Objective: To identify demographic predictors of patients undergoing cochlear implantation evaluation and surgery. Methods: Consecutive adult patients between 2009 and 2018 who underwent cochlear implantation evaluation at a university cochlear implantation program were retrospectively identified to determine (1) cochlear implantation qualification rate and (2) pursuit of surgery rate with respect to age, gender, race, primary spoken language, marital status, insurance type, and distance to the cochlear implantation center. Results: A total of 823 cochlear implantation evaluations were analyzed. Overall, 76.3% of patients qualified for cochlear implantation and 61.5% of these patients pursued surgery. Age was the only independent predictor for cochlear implantation qualification, such that, for each year younger, the odds of qualifying for cochlear implantation increased by 2.5% (OR 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99). Age, race, marital status, and insurance type were each independent predictors of the decision to pursue surgery. The odds of pursuing surgery increased by 2.8% for each year younger (OR 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01-1.05). Compared to White patients, non-Whites were half as likely to pursue surgery (OR 0.47; 95% CI: 0.25-0.88). Single (OR 0.49; 95% CI: 0.26-0.94) and widowed patients (OR 0.46; 95% CI: 0.23-0.95) were about half as likely to pursue surgery as compared to married patients. Patients with military insurance were 13 times more likely to pursue surgery as compared to patients with Medicare (OR 13.0; 95% CI: 1.67-101.4). Conclusion: Younger age is an independent predictor for a higher cochlear implantation qualification rate, suggesting the possibility for delayed candidacy referral. Rate of surgical pursuit in qualified cochlear implantation candidates is lower for racial minorities, single and widowed patients, and older patients.

Objective The cochlear implant (CI) improves quality of life for people who are severely and profoundly deafened, allowing implantees to perceive speech at levels similar to those of individuals with normal hearing. However, patients with CIs generally report a reduced appreciation of music after implantation. We aimed to systematically review the English-language literature for studies evaluating music enjoyment and perception among adult patients with CIs. Data Sources A systematic review of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, and the Cochrane Library. Review Methods The PRISMA statement was utilized to identify English-language studies reporting music appreciation among adults with CIs. Two independent reviewers performed searches through May 2017. Included studies investigated parameters related to music enjoyment and music perception, including (1) pitch and timbre perception, (2) noise-canceling algorithms, and (3) the presence of dissonant chords, lyrics, or visual cues. Results A total of 508 articles were screened for relevance. Forty-one full-text articles were evaluated, and 18 met final inclusion criteria. Studies used heterogeneous methods of outcome measurement for identifying music appreciation. The outcome measures suggest that rhythm and lyrics are important components of enjoyment. Patients with CIs had difficulty with pitch and timbre perception. Conclusion The heterogeneous outcome measures identified in this systematic review suggest that rhythm and lyrics are important components of enjoyment, while patients with CIs had difficulty with pitch and timbre perception. Because there is no standardized reporting metric for music appreciation among adult patients with CIs, a standardized validated outcome-measuring tool is warranted.

Background:Although most medical centers are equipped for 24-h care, some “middle of the night” services may not be as robust as they are during daylight hours. This would have potential impact upon certain outcome measurements in trauma patients. The purpose of this paper was to assess the effect of patient arrival time at hospital emergency departments on in-hospital survival following trauma.Materials and Methods:Data of patients, 18 years of age or older, with no evidence that they were transferred to or from that center were obtained from the National Trauma Data Bank Version 7.0. Patients meeting the above criteria were excluded if there was no valid mortality status, arrival time information, injury severity score, or trauma center designation. The primary analyses investigated the association of arrival time and trauma center level on mortality. Relative risks of mortality versus patient arrival time and trauma level were determined after controlling for age, gender, race, comorbidities, injury, region of the country, and year of admission.Results:In total, 601,388 or 71.7% of the 838,284 eligible patients were retained. The overall in-hospital mortality rate was 4.7%. The 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. time period had a significantly higher adjusted relative risk for in-hospital mortality than the 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. time frame (ARR=1.18, P<;0.0001). This pattern held across trauma center levels, but was the weakest at Level I and the strongest at Level III/IV centers (Level I: ARR=1.10, Level II: ARR=1.14, and combined Level III/IV: ARR=1.32, all P<0.0001).Conclusion:Hospital arrival between midnight and 6 a.m. was associated with a higher mortality rate than other times of the day. This relationship held true across all trauma center levels. This information may warrant a redistribution of hospital resources across all time periods of the day.

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