely asymptomatic with a soft, non-tender abdomen, with both a normal diet and bowel function. Observations including heart rate, temperature, blood pressure and respiratory rate were within normal limits. Blood testing showed a C-reactive protein of 86 mg/L and white cell count of 4.8 10^9. Based on the radiological findings, intravenous fluids and antibiotics were commenced and the patient was restricted to nil intake orally. A surgical review was also requested. Based on surgical advice, the patient was treated conservatively, and was discharged home without complication and no surgical follow up.

Single Center Experience with Incidence, Impact and Predictors of Biliary Complications in Donation After Circulatory Death Liver Transplantation.

Introduction: Utilizing allografts from donors after cardiac death (DCD) has improved organ availability, and DCD livers comprise a growing proportion of transplantations. However, it has been suggested that DCD transplantations have worse outcomes. Research Questions: We aimed to characterize outcomes in a large cohort of DCD transplantations, identify trends in outcomes over time, and identify factors associated with the development of biliary complications. Design: We conducted an observational retrospective cohort study of patients receiving DCD liver allografts within a large academic teaching hospital with a high transplantation volume. Consecutive patients who underwent Type III DCD liver transplantation from 2006-2016 were included in our cohort. Re-transplantations and multi-organ transplant recipients were excluded. Results: Ninety-six type III DCD transplantations occurred between 2006-2016. We report a 1one-year patient survival of 90.6% (87) and a 5five-year patient survival of 69.8% (67). Twenty-nine (30.2%) patients experienced any biliary complication in the first year following discharge, with 17 (17.7%) experiencing ischemic cholangiopathy. Five-year patient (P = 0.04) and graft (P = 0.005) survival improved over time. Post-operative biliary complications experienced during index admission and prior to discharge were found to be associated with the development of biliary complications (P = 0.005) and ischemic cholangiopathy (P = 0.01) following discharge. Conclusion: Our data suggested that outcomes using DCD allografts have improved, however biliary complications remain a significant issue in DCD transplantation. Patients who experienced post-operative biliary complications during index admission may require more frequent screening to allow the initiation of earlier treatment for biliary complications.

Increasing hip fracture volume following repeated lockdowns: an Irish multicentre study of periods pre-Covid, during Covid lockdown and following vaccination

BackgroundOlder age groups were identified as a high-risk cohort for Covid-19 and thus were a focus of lockdown measures enacted internationally. Resultant decreased social mobility and physical activity levels are associated with sarcopenia, which may lead to increased risk of hip fracture upon resuming social integration and physical activities after easing of lockdown restrictions.AimsOur aim was to compare the incidence of hip fractures during the period following vaccination with subsequent relaxation of restrictions, to those prior to and during the Covid pandemic.MethodsA multicentre retrospective cohort study was performed consisting of all patients presenting with a “hip” fracture to 3 regional trauma units over the relevant time periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Tallaght, Galway and Waterford University Hospitals are large academic teaching hospitals with a combined mixed urban and rural catchment of over 1 million people.FindingsFour-hundred-fourteen patients in total were included in the final analysis, with 133 eligible hip fractures observed proceeding to operative treatment across the study period in 2019, 132 in 2020 and 149 in 2021, representing a 12.88% increase. Demographic data revealed similar patient cohorts with respect to age and gender, fracture pattern and treatment.ConclusionsAn increase in hip fracture volume was observed during the period post vaccination with subsequent relaxation of restrictions and increased social mobility, compared to those prior to and during the Covid pandemic. These findings have implications for hospital planning and orthopaedic resourcing as we navigate our way forward past the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Automated recognition of functioning, activity and participation in COVID-19 from electronic patient records by natural language processing: a proof- of- concept

