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Biomedical subjects

D L Harper

Publications and source records attributed to D L Harper.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Use of tissue-type plasminogen activator for acute ischemic stroke: the Cleveland area experience.

CONTEXT: Little is known regarding outcomes after intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (IV tPA) therapy for acute ischemic stroke outside a trial setting. OBJECTIVE: To assess the rate of IV tPA use, the incidence of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and in-hospital patient outcomes throughout a large urban community. DESIGN: Historical prospective cohort study conducted from July 1997 through June 1998. SETTING: Twenty-nine hospitals in the Cleveland, Ohio, metropolitan area. PATIENTS: A total of 3948 patients admitted to a study hospital with a primary diagnosis of ischemic stroke (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code 434 or 436). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rate of IV tPA use and occurrence of symptomatic ICH among patients treated with tPA; proportion of patients receiving tPA whose treatment deviated from national guidelines; in-hospital mortality among patients receiving tPA compared with that among ischemic stroke patients not receiving tPA and with mortality predicted by a model. RESULTS: Seventy patients (1.8%) admitted with ischemic stroke received IV tPA. Of those, 11 patients (15.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 8.1%-26.4%) had a symptomatic ICH (of which 6 were fatal) and 50% (95% CI, 37.8%-62.2%) had deviations from national treatment guidelines. In-hospital mortality was significantly higher among patients treated with tPA (15.7%) compared with patients not receiving tPA (5.1%, P<.001) and compared with the model's prediction (7.9%; P<.006). CONCLUSIONS: A small proportion of patients admitted with acute ischemic stroke in Cleveland received tPA; they experienced a high rate of ICH. Cleveland community experience with tPA for acute ischemic stroke may differ from that reported in clinical trials.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

The accuracy of diagnosis and procedural codes for patients with upper GI hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the accuracy of diagnostic and procedural codes for common gastrointestinal (GI) conditions and endoscopic procedures. METHODS: Eight hundred eighty-two patients with upper GI hemorrhage admitted in 1994 to 1 of 13 regional hospitals were studied. Based on endoscopy reports, the source of hemorrhage, performance of upper endoscopy and use of endoscopic therapy were determined, and we assessed the sensitivity and positive predictive value of discharge codes for measuring the source of hemorrhage and use of upper endoscopy. RESULTS: The sensitivity and positive predictive value of principal diagnosis coding for source of hemorrhage were typically 85% to 95%. The sensitivity and predictive value of coding for upper endoscopy were 97.7% and 99.9%, respectively, and were 72.3% and 99.4%, respectively, for endoscopic therapy. Accuracy did not differ between the 4 major teaching and 9 other hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital-based diagnostic and procedural codes are a reasonably accurate source of data for clinical and outcomes analyses of upper GI hemorrhage. In particular, it is possible to discern from these data the source of hemorrhage and the overall use of upper endoscopy.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed2000

Differences in patient-reported processes and outcomes between men and women with myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research measuring differences in the care between men and women with myocardial infarction has focused on differences in procedure use and mortality. However, little is known about differences in processes and outcomes that are reported by patients, such as interpersonal processes of care and health status. Our goal was to measure differences in patient-reported measures for men and women who recently were hospitalized with myocardial infarction. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: We surveyed by mail patients with myocardial infarction discharged to home from one of 27 Cleveland area hospitals 3 months following discharge; 502 (64%) of 783 patients responded. The mean age of subjects was 65 years and 40% were women. MEASUREMENTS: Process measures included the quality of communication during the hospitalization and at time of discharge and reports of health education discussions during hospitalization. Outcome measures included physical and mental health component scores of the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, change in work status, and days spent in bed because of ill health. We compared processes and outcomes in men and women using multivariate analyses that adjusted for age, other demographic characteristics, comorbid conditions, severity of the myocardial infarction, and premorbid global health status. MAIN RESULTS: In multivariate analyses, women were as likely as men to report at least one problem with communication during the hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] 0.86; 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.56 to 1. 33) or at time of discharge (OR 1.24; 95% CI, 0.82 to 1.89) and to report that they were given dietary advice before discharge (OR 0. 60; 95% CI, 0.36 to 1.01), were told what to do if they developed chest pain (OR 1.21; 95% CI, 0.66 to 2.23), or, if they smoked cigarettes, given advice about how to stop smoking (OR 0.64; 95% CI, 0.26 to 1.58). However, 3 months after discharge, women reported worse physical health (P <.05) and mental health (P <.05), were more likely to report spending time in bed because of ill health (OR 1. 80; 95% CI, 1.06, 3.05), and were more likely to report working less than before their myocardial infarction (OR 4.02; 95% CI, 1.58 to 10. 20). CONCLUSIONS: In terms of processes of care measured with patient reports, women with myocardial infarction reported their quality of care to be similar to that of men. However, 3 months following myocardial infarction, women reported worse health status and were less likely to return to work than men.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Racial differences in the utilization of oral anticoagulant therapy in heart failure: a study of elderly hospitalized patients.

