Significant Increase In Hospitalizations Research Articles

Liver Transplant Costs and Activity After United Network for Organ Sharing Allocation Policy Changes.

A new liver allocation policy was implemented by United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) in February 2020 with the stated intent of improving access to liver transplant (LT). There are growing concerns nationally regarding the implications this new system may have on LT costs, as well as access to a chance for LT, which have not been captured at a multicenter level. To characterize LT volume and cost changes across the US and within specific center groups and demographics after the policy implementation. This cross-sectional study collected and reviewed LT volume from multiple centers across the US and cost data with attention to 8 specific center demographics. Two separate 12-month eras were compared, before and after the new UNOS allocation policy: March 4, 2019, to March 4, 2020, and March 5, 2020, to March 5, 2021. Data analysis was performed from May to December 2022. Center volume, changes in cost. A total of 22 of 68 centers responded comparing 1948 LTs before the policy change and 1837 LTs postpolicy, resulting in a 6% volume decrease. Transplants using local donations after brain death decreased 54% (P < .001) while imported donations after brain death increased 133% (P = .003). Imported fly-outs and dry runs increased 163% (median, 19; range, 1-75, vs 50, range, 2-91; P = .009) and 33% (median, 3; range, 0-16, vs 7, range, 0-24; P = .02). Overall hospital costs increased 10.9% to a total of $46 360 176 (P = .94) for participating centers. There was a 77% fly-out cost increase postpolicy ($10 600 234; P = .03). On subanalysis, centers with decreased LT volume postpolicy observed higher overall hospital costs ($41 720 365; P = .048), and specifically, a 122% cost increase for liver imports ($6 508 480; P = .002). Transplant centers from low-income states showed a significant increase in hospital (12%) and import (94%) costs. Centers serving populations with larger proportions of racial and ethnic minority candidates and specifically Black candidates significantly increased costs by more than 90% for imported livers, fly-outs, and dry runs despite lower LT volume. Similarly, costs increased significantly (>100%) for fly-outs and dry runs in centers from worse-performing health systems. Based on this large multicenter effort and contrary to current assumptions, the new liver distribution system appears to place a disproportionate burden on populations of the current LT community who already experience disparities in health care. The continuous allocation policies being promoted by UNOS could make the situation even worse.

Reintubation Rate and Mortality After Emergent Airway Management Outside the Operating Room.

Little is known about reintubations outside of the operating room. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reintubation rate and mortality after emergent airway management outside operating room (OR), including intensive care unit (ICU) and nonICU settings. A retrospective cohort study. The primary outcome measures were reintubation rate and mortality. Secondary outcome measures were location and indication for intubation, time until reintubation, total intubated days, ICU-stay, hospital-stay, 30-day in-hospital mortality, and overall in-hospital mortality. A total of 336 outside-OR intubations were performed in 275 patients. Of those 275 patients, 51 (18.5%) were reintubated during the same hospital admission. (41%) of the reintubations occurred in a non-ICU setting. Reintubations occurred after up to 30-days after extubation. Most frequently between 7 and 30 days (32.8%, n = 20). Most of the reintubated patients were reintubated just once (56.9%; n = 29), but some were reintubated 2 times (29.4%; n = 15) or over 3 times (13.7%; n = 7). Reintubated patients had significant longer total ICU-stay (24 ± 3 days vs 12 ± 1 day, p < .001), hospital stay (37 ± 3 vs18 ± 1, p < .001), and total intubation days (8 ± 1 vs 7 ± 0.6, P < .02). The 30-day in-hospital mortality in reintubated patients was 13.7% (n = 7) compared to nonreintubated patients 35.9% (n = 80; P = .002). Reintubation was associated with a significant increase in hospital and ICU stay. The higher mortality rate among nonreintubated patients may indicate survival bias, in that severely sick patients did not survive long enough to attempt extubation.

Differential burdens: A study of gastric cancer hospitalization and outcomes across race and ethnicities.

