With brief but comprehensive training, ED technicians can successfully obtain US-guided peripheral IV catheter access in patients with difficult IV access.

No abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of diffused lavender on the frequency of behavioral issues [BIs], defined as a composite of restlessness/wandering [RW], agitation [AGT], anger [ANG], and anxiety [ANX] in an adult day care center. Secondary objectives evaluate systematic differences on the frequency of BIs between age cohorts, gender, and individual behaviors. Design: Pre-post quasi-experimental study. Setting: Private nonprofit adult day care center for patients with dementia. Participants: Elderly patients older than 65 years of age with a clinical diagnosis of dementia, who require daytime monitoring. Intervention: Lavender aromatherapy twice a day for 20 min during a two-month period during active clinic days. Measurements: Behavioral issues were recorded using the behavior/intervention monthly flow record during the pre- and post-intervention periods. Results: There was no significant difference on frequency of BIs between pre-intervention and post-intervention periods (p = .06). There was a significant difference between pre-intervention and post-intervention total number of AGT occurrences (129 vs. 25; p value < .01). There was no significant difference between age cohorts for computed difference of RW, ANG, and ANX issues. There was a significant difference between age cohorts for computed difference of AGT (p value = .04) as the 70–85 age cohort showed less agitation compared to the 85–100 age cohort. Conclusion: The use of diffused lavender twice daily has shown to reduce the frequency of agitation in elderly patients with dementia, especially in the 70–85 age cohort. Though diffused lavender did not show statistical differences in the frequency of other behaviors (restlessness/wander, anger, anxiety), the study population may have been too small to find a difference.

Reliance on emergency departments (EDs) by economically disadvantaged people for initial cancer diagnosis in place of primary care and early diagnosis and treatment is 1 obvious plausible explanation for cancer disparities. Claims data from a safety net hospital for the years 2009-2010 were merged with hospital tumor registry data to compare hospitalizations for ED-associated initial cancer diagnoses to non-ED associated initial diagnoses. The proportion of initial cancer diagnoses associated with hospital admissions through the ED was relatively high (32%) for all safety net hospital patients, but disproportionately higher for African Americans and residents of the impoverished urban core. Use of the ED for initial diagnosis was associated with a 75% higher risk of stage 4 versus stage 1 cancer diagnosis, and a 176% higher risk of dying during the 2-year study period. Findings from this study of ED use within a safety net hospital documented profound disparities in cancer care and outcomes with major implications for monitoring disparities, Affordable Care Act impact, and safety net hospital utilization. (Population Health Management 2016;19:95-101).

Predictors of no-shows for endoscopic gastrointestinal procedures included unpartnered or single patients, African American race and noncommercial insurance providers. Patients scheduled for surveillance colonoscopy had better adherence than initial screening. Further studies are required to better characterize these factors and improve adherence to the outpatient appointments based on the identified predictors.

An ASQI that included critical evaluation of patient-reported β-lactam allergies led to decreased aztreonam use, reduced antimicrobial expenditure, and similar clinical outcomes to those observed before implementation.

