In communities with high prevalence of diabetes, a large percentage of patients without a diagnosis of diabetes who are admitted as in-patients have HbA1c of at least 6.5% and 7.0%. Hospital-based HbA1c testing might identify patients for whom further testing is indicated to make the diagnosis of diabetes.

No abstract

Purpose: Hospitalists provide quality care in various inpatient settings, but the ability of hospitalists to provide quality inpatient care for patients with complex cancer has not been studied. This study explores outcomes with a hospitalist-led versus medical oncologist-led house staff team on an inpatient medical GI oncology teaching service.

Every year, nearly five million adults with cancer are hospitalized. Limited evidence suggests that hospitalization of the cancer patient is associated with adverse morbidity and mortality. Hospitalization of the patient with advanced cancer allows for an intense examination of health status in the face of terminal illness and an opportunity for defining goals of care. This experience-based guide reports what is currently known about the topic and outlines a systematic approach to maximizing opportunities, improving quality, and enhancing the well-being of the hospitalized patient with advanced cancer.

We found that prognosis following diagnosis of MBO in patients with gastrointestinal malignancies remains poor. Our data suggest that timing of dPEG placement in MBO does not affect OS and, therefore, earlier intervention with this procedure may allow earlier and prolonged palliative relief.

No abstract

Readmissions in this cancer population are common and reflect the refractory nature of these diseases and the high disease burdens. The vast majority of readmissions in this population, by our criteria, were not preventable. Our ongoing research in this vulnerable population includes efforts to better characterize and communicate care options, especially in the cases in which there was disagreement between the care team and patient/family.

No abstract