256 Background: Despite advances in H. pylori screening and eradication, gastric cancer remains a significant public health issue as the 4th most common cancer globally. Racial and ethnic disparities in disease presentation, surgical intervention, and healthcare burden in United States are not well understood. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed National Inpatient Sample data (2016-2020) for gastric cancer hospitalizations in patients ≥18 years. Primary outcome was in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes included disparities in gastrectomy, length of stay (LOS), and total hospital charges. Results: In our study, we analyzed 207,690 hospitalizations related to gastric cancer from 2016- 2019. Over this period, we observed a decrease in gastric cancer-related hospitalizations, from 42,865 to 39,855. However, among Hispanics, there was a significant increase in hospitalizations from 6,309 to 6,930 cases (annual percentage change [APC] of 1.89%, P&lt;0.01). Notably, there was a significant higher in in-hospital mortality odds for African-American (AA) (aOR 1.15, 95CI: 1.03-1.29), Asian (aOR 1.23, 95CI: 1.06-1.42), and all other races (aOR 1.35, 95CI: 1.13-1.60). Surgical interventions differed among racial groups, with AA having lower odds of undergoing total gastrectomy (aOR 0.71, 95CI: 0.60-0.86), and Asians having higher odds of receiving partial gastrectomy (aOR 1.59, 95CI: 1.41-1.78). LOS also differs between ethnicities, AA had the highest LOS 7.9±0.1d days, followed by Native American/Other (NA) at 7.5±0.2 days. The financial impact of also differs, with Asians incurring the highest mean total charges at 101,436.8±3,253.5, followed by NA at 93,102.7±3,954.7. The total hospital charge burden of gastric cancer increased from 3,682.8 million to 3,880.0 million (APC 1.04%). The white population experienced the highest increase in this burden, from 1,879.2 million to 1,990.0 million (APC of 1.10%). Conclusions: Despite an overall decrease in gastric cancer hospitalizations, our study reveals notable disparities across racial and ethnic groups. Hospitalizations increased among Hispanics, and AA, Asians, and NA faced higher mortality odds. AA experienced the longest lengths of stay, while Asians bore the highest mean total charges. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to mitigate these disparities.[Table: see text]

The impact of integrated care on health care utilization and costs in a socially deprived urban area in Germany: A difference-in-differences approach within an event-study framework.

We investigated the impact of an integrated care initiative in a socially deprived urban area in Germany. Using administrative data, we empirically assessed the causal effect of its two sub-interventions, which differed by the extent to which their instruments targeted the supply and demand side of healthcare provision. We addressed confounding using propensity score matching via the Super Learner machine learning algorithm. For our baseline model, we used a two-way fixed-effects difference-in-differences approach to identify causal effects. We then employed difference-in-differences analyses within an event-study framework to explore the heterogeneity of treatment effects over time, allowing us to disentangle the effects of the sub-interventions and improve causal interpretation and generalizability. The initiative led to a significant increase in hospital and emergency admissions and non-hospital outpatient visits, as well as inpatient, non-hospital outpatient, and total costs. Increased utilization may indicate that the intervention improved access to care or identified unmet need.

Hospitalization Trends of Fractures Presenting to the Emergency Room From 2009 to 2021

Purpose&#x0D; Assessing trends in hospitalization rates due to fractures may be used as an indirect epidemiologic metric to predict future patient volumes, staffing needs, revenue, expenditures, and allocation of resources. The aim of this study is to analyze the trend of hospitalizations for patients who presented to Emergency Departments (EDs) with fractures from 2009 to 2021.&#x0D; Methods&#x0D; We extracted data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database. All consecutive patients with a primary injury of fracture in the years 2009 to 2021 were eligible for inclusion in this study. The Cochran-Armitage test was used to assess the trend in fracture-related hospitalization rates over the years studied.&#x0D; Results&#x0D; This study showed a significant increase in hospitalizations due to fractures from 2009 to 2021 (p&lt;0.001). This increase in hospitalizations was observed consistently across various factors, including sex, fracture location, age categories, and the pre- and post- COVID-19 pandemic period. From 2009 to 2021, the mean age of patients presenting to EDs was increased from 34 to 40 (p&lt;0.001) and the percentage of women increased from 45% to 48%. There was a significant increase in hospitalizations across five fracture regions including the upper trunk, proximal and distal upper extremity, and proximal and distal lower extremity.&#x0D; Conclusions&#x0D; Our findings show hospitalization trends due to fractures have been increasing across the U.S. While reasons for this increased trend are multifactorial, increased utilization of urgent care for less severe injuries may be artificially driving these trends.