A Gram-negative (GN) blood culture microarray assay with an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) intervention was evaluated in 126 patients with GN bacteremia. The median time to optimal therapy was shorter in the postintervention group than in the preintervention group (49.3 h versus 38.5 h, respectively; P ‫؍‬ 0.0199). ASP can utilize microarray technology to decrease the time to optimal antimicrobial therapy. The treatment of Gram-negative bloodstream infections (GN-BSI) is particularly complicated due to high rates of resistance from multiple resistance mechanisms, including the production of extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase enzymes, leaving limited treatment options (1, 2). Molecular diagnostic assays can produce results faster than traditional identification and susceptibility testing methods and may help decrease the time to appropriate antimicrobial therapy (3-18). The Verigene Gram-negative blood culture (BC-GN) assay (Nanosphere, Inc., Northbrook, IL) is a qualitative in vitro diagnostic test for the rapid detection and identification of select Gram-negative bacteria and resistance markers (17). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) on the time to optimal antimicrobial therapy, utilizing rapid organism and resistance identification via the BC-GN test, on patients with GN-BSI.This was a retrospective, quasiexperimental, and preintervention/postintervention study conducted at University of Florida Health and was approved by the University of Florida Health Science Center Jacksonville institutional review board. All inpatient adults with documented GN-BSI between 15 September 2013 and 15 February 2014 (pre-BC-GN period) and between 15 September 2014 and 15 February 2015 (post-BC-GN period) were evaluated for inclusion. Exclusion criteria included polymicrobial BSI, documented infections caused by organisms not identified by the BC-GN test, incarcerated patients, involvement with other investigational protocols, or death prior to culture results. During the pre-BC-GN period, the ASP reviewed the prescribed antimicrobial agents and provided pharmacotherapeutic recommendations to prescribers as microbiology information became available during normal business hours. In the postintervention period, the BC-GN test was performed according to the manufacturer's specifications (17), and the results were reported in a similar fashion as done previously (10). Microbiology paged the ASP 24 h per day, 7 days per week with BC-GN test results. The ASP contacted physicians during normal business hours with pharmacotherapeutic recommendations based on BC-GN test results. All BC-GN test results were confirmed by conventional microbiological methods, including rapid spot tests (oxidase and indole) and the Vitek 2 GN identification and GN-73 susceptibility cards (bioMérieux, Durham, NC).After retrospective identification of patients with GN-BSI, the electronic health record (EHR) was used to identify patients for inclusion and exclusion cri...

IntroductionFew studies explore the clinical features of youth suicide by poisoning. The use of both social and clinical features of self-poisoning with suicidal intent could be helpful in enhancing existing and creating new prevention strategies. We sought to characterize self-poisonings with suicide intent in ages 0 to 21 years reported to three regional poison control centers from 2003–2012.MethodsThis study was a blinded retrospective review of intentional self-poisonings by those age 21 or younger captured by the Poison Information Control Network. Age, sex, substance(s) used, medical outcome, management site, clinical effects, and therapies were described using counts and percentages and analyzed using chi-square tests. We analyzed the medical outcome ranging from no effect to death using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Serious medical outcome was defined as death or major outcome.ResultsWe analyzed a total of 29,737 cases. The majority were females (20,945;70.5%), of whom 274 (1.3%) were pregnant. Most cases were 15–18 year olds (15,520;52.2%). Many experienced no effects (9,068;30.5%) or minor medical outcomes (8,612;29%). Males had more serious medical outcomes (p<0.0001), but females were more likely to be admitted to a critical care unit (p<0.0001). There were 17 deaths (0.06%), most in males (10;p=0.008). Of the 52 substances reported in the death cases, 12 (23.1%) were analgesics. In eight (47.1%) of the deaths, over two substances were used. Overall, drowsiness/lethargy (7,097;19.3%) and single-dose charcoal (8,815;16.3%) were frequently reported. Nearly 20% were admitted to critical care units (5,727;19.3%) and 28.7% went to psychiatric facilities (8,523). Of those admitted to hospitals (8,203), nearly 70% (5,727) required critical care units. Almost half <10 years old were evaluated and released (43;47.2%). Of the 114 reported substances for this population, 22.8% involved psychotropic medications, 15.8% analgesics, and 14% Attention Deficit-Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) medications. Analgesics (13,539;33.6%) were the most common medication category used by all age groups. Typically only one substance (20,549;69.1%) was used.ConclusionUndiagnosed ADHD may be a potential underlying cause for self-harming behaviors in the very young. Gender-specific suicide prevention strategies may be more effective at identifying those at risk than traditional measures alone. Further study into admitting practices by emergency physicians is needed to understand the difference in critical care admission rates based on gender. Once identified to be at-risk for suicidal behavior, access to analgesics and psychotropics should be monitored by care-givers especially in those between the ages of 15–18.