To assess racial differences in the use of oral anticoagulant therapy for patients with heart failure, we conducted a cohort study of 30 hospitals in northeast Ohio. For 12,911 Medicare enrollees consecutively admitted in 1992 through 1994 with heart failure, crude and adjusted odds of being on oral anticoagulation were determined. The crude and adjusted odds of being African Americans on oral anticoagulant therapy relative to whites were 0.57 (95% confidence interval 0.47-0.69) and 0.55 (95% confidence interval 0. 45-0.67), respectively. African-Americans with heart failure were much less likely than whites to receive oral anticoagulant therapy, even after adjusting for other variables associated with anticoagulant use.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

Variations in risk-adjusted cesarean delivery rates according to race and health insurance.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between race and insurance and Cesarean delivery rates after adjusting for clinical risk factors that increase the likelihood of cesarean delivery. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study in 21 hospitals in northeast Ohio. SUBJECTS: 25,697 women without prior cesarean deliveries admitted for labor and delivery January 1993 through June 1995. METHODS: Demographic and clinical data were abstracted from patients' medical records. The risk of cesarean delivery was adjusted for 39 maternal and neonatal risk factors that were included in a previously developed risk-adjustment model using nested logistic regression analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Odds ratios for cesarean delivery in nonwhite patients relative to whites and for patients with government insurance or who were uninsured relative to patients with commercial insurance. RESULTS: The overall rate of cesarean delivery was similar in white and nonwhite patients (15.8% and 16.1%, respectively), but rates varied (P < 0.001) according to insurance (17.0%, 14.2%, 10.7% in patients with commercial insurance, government insurance, and without insurance, respectively). However, after adjusting for clinical factors, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) of cesarean delivery was higher in nonwhite patients (OR = 1.34; 95% CI: 1.14-1.57; P < 0.001), but similar for patients with government insurance (OR = 1.01; 95% CI: 0.90-1.14; P = 0.84) and lower for uninsured patients (OR = 0.65; 95% CI, 0.41, 1.03; P = 0.067), albeit not statistically significant. In analyses stratified according to quintiles of predicted risk of cesarean delivery, racial differences were largely limited to patients in the lower risk quintiles. However, differences in odds ratios for uninsured patients were seen across the risk quintiles, although odds ratios were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: After adjusting for clinical factors, race and insurance status may independently influence the use of cesarean delivery. The higher rates in nonwhites and lower rates in the uninsured may reflect differences in patient preferences or expectations, differences in physician practice, or unmeasured risk factors. The lower odds of cesarean delivery in uninsured women, particularly women at high risk, may raise the issue of underutilization of services and warrants further study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Relationships between in-hospital and 30-day standardized hospital mortality: implications for profiling hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of in-hospital and 30-day mortality rates and the association between in-hospital mortality and hospital discharge practices. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: A secondary analysis of data for 13,834 patients with congestive heart failure who were admitted to 30 hospitals in northeast Ohio in 1992-1994. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. DATA COLLECTION: Demographic and clinical data were collected from patients' medical records and were used to develop multivariable models that estimated the risk of in-hospital and 30-day (post-admission) mortality. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for in-hospital and 30-day mortality were determined by dividing observed death rates by predicted death rates. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In-hospital SMRs ranged from 0.54 to 1.42, and six hospitals were classified as statistical outliers (p <.05); 30-day SMRs ranged from 0.63 to 1.73, and seven hospitals were outliers. Although the correlation between in-hospital SMRs and 30-day SMRs was substantial (R = 0.78, p < .001), outlier status changed for seven of the 30 hospitals. Nonetheless, changes in outlier status reflected relatively small differences between in-hospital and 30-day SMRs. Rates of discharge to nursing homes or other inpatient facilities varied from 5.4 percent to 34.2 percent across hospitals. However, relationships between discharge rates to such facilities and in-hospital SMRs (R = 0.08; p = .65) and early post-discharge mortality rates (R = 0.23; p = .21) were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: SMRs based on in-hospital and 30-day mortality were relatively similar, although classification of hospitals as statistical outliers often differed. However, there was no evidence that in-hospital SMRs were biased by differences in post-discharge mortality or discharge practices.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Early endoscopy in upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: associations with recurrent bleeding, surgery, and length of hospital stay.

