Background The severity of the COVID-19 health crisis has placed acute care nurses in dire work environments in which they have had to deal with uncertainty, loss, and death on a constant basis. It is necessary to gain a better understanding of nurses’ experiences to develop interventions supportive of their emotional well-being. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how nurses are emotionally affected working in COVID-19 acute care hospital environments. The research question is: What is the emotional experience of nurses working in COVID-19 acute care hospital environments? Methods We employed a narrative methodology that focused on participants’ stories. Twenty registered nurses, who worked in six hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, participated in interviews. A narrative analysis was conducted with a focus on content and form of stories. Results We identified three themes about working in COVID-19 acute care hospital environments: the emotional experience, the agency of emotions, and how emotions shape nursing and practice. Conclusion In moving forth with pandemic preparations, healthcare leaders and governments need to make sure that a nurse’s sacrifice is not all-encompassing. Supporting nurses’ emotional well-being and resilience is necessary to counterbalance the loss and trauma nurses go through.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the uptake of a platform for virtual visits in primary care, examine patient and physician preferences for virtual communication methods and report on characteristics of visits and patients experience of care.DesignA retrospective cohort study.SettingPrimary care practices within five regions in Ontario, Canada after 18 months of access to virtual care services.Participants326 primary care providers and 14 291 registered patients.InterventionsProviders used a platform that allowed them to connect with their patients through synchronous (audio/video) and/or asynchronous (secure messaging) communication.Main outcome measuresUser-level data from the platforms including patient demographics, practice characteristics, communication modality used, visit characteristics and patients’ satisfaction.ResultsAmong the participants, 44% of registered patients and 60% of registered providers used the platform at least once. Among patient users, 51% completed at least one virtual visit. The majority of virtual visits (94%) involved secure messaging. The most common patient requests were for medication prescriptions (24%) and follow-up from previous appointment (22%). The most common provider request was to follow-up on test results (59%). Providers indicated that 81% of virtual visits required no follow-up for that issue and 99% of patients reported that they would use virtual care services again.ConclusionsWhile there are a growing number of primary care video visit services, our study found that both patients and providers in rostered practices prefer secure messaging over video. Despite fears that virtual visits would be overused by patients, when patients connected with their own primary care provider, many virtual visits appeared to replace in-person visits, and patients did not overwhelm physicians with requests. This approach may improve access and continuity in primary care.

Linezolid is a new antimicrobial agent effective against drug-resistant gram-positive pathogens which are common causes of infections in hospitalized patients. Many such patients rely on the intravenous or enteral route for nutrition and drug administration. Therefore, the bioavailability of linezolid administered enterally in the presence of enteral feedings in hospitalized patients was examined. Eighteen subjects were assessed in a randomized single-dose crossover study; 12 received continuous enteral feedings, while 6 did not (controls). Both groups received linezolid 600 mg intravenously and orally (control) or enterally, with the alternate route of administration separated by a 24-h washout period. Pharmacokinetic parameters derived from noncompartmental and compartmental analysis incorporating linear and nonlinear elimination pathways were compared between groups: F, K a , V s , K 23 , K 32 , V max , K m , and K 20 (bioavailability, absorption rate constant, volume of central compartment normalized to body weight, intercompartmental rate constants, maximum velocity, Michaelis-Menten constant, and elimination rate constant, respectively). Pharmacokinetic (PK) data were available from 17 patients. The linezolid oral suspension was rapidly and completely absorbed by either the oral or enteral route of administration. Bioavailability was unaltered in the presence of enteral feedings. PK estimates remain similar regardless of the model applied. At the therapeutic dose used, only slight nonlinearity in elimination was observed. A linezolid oral suspension may be administered via the enteral route to hospitalized patients without compromise in its excellent bioavailability and rapid rate of absorption. Compartmental pharmacokinetic analysis offers a more flexible study application, since bioavailability (F) can be estimated directly with intermixed intravenous/oral doses without a need for a washout period.

Background Studies have shown that telehealth applications in palliative care are feasible, can improve quality of care, and reduce costs but few studies have focused on user acceptance of current technology applications in palliative care. Furthermore, the perspectives of health administrators have not been explored in palliative care and yet they are often heavily involved, alongside providers, in the coordination and use of health technologies. The study aim was to explore both health care provider and administrator perceptions regarding the usefulness and ease of using technology in palliative care. Methods The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as the guiding theoretical framework to provide insight into two key determinants that influence user acceptance of technology (perceived usefulness and ease of use). Semi-structured interviews (n = 18) with health providers and administrators with experience coordinating or using technology in palliative care explored the usefulness of technologies in palliative care and recommendations to support adoption. Interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis to identify common, meaningful themes. Results Four themes were identified; themes related to perceived usefulness were: enabling remote connection and information-sharing platform. Themes surrounding ease of use included: integration with existing IT systems and user-friendly with ready access to technical support. Telehealth can enable remote connection between patients and providers to help address insufficiencies in the current palliative care environment. Telehealth, as an information sharing platform, could support the coordination and collaboration of interdisciplinary providers caring for patients with palliative needs. However, health technologies need to passively integrate with existing IT systems to enhance providers’ workflow and productivity. User-friendliness with ready access to technical support was considered especially important in palliative care as patients often experience diminished function. Conclusion Participants’ perspectives of technology acceptance in palliative care were largely dependent on their potential to help address major challenges in the field without imposing significant burden on providers and patients.