Purpose To address the feasibility, reliability and internal validity of natural language processing (NLP) for automated functional assessment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in key International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) categories and levels from unstructured text in electronic health records (EHR) from a large teaching hospital. Materials and methods Eight human annotators assigned four ICF categories to relevant sentences: Emotional functions, Exercise tolerance, Walking and Moving, Work and Employment and their ICF levels (Functional Ambulation Categories for Walking and Moving, metabolic equivalents for Exercise tolerance). A linguistic neural network-based model was trained on 80% of the annotated sentences; inter-annotator agreement (IAA, Cohen’s kappa), a weighted score of precision and recall (F1) and RMSE for level detection were assessed for the remaining 20%. Results In total 4112 sentences of non-COVID-19 and 1061 of COVID-19 patients were annotated. Average IAA was 0.81; F1 scores were 0.7 for Walking and Moving and Emotional functions; RMSE for Walking and Moving (5- level scale) was 1.17 for COVID-19 patients. Conclusion Using a limited amount of annotated EHR sentences, a proof-of-concept was obtained for automated functional assessment of COVID-19 patients in ICF categories and levels. This allows for instantaneous assessment of the functional consequences of new diseases like COVID-19 for large numbers of patients. Key messages Hospitalised Covid-19 survivors may persistently suffer from low physical and mental functioning and a reduction in overall quality of life requiring appropriate and personalised rehabilitation strategies. For this, assessment of functioning within multiple domains and categories of the International Classification of Function is required, which is cumbersome using structured data. We show a proof-of-concept using Natural Language Processing techniques to automatically derive the aforementioned information from free-text notes within the Electronic Health Record of a large academic teaching hospital.

Impact of an internal medicine nocturnist service on care of patients with cancer at a large Canadian teaching hospital: a quality-improvement study.

Background:Nocturnists (overnight hospitalists) are commonly implemented in US teaching hospitals to adhere to per-resident patient caps and improve care but are rare in Canada, where patient caps and duty hours are comparatively flexible. Our objective was to assess the impact of a newly implemented nocturnist program on perceived quality of care, code status documentation and patient outcomes.Methods:Nocturnists were phased in between June 2018 and December 2019 at Toronto General Hospital, a large academic teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario. We performed a quality-improvement study comparing rates of code status entry into the electronic health record at admission, in-hospital mortality, the 30-day readmission rate and hospital length of stay for patients with cancer admitted by nocturnists and by residents. Surveys were administered in June 2019 to general internal medicine faculty and residents to assess their perceptions of the impact of the nocturnist program.Results:From July 2018 to June 2019, 30 nocturnists were on duty for 241/364 nights (66.5%), reducing the mean maximum overnight per-resident patient census from 40 (standard deviation [SD] 4) to 25 (SD 5) (p < 0.001). The rate of admission code status entry was 35.3% among patients admitted by residents (n = 133) and 54.9% among those admitted by nocturnists (n = 339) (p < 0.001). The mortality rate was 10.5% among patients admitted by residents and 5.6% among those admitted by nocturnists (p = 0.06), the 30-day readmission rate was 8.3% and 5.9%, respectively (p = 0.4), and the mean acute length of stay was 7.2 (SD 7.0) days and 6.4 (SD 7.8) days, respectively (p = 0.3). Surveys were completed by 15/24 faculty (response rate 62%), who perceived improvements in patient safety, efficiency and trainee education; however, only 30/102 residents (response rate 29.4%) completed the survey.Interpretation:Although implementation of a nocturnist program did not affect patient outcomes, it reduced residents’ overnight patient census, and improved faculty perceptions of quality of care and education, as well as documentation of code status. Our results support nocturnist implementation in Canadian teaching hospitals.

Abstract 15616: Virtual Care: Empowering Patients and Providers

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed widespread usage of telemedicine due to the unprecedented need for remote patient care. Scaling virtual visits from occasional occurrences to standard of care is not without hurdles. Here we describe operationalizing virtual cardiovascular clinic in one large academic teaching hospital. Methods: To avoid implicit bias in perceived comfort with technology, virtual video (VV) visits were offered to all patients whose in-person office visit was cancelled. Those who declined were subsequently offered phone appointments. Patients who agreed to VV were called prior to their appointment time by staff to guide them through setup. Providers were given written, illustrated instructions on setup augmented with short how-to video demonstrations. They each completed a practice session with a staff member acting as a “test patient” to demonstrate basic functions within Zoom including use of chat, virtual waiting room, screen share and inviting additional participants (such as family, staff or interpreters). Providers were trained on workflows to allow seamless transitions across multidisciplinary team members involved in patient care. Results: Prior to the pandemic, there were mean (SD) 12.6 (2.8) VV appointments per month. Telemedicine adoption rose rapidly across provider types after travel restrictions were enacted, with the majority of visits initially occurring telephonically (Figure 1A and 1B). VV visits were also noted to increase swiftly with 3,164 VV visits in April 2020 and 5,452 in May 2020. After training sessions, providers felt comfortable using integrated virtual care tools (Figure 1C). Conclusions: Virtual clinic can be rapidly implemented and scaled within a healthcare system. Training materials and support for both patients and providers are key to increasing adoption of new technology. Hybrid systems will be needed to harmonize synchronous in-person and asynchronous virtual care in the longer term.

