A retrospective review of 771 patients' charts in two acute care hospitals was performed to determine likelihood of malnutrition (LOM) at admission and to assess the effect of LOM on costs and charges. Using accepted criteria, LOM was present in 59 and 48% of medical and surgical patients, respectively. Patients with LOM were 2.6 or 3.4 times as likely to have a predefined minor or major complication, respectively; and 3.8 times as likely to die as patients without LOM (all p less than 0.001). In every diagnosis-related group, the mean length of stay was longer for LOM patients (range 1.1-12.8 excess days). Accountants converted charges to direct variable costs using departmental cost-to-charge ratios. LOM status increased excess costs and charges per patient by $1738 and $3557, respectively (p less than 0.0001). When complications occurred, LOM patients incurred $2996 or $6157 excess costs and charges per patient (p less than 0.01). Serum albumin was the strongest clinical predictor of cost. The hospitals' cost of providing enteral or parenteral nutrition support was $18 or $102 per day, respectively. Too few patients received early nutrition support to assess efficacy. Nonetheless, the costs associated with malnutrition warrant early detection and aggressive treatment.
Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) challenges health and quality of life of patients, families, and communities. Patients with comorbid depression are more likely to develop macrovascular and microvascular complications. The aim was to assess glycemic control and adherence in diabetic patients with comorbid depression. Further, the study evaluated the relationship between adherence and the physician-patient relationship. Methods: The study was conducted at Al-Agouza Family Medicine Center (AFMC) between February 2018 and March 2020. The included patients were between 35 -80 years of age; had type 2 diabetes with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) ≥ 6.5%, fasting plasma glucose ≥ 126 mg/dl, and scored between 11 -30 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Logistic regression, chi-square, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to assess the relationship between depression, adherence, physician-patient relationship, and other variables. Results: The study included 100 eligible patients with a median BDI score of 20 (10 -30). The median diabetic panel for patients was FBS 188 (126 -348) mg/dl, PPS 282.50 (162 -448) mg/dl, and HbA1c 9.5 (6.6 -14.0)%. Depression and regular follow-up visits were statistically associated with improvement of diabetes symptoms (p = 0.019). There was a significant relationship (p < 0.001) between adherence, regular follow-up visits, and knowledge of DM. Further, there was a significant relationship between the physician-patient relationship and DM improvement (p = 0.047). Conclusion: Physician-patient relationship was paramount to improving adherence and positive diabetes care. Our findings suggest a shift to a physician-patient relationship model with mutual agreement on medical decisions is highly recommended.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.