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The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required an immediate and large-scale transition to telemedicine. Telemedicine includes phone visits and video visits. Studies suggest that hepatocellular cancer (HCC) screening rates fell at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. If left unaddressed, HCC morbidity/mortality may increase following the pandemic due to inadequate screening.To assess the impact of phone-only visits on HCC screening rates in patients with cirrhosis.Utilizing ICD-10 codes, 2 cohorts of patients with cirrhosis were identified. The pre-pandemic cohort had index visit between 1/1/2019 and 6/30/2019 (n = 290). The pandemic cohort (n = 112) was evaluated between 4/7/2020 and 6/7/2020. Each cohort was followed for 6 months from their index visit to determine HCC screening rate. Demographics and socioeconomic data from the American Community Survey database were compiled and compared between the cohorts.HCC screening rates in the pre-pandemic and pandemic cohorts were 72.4% and 69.6%, respectively, p = 0.67. No differences in HCC screening rates were observed between the two cohorts when stratified by demographic and socioeconomic factors.Use of phone-only visits was associated with adherence to HCC screening similar to that seen with in-person visits. The lack of influence on screening rates by racial/socioeconomic factors suggest telephone-only visits do not exacerbate healthcare disparities. In times of public health of crisis, telephone-only visits may provide the necessary access to hepatology care to ensure HCC screening regimens remain in-place for at-risk patients.

Most guidelines directing clinicians to manage valve disease are directed at single valve lesions. Limited data exists to direct our understanding of how concomitant valve disease impacts the left ventricle (LV).We identified 2817 patients with aortic stenosis (AS) from the echocardiography laboratory database between September 2012 and June 2018 who had a LV ejection fraction (EF) ≥50%. LV mass, LV mass index, LV systolic pressure (systolic blood pressure + peak aortic gradient). Covariates were collected from the electronic medical record. Multi-variate analysis of covariance was used to generate adjusted comparisons.Our population was 66% female, 17% African-American with a mean age of 65 years. Of note, 7.3% were noted to have significant (moderate/severe) aortic regurgitation (AR), and 11% had significant (moderate/severe) mitral regurgitation (MR). Adjusting for covariates at different levels, significant MR had a much stronger association with heart failure compared to those with significant AR (p.001 vs. p = .313, respectively) at all levels of adjustment. Both significant mitral and AR exhibited an association with increasing left ventricular mass, even with adjustment for baseline demographics and clinical features (p.001 vs. p = .007, respectively).In patients with AS, 16% also experience at least moderate MR or AR. Further, significant MR has a stronger association with heart failure than significant AR, even though both increase left ventricular mass. Those with moderate AS and significant MR or AR experience similar or higher levels of heart failure compared to severe AS without regurgitation. Mixed valve disease merits further studies to direct longitudinal management.

BACKGROUND In patients with critical medical illness, data regarding new-onset atrial fibrillation (NOAF) is relatively sparse. This study examines the incidence, associated risk factors, and associated outcomes of NOAF in patients in the medical intensive care unit (MICU). METHODS This single-center retrospective observational cohort study included 2234 patients with MICU stays in 2018. An automated extraction process using ICD-10 codes, validated by a 196-patient manual chart review, was used for data collection. Demographics, medications, and risk factors were collected. Multiple risk scores were calculated for each patient, and AF recurrence was also manually extracted. Length of stay, mortality, and new stroke were primary recorded outcomes. RESULTS Two hundred and forty one patients of the 2234 patient cohort (11.4%) developed NOAF during their MICU stay. NOAF was associated with greater length of stay in the MICU (5.84 vs. 3.52 days, p

INTRODUCTION: Knowing patients’ smoking history helps guide who may benefit from preventive services such as lung cancer screening. The accuracy of smoking history in electronic health records remains unclear. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data collected from a portal-based lung cancer screening decision aid. Participants of an academically affiliated health system, aged 55–76 years, completed an online survey that collected a detailed smoking history including years of smoking, years since quitting, and smoking intensity. Eligibility for lung cancer screening was defined using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services criteria. Data analysis was performed May–December 2018, and data collection occurred between November 2016 and February 2017. RESULTS: A total of 336 participants completed the survey and were included in the analysis. Of 175 participants with self-reported smoking intensity, 72% had packs per day and 62% had pack-years recorded in the electronic health record. When present, smoking history in the electronic health records correlated well with self-reported years of smoking (r =0.78, p≤0.0001) and years since quitting (r =0.94, p≤0.0001). Self-reported smoking intensity, including pack-years (r =0.62, p

Opportunities for expanding advance care planning (ACP) throughout the health-care system make it critical that primary care (PC) providers have a basic understanding of how the electronic health record (EHR) can aid promoting ACP discussions and documentation. This article will offer PC providers 5 useful tips for implementing ACP in outpatient settings utilizing the EHR.

