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Importance Rapid response teams (RRTs) are foundational to hospital response to deteriorating conditions of patients. However, little is known about differences in RRT organization and function across top-performing and non–top-performing hospitals for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) care. Objective To evaluate differences in design and implementation of RRTs at top-performing and non–top-performing sites for survival of IHCA, which is known to be associated with hospital performance on IHCA incidence. Design, Setting, and Participants A qualitative analysis was performed of data from semistructured interviews of 158 hospital staff members (nurses, physicians, administrators, and staff) during site visits to 9 hospitals participating in the Get With The Guidelines–Resuscitation program and consistently ranked in the top, middle, and bottom quartiles for IHCA survival during 2012-2014. Site visits were conducted from April 19, 2016, to July 27, 2017. Data analysis was completed in January 2019. Main Outcomes and Measures Semistructured in-depth interviews were performed and thematic analysis was conducted on strategies for IHCA prevention, including RRT roles and responsibilities. Results Of the 158 participants, 72 were nurses (45.6%), 27 physicians (17.1%), 27 clinical staff (17.1%), and 32 administrators (20.3%). Between 12 and 30 people at each hospital participated in interviews. Differences in RRTs at top-performing and non–top-performing sites were found in the following 4 domains: team design and composition, RRT engagement in surveillance of at-risk patients, empowerment of bedside nurses to activate the RRT, and collaboration with bedside nurses during and after a rapid response. At top-performing hospitals, RRTs were typically staffed with dedicated team members without competing clinical responsibilities, who provided expertise to bedside nurses in managing patients who were at risk for deterioration, and collaborated with nurses during and after a rapid response. Bedside nurses were empowered to activate RRTs based on their judgment and experience without fear of reprisal from physicians or hospital staff. In contrast, RRT members at non–top-performing hospitals had competing clinical responsibilities and were generally less engaged with bedside nurses. Nurses at non–top-performing hospitals reported concerns about potential consequences from activating the RRT. Conclusions and Relevance This qualitative study’s findings suggest that top-performing hospitals feature RRTs with dedicated staff without competing clinical responsibilities, that work collaboratively with bedside nurses, and that can be activated without fear of reprisal. These findings provide unique insights into RRTs at hospitals with better IHCA outcomes.

BackgroundGood outcomes for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) depend on a skilled resuscitation team, prompt initiation of high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation, and organisational structures to support IHCA response. We examined the role of nurses in resuscitation, contrasting higher versus lower performing hospitals in IHCA survival.MethodsWe conducted a descriptive qualitative study at nine hospitals in the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-Resuscitation registry, purposefully sampling hospitals that varied in geography, academic status, and risk-standardised IHCA survival. We conducted 158 semistructured interviews with nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, quality improvement staff, and administrators. Qualitative thematic text analysis followed by type-building text analysis identified distinct nursing roles in IHCA care and support for roles.ResultsNurses played three major roles in IHCA response: bedside first responder, resuscitation team member, and clinical or administrative leader. We found distinctions between higher and lower performing hospitals in support for nurses. Higher performing hospitals emphasised training and competency of nurses at all levels; provided organisational flexibility and responsiveness with nursing roles; and empowered nurses to operate at a higher scope of clinical practice (eg, bedside defibrillation). Higher performing hospitals promoted nurses as leaders—administrators supporting nurses in resuscitation care at the institution, resuscitation team leaders during resuscitation and clinical champions for resuscitation care. Lower performing hospitals had more restrictive nurse roles with less emphasis on systematically identifying improvement needs.ConclusionHospitals that excelled in IHCA survival emphasised mentoring and empowering front-line nurses and ensured clinical competency and adequate nursing training for IHCA care. Though not proof of causation, nurses appear to be critical to effective IHCA response, and how to support their role to optimise outcomes warrants further investigation.