BACKGROUND: The impact of upper endoscopy in patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage treated in community practice is unknown. Thus we examined the effectiveness of endoscopy performed within 24 hours of admission (early endoscopy). METHODS: Medical records of 909 consecutive hospitalized patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage who underwent endoscopy at 13 hospitals in a large metropolitan area were reviewed. We evaluated unadjusted and severity-adjusted associations of early endoscopy with recurrent bleeding or surgery to control hemorrhage, length of hospital stay, and associations of endoscopic therapy in patients with bleeding ulcers or varices. RESULTS: Early endoscopy was performed in 64% of patients and compared with delayed endoscopy and was associated with clinically significant reductions in adjusted risk of recurrent bleeding or surgery (odds ratio [OR] 0.70: 95% CI [0.44, 1.13]) and a 31% decrease in adjusted length of stay (95% CI: [24%, 37%]). In patients at high risk for recurrent bleeding, the use of early endoscopic therapy to control hemorrhage was associated with reductions in recurrent bleeding or surgery (OR 0.21: 95% CI [0.10, 0.47]) and length of stay (-31%: 95% CI [-44%, -14%). CONCLUSION: In this study of community-based practice, the routine use of endoscopy, and in selected cases endoscopic therapy, performed early in the clinical course of patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage was associated with reductions in length of stay and, possibly, the risk of recurrent bleeding and surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Racial variation in the use of do-not-resuscitate orders.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders in African-American and white patients using a large, multisite, community-based sample. MEASUREMENTS: Our sample included 90,821 consecutive admissions to 30 hospitals in a large metropolitan region with six nonsurgical conditions from 1993 through 1995. Demographic and clinical data were abstracted from medical records. Admission severity of illness was measured using multivariate risk-adjustment models with excellent discrimination (receiver-operating characteristic curve areas, 0.82-0.88). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to determine the independent association between race and use of DNR orders, adjusting for age, admission severity, and other covariates. MAIN RESULTS: In all patients, the rate of DNR orders was lower in African Americans than whites (9% vs 18%; p <.001). Rates of orders were also lower ( p <. 001) among African Americans in analyses stratified by age, gender, diagnosis, severity of illness, and in-hospital death. After adjusting for severity and other important covariates, the odds of a DNR order remained lower ( p <.001) for African-Americans relative to whites for all diagnoses, ranging from 0.38 for obstructive airway disease to 0.71 for gastrointestinal hemorrhage. Results were similar in analyses limited to orders written by the first, second, or seventh hospital day. Finally, among patients with DNR orders, African Americans were less likely to have orders written on the first hospital day and more likely to have orders written on subsequent days. CONCLUSIONS: The use of DNR orders was substantially lower in African Americans than in whites, even after adjusting for severity of illness and other covariates. Identification of factors underlying such differences will improve our understanding of the degree to which expectations for care differ in African American and white patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Community-wide assessment of intensive care outcomes using a physiologically based prognostic measure: implications for critical care delivery from Cleveland Health Quality Choice.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To examine the applicability of a previously developed intensive care prognostic measure to a community-based sample of hospitals, and assess variations in severity-adjusted mortality across a major metropolitan region. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Twenty-eight hospitals with 38 ICUs participating in a community-wide initiative to measure performance supported by the business community, hospitals, and physicians. PATIENTS: Included in the study were 116,340 consecutive eligible patients admitted to medical, surgical, neurologic, and mixed medical/surgical ICUs between March 1, 1991, and March 31, 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The risk of hospital mortality was assessed using a previous risk prediction equation that was developed in a national sample, and a reestimated logistic regression model fit to the current sample. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) (actual/predicted mortality) was used to describe hospital performance. RESULTS: Although discrimination of the previous national risk equation in the current sample was high (receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve area = 0.90), the equation systematically overestimated the risk of death and was not as well calibrated (Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic, 2407.6, 8 df, p < 0.001). The locally derived equation had similar discrimination (ROC curve area = 0.91), but had improved calibration across all ranges of severity (Hosmer-Lemeshow statistic = 13.5, 8 df, p = 0.10). Hospital SMRs ranged from 0.85 to 1.21, and four hospitals had SMRs that were higher or lower (p < 0.01) than 1.0. Variation in SMRs tended to be greatest during the first year of data collection. SMRs also tended to decline over the 4 years (1.06, 1.02, 0.98, and 0.94 in years 1 to 4, respectively), as did mean hospital length of stay (13.0, 12.4, 11.6, and 11.1 days in years 1 to 4; p < 0.001). However, excluding the increasing (p < 0.001) number of patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities attenuated much of the decline in standardized mortality over time. CONCLUSIONS: A previously validated physiologically based prognostic measure successfully stratified patients in a large community-based sample by their risk of death. However, such methods may require recalibration when applied to new samples and to reflect changes in practice over time. Moreover, although significant variations in hospital standardized mortality were observed, changing hospital discharge practices suggest that in-hospital mortality may no longer be an adequate measure of ICU performance. Community-wide efforts with broad-based support from business, hospitals, and physicians can be sustained over time to assess outcomes associated with ICU care. Such efforts may provide important information about variations in patient outcomes and changes in practice patterns over time. Future efforts should assess the impact of such community-wide initiatives on health-care purchasing and institutional quality improvement programs.