Objective We designed and implemented an application programming interface (API)-based electronic health record (EHR)-integrated rounding list and evaluated acceptability, clinician satisfaction, information accuracy, and efficiency related to the application. Methods We developed and integrated an application, employing iterative design techniques with user feedback. EHR and application user action logs, as well as hospital safety reports, were evaluated. Rounding preparation characteristics were obtained through surveys before and after application integration. To evaluate usability, inpatient providers, including residents, fellows, and attendings were surveyed 2 weeks prior to and 6 months after enterprise-wide EHR application integration. Our primary outcome was provider time savings measured by user action logs; secondary outcomes include provider satisfaction. Results The application was widely adopted by inpatient providers, with more than 69% of all inpatients queried by the application within 6 months of deployment. Application utilization was sustained throughout the study period with 79% (interquartile range [IQR]: 76, 82) of enterprise-wide unique patients accessed per weekday. EHR action logs showed application users spent −3.24 minutes per day (95% confidence interval [CI]: −6.8, 0.33), p = 0.07 within the EHR compared with nonusers. Median self-reported chart review time for attendings decreased from 30 minutes (IQR: 15, 60) to 20 minutes (IQR: 10, 45) after application integration (p = 0.04). Self-reported sign-out preparation time decreased by a median of 5 minutes (p Conclusion This study demonstrates successful integration of a rounding application within a commercial EHR using APIs. We demonstrate increasing both provider-reported satisfaction and time savings. Rounding lists provided more accurate and timely information for rounds. Application usage was sustained across multiple specialties at 42 months. Other application designers should consider data density, optimization of provider workflows, and using real-time data transfer using novel tools when designing an application.

226 Background: Cancer survivors may be more likely to receive preventive care services when they see both oncologists and PCPs; however, some oncology visits may not be necessary, straining limited subspecialty resources. In this study, we quantified outpatient primary and oncology care utilization in the years surrounding cancer diagnosis. We further characterized the proportion of survivors with oncology visits in the absence of ongoing antineoplastic use, as we hypothesized these survivors might be appropriate for need- and risk-stratified survivorship care, a model successful outside the US. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the electronic health records of survivors in an academic health center diagnosed with breast, colorectal, or uterine cancer between 1/1/14 and 9/1/19. We excluded survivors who died during the study period, had a PCP outside of our health system, or had recurrent cancers. Descriptive statistics described survivors’ provider visits up to 4 years before and 8 years after diagnosis with their most recent cancer. We then stratified our results by current antineoplastic prescription. Results: Our sample included 1,929 survivors (75.0% white, 20.1% Black, 5.0% other; 86.2% female; cancer type: 59.4% breast, 26.7% colorectal, 13.8% uterine). In the first-year post-diagnosis, 94.6% of survivors had an oncology provider visit; the figure declined to 55.8% by year 8. The percentage of survivors with PCP visits increased from 41% 3-4 years pre-diagnosis to 66% in year 1 and remained at > 50% 8 years post-diagnosis. More than 50% of survivors saw both PCPs and oncologists through 5 years post-diagnosis. Survivors were slightly more likely to have an oncology visit if they were on antineoplastics; 5+ years after diagnosis, >50% of survivors not on antineoplastics had oncology visits. Conclusions: A slight majority of 5+ year survivors, regardless of antineoplastic use, continue to have oncology visits and may be candidates for discontinuing oncology care. Work is needed to develop and test interventions to facilitate need- and risk-stratified survivorship care focused on transitioning longer-term survivors not on antineoplastics to PCPs.