Introduction: Survival and favorable clinical outcomes for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) are highly dependent on a skilled resuscitation team, prompt initiation of high quality CPR and defibrillation, and organizational structures to support resuscitation care. While nurses are generally involved in resuscitation efforts, the purpose of this study was to examine their specific roles and factors that affect their contributions during an IHCA response. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study at 9 hospitals participating in the AHA Get-With-The-Guidelines Resuscitation registry. Purposeful sampling was used to select hospitals that vary in terms of geography, academic status, and risk-standardized IHCA survival. Participants included nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, quality improvement staff, hospital administrators, and other staff, yet discussion of the nursing function was prominent across all stakeholder groups. Qualitative thematic text analysis was used to identify the distinct types of nursing roles in relation to IHCA and how these roles were supported across sites. Results: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 158 individuals at 9 hospitals. Nurses were identified as an integral part of the IHCA response at all sites, with three major IHCA nursing roles identified: bedside first responder, rapid response or code team member, and leader. There were distinct differences across sites in support for nurses in these different roles with regard to educational training and competency, organizational engagement, and empowerment (Table). Conclusion: Nurses are a critical component of effective IHCA response and processes, including diverse roles as bedside first responders, code team members, and leadership for resuscitation care. Mentoring and empowering frontline nurses and ensuring that clinical competency and training needs for IHCA care specific for nurses is essential for resuscitation care.

Background: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is common, and outcomes vary substantially across US hospitals, but reasons for these differences are largely unknown. We set out to better understand how top-performing hospitals organize their resuscitation teams to achieve high survival rates for IHCA. Methods: We calculated risk-standardized IHCA survival to discharge rates across American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines–Resuscitation registry hospitals between 2012 and 2014. We identified geographically and academically diverse hospitals in the top, middle, and bottom quartiles of survival for IHCA and performed a qualitative study that included site visits with in-depth interviews of clinical and administrative staff at 9 hospitals. With the use of thematic analysis, data were analyzed to identify salient themes of perceived performance by informants. Results: Across 9 hospitals, we interviewed 158 individuals from multiple disciplines including physicians (17.1%), nurses (45.6%), other clinical staff (17.1%), and administration (20.3%). We identified 4 broad themes related to resuscitation teams: (1) team design, (2) team composition and roles, (3) communication and leadership during IHCA, and (4) training and education. Resuscitation teams at top-performing hospitals demonstrated the following features: dedicated or designated resuscitation teams; participation of diverse disciplines as team members during IHCA; clear roles and responsibilities of team members; better communication and leadership during IHCA; and in-depth mock codes. Conclusions: Resuscitation teams at hospitals with high IHCA survival differ from non–top-performing hospitals. Our findings suggest core elements of successful resuscitation teams that are associated with better outcomes and form the basis for future work to improve IHCA.

Objective Abdominal obesity has been associated with erosive oesophagitis (EO) and Barrett9s oesophagus (BO). As gluteofemoral obesity protects against diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, we hypothesised that gluteofemoral obesity would be inversely associated with EO and BO. Design We conducted a cross-sectional study on 822 male colorectal cancer screenees who were recruited to also undergo upper endoscopy. An additional 80 patients with BO clinically detected by upper endoscopy referred for clinical indications were recruited shortly after their diagnoses of BO. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effects of abdominal obesity (waist circumference), gluteofemoral obesity (hip circumference) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on EO and BO (vs neither condition). Results There were 225 cases of either BO or EO and 675 controls. After adjustment for potential confounders, a positive association was observed between waist circumference and BO and/or EO, which became stronger with further adjustment for hip circumference. In contrast, hip circumference was inversely associated with BO and/or EO. Compared with the lowest quartile of WHR, the adjusted ORs were 1.32 (95% CI 0.747 to 2.33) for the 2nd quartile, 1.54 (95% CI 0.898 to 2.63) for the 3rd quartile, and 2.68 (95% CI 1.57 to 4.55) for the highest quartile. Similar results were obtained for BO and EO treated as separate outcomes. Conclusions In a population of older, mostly overweight men, the distribution of obesity is associated with the presence of EO and BO. Abdominal obesity appears to increase the risk of these outcomes, whereas gluteofemoral obesity may be protective.