e Skin and soft tissue infections are common and frequently recur. Poor adherence to antibiotic therapy may lead to suboptimal clinical outcomes. However, adherence to oral antibiotic therapy for skin and soft tissue infections and its relationship to clinical outcomes have not been examined. We enrolled adult patients hospitalized with uncomplicated skin and soft tissue infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus who were being discharged with oral antibiotics to complete therapy. We fit the participants' pill bottles with an electronic bottle cap that recorded each pill bottle opening, administered an in-person standardized questionnaire at enrollment, 14 days, and 30 days, and reviewed the participants' medical records to determine outcomes. Our primary outcome was poor clinical response, defined as a change in antibiotic therapy, new incision-and-drainage procedure, or new skin infection within 30 days of hospital discharge. Of our 188 participants, 87 had complete data available for analysis. Among these participants, 40 (46%) had a poor clinical response at 30 days. The mean electronically measured adherence to antibiotic therapy was significantly different than the self-reported adherence (57% versus 96%; P < 0.0001). In a multivariable model, poor clinical response at 30 days was associated with patients having lower adherence, being nondiabetic, and reporting a lack of illicit drug use within the previous 12 months (P < 0.05). In conclusion, we found that patient adherence to oral antibiotic therapy for a skin and soft tissue infection after hospital discharge was low (57%) and associated with poor clinical outcome. Patients commonly overstate their medication adherence, which may make identification of patients at risk for nonadherence and poor outcomes challenging. Further studies are needed to improve postdischarge antibiotic adherence after skin and soft tissue infections. Skin infections are a common reason for physician visits and hospital admission (1, 2). Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of skin infections in the community (3, 4). Recurrent and/or relapse skin infections are commonly reported after an initial S. aureus skin infection (5-7). Rates of recurrence have exceeded 50% in some populations (5,8,9).Reasons for the failure of a skin infection to resolve are poorly understood but are likely to be due to host and behavior factors, inadequate medical and/or surgical therapy, and possibly pathogen-associated factors (10). In other chronic and acute infections, medication adherence is frequently suboptimal and associated with worse clinical outcomes (11-13). However, there are no studies to date evaluating antibiotic adherence, or the relationship between adherence and clinical outcome, among patients experiencing skin infections.Poor adherence to medication regimens is common across all disease entities. Low adherence contributes to a worsening of the patient's condition, death, and increased health care costs (14). Even in clinical trials, where study participants receive increas...

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OBJECTIVE Antibiotic treatment for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is prevalent but often in contrast to published guidelines. We evaluated risk factors for treatment of ASB. DESIGN Retrospective observational study SETTING A tertiary academic hospital, county hospital, and community hospital PATIENTS Hospitalized adults with bacteriuria METHODS Patients without documented symptoms of urinary tract infection per Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) criteria were classified as ASB. We examined ASB treatment risk factors, broad-spectrum antibiotic usage, and quantified diagnostic concordance between IDSA and National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) criteria. RESULTS Among 300 patients with bacteriuria, ASB was present in 71% by IDSA criteria. By NHSN criteria, 71% of patients had ASB; within-patient diagnostic concordance with IDSA was moderate (kappa = 0.52). After excluding those given antibiotics for non-urinary indications, antibiotics were given to 38% (62/164) with ASB. Factors significantly associated with ASB treatment were elevated urine white cell count (65 versus 24 white blood cells per high-powered field, p<0.01), hospital identity (Hospital C vs. A, OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.14–0.80, p=0.01), presence of leukocyte esterase (OR 5.48, 95% CI 2.35–12.79, p<0.01), presence of nitrites (OR 2.45, 95% CI 1.11–5.41, p=0.03), and E. coli on culture (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.2–4.7, p=0.01). Of patients treated for ASB, broad-spectrum antibiotics were used in 84%. CONCLUSIONS ASB treatment was prevalent across diverse inpatient settings and contributed to broad-spectrum antibiotic use. Associating abnormal urinalysis results with the need for antibiotic treatment, regardless of symptoms, may drive unnecessary antibiotic use and provides an opportunity for antibiotic stewardship interventions.

Non-albicans Candida species accounted for the majority of IC in caspofungin-treated patients. Improved outcomes were observed for patients initiated with caspofungin within 72 h of positive culture compared with those who received delayed therapy.