27 Background: In the US, two million people are referred to urologists for the evaluation of microscopic hematuria (MH). MH guidelines were revised in 2020 by the American Urological Association, recommending that only patients at high risk for malignancy based on age, smoking history, or urinalysis receive computed tomography (CT) imaging. We found in previous studies that providers continued to use CT for patients with low-to-intermediate risk, representing low-value care. To understand reasons for continued CT use for patients with low-to-intermediate risk MH, we assessed determinants of low-value care in a concurrent mixed-method study. Methods: We stratified patients with a urology consultation within 180 days of a urinalysis documented in one academic medical center’s electronic health record between 1/1/15 and 7/1/21 into high-, intermediate-, and low-risk categories and validated risk designation in a chart review of a 5% subsample. We defined low-value care as CT for patients with low-to-intermediate-risk MH. To assess determinants of low-value MH care, we conducted semi-structured interviews with primary, urology, and gynecology providers (n = 7) identified through our professional networks. Results: Six hundred nineteen patients were referred to urology for MH. 58.6% were high-risk, 33.6% intermediate-risk, 4.4% low-risk, and 3.4% were undefined. 15.9% of intermediate-risk (n = 33) and 11.1% of low-risk (n = 3) patients received CT. Of the 14 patients referred to urology post-guideline change, none with low-to-intermediate-risk received CT. Interviews demonstrated substantial variation in approaches to MH evaluation. Urologists were largely aware of the revised guideline but noted inappropriate evaluation before referral, unnecessary referrals, and inefficiency in evaluation following referral. Lacking accessible data for risk stratification, other providers’ approaches were varied but driven by a common goal of ruling out renal malignancy, based on medical school training and institutional norms. Conclusions: Low-value care was limited but persistent and may be driven by a lack of resources to support risk-stratified MH evaluation, including accessible risk stratification data and clear guidelines for appropriate evaluation. This is consistent with a lack of practical guidance for implementing MH evaluation guidelines. In future studies, we will develop strategies to facilitate risk-stratified MH evaluation in practice.

Objective Academic medical centers face unique challenges in educating physician trainees in effective discharge practices to prevent readmissions. Meanwhile, residents must handle high workloads coupled with frequent rotations to different services. This study aimed to determine whether daily service census, service turnover, time of discharge, and day of discharge increase the risk of 30-day readmission. Methods All of the discharges from two academic general internal medicine teaching services between October 1, 2013 and September 30, 2014 were included in this observational data analysis. Variables were fit to a 30-day, all-cause readmission outcome using multiple logistic regression with inverse probability of treatment weighting and multiple imputations with chained equations. The following potential confounding variables were included in the model: health system utilization, demographics, laboratory values, and comorbidities. Results Among 1935 total discharges, 258 patients (13.3%) were readmitted within 30 days of the index discharge. Turnover, service census, weekend discharge, and time of discharge were not significantly associated with the risk of readmission. Patients discharged during holiday periods had higher odds of readmission (odds ratio 2.56, 95% confidence interval 2.01-3.25), whereas patients discharged on an intern switch day had lower odds of readmission (odds ratio 0.33, 95% confidence interval 0.27-0.41). Conclusions Patients who are discharged during holiday periods are at a higher risk of readmission after adjusting for potential confounders. These results also suggest that discharge on an intern switch day had a protective effect on readmission. Further work is needed to examine whether these findings can be replicated, and, if confirmed, to determine to what extent these associations are causal.

Introduction The nature of information used in medicine has changed. In the past, we were limited to routine clinical data and published clinical trials. Today, we deal with massive, multiple data streams and easy access to new tests, ideas, and capabilities to process them. Whereas in the past getting information for decision‐making was a challenge, now, it is how to analyze, evaluate and prioritize all that is readily available through the multitude of data‐collecting devices. Clinicians must become adept with the tools needed to deal with the era of big data, requiring a major change in how we learn to make decisions. Major change is often met with resistance and questions about value. A Learning Health System is an enabler to encourage the development of such tools and demonstrate value in improved decision‐making. Methods We describe how we are developing a Biomedical Informatics program to help our medical institution's evolution as an academic Learning Health System, including strategy, training for house staff and examples of the role of informatics from operations to research. Results We described an array of learning health system implementations and educational programs to improve healthcare and prepare a cadre of physicians with basic information technology skills. The programs have been well accepted with, for example, increasing interest and enrollment in the educational programs. Conclusions We are now in an era when large volumes of a wide variety of data are readily available. The challenge is not so much in the acquisition of data, but in assessing the quality, relevance and value of the data. The data we can get may not be the data we need. In the past, sources of data were limited, and trial results published in journals were the major source of evidence for decision making. The advent of powerful analytics systems has changed the concept of evidence. Clinicians will have to develop the skills necessary to work in the era of big data. It is not reasonable to expect that all clinicians will also be data scientists. However, understanding the role of AI and predictive analytics, and how to apply them, will become progressively more important. Programs such as the one being implemented at Wake Forest fill that need.

Background: Hybrid closed-loop (HCL) insulin pump therapy (Medtronic 670G) is an emerging technology that is growing in use worldwide. Initial clinical trials demonstrated the effectiveness of HCL in reducing hypoglycemia and improving glucose control; however, these subjects were intensely monitored and supervised. There has been concern regarding the ability of patients to remain in auto mode. We aimed to assess HCL when used in a typical outpatient endocrine clinic. Methods: We initially analyzed data from 80 individuals with type 1 diabetes managed in an endocrine clinic by a single certified diabetes educator (CDE). We then included our other providers and had 230 subjects by the end of the study. Patients were either transitioned from traditional insulin pump or multiple daily insulin injection therapy (MDI) to HCL. Patients initiated to HCL pump therapy from July 2017 through February 2020 were studied. Endpoints of change in time in hypoglycemic/hyperglycemic range and time in target range were analyzed. The primary outcome was a change in percent time in the target range during manual mode compared with auto mode. Results: There was an 18.2% increase in average time in target range when comparing manual mode to auto mode (59.3% vs 70.1%, P < .0001). Average time in hyperglycemic range was significantly reduced by 26.7% (39.0% vs 28.6%, P < .0001) but without increasing average time in hypoglycemic range (1.7% vs 1.3%, P = 0.95). Conclusions: HCL was effective in reducing hyperglycemia and increasing time in the target range but did not increase hypoglycemia. These data suggest HCL will improve the metrics of glucose control.

OBJECTIVES: Optimizing care for patients with advanced kidney disease requires close collaboration between primary care physicians (PCPs) and nephrologists. Factors associated with PCP referral to nephrology were assessed in patients with estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2). STUDY DESIGN: Electronic health record review at an integrated health care network. METHODS: Factors associated with referral status were identified using Fisher’s exact tests, t tests, and multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Of 133,913 patients regularly seeing PCPs between October 2017 and September 2019, 1119 had a final eGFR less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and were not on renal replacement therapy. Care was provided by 185 PCPs (61 practices). Analyses were restricted to the 97.1% (n = 1087) of patients who were African American or European American. Of these, 54.6% had not been referred to nephrology. Nonreferred patients had higher numbers of PCP visits (P = .004). In contrast, referred patients were younger, were more often African American, and had PCPs at the academic medical center (all P

IntroductionPatients with multimorbidity plus additional impairments (eg, mobility limitations, disability, cognitive impairments or frailty) are at the highest risk for poor healthcare outcomes. Advanced care planning (ACP) provides patients and their surrogates the opportunity to discuss their goals, values and priorities for healthcare—particularly in the context of end-of-life care. ACP discussions promote more person-centred care; however, it is currently underused. There is a tremendous need for systematic, scalable approaches to individualised ACP that promotes patient and family engagement. Here we describe the study protocol for a randomised effectiveness trial of a nurse navigator and informatics intervention designed to improve the documentation and quality of ACP discussions.Methods and analysisThis is a randomised, pragmatic, effectiveness trial; patients aged 65 years and older who have multimorbidity plus impairments in either physical function (eg, mobility limitations or disability) or cognition, and/or frailty within an affiliated Accountable Care Organization were eligible. The electronic health record was used to develop an automatic prescreening system for eligible patients (n=765) and participants were randomised in a 1:1 ratio to either the nurse navigator-led ACP pathway or usual care. Our primary outcomes are documentation of ACP discussions within the EHR along with the quality of ACP discussions. Secondary outcomes include a broad range of ACP actions (eg, usage of ACP billing codes, choosing a surrogate decision-maker and advance directive documentation). Outcomes will be measured over 12 months of follow-up.Ethics and disseminationThis study has been approved by the appropriate Institutional Review Boards and is guided by input from patient and clinical advisory boards. The results of this study will inform a scalable solution to ACP discussions throughout our healthcare system and statewide.Trials registration numberNCT03609658.

Background Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic condition with wide variation in treatment and resource utilization because of many different disease presentations and treatment options. In an effort to standardize care and improve health outcomes, several organizations have created performance measures to monitor various aspects of IBD care. Objectives We aimed to assess longitudinal documentation adherence with physician quality reporting system's (PQRS) IBD performance measures before, immediately after, and 1 year following the implementation of a comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) IBD clinical documentation support tool intervention. Methods We reviewed 50 patient charts that were randomly selected from consecutive outpatient IBD visits at our tertiary care center from September 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, prior to implementation of an IBD-specific note template, order set, and patient education handout on September 1, 2016. Two additional cohorts of 50 patient charts were randomly selected from September 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 and September 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. These charts were reviewed to assess adherence of pertinent PQRS performance measures for outpatient IBD care. The project was deemed not human subjects research and received exempt approval by the Institutional Review Board (IRB#: IRB00040399). Results The cohort immediately after the intervention showed significant increases in documentation rates of influenza immunization (19–59%, p Conclusion A multifaceted, EHR focused approach can significantly and sustainably improve documentation of outpatient IBD quality measures.

Background: With the proliferation of echocardiography, clinicians are detecting more patients with valve disease and identifying valve disease much earlier in its natural course. Understanding the gender and racial differences in prevalence of valve disease may help guide clinicians to allocate resources in researching strategies to prevent progression of valve disease. Methods: We identified 9,625 patients from the echocardiography laboratory database between September 2013 to April 2018 who had a LV ejection fraction ≥ 50%. Data related to left-sided valvular disease, baseline demographics, and clinical history were obtained from our clinical data repository. Crude analyses by sex and race were performed to identify the prevalence of certain valve lesions. Logistic regression was used to adjust these relationships by baseline demographics. Results: Our population was 58% female, 21% African-American (AA) with a mean age of 59 ± 17 years. For moderate/severe aortic stenosis (AS), AA had 2.4% compared to 7.5% in Caucasians (CA; p0.2), and women had 4.0% compared to 5.4% for men (p=0.003). For moderate/severe mitral regurgitation, AA had 6.6% vs 7.8% for CA (p=0.056), and women had 8.3% vs 6.3% for men (p=0.003). Adjusting for age, race, sex, height, and weight, AA had lower odds ratio (OR) for AS than CA (OR: 0.47; 95% CI: 0.34-0.64; p Conclusion: African-Americans have a lower prevalence of moderate/severe aortic stenosis than Caucasians. Compared to men, women have a lower prevalence of moderate/severe aortic stenosis, lower prevalence of moderate/severe aortic regurgitation, but a higher prevalence of mitral regurgitation.

Objective Health systems could adopt population-level approaches to screening by identifying potential screening candidates from the electronic health record and reaching out to them via the patient portal. However, whether patients would read or act on sent information is unknown. We examined the feasibility of this digital health outreach strategy. Methods We conducted a single-arm pragmatic trial in a large academic health system. An electronic health record algorithm identified primary care patients who were potentially eligible for lung cancer screening (LCS). Identified patients were sent a patient portal invitation to visit a LCS interactive Web site which assessed screening eligibility and included a decision aid. The primary outcome was screening completion. Secondary outcomes included the proportion of patients who read the invitation, visited the interactive Web site, and completed the interactive Web site. Results We sent portal invitations to 1,000 patients. Almost all patients (86%, 862/1,000) read the invitation, 404 (40%) patients visited the interactive Web site, and 349 patients (35%) completed it. Of the 99 patients who were confirmed screening eligible by the Web site, 81 made a screening decision (30% wanted screening, 44% unsure, 26% declined screening), and 22 patients had a chest computed tomography completed. Conclusion The digital outreach strategy reached the majority of patient portal users. While the study focused on LCS, this digital outreach approach could be generalized to other health needs. Given the broad reach and potential low cost of this digital strategy, future research should investigate best practices for implementing the system.

