Hospitalisation

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 cardiovascular research from Africa is limited. This study describes cardiovascular risk factors, manifestations, and outcomes of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the African region, with an overarching goal to investigate whether important differences exist between African and other populations, which may inform health policies. METHODS: A multinational prospective cohort study was conducted on adults hospitalised with confirmed COVID-19, consecutively admitted to 40 hospitals across 23 countries, 6 of which were African countries...

BACKGROUND: The interpretation of relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of improved influenza vaccines is complex. Estimation of burden averted is useful to contextualise their potential impact across different seasons. For the population aged under 65 years in Australia, this study estimated the additional morbidity and mortality that could be averted using improved influenza vaccines. METHODS: We used observed, season-specific (2015-2019) influenza notification and influenza-coded hospitalisation frequencies and published modelled estimates of influenza-associated hospitalisations and deaths that occurred under the prevailing influenza vaccination coverage scenario...

BACKGROUND: Although bronchiectasis is reported to be associated with cardiovascular disease, evidence for an association with cardiovascular events (CVEs) is lacking. METHODS: A territory-wide retrospective cohort study was conducted in Hong Kong involving all patients who had bronchiectasis diagnosed in public hospitals and clinics between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2017 were included. Patients were allocated to be exacerbator or non-exacerbator group based on hospitalzied bronchiecsis history and CVEs over the next 5 years determined...

BACKGROUND: Diabetes can lead to micro and macro-angiopathies. The peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a serious and an incapacitating disease. It is still under-estimated and under-treated throughout the world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Doppler ultrasound, and in particular ankle brachial index (ABI), can be used to detect it. The aim was to determine the prevalence of PAD to study the clinical and ultrasonographic aspects and to identify the determining factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive and analytical study over a period of 5 years, including a total of 782 diabetic patients hospitalised in the diabetology department of the CHU la Reference Nationale...

PURPOSE: Open surgical approaches for the treatment of anterior pelvic arc lesions are associated with several complications. We present the first retrospective descriptive case series on the use of laparoscopy as an alternative. METHODS: This descriptive, retrospective, single-centre study enrolled all patients who underwent laparoscopy for the treatment of pelvic ring disruption between May 2020 and March 2022. The primary outcome was the procedure failure rate based on conversion to open surgery...

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological prophylaxis during hospital admission can reduce the risk of acquired blood clots (venous thromboembolism) but may cause complications, such as bleeding. Using a risk assessment model to predict the risk of blood clots could facilitate selection of patients for prophylaxis and optimise the balance of benefits, risks and costs. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify validated risk assessment models and estimate their prognostic accuracy, evaluate the cost-effectiveness of different strategies for selecting hospitalised patients for prophylaxis, assess the feasibility of using efficient research methods and estimate key parameters for future research...

BACKGROUND: The economic burden of chronic psychotic disorders is substantial. However, few studies have employed an incidence based approach to estimate the economic burden of chronic psychotic disorders. Furthermore, the existing work has mainly used models populated with data obtained from published literature, making several assumptions to estimate incidence-based costs. AIMS OF THE STUDY: The objective of this study was to estimate the direct cumulative mean health care costs of chronic psychotic disorders, using an incidence-based, cost-of-illness approach and real-world data from a single-payer health care system...

OBJECTIVES: Our research aimed to examine the characteristics of palliative oncology patients hospitalised through an emergency to look for the symptom profile, characteristics of dyselectrolytemia and blood investigations, and possible associations with mortality. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After institutional review board approval, a retrospective, observational study of patients hospitalised in our tertiary care specialty oncology hospital was undertaken. Records of hospitalised cancer patients admitted from the emergency department under palliative care from January 2019 to October 2021 were examined...

BACKGROUND: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common manifestation of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM) and a substantial contributor to hospitalisation, increased morbidity, and mortality. In-vivo evidence of ongoing tissue remodelling in IIM-ILD is scarce. We aimed to evaluate fibroblast activation in lungs of IIM-patients and control individuals using ⁶⁸Ga-labelled inhibitor of Fibroblast-Activation-Protein (FAPi) based positronic emission tomography and computed tomography imaging (PET/CT)...

BACKGROUND: Few studies consider both radiological and functional outcomes in COVID-19 survivors treated in the intensive care unit (ICU). We investigated clinical findings and pulmonary abnormalities on chest computed tomography (CT) and compared outcomes of severe versus mild-moderate acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) on long-term follow-up. METHODS: This longitudinal cohort study included 118 COVID-19 patients (median age, 58 years; 79% men). Thoracic CT scans were performed 4, 10, and 22 months after hospital discharge...

INTRODUCTION: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (First Nations Australians) living in remote communities are hospitalised with skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) at three times the rate of non-First Nations Australians. The Torres Strait in tropical northern Australia has a highly dispersed population mainly comprising First Nations Australians. This study aimed to define the health service utilisation and health system costs associated with SSTIs in the Torres Strait and to improve the quality of regional healthcare delivery...

BACKGROUND: Defining healthcare facility catchment areas is a key step in predicting future healthcare demand in epidemic settings. Forecasts of hospitalisations can be informed by leading indicators measured at the community level. However, this relies on the definition of so-called catchment areas or the geographies whose populations make up the patients admitted to a given hospital, which are often not well-defined. Little work has been done to quantify the impact of hospital catchment area definitions on healthcare demand forecasting...

Malnutrition underlies almost half of all child deaths globally. Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) carries unacceptable mortality, particularly if accompanied by infection or medical complications, including enteropathy. We evaluated four interventions for malnutrition enteropathy in a multi-centre phase II multi-arm trial in Zambia and Zimbabwe and completed in 2021. The purpose of this trial was to identify therapies which could be taken forward into phase III trials. Children of either sex were eligible for inclusion if aged 6-59 months and hospitalised with SAM (using WHO definitions: WLZ <-3, and/or MUAC <11...

Patients hospitalised with acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), and notably patients with pulmonary embolism, often remain in hospital for extended periods due to the perceived risk of complications. However, several studies have shown that home treatment of selected patients is feasible and safe, with a low incidence of adverse events. This may offer clear benefits for patients' quality of life, hospital planning and cost to the health service. Nonetheless, there is a need for a VTE risk-stratification tool specifically addressing prognosis in patients with cancer...

BACKGROUND: Loop diuretics are commonly prescribed in the community, not always to patients with a recorded diagnosis of heart failure (HF). The rate of HF events in patients prescribed loop diuretics without a diagnosis of HF is unknown. METHODS: This was a propensity-matched cohort study using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, Hospital Episode Statistics and Office of National Statistics in the UK. Patients prescribed a loop diuretic without a diagnosis of HF (loop diuretic group) between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015 were compared with patients with HF (HF group)-analysis A, and patients with risk factors for HF (either ischaemic heart disease, or diabetes and hypertension-at-risk group)-analysis B...

OBJECTIVES: We conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of colchicine treatment on clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: We searched PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, medRxiv and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to January 2023. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that investigated the efficacy of colchicine treatment in patients with COVID-19 as compared with placebo or standard of care were included...

BACKGROUND: Given the anticipated increase in ambient temperature due to climate change, the hazardous effects of heat on health have been extensively studied; however, its impact on people with intellectual disability, autism, and mental illness is largely unknown. We aimed to estimate the association between heat and hospitalisation through the emergency department (ED) among people with these mental disorders. METHODS: In this nationwide study, we used data from the National Health Insurance Database (NHID) of the National Health Insurance Service, the single universal insurer in South Korea, the claims data for which is based on the ICD-10...

INTRODUCTION: Overweight and obesity constitute a major concern among patients treated at forensic psychiatric departments. The present clinical feasibility study aimed at investigating the extent to which glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) treatment with once-daily liraglutide 3.0 mg could be a feasible pharmacological treatment of these conditions in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders hospitalised in forensic psychiatry. METHODS: The 26-week, open-label feasibility study included participants aged 18-65 years diagnosed with a severe mental illness and hospitalised at a forensic psychiatric department...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To assess the prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalised adult patients, and to evaluate the accuracy of the most commonly used nutritional screening tools for identifying individuals at risk of malnutrition. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 248 hospitalised patients in internal medicine wards (mean age: 75.2 years; 39.5% females). Nutritional screening was performed within 48 h of admission using the following tools: Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST), Nutrition Risk Screening Tool (NRS-2002), Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST), Short Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire (SNAQ), and Mini Nutritional Assessment Short Form (MNA-SF)...

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aims to analyse the trends in the incidence, prevalence and medical costs of pressure injuries (PIs) among genders in Taiwan. BACKGROUND: The treatment of PIs is complex and costly, often leading to complications and increased mortality. This issue significantly impacts healthcare quality and incurs substantial medical and social costs, warranting attention. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Database to obtain and calculate the incidence, prevalence, and medical costs of PIs in the country between 2001 and 2015 as well as to analyse high-risk groups and the medical care utilisation of patients following the STROBE reporting guidelines...