APACHE↗
PubMed1999

Patient assessments of hospital maternity care: a useful tool for consumers?

OBJECTIVE: To examine three issues related to using patient assessments of care as a means to select hospitals and foster consumer choice-specifically, whether patient assessments (1) vary across hospitals, (2) are reproducible over time, and (3) are biased by case-mix differences. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Surveys that were mailed to 27,674 randomly selected patients admitted to 18 hospitals in a large metropolitan region (Northeast Ohio) for labor and delivery in 1992-1994. We received completed surveys from 16,051 patients (58 percent response rate). STUDY DESIGN: Design was a repeated cross-sectional study. DATA COLLECTION: Surveys were mailed approximately 8 to 12 weeks after discharge. We used three previously validated scales evaluating patients' global assessments of care (three items)as well as assessments of physician (six items) and nursing (five items) care. Each scale had a possible range of 0 (poor care) to 100 (excellent care). PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Patient assessments varied (p<.001) across hospitals for each scale. Mean hospital scores were higher or lower (p<.01) than the sample mean for seven or more hospitals during each year of data collection. However, within individual hospitals, mean scores were reproducible over the three years. In addition, relative hospital rankings were stable; Spearman correlation coefficients ranged from 0.85 to 0.96 when rankings during individual years were compared. Patient characteristics (age, