Medicines reconciliation at the point of hospital discharge for children

Objectives: Hospital discharge is a transition of care, where medication discrepancies are likely to occur and potentially cause patient harm. The purpose of our study was to assess the prescribing accuracy of hospital discharge medication orders at a London, UK teaching hospital. The timeliness of the discharge summary reaching the general practitioner (GP, family physician) was also assessed based on the 72 h target referenced in the Care Quality Commission report.1 Method: 501 consecutive discharge medication orders from 142 patients were examined and the following records were compared (1) the final inpatient drug chart at the point of discharge, (2) printed signed copy of the initial to take away (TTA) discharge summary produced electronically by the physician, (3) the pharmacist's amendments on the initial TTA that were hand written, (4) the final electronic patient discharge summary record, (5) the patients final take home medication from the hospital. Discrepancies between the physician's order (6) and pharmacist's change(s) (7) were compared with two types of failures – ‘failure to make a required change’ and ‘change where none was required’. Once the patient was discharged, the patient's GP, was contacted 72 h after discharge to see if the patient discharge summary, sent by post or via email, was received. Results: Over half the patients seen (73 out of 142) patients had at least one discrepancy that was made on the initial TTA by the doctor and amended by the pharmacist. Out of the 501 drugs, there were 140 discrepancies, 108 were ‘failures to make a required change’ (77%) and 32 were ‘changes where none were required’ (23%). The types of ‘failures to make required changes’ discrepancies that were found between the initial TTA and pharmacist's amendments were paracetamol and ibuprofen changes (dose banding) 38 (27%), directions of use 34 (24%), incorrect formulation of medication 28 (20%) and incorrect strength 8 (6%). The types of ‘changes where none were required discrepancies’ were omitted medication 15 (11%), unnecessary drug 14 (10%) and incorrect medicine including spelling mistakes 3 (2%). After contacting the GPs of the discharged patients 72 h postdischarge; 49% had received the discharge summary and 45% had not, the remaining 6% were patients who were discharged without a GP. Conclusion: This study shows that doctor prescribing at discharge is often not accurate, and interventions made by pharmacist to reconcile are important at this point of care. It was also found that half the discharge summaries had not reached the patient's family physician (according to the GP) within 72 h.

The clinical significance of medicines reconciliation in children admitted to hospital

Aims and Objectives: The NICE/NPSA guidance on Medicines Reconciliation in adults upon hospital admission excludes children under the age of 16.1 Hence the primary aim and objective of this study was to use medicines reconciliation to primarily identify if discrepancies occur upon hospital admission. Secondary objectives were to clinically assess for harm discrepancies that were identified in paediatric patients on long term medications at four hospitals across the UK. Method: Medicines reconciliation is a procedure where the current medication history of a patient prior to hospital admission would be taken and verifying the medication orders made at hospital admission against this history, addressing any discrepancies identified. Medicines reconciliation was carried out prospectively for 244 paediatric patients on chronic medication across four UK hospitals (Birmingham, London, Leeds and North Staffordshire) between January – May 2011. Medicines reconciliation was conducted by a clinical pharmacist using the following sources of information: 1) the patient's Pre-Admission Medication (PAM) from the patient's general practitioner 2) examination of the Patient's Own Medications brought into hospital, 3) a semi-structured interview with the parent-carers and 4) identification of admission medication orders written on the drug chart prior to clinical pharmacy input (Drug Chart). Discrepancies between the PAM and Drug Chart were documented and classified as intentional or unintentional. Intentional discrepancies were defined as changes that were made knowingly by the prescriber and confirmed. Unintentional discrepancies were assessed for clinical significance by an expert panel and assigned a significance score based on the likelihood of causing potential discomfort or clinical deterioration: class 1 unlikely, class 2 moderate and class 3 severe.2 Results: 1004 medication regimens were included from the 244 patients across the four sites. 588 of the 1004 (59%) medicines, had discrepancies between the PAM and Drug Chart; of these 36% (n = 209) were unintentional and included for clinically assessment. 189 drug discrepancies 30% were classified as class 1, 47% were class 2 and 23% were class 3 discrepancies. The remaining 20 discrepancies were cases where deviating from the PAM would have been the right thing to do, which might suggest that an intentional but undocumented discrepancy by the prescriber writing up the admission order may have occurred. Conclusion: The results suggest that medication discrepancies in paediatric patients do occur upon hospital admission, which do have a potential to cause harm and that medicines reconciliation is a potential solution to preventing such discrepancies. References: 1. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. National Patient Safety Agency. PSG001. Technical patient safety solutions for medicines reconciliation on admission of adults to hospital. London: NICE; 2007. 2. Cornish, P. L., Knowles, S. R., Marchesano, et al. Unintended Medication Discrepancies at the Time of Hospital Admission. Archives of Internal Medicine 2005; 165:424–429

An evaluation of physician predictions of discharge on a general medicine service.

The goal of this study was to evaluate general medicine physicians' ability to predict hospital discharge. We prospectively asked study subjects to predict whether each patient under their care would be discharged on the next day, on the same day, or neither. Discharge predictions were recorded at 3 time points: mornings (7-9 am), midday (12-2 pm), or afternoons (5-7 pm), for a total of 2641 predictions. For predictions of next-day discharge, the sensitivity (SN) and positive predictive value (PPV) were lowest in the morning (27% and 33%, respectively), but increased by the afternoon (SN 67%, PPV 69%). Similarly, for same-day discharge predictions, SN and PPV were highest at midday (88% and 79%, respectively). We found that although physicians have difficulty predicting next-day discharges in the morning prior to the day of expected discharge, their ability to correctly predict discharges continually improved as the time to actual discharge decreased. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2015;10:808-810. © 2015 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Parasuicide and general practice: a pilot study

General Practitioners from Cork City and its environs were sent a questionnaire regarding their experience of parasuicide in the previous twelve months. Replies were received from 133 of the 185 GPs. 189 individuals, accounting for 212 episodes of parasuicide, were seen by 78 doctors, indicating a lower level of repetition than that found in hospital-referred cases. Almost a third of doctors saw no cases, just over one fifth saw one episode and the same proportion dealt with two. A small number of general practitioners saw many cases. Regarding management, 128 (60%) were referred to Casualty, 31 of whom were also referred for psychiatric care. Thirty percent were referred directly for psychiatric care. While only fourteen were retained within general practice without referral, 40% of the GPs felt that, ideally, acts of parasuicide should be retained with more specialised advice being obtained. Furthermore, 88.1% believed that management of parasuicide should form part of an integral part of post-graduate or continued general practitioner medical training. Clearly, GPs are willing to play a more active role in the management of parasuicide.

Surgical Site Infection in a University Hospital in Northeast Brazil

We examined prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) in a tertiary teaching hospital in northeast Brazil, from January 1994 to December 2003. The survey included 5,742 patients subjected to thoracic, urologic, vascular and general surgery. The criteria for diagnosing SSI were those of the Centers for Disease Control, USA, and the variables of the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance risk index were used. Data analysis revealed that anesthetic risk scores, wound class and duration of surgery were significantly associated with SSI. A total of 296 SSIs were detected among the 5,742 patients (5.1%). The overall incidence of SSI was 8.8% in 1994; it decreased to 3.3% in 2003. In conclusion, the use of educational strategies, based on guidelines for SSI prevention reduced SSI incidence. Appropriate management of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative incision care, and a surveillance system based on international criteria, were useful in reducing SSI rates in our hospital

The Hanging/hanged Patient and Relevance to Pre-hospital Care

Death and injury from hanging is a complex situation, which requires careful and appropriate assessment and management in the pre-hospital environment. It is arguably an area of limited understanding and therefore may not be assessed and managed in the most effective manner. Most hanged/hanging patients will be found in their homes, rather than in institutions. It could be argued that due to prevalence as a suicide method, the majority of pre-hospital ambulance service staff will be responded to at least one hanged or hanging patient within their careers, thus a greater understanding will benefit both clinician and patient. Patients who attempt or achieve suicide will rarely achieve fracturing the spine and severing the spinal cord, bringing into question the requirement for the traditional cervical collar and spinal immobilisation techniques. Death from asphyxiation and carotid/vagal reflex require consideration and management as does raised ICP, which is likely to occur.

Variations in chemoprophylaxis for meningococcal disease: a retrospective case note review, analysis of routine prescribing data and questionnaire of general practitioners