Risk factors for Barrett's esophagus include gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms, age, abdominal obesity, and tobacco use. We aimed to develop a tool using these factors to predict the presence of Barrett's esophagus.Male colorectal cancer (CRC) screenees were recruited to undergo upper endoscopy, identifying newly diagnosed cases of Barrett's esophagus. Logistic regression models predicting Barrett's esophagus using GERD symptoms alone and together with abdominal obesity, tobacco use, and age were compared.Barrett's esophagus was found in 70 (8.5%) of 822 CRC screenees. Mutually adjusting for other covariates, Barrett's esophagus was associated with weekly GERD (odds ratio (OR)=2.33, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.34, 4.05), age (OR per 10 years=1.53, 95% CI=1.05, 2.25), waist-to-hip ratio (OR per 0.10=1.44, 95% CI=0.898, 2.32) and pack-years of cigarette use (OR per 10 pack-years=1.09, 95% CI=1.04, 1.14). A model including those four factors had a greater area under the receiver operating characteristics curve than did a model based on GERD frequency and duration alone (0.72 vs. 0.61, P0.001), and it had a net reclassification improvement index of 19-25%.The prevalence of Barrett's esophagus was substantial in our population of older overweight men. A model based on GERD, age, abdominal obesity, and cigarette use more accurately classified the presence of Barrett's esophagus than did a model based on GERD alone. Following validation of the tool in another population, its use in clinical practice might improve the efficiency of screening for Barrett's esophagus.

Many available physical activity questionnaires (PAQs) are limited due to either focus on recreational activities or burdensome length.We sought to assess the reliability and validity of a new short PAQ that captures all activity types.The 12-item multiple-choice PAQ-M included eight activity domains, providing a total Physical Activity Score (PAS-M) in kcal/kg/week. The new PAQ-M was administered with the previously validated Paffenbarger PAQ to 426 men, ages 50-79, undergoing colon-cancer screening.The PAQ-M had excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation = 0.87). The PAS-M was moderately correlated with the Paffenbarger Physical Activity Score (PAS-P) (r = 0.31) and inversely correlated with BMI (r = -0.14) and waist circumference (r = -0.17). Adenoma prevalence was inversely associated with the PAS-M (3rd vs. 1st tertile adjusted odds ratio, 0.46; 95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.84) but not with the PAS-P.Our new short physical activity questionnaire has excellent test-retest reliability, and was correlated moderately with a widely used physical activity questionnaire and obesity measures. Furthermore, the new PAQ was a better predictor of adenoma prevalence in the expected direction than the Paffenbarger questionnaire in this largely sedentary population.

We describe a case of congenital rubella syndrome with typical stigmata in an infant born in New Hampshire to Liberian refugees. The infant's clinical specimens were tested for rubella. Rubella immunity status was sought for contacts. The infant's specimen cultures grew wild-type rubella virus; serum immunoglobulin M and G were positive. Eighteen of 20 contacts were rubella-immune. Family's transit history, mother's vaccination history, and infant's estimated gestational age supported congenital infection acquired overseas. Clinicians should maintain vigilance for congenital rubella syndrome in infants with relevant stigmata, particularly those whose mothers are from countries with nonexistent or recently implemented rubella vaccination programs.

Background: Abdominal obesity (characterized by increased waist to hip ratio, WHR) is associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease, and various cancers. Increased WHR is associated with gender and race. Little is known about what behavioral factors may be associated with this body fat distribution. Methods: 283 men aged 50-79 years undergoing colonoscopy for colon cancer screening underwent body measurements and answered questionnaires regarding dietary habits and physical activity. We estimated Pearson and Spearman correlations between measures of obesity and various behaviors, and used linear regression models of the behaviors for body mass index (BMI per 1 kg/m2), waist circumference (per 1 cm), hip circumference (per 1 cm), and WHR (per 0.01), both unadjusted, and adjusted for each other. Results: Mean BMI was 30.4 kg/m2 (standard deviation, SD = 5.9), waist 109cm (SD = 15), hip 109cm (SD = 12), and WHR 1.00 (SD = 0.06). Waist was very closely correlated with BMI (rho = 0.93), as was hip (rho = 0.92), but WHR was only moderately correlated with BMI (rho = 0.45). Correlations with each measure of obesity are shown in Table 1. Linear regressions results for obesity, adjusted for each factor and for BMI or WHR, are shown in Table 2. Conclusions: WHR appears to measure a construct distinct from waist circumference or BMI. The association between the ratio of fat to carbohydrate intake and WHR may be due to the increased capacity of visceral fat for taking up fatty acids. The inverse association of frequent moderate exercise with WHR may be due to the increased sensitivity of visceral fat to catecholamines for lipolysis. Age is also associated with WHR. These findings may direct future research aimed at reducing the risk of sequelae from abdominal obesity. Table 1: Correlations (rho)