The effect of hemoperfusion on treatment outcomes in COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure: a prospective study

Introduction: COVID-19 emerged as a global clinical threat following an outbreak in China in late 2019. Objectives: The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of hemoperfusion in COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure. Patients and Methods: In this prospective study, a total of 98 patients over the age of 18 with the positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test were investigated. The patients were divided into two groups; a control group consisting of 47 patients who did not receive hemoperfusion, and an exposed group consisting of 51 patients who met the criteria for hemoperfusion. Various parameters including complete blood cell counts, serum bilirubin, creatinine, C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were evaluated in all patients. Results: The results of our study revealed a statistically significant difference in intensive care unit (ICU) admission between the two groups. Hospitalization time (19.941±1.75 versus 14.615±1.39, P=0.021) and ICU time (14.98±1.30 versus 9.62±1.15; P=0.003) were significantly higher in patients who received hemoperfusion. Regarding the mortality rate, only 36.7% of the patients survived; however, there was no significant difference observed between the two groups (P=0.34). Conclusion: In conclusion, the findings of our study indicate that hemoperfusion in COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure led to a significant increase in hospital stay and ICU stay compared to those without hemoperfusion. Further research is needed to determine the optimal timing and frequency of hemoperfusion to improve treatment outcomes in COVID-19 patients with respiratory failure.

The Burden of COVID-19 Mortality Due to Referrals From Skilled Nursing Facilities in a Small Community Hospital.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing home residents have seen a significant increase in hospitalizations. However, there is a lack of published data on the healthcare provided to these individuals in community hospitals. This knowledge gap hinders our understanding and evaluation of the quality and outcomes of care received by nursing home residents when they are hospitalized for COVID-19 or other medical conditions. Furthermore, insufficient data is used to compare the clinical outcomes of COVID-19-related admissions from nursing facilities between small community hospitals and tertiary care facilities. It is essential to conduct further research to identify potential disparities, which may indicate an unequal burden of nursing facility referrals to less-resourced hospitals. We examined the characteristics of COVID-19-related deaths in a community hospital during the first surge of COVID-19and calculated the proportion of patients who expired and were transferred from nearby nursing facilities. We performed a retrospective review of all cases of COVID-19 admitted to a 160-bed community hospital in Connecticut from January 1, 2020, to August 1, 2020. One hundred seventy-seven patients with COVID-19 who were admitted to our hospital were included in this study. Seventy patients (70/177, 39.54%) were transferred fromnearby nursing facilities. The primary objective of this study was to examine the clinical characteristics of COVID-19-related deaths in our community hospital during the first surge of COVID-19. We also calculated the proportion of patients who expired and were transferred from nearby nursing facilities. Although the mortality rate in our community hospital was 15.23% (27/177), the majority of those who died were from nursing facilities (85.18%, 23/27). In contrast, mortality among the patients admitted from the community was 3.7% (4/107). The patients transferred from a nursing facility had 12.6 times higher odds of 30-day inpatient mortality or referral to hospice (95% CI, 4.1-38.5; p<0.001). The majority of COVID-19 deaths in our community hospital were due to nursing facility referrals. We hypothesize that this high mortality may reflect healthcare inequality due to the unequal burden of nursing facility referrals to less-resourced hospitals.

The impact of low socioeconomic statusand primary health care access on emergency department presentations in young children in regional Queensland.

The purpose of this study was to empirically evaluate if children from low socio-economic status (SES) families in regional southeast Queensland utilise acute care services for low acuity health care rather than utilising primary health services. A retrospective audit of children under the age of 5 years presented at a regional hospital emergency department (ED) over a 12-month period. Medical records were examined for presenting problem, Australasian triage category, care outcomes, whether the child's parent/guardian held an Australian concession/health care card (AC/HCC) and accessed child health services or a general medical practitioner (GP). Eight hundred and eighty-eight children who had not reached their fifth birthday presented to ED between 1 June 2019 and 31 May 2020, with a total of 1691 presentations. Most children were bought to the ED by their parents with semi-urgent health concerns and were discharged home following medical review. Holding an AC/HCC was a significant predictor for hospital presentation. Holding an AC/HCC was not associated with access to child health services. However, accessing child health services resulted in a small but significant increase in hospital presentations. The AC/HCC may be an important proxy to identify low SES individuals. These card holders tended to use acute services more frequently than those who did not qualify for an AC/HCC. Furthermore, families that engage with primary care services such as child health also accessed acute care services more frequently. The results indicate accessing primary health-care services does not ameliorate the use of acute care services.