Outcomes and Safety of Fluoroless Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation

BackgroundIntracardiac echocardiography and 3D mapping systems allow catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) to be conducted without fluoroscopy; however, the safety and effectiveness of fluoroless AF ablation are not well defined. MethodsWe examined consecutive radiofrequency AF catheter ablations at a large academic teaching hospital from November 2017 to July 2019. Outcomes for fluoroscopy-guided (N = 176) and fluoroless (N = 147) ablations were compared. Cases were designated as fluoroless at the outset of the procedure. ResultsMean age was 59.5 ± 10 years, 66.9% were male, 71.8% had paroxysmal AF, and the mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 1.7 ± 1.4. There were no differences in patient baseline characteristics. In the fluoroless group, minimal fluoroscopy was used in 17 patients (median, 3 seconds; interquartile range, 1.2-4.8). Mean procedure time, fluoroscopy time, and radiation dose (± standard deviation) were greater in the fluoroscopy group compared with the fluoroless group (194 ± 56 vs 176 ± 46 minutes, P = 0.0021; 10.7 ± 6.6 vs 0.008 ± 0.03 minutes, P < 0.0001; 2759.2 ± 1911 vs 5.4 ± 24 μGy m2, P < 0.0001). In multivariable linear regression models, fluoroless AF ablation was independently associated with reduced procedure times (ß = −16.5 minutes, P = 0.01). Acute procedural success (95.5% vs 98.6%, P = 0.1), complication rates (4.5% vs 2.0%, P = 0.24), and 1-year AF recurrence rates (28.7% vs 27.1%, log-rank P = 0.69) were similar between fluoroscopy and fluoroless groups. Excluding the 17 patients receiving fluoroscopy in the fluoroless group did not impact our results (P = 0.013). After exclusion of redo cases, fluoroless AF ablation was no longer associated with reduced procedure times (ß = −11.4 minutes, P = 0.106). ConclusionsFluoroless radiofrequency AF ablation had similar effectiveness and safety compared with conventional fluoroscopy-guided AF ablation.

Impact of initial COVID-19 restrictions on psychiatry presentations to the emergency department of a large academic teaching hospital

To determine if the initial COVID-19 societal restrictions, introduced in Ireland in March 2020, impacted on the number and nature of psychiatry presentations to the emergency department (ED) of a large academic teaching hospital. We examined anonymised clinical data of psychiatry presentations to the ED during the initial 8-week period of COVID-19 restrictions. Data from corresponding 8-week periods in 2018 and 2019 were also extracted for comparison. Psychiatry presentations to ED reduced by 21% during the COVID-19 restrictions, from 24/week to 19/week when compared with corresponding periods in 2018/2019 (Poisson's Rate Test estimate of difference -5.2/week, 95% CI 1.3-9.1, p = 0.012). Numbers attending for out-of-hours assessment remained unchanged (81 v. 80), but numbers seeking assessment during normal hours decreased (71 v. 114). We observed increased presentations from the <18 age group, but decreased presentations from the 18 to 29 age group (Pearson's Chi-Square 20.363, df = 6, p = 0.002). We recorded an increase in anxiety disorders during the initial COVID-19 restrictions (31 v. 23), and a reduction in alcohol disorders (28 v. 52). The proportion of presentations with suicidal ideation (SI) or self-harm as factors remained unchanged. Rates of emergency presentation with mental illness reduced during the initial COVID-19 restrictions. This may represent an unmet burden of mental health needs. Younger people may be experiencing greater distress and mental illness during the current crisis. More people sought help for anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 restrictions compared with corresponding data from 2018 and 2019.