Objectives: While the Affordable Care Act seeks to reduce emergency department (ED) visits for outpatienttreatable conditions, it remains unclear whether Medicaid patients or the uninsured have adequate access to followup care. The goal of this study was to determine the availability of follow-up orthopedic care by insurance status.Methods: Using simulated patient methodology, all 102 eligible general orthopedic practices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, were contacted twice by a caller requesting follow-up for an ankle fracture diagnosed in a local ED using a standardized script that differed by insurance status. Practices were randomly assigned to paired private and uninsured or Medicaid and uninsured scenarios.Results: We completed 204 calls: 59 private, 43 Medicaid, and 102 uninsured. Appointment success rate was 83.1% for privately insured (95% confidence interval [CI] = 73.2% to 92.9%), 81.4% for uninsured (95% CI = 73.7% to 89.1%), and 14.0% for Medicaid callers (95% CI = 3.2% to 24.7%). Controlling for paired calls to the same practice, an uninsured caller had 5.7 times higher odds (95% CI = 2.74 to 11.71) of receiving an appointment than a Medicaid caller (p < 0.001), but the same odds as a privately insured caller (odds ratio = 1.0, 95% CI = 0.19 to 5.37, p = 1.0). Uninsured patients had to bring a median of $350 (interquartile range = $250 to $400) to their appointment to be seen, and only two uninsured patients were able to obtain an appointment for $100 or less up front. In comparison, typical total payments collected for privately insured patients were $236 and for Medicaid patients $128. When asked where else they could go, 49 (48%) uninsured callers and one Medicaid caller (2%) were directed to local public hospital EDs as alternative sources of care. Of the practices that appeared on Medicaid's published list of orthopedic providers accepting new patients, 15 told callers that they did not accept Medicaid, 11 did not treat ankles, nine listed nonworking phone numbers, and only three actually scheduled an appointment for the Medicaid caller.Conclusions: Less than one in seven Medicaid patients could obtain orthopedic follow-up after an ED visit for a fracture, and prices quoted to the uninsured were 30% higher than typical negotiated rates paid by the privately insured. High up-front costs for uninsured patients and low appointment availability for Medicaid patients may leave these patients with no other option than the ED for necessary care.T he Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is a federal law that guarantees emergency care to anyone presenting to an emergency department (ED) in the United States that accepts federal funding.1 For a fracture, the standard for emergency care includes reduction and splinting of the fracture. After an ED visit for a fracture, orthopedic follow-up care is important to convert splints to casts, determine the need for surgery, and ensure optimal healing to prevent nonunion or other complications. 2,3However, access to nonemergent care in the out...
Renal dysfunction prior to liver transplantation has a marked impact on post-transplant kidney outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess post-transplant renal function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) receiving orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) alone. METHODS Retrospective review of 40 OLT recipients with pre-transplant CKD (serum creatinine ≥ 2 mg/dl for at least 3 months) at the University of Pennsylvania from February 2002 to July 2010. Primary outcome was estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) up to 3 years post-transplant. Secondary outcomes included incidence of stage 4 CKD (eGFR < 30 ml/min), need for renal replacement therapy (RRT), meeting criteria for kidney transplant listing (eGFR ≤ 20 ml/min), and mortality. RESULTS Median patient age was 56.5 years and 48% patients had pre-transplant diabetes. Median serum creatinine at transplant was 2.7 mg/dl (eGFR 24 ml/min). Median eGFR at 1, 2, and 3 years post-transplant was 35, 34, and 37 ml/min respectively. Twelve patients (30%) required RRT at a median of 1.21 years posttransplant and 16 (40%) achieved an eGFR ≤ 20 ml/min at 1.09 years post-transplant. Mortality was 35% at a median of 1.60 years post-transplant. CONCLUSIONS OLT recipients with pre-transplant CKD have a substantial burden of post-transplant renal dysfunction and high short-term mortality, questioning the rationale for OLT alone in this population.
Objectives: To characterize emergency department sedation practices in mechanically ventilated patients, and test the hypothesis that deep sedation in the emergency department is associated with worse outcomes. Design: Multicenter, prospective cohort study. Setting: The emergency department and ICUs of 15 medical centers. Patients: Mechanically ventilated adult emergency department patients. Interventions: None. Measurements and Main Results: All data involving sedation (medications, monitoring) were recorded. Deep sedation was defined as Richmond Agitation-Sedation Scale of –3 to –5 or Sedation-Agitation Scale of 2 or 1. A total of 324 patients were studied. Emergency department deep sedation was observed in 171 patients (52.8%), and was associated with a higher frequency of deep sedation in the ICU on day 1 (53.8% vs 20.3%; p < 0.001) and day 2 (33.3% vs 16.9%; p = 0.001), when compared to light sedation. Mean (sd) ventilator-free days were 18.1 (10.8) in the emergency department deep sedation group compared to 20.0 (9.8) in the light sedation group (mean difference, 1.9; 95% CI, –0.40 to 4.13). Similar results according to emergency department sedation depth existed for ICU-free days (mean difference, 1.6; 95% CI, –0.54 to 3.83) and hospital-free days (mean difference, 2.3; 95% CI, 0.26–4.32). Mortality was 21.1% in the deep sedation group and 17.0% in the light sedation group (between-group difference, 4.1%; odds ratio, 1.30; 0.74–2.28). The occurrence rate of acute brain dysfunction (delirium and coma) was 68.4% in the deep sedation group and 55.6% in the light sedation group (between-group difference, 12.8%; odds ratio, 1.73; 1.10–2.73). Conclusions: Early deep sedation in the emergency department is common, carries over into the ICU, and may be associated with worse outcomes. Sedation practice in the emergency department and its association with clinical outcomes is in need of further investigation.
Over time, HCV therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin has evolved from a fixed duration strategy to one of response guided therapy and this has enabled us to optimize treatment duration. With the evolution of protease inhibitor based therapy, the paradigm of response guided therapy has further helped in decreasing treatment duration in greater number of patients and which then translates into shorter duration of adverse events. However, several population groups have done better with extended duration therapy as opposed to response guided therapy despite early viral clearance. These include the Black population, and those with cirrhosis, decreased interferon sensitivity, and unfavorable IL28B genotypes. The proper identification of those who might benefit from extended duration HCV therapy will undoubtedly lead to optimal care and outcomes.
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