A surge in respiratory syncytial virus infection-related hospitalizations associated with the COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study at pediatric emergency referral hospitals in Tokushima Prefecture.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) resulted in implementation of social distancing and other public health measures to control the spread of infection and improve prevention, resulting in a decrease in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and pediatric respiratory tract infection rates. However, there was a rapid and large re-emergence of RSV infection in Japan. Notably, we were faced with a difficult situation wherein there was a shortage of hospital beds. This study aimed to examine the epidemiological patterns of RSV-related hospitalizations among children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic onset at two pediatric emergency referral hospitals covering the entire Tokushima Prefecture. Data were extracted from electronic medical records of children hospitalized with RSV infection between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2021. All patients meeting the eligibility criteria were included in this study. The rates of study outcomes were documented annually during 2018-2021 and compared between the 2018-2020 and 2021 periods. In 2020, there was no RSV infection outbreak. Hospitalizations at the peak week in 2021 were 2.2- and 2.8-fold higher than those in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Hospitalizations in 2021 were concentrated within a short period. In addition, there was a significant increase in hospitalizations among children aged 3-5 months and those older than 24 months. The high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) use rate nearly doubled in 2021. A new pandemic in the future may cause an outbreak of RSV infection that can result in an intensive increase in the number of hospitalizations of pediatric patients requiring respiratory support, especially in infants aged <6 months. There is an urgent need to improve the preparedness of medical systems, particularly in terms of the number of inpatient beds and the immediate availability of HFNC.

Do urgent care centers reduce Medicare spending?

We ask how urgent care centers (UCCs) impact healthcare costs and utilization among nearby Medicare beneficiaries. When residents of a zip code are first served by a UCC, total Medicare spending rises while mortality remains flat. In the sixth year after entry, 4.2% of the Medicare beneficiaries in a zip code that is served use a UCC, and the average per-capita annual Medicare spending in the zip code increases by $268, implying an incremental spending increase of $6,335 for each new UCC user. UCC entry is also associated with a significant increase in hospital stays and increased hospital spending accounts for half of the total increase in annual spending. These results raise the possibility that, on balance, UCCs increase costs by steering patients to hospitals.

What Is Causing the Ongoing Youth MH Crisis?

What Is Causing the Ongoing Youth MH Crisis?

Decreasing the Rate of Surgical Site Infection in Patients Operated by Cesarean Section in a Tertiary Care Hospital in India: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

Background Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a substantial cause of maternal morbidity and are associated with a significant increase in hospital stay and cost. The prevention of SSI is complex and requires the integration of a range of measures before, during, and after surgery. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) is one of the referral centers of India with a huge influx of patients. Methods The project was undertaken by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, JNMC, AMU, Aligarh. Our department was sensitized to the need for quality improvement (QI) through Laqshya, a Government of India initiative for labor rooms in 2018. We were facing problems like a high surgical site infection rate, poor documentation and records, no standard protocols, overcrowding, and no admission discharge policy. There was a high rate of surgical site infections, leading to maternal morbidity, increased days of hospitalization, more usage of antibiotics, and increased financial burden. A multidisciplinary quality improvement (QI) team was formed comprising obstetricians and gynecologists, the hospital infection control team, the head of the neonatology unit, staff nurses, and multitasking staff (MTS) workers. Results The baseline data were collected for a period of one month and it was found that the rate of SSIwas around 30%. Our aim was to decrease the rate of SSI from 30% to less than 5% over a period of six months. The QI team worked meticulously, implemented evidence-based measures, regularly analyzed the results, and devised measures to overcome the obstacles. The point-of-care improvement (POCQI) model was adopted for the project. The rate of SSI decreased significantly in our patients and the rates are around 5% persistently. Conclusion The project not only helped in decreasing the infection rates but also led to vast improvements in the department with the formulation of an antibiotic policy, surgical safety checklist, and admission-discharge policy.

Hospitalization Risk Associated With Emergency Department Reasons for Visit and Patient Age: A Retrospective Evaluation of National Emergency Department Survey Data to Help Identify Potentially Avoidable Emergency Department Visits.

Patients often present to emergency departments (EDs) with concerns that do not require emergency care. Self-triage and other interventions may help some patients decide whether they should be seen in the ED. Symptoms associated with low risk of hospitalization can be identified in national ED data and can inform the design of interventions to reduce avoidable ED visits. We used the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) data from the United States National Health Care Statistics (NHCS) division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ED datasets from 2011 through 2020 were combined. Primary reasons for ED visit and the binary field for hospital admission from the ED were used to estimate the proportion of ED patients admitted to the hospital for each reason for visit and age category. There were 221,027 surveyed ED visits during the 10-year data collection with 736 different primary reasons for visit and 23,228 hospitalizations. There were 145 million estimated hospitalizations from 1.37 billion estimated ED visits (10.6%). Inclusion criteria for this study were reasons for visit which had at least 30 ED visits in the sample; there were 396 separate reasons for visit which met this criteria. Of these 396 reasons for visit, 97 had admission percentages less than 2% and another 52 had hospital admissions estimated between 2% and 4%. However, there was a significant increase in hospitalizations within many of the ED reasons for visit in older adults. Reasons for visit from national ED data can be ranked by hospitalization risk. Low-risk symptoms may help healthcare institutions identify potentially avoidable ED visits. Healthcare systems can use this information to help manage potentially avoidable ED visits with interventions designed to apply to their patient population and healthcare access.

Results of a strategy based on clinical observation of newborns at risk of early-onset neonatal sepsis

BackgroundSerial clinical observation of asymptomatic newborns at risk of early-onset sepsis is an alternative option for which there is limited scientific evidence. AimsTo evaluate the rate of protocol compliance, the impact on blood tests, percentage of hospitalizations and subsequent procedures, and course of diagnosed early-onset sepsis cases of a protocol based on serial clinical observation. MethodsRetrospective observational study comparing an 18-month period under this protocol against a previous protocol based on laboratory tests. Subjects: 6895 asymptomatic newborns with over 35 weeks of gestation. Outcome measures: number of evaluations performed on each subject at risk, percentage of patients undergoing blood draws and hospitalization rates. ResultsSome of the evaluations included in the protocol were omitted in 51.6 % of the newborns undergoing the physical examinations. The implementation of this new approach was associated with a decrease in the percentage of patients undergoing blood draws from 16.8 % to 0.7 % (p < 0.001) with no differences in the progression of the five cases of sepsis studied in each period. The serial clinical observation protocol was associated with a significant increase in hospitalizations for suspected infection, although with no difference in the rate of lumbar punctures performed or antibiotic treatments administered. ConclusionCompliance with the serial clinical observation protocol can be difficult. This approach often detects newborns with abnormal clinical data that are not explained by early-onset sepsis. Clinical observation is a safe option that minimizes the rate of blood draws.

Abstract 14384: A Decade Trend, Sex, Racial and Economic Disparities in Hospitalization for Premature Acute Myocardial Infarction Among Patients With Obesity and Morbid Obesity: A Decade Trend From the National Inpatient Sample

Introduction: Epidemiological evidence suggests that obesity is associated with Acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Studies on the incidence and outcomes of patients with premature AMI who are obese are limited with attention to disparities are scarce. Hypothesis: Obesity and Morbid Obesity is associated with increasing premature AMI Methods: This was a trend study of the National Inpatient database from 2010 to 2019. We searched for AMI as primary reason for hospitalization with obesity or morbid obesity as a comorbidity using the ICD codes. We estimated trends, inpatient mortality, mean length of hospital stays (LOS) and mean total hospital charges (THC) over the period. We performed a stratified analysis in categories: sex (male and female), race (Caucasians, Blacks, Hispanics), and median household income for patient's zip code (low-income quartile [LIQ] vs high-income quartile [HIQ]) to assess disparities in outcomes. Multivariable regression analysis adjusted for age and sex was used to obtain trend statistics on outcomes. Results: There was a total of 173,106 hospitalizations for obesity with early AMI with the proportion of females (63.7%). There was an increase in early MI by 60.9% among obese patients, with mean in-hospital mortality of 1.3%. Female obese patients had a 33% increase in inpatient mortality with premature AMI, with the highest increase among black women compared to white women (78.7% vs. 35.0%). Hospitalization for adult premature AMI in patients with morbid obesity was 64,926 with proportion of female 66.1% from 2010 to 2019. The incidence of hospitalization for premature AMI among morbidly obese patients increased by 120% from 2010 to 2019. The average mortality from 2010 to 2019 among morbidly obese patient with premature AMI was 2.0% in the decade studied. There was a trend toward decreased mortality over the years; however, on subgroup analysis, the decrease in mortality was significant among whites but not among blacks, LIQ, or HIQ in early MI with morbid obesity. Conclusions: Our study shows a significant increase in hospitalization for premature AMI in obese and morbidly obese patients. The female obese patient has higher inpatient mortality with highest among blacks compared to whites.