Advance care planning (ACP), especially among vulnerable older adults, remains underused in primary care. Additionally, many ACP initiatives fail to integrate directly into the electronic health record (EHR), resulting in infrequent and disorganized documentation.To determine whether a nurse navigator-led ACP pathway combined with a health care professional-facing EHR interface improves the occurrence of ACP discussions and their documentation within the EHR.This was a randomized effectiveness trial using the Zelen design, in which patients are randomized prior to informed consent, with only those randomized to the intervention subsequently approached to provide informed consent. Randomization began November 1, 2018, and follow-up concluded November 1, 2019. The study population included patients 65 years or older with multimorbidity combined with either cognitive or physical impairments, and/or frailty, assessed from 8 primary care practices in North Carolina.Participants were randomized to either a nurse navigator-led ACP pathway (n = 379) or usual care (n = 380).The primary outcome was documentation of a new ACP discussion within the EHR. Secondary outcomes included the usage of ACP billing codes, designation of a surrogate decision maker, and ACP legal form documentation. Exploratory outcomes included incident health care use.Among 759 randomized patients (mean age 77.7 years, 455 women [59.9%]), the nurse navigator-led ACP pathway resulted in a higher rate of ACP documentation (42.2% vs 3.7%, P .001) as compared with usual care. The ACP billing codes were used more frequently for patients randomized to the nurse navigator-led ACP pathway (25.3% vs 1.3%, P .001). Patients randomized to the nurse navigator-led ACP pathway more frequently designated a surrogate decision maker (64% vs 35%, P .001) and completed ACP legal forms (24.3% vs 10.0%, P .001). During follow-up, the incidence of emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalizations was similar between the randomized groups (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.92-1.50).A nurse navigator-led ACP pathway integrated with a health care professional-facing EHR interface increased the frequency of ACP discussions and their documentation. Additional research will be required to evaluate whether increased EHR documentation leads to improvements in goal-concordant care.ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03609658.

Advance Care Planning (ACP) is increasingly recognized as a crucial step to ensure patients receive medical care that consistent with their overall goals and values; however it remains suboptimal among vulnerable older adults. The objective was to determine whether a nurse navigator led ACP pathway plus a provider-facing EMR documentation program called ACPSmart improves ACP documentation within the EMR within an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) for vulnerable older adults. This was a randomized, pragmatic, effectiveness clinical trial was conducted from November 1, 2018 to November 1, 2019, at 8 primary care practices. Patients 65 years or older within an affiliated ACO with multimorbidity plus physical impairments, cognitive impairments, and/or frailty were included. Participants were randomized to either a nurse navigator led ACP pathway (NN) or usual care (UC). The primary outcome was documentation of new ACP discussion within the EMR at 12 months along with the quality of ACP discussions. Among 759 randomized patients (379 NN / 380 UC, mean age 77.7 years), compared to usual care, the NN led ACP pathway resulted in a higher rate of ACP documentation (42.2% vs 3.7%, p

Aim Prescription opioid abuse poses a serious problem in the United States, representing 615 per 100 000 deaths annually. Extended-release oxymorphone (Opana-ER) is an oral opioid pain medication that has recently been found to cause thrombotic microangiopathy when intravenously abused. In this retrospective study, we attempted to determine the prevalence and outcomes of acute kidney injury (AKI) among patients intravenously abusing extended-release oral oxymorphone. Methods A query of electronic medical records for 'drug abuse' at an academic medical centre during January 2012 to December 2015 was performed and yielded 2350 patients. Patients were further identified by documented intravenous abuse of extended-release oxymorphone. Patients were stratified based on multiple renal indices and outcomes. Potential confounders were also identified. Results One hundred and sixty-five patients were found to have a documented history of intravenous abuse of extended-release oral oxymorphone. Prevalence of AKI in this population was a 47.8%. KDIGO stage-I patients consisted of 17.8% of patients with AKI, 40.5% were classified as KDIGO stage-II AKI, and 41.8% were classified as KDIGO stage-III AKI. Among patients with AKI, average age was found to be 37.5 years, 59.4% experienced renal recovery, 56.9% required intensive care unit admission, 13.9% progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and 7.6% expired during admission. Conclusion Clinicians should be educated to help recognize intravenous abuse of extended-release oral oxymorphone and its associated effects. Our data suggests AKI is common in these patients; higher KDIGO staging appears to be associated with slower rates of renal recovery, increased comorbidities and progression to both CKD and ESRD.

Background— Reference limits for echocardiographic quantification of cardiac chambers in Hispanics are not well studied. Methods and Results— We examined the reference values of left atrium and left ventricle (LV) structure in a large ethnically diverse Hispanic cohort. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography was performed in 1818 participants of the Echocardiographic Study of Latinos (ECHO-SOL). Individuals with body mass index ≥30 kg/m 2 , hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and atrial fibrillation were excluded leaving 525 participants defined as healthy reference cohort. We estimated 95th weighted percentiles of LV end systolic volume, LV end diastolic volume, relative wall and septal thickness, LV mass, and left atrial volume. We then used upper reference limits of the 2005 and 2015 American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and 95th percentile of reference cohort to classify the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) target population into abnormal and normal. Reference limits were also calculated for each of 6 Hispanic origins. Using ASE 2015 defined reference values, we categorized 7%, 21%, 57%, and 17% of men and 18%, 29%, 60%, and 26% of women as having abnormal LV mass index, relative, septal, and posterior wall thickness, respectively. Conversely, 10% and 11% of men and 4% and 2% of women were classified as having abnormal end-diastolic volume and internal diameter by ASE 2015 cutoffs, respectively. Similar differences were found when we used 2005 ASE cutoffs. Several differences were noted in distribution of cardiac structure and volumes among various Hispanic/Latino origins. Cubans had highest values of echocardiographic measures, and Central Americans had the lowest. Conclusions— This is the first large study that provides normal reference values for cardiac structure. It further demonstrates that a considerable segment of Hispanic/Latinos residing in the United States may be classified as having abnormal measures of cardiac chambers when 2015 and 2005 ASE reference cutoffs are used.

Low functional status on admission is associated with readmission, and functional limitations affect the disposition and prognosis of patients after hospital discharge. However, a formal assessment of functional impairment may not routinely be performed among general medical physicians. The aim of this intervention is that resident physicians better identify and document the baseline functional limitations of their patients in order to anticipate post-discharge resource needs more effectively. A dedicated Functional History section was created in the admission history and physical (H&P) documentation template in the electronic medical record for use by house staff in one internal medicine residency program. Four questions were used to assess a patient’s baseline functional status, including the ability to complete activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (iADLs), as well as ambulation status and pre-hospital residence. H&P documentation was sampled for patients admitted to resident teaching (intervention group) and hospital medicine (control group) services over 3 periods: 1) pre-intervention, 2) 1 week post-intervention, and 3) 10 weeks post-intervention. De-identified samples of 20 charts from each group were assessed by a blinded reviewer for each of the 3 time periods. H&Ps were scored for absence of (0 points), partial (1 point), or full (2 points) description of functional limitations in each of 3 categories: ADLs/iADLs, ambulation status, and pre-hospital residence, for a total score ranging from 0 to 6. The average H&P functional limitation score (FLS) for patients admitted to the resident teaching services was (mean ± SEM) 0.45±0.27 prior to the intervention. The FLS increased significantly both at 1 and 10 weeks following the intervention, with values of 3.15±0.45 and 3.05±0.49, respectively (p < 0.001 for each, by 2-tailed Student’s t-test). The average FLS for hospital medicine patients was 0.20±0.12 in the pre-intervention period. Despite hospital medicine providers not receiving the intervention, there was a trend towards increased FLS that did not reach statistical significance for each subsequent period: 0.9±0.42 (p=0.12) at 1 week and 0.9±0.35 (p=0.07) at 10 weeks following the intervention. Thoroughness of pre-admission functional limitation documentation was significantly increased by the addition of a distinct Functional History section to the H&P template used by residents at one academic medical center. Further study is needed to determine whether such documentation is associated with expedited discharge planning or improved readmission rate. A dedicated Functional History section in the H&P template may be considered by other programs that aim to increase awareness of patients’ pre-hospital functional limitations among their resident physicians.

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended one-time HCV testing for all patients in the 1945-1965 birth cohort, given the high hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence in this group [1]. In response, various interventions differing in complexity and cost have been developed. Goel et al, evaluated a multifaceted intervention sequentially implemented and report poor response to the electronic health record (EHR) alert and a very successful HCV screening, increased by 137%, after adding other tools including physician education, data feedback, and patient navigation [2]. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.