BACKGROUND: Invasive meningococcal disease is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in the UK. Administration of chemoprophylaxis to close contacts reduces the risk of a secondary case. However, unnecessary chemoprophylaxis may be associated with adverse reactions, increased antibiotic resistance and removal of organisms, such as Neisseria lactamica, which help to protect against meningococcal disease. Limited evidence exists to suggest that overuse of chemoprophylaxis may occur. This study aimed to evaluate prescribing of chemoprophylaxis for contacts of meningococcal disease by general practitioners and hospital staff. METHODS: Retrospective case note review of cases of meningococcal disease was conducted in one health district from 1st September 1997 to 31st August 1999. Routine hospital and general practitioner prescribing data was searched for chemoprophylactic prescriptions of rifampicin and ciprofloxacin. A questionnaire of general practitioners was undertaken to obtain more detailed information. RESULTS: Prescribing by hospital doctors was in line with recommendations by the Consultant for Communicable Disease Control. General practitioners prescribed 118% more chemoprophylaxis than was recommended. Size of practice and training status did not affect the level of additional prescribing, but there were significant differences by geographical area. The highest levels of prescribing occurred in areas with high disease rates and associated publicity. However, some true close contacts did not appear to receive prophylaxis. CONCLUSIONS: Receipt of chemoprophylaxis is affected by a series of patient, doctor and community interactions. High publicity appears to increase demand for prophylaxis. Some true contacts do not receive appropriate chemoprophylaxis and are left at an unnecessarily increased risk

O marketing em um hospital universitário na relação com o trabalho da enfermagem: um estudo de caso

No setor hospitalar, o marketing compõe um grupo interdependente de serviços e tem como objetivo principal aproximar clientes - externos, internos e corpo gestor -, através de estratégias específicas que promovem satisfação e qualidade. Esta organização possui uma larga diversidade de profissionais da saúde e o marketing, neste sentido, auxilia no processamento de seus serviços de forma a lapidá-los sob a ótica do cliente, buscando efetividade e produtividade. Neste cenário encontra-se o enfermeiro, cujo trabalho é composto pelas dimensões cuidar, gerenciar, educar/pesquisar, que se entrelaçam e caracterizam o serviço deste profissional. No entanto, costumeiramente, a enfermagem não declara o marketing como uma ferramenta estratégica ao seu processo de trabalho – fato verificável na exploração de publicações científicas -, e, paralelamente, depara-se com empecilhos na execução de seu trabalho que podem comprometer a sua excelência. Assim, este estudo busca analisar a relação do marketing com o trabalho do enfermeiro nas dimensões cuidar, gerenciar, ensinar/pesquisar. Para sua efetivação, optou-se pelo referencial metodológico Estudo de Caso, onde o fenômeno é verificado como ocorre em seu cenário real. Assim, a coleta, caracterizada por pesquisador e unidade únicos, ocorreu em um hospital universitário, geral e público no sul do país que declara publica e virtualmente o marketing institucional. Como fontes de evidência, foram utilizadas: entrevista focada com quatro sujeitos de áreas estratégicas para esta pesquisa; análise de documentação criada pela assessoria de marketing e observação direta. O tratamento e a análise dos dados ocorreram por meio da Análise Temática, que possibilitou a exposição dos resultados através de dois artigos: “A relação do marketing com o processo de trabalho do enfermeiro na dimensão cuidar” e “A relação do marketing com o processo de trabalho do enfermeiro nas dimensões gerenciar e educar/pesquisar”. Os resultados evidenciaram que o marketing no cuidar - auxilia a efetividade do cuidado através de novas estratégias de comunicação com o usuário, produz materiais elucidativos, lúdicos para sua continuação e manutenção e o divulga no meio intra e extra-hospitalar; no gerenciar - auxilia a o enfermeiro a ter um método mais inovador e criativo, a focar no cliente e no bom relacionamento interpessoal com a equipe; no educar/pesquisar - cria canais de comunicação interna e campanhas únicas que, além de auxiliar na realização da educação permanente e na atualização de enfermeiros, propicia meios para transmitir novos achados científicos à prática da enfermagem hospitalar. Através deste estudo, percebeu-se que ações de marketing podem contribuir para a efetividade do trabalho do enfermeiro em suas facetas dimensionais, aproximando este agente de saúde do usuário ao qual seu serviço é destinado e da gestão da organização, propiciando a este profissional maior visibilidade e valorização no espaço hospitalar e social.

Prevalencia de síndrome metabólico y factores de riesgo asociados en trabajadores y empleados del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso, 2006

Se realizó un estudio transversal; en un universo de 623 personas con una muestra de 200 calculada al azar sobre la base de una prevalencia del síndrome metabólico del 25, con un nivel de confianza del 95y un error de inferencia del 5. Los datos se obtuvieron por entrevista directa y se analizaron con el software Epi-Info. La prevalencia general del síndrome metabólico fue del 27.5, con un intervalo al 95de confianza entre 21.32 y 33.68 (IC 95). La asociación con el sedentarismo proporcionó una p=0.54, razón de prevalencia PR 1.15 (IC 950.73-1.81 y con el sobrepeso p= 0.018 PR 2.12 (IC95 1.07-4.18). La prevalencia del símbolo estratificada por áreas de trabajo fue del 24.8(IC 9517.46-32.14) en las personas que trabajan en departamentos y la estratificada por grupos de edad demostró que la prevalencia se encrementa con los años y la mas alta fue del 60en las personas mayores de 60 años. Conclusión: la prevalencia del síndrome metabólico fue del 27.5(IC9521.32-33-68). Se encontró asociación significativa con el sobrepeso y no significativa con el sedentarismo

Sutura subcuticular en apendicectomías no complicadas, Hospital Viente Corral Moscoso, 2006-2007

Ensayo clínico controlado con el objetivo de comparar la herida quirúrgica en pacientes con apendicitis aguda no complicada utilizando puntos subcuticulares de material absorvible, con los resultados de la técnica tradicional, asociando la frecuencia de complicaciones del sitio operatorio , resultados estéticos, índice de masa corporal, tiempo quirúrgico y hallazgos del transoperatorio. Se utilizó en el grupo A puntos subcuticulares y para el punto B puntos transdermicos. Se recolectó datos de filiación, tipo de incisión, talla, peso, tiempo quirúrgico, hallazgos asociados. Se realizó las evaluaciones clínicas de la herida: 24 horas, 8 días, 4 y 6 semanas detrminando dolor, calor, rubor y tumefacción. La valoración estética se realizó a las 4 semanas. Se intervinieron 110 pacientes , 55 por grupo. Las características basales fueron similares, La complicación fue seroma en el grupo B. El calor, rubor y tumefacción fue menor en el grupo A. El dolor a la semana fue mayor por la extracción de puntos y el rubor persistió a las 4 y 6 semanas en el grupo B. Respecto a la estética de la cicratiz fue mejor en el grupo A. La sutura subcuticular brinda una cicatriz más estética aproxima mejor el tejigo celular subcutáneo lo que evitaría la formación de seromas. El dolor a la semana es menor ya que evitamos la extracción de puntos. El calor, rubor y tumefacción es menor y no se evidencio un incremento de infección del sitio operatorio

Anestesia para miembro superior con la utilización del estimulador de nervio periférico: Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso -2007

Con un diseño descriptivo longitudinal se incluyeron 105 pacientes de ambos sexos, ASA I - III, a quienes se realizó bloqueo de plexo braquial con bupivacaína, lidocaína o la mezcla de ambas con la ayuda de un neuroestimulador (Stimuplex Dig-RCT de BraunT) para ser sometidos a cirugía de miembro superior en el Hospital Vicente Corral de Cuenca, Ecuador, en un período de dos años. Resultados: se alcanzó un 97,2de bloqueos exitosos y de éstos el 86.7fueron completos y el 10,5parciales. La edad promedio de la muestra fue de 29,4 ñ 19,8 años con un rango entre 5 y 75 años. Los varones fueron el 71,4. Artesanos y pacientes sin ocupación (estudiantes y preescolares) fueron el 76,1del grupo. El 62.9(n = 66) de las intervenciones fueron electivas. El acceso supraclavicular se utilizó en el 42,9(n = 45), el interescalénico en el 41.(n = 43) y el axilar en el 16.2(n = 17). El tiempo quirúrgico tuvo una mediana de 90 min (rango 10 a 240), el tiempo anestésico de 120 min (rango 30 a 420) y el tiempo de analgesia de 250 min (rango 30 a 640). Dos pacientes (1.9) presentaron desorientación, ansiedad y diaforesis transitorias que se normalizaron en 20 - 30 min. Discusión. Con un entrenamiento adecuado a los requisito de la formación en la especialidad el bloqueo de plexo braquial con neuroestimulador es una alternativa anestésica fácilmente alcanzable y de gran beneficio para cirugía de hombro y miembro superior porque excluye de una mayor agresión como la anestesia general y es la mejor recomendación para analgesia postoperatoria

Medición de la profundidad anestésica y memoria durante anestesia general mediante el cerebral state monitor (csm x06)

Este es un ensayo clínico controlado realizado en 327 pacientes ASA II, sometidas a cesárea, distribuidas aleatoriamente en dos grupos iguales para identificar las variaciones hemodinámicas y nivel metamérico, al aplicar Anestesia Intratecal con Lidocaína Isobárica al 2(AILI) comparada con Lidocaína Hiperbárica al 5(AILH), ambas a dosis de 80 mg. Resultados: la AILI, se mantuvo en determinadas metámeras sin sustancial variabilidad, comportamiento totalmente contrario a la AILH. Las diferencias estadísticas en la presión sistólica, diastólica, y frecuencia cardiaca, entre ambos tipos de anestesia no fueron significativas. La hipotensión se presentó en 32,9con AILI, y 54con AILH; siendo tratada con 2,26 mg (ñ 3.65) y 3,93 mg (ñ 4,26) de efedrina respectivamente. (p> 0.05). Con AILI se presentaron 4 casos de bloqueo raquídeo alto más dificultad respiratoria y, con AILH 3 casos, de los cuales solo 2 presentaron dificultad respiratoria. Conclusión: la AILI produce un bloqueo nervioso más predecible que la AILH. Los valores hemodinámicos y la incidencia de complicaciones, entre ambos anestésicos fueron semejantes

Determinación de la eficacia del score diagnóstico de apendicitis en el departamento de emergencia del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso de Cuenca en el período febrero - julio 2007

Se realizó un estudio trasversal en una población de 306 pacientes con diagnóstico de abdomen agudo no traumático, validación de la prueba diagnóstica y factores asociados en 129 con diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda; el grupo de estudio estuvo conformado por pacientes de edad comprendida entre los 16 y 75 años. Los datos fueron recolectados, por los autores, en un formulario estructurado y analizados con el software SPSS. Resultados: la prevalencia de apendicitis aguda, en la población de 306 pacientes, fue del 42(IC 9533.5-50.5). En los 129 con diagnóstico de apendicitis aguda, el Score dio positivo en el 92.2de los casos comparado con el resultado de anatomía patológica. La asociación entre apendicitis aguda con el sexo dio una razón de prevalencia (PR) de 0.98 IC 950.89-1.08), p=1.00; con el antecedente familiar de apendicitis una RP 0.94 (IC 950.78-1.14) p=0.36 y con alimentación de frutas con semilla RP 1.088 (IC 951.03-1.15) p=1.000 (test exacto de Fisher). La sensibilidad para la prueba diagnóstica, score para apendicitis, fue del 94.96, la especificidad del 60, el valor predictivo positivo del 96.6, el valor predictivo negativo del 50y el índice de Kappa del 0.5 con una p=0.000. Conclusiones: la prevalencia de apendicitis fue del 42; se encontró asociación significativa con alimentación con frutas con semilla. La sensibilidad del score para apendicitis fue del 94.96y la especificidad del 60

Prevalencia bacteriológica en apendicitis aguda no complicada y su asociación con infección del sitio quirúrgico, Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso, 2010

La apendicitis aguda (A.A.) afecta hasta el 12% de la población, la morbilidad y su tratamiento produce sufrimiento, estancia hospitalaria prolongada, retraso laboral y repercusiones socioeconómicas. La colonización bacteriana de la pared apendicular es multifactorial, depende: huésped, cirujano, ambiente hospitalario, y fase clínica; la frecuencia de infección del sitio quirúrgico (ISQ) varía del 2 - 10%, puede relacionarse con la bacteriología apendicular.

Detección de insuficiencia renal oculta y factores de riesgo asociados en pacientes ingresados en el área clínica del Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso, Cuenca 2007

Estudio transversal. La muestra de 382 pacientes (universo de 1090), fue calculada en base a una prevalencia para insuficiencia renal oculta de 13, con un nivel de confianza del 95y el error de inferencia del 3. Los datos se analizaron en software SPSS 11.5 y Epidat 3.0. Resultados: La prevalencia general de la insuficiencia renal oculta fue de 12. La asociación estadística con: edad Mayor a 65 años proporciono una razón de prevalencia (RP) de 7,43 (IC 953,70 - 14,94), p = 0,0000; Sexo femenino, RP = 3,62 (IC 951,79 - 7,30), p = 0,0001; Hipertensión arterial, RP= 2,67 (IC 951,56 - 4,56), p = 0,0005; Diabetes mellitus tipo 2, RP= 2,36 (IC 951,35 - 4,11), p = 0,0027; Sobrepeso, RP= 2,014 (IC 951,09 - 3,70), p 0,02. La prevalencia de insuficiencia renal oculta estratificada de acuerdo a los factores de riesgo, determinó que estaban afectos: 18,2de las mujeres y el 5de los hombres; 27,2de los mayores de 65 años; 15,5de pacientes con índice de masa corporal por encima de 25; 24,3de los hipertensos; 23de los diabéticos; y el 29de los diabéticos e hipertensos. Conclusión: la prevalencia general de la insuficiencia renal oculta fue de 12. Existe asociación significativa con edad, sexo femenino, diabetes, hipertensión arterial, y sobrepeso