Abstract 13594: A Decade Trend, Sex, Racial and Economic Disparities in Acute Myocardial Infarction Hospitalizations in the United States

Introduction: Reports have shown socioeconomic healthcare disparities among patients with cardiovascular diseases. We studied the trends in AMI hospitalization burden and outcomes over a decade with a focus on disparities in outcomes. This would provide epidemiologic data to assess the impact of current guidelines and recommendations on the general population. Methods: This was a trend study of the National Inpatient database from 2010 to 2019. We searched for AMI as the reason for hospitalization using the ICD codes. We estimated trends, inpatient mortality, mean length of hospital stay (LOS) and mean total hospital charges (THC) over the period. We performed a stratified analysis in categories: sex (male and female), race (Caucasians, Blacks, Hispanics), and median household income for patient's zip code (low-income quartile [LIQ] vs high-income quartile [HIQ]) to assess disparities in outcomes. Multivariable regression analysis adjusted for age and sex was used to obtain trend statistics on outcomes. Results: There were about 6,158,738 hospitalizations for AMI over the study period with females making up 38.2%. Yearly hospitalizations increased from 1,851 - 1,983 per 100,000 adult hospitalizations from 2010 to 2019 (p&lt;0.001). There was a significant increase in hospitalizations among men from 60.4% in 2010 to 63.4% in 2019 (p&lt;0.001). The proportion of AMI increased by 37% in Hispanics, 15% in Blacks, and 8% in Caucasians. The LIQ patients had a 6.2% increase while the HIQ had a 7.0% decrease in AMI hospitalizations. The mortality rate over the decade was 4.9%. Females had a mortality rate of 5.6% compared to 4.5% in Males. The LIQ average mortality was 5.0% compared to 4.9 in the HIQ. There was a significant decrease in the overall mortality from 5.3% in 2010 to 4.5% in 2019 (p&lt;0.001). The mortality in females decreased by 20.3% (p&lt;0.001) compared to 11.5% in males (p&lt;0.001). Adjusted for inflation, there was a 41.8% increase in the THC over the study period. Conclusion: Hospitalization incidence for AMI appears to be rising among males, Hispanics, and LIQ patients. Information from this study brings awareness to ongoing disparities in AMI hospitalizations. We recommend multidisciplinary and sustained efforts to eliminate socioeconomic disparities in healthcare

Hospitalizations for Anorexia Nervosa during the COVID-19 Pandemic in France: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on mental health, including on food-related behaviors. However, little is known about the effect of the pandemic on anorexia nervosa (AN). We sought to assess an association between the COVID-19 pandemic and a potential increase in hospitalizations for AN in France. We compared the number of hospitalizations with a diagnosis of AN during the 21-month period following the onset of the pandemic with the 21-month period before the pandemic using Poisson regression models. We identified a significant increase in hospitalizations for girls aged 10 to 19 years (+45.9%, RR = 1.46[1.43–1.49]; p < 0.0001), and for young women aged 20 to 29 (+7.0%; RR = 1.07[1.04–1.11]; p < 0.0001). Regarding markers of severity, there was an increase in hospitalizations for AN associated with a self-harm diagnosis between the two periods. Multivariate analysis revealed that the risk of being admitted for self-harm with AN increased significantly during the pandemic period among patients aged 20–29 years (aOR = 1.39[1.06–1.81]; p < 0.05 vs. aOR = 1.15[0.87–1.53]; NS), whereas it remained high in patients aged 10 to 19 years (aOR = 2.40[1.89–3.05]; p < 0.0001 vs. aOR = 3.12[2.48–3.98]; p < 0.0001). Furthermore, our results suggest that the pandemic may have had a particular effect on the mental health of young women with AN, with both a sharp increase in hospitalizations and a high risk of self-harming behaviors.

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular diseases: experience at a teaching hospital from rural Telangana

Background: COVID-19 is drastically affecting the health of millions of people globally. Further, the restrictions imposed during lockdowns to curtail the spread of COVID-19 have also shown impact on the economy, psychology and lifestyle of the people. Currently, little is known about the prevalence and clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in coronary heart diseases in rural India. The present study aimed to find the effect of COVID-19 and lockdown on the prevalence of coronary heart diseases in rural Telangana.Methods: The present retrospective study was carried on 197 medical reports of cardiac inpatients who visited RVM Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center, Siddipet, Telangana during the period 17th January 2020 to 6th August 2020. The data obtained was analyzed by descriptive statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics version 21.0.Results: Admission of patients with STEMI (53.6% prelockdown; 26% lockdown period; 36.4% post lockdown) and arrhythmia (7.3% prelockdown; 1.3% post lockdown) decreased while there was a significant increase in hospitalization of myopericarditis patients (1% pre lockdown vs. 10.5% lock down, 9.2% post lockdown) after the initiation of lockdown period. Further, STEMI (mean age 42.07±15.06) and myopericarditis (mean age 30.8±9.02 years) was commonly seen in younger age group patients less than 45 years after the initiation of lockdown period. The mortality rate was 6.6% (n=13) in the total study period of which 57.5% (n=7) deaths were due to myocardial infarction. 63.6% of the cardiac patients tested by RT-PCR were found to be positive for COVID-19.Conclusions: The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases varied with lockdown periods. Young adults in rural Telangana were also affected by COVID-19 and lockdown.

Hospitalization of Children Aged

Background: Influenza constitutes a significant health care burden that can be related to an increased morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study is to show up-to-date information on influenza hospitalization cases in Poland in children aged <5 years. Methods: The data used in the study were hospitalization records from 2015–2019, which had been gathered in a Nationwide General Hospital Morbidity Study and made available by the National Institute of Public Health. Results: 8565 records of patients with influenza were subject to analysis. The mean and median age of the patients were 2.2 and 2.1 years, respectively. Influenza hospitalization incidence was estimated at 90 per 100,000 person-years (PY) in children aged <5 years. The number of hospitalization cases was significantly higher in patients living in urban regions than in those living in rural regions (97 vs. 77 per 100,000 PY; p < 0.001). The age of patients living in urban regions was significantly lower than the age of patients living in rural regions (2.2 vs. 2.3 years; p < 0.001). A statistically significant increase in hospitalization was observed. Conclusions: The reported increasing trend in hospitalizations indicates the need to take focused measures. Presented data may be useful in comparative analyses in a European context.

The COVID-19 Pandemic Consequences on Microsurgical Reconstructions: A Single Center's Shift of Indications.

Background:Since its outbreak, the COVID-19-pandemic has had a tremendous impact on healthcare systems worldwide. We conducted a comparative study to analyze the pandemic’s consequence on microsurgical reconstructions at a reconstructive plastic surgery center in Sweden.Method:All free flaps performed at a single center between March 2019 and 2021 were analyzed. The patient cohort was divided into two groups, with a period of 1 year in each group: non-COVID-19 year and COVID-19 year. The periods were compared regarding the number and type of surgeries and patient characteristics.Results:In the year prior to the pandemic, 123 free flap surgeries were performed, compared with 103 surgeries during the COVID-19 year. There was a significant shift in the most common site for free flap reconstruction: from the breast [which decreased by 42% (66–38)] to head and neck [which increased by 22% (41–50); OR 0.53 (P = 0.02)]. This was also reflected by a significant increase in hospital stay for free flap patients during the COVID-19 year (P = 0.02).Conclusions:During the COVID-19 pandemic, a shift was seen from breast reconstructions toward head and neck reconstructions as the most common free flap procedure performed. An increasing backlog of elective breast reconstructions demands increased resources and tougher priorities, which challenge the healthcare system in the post-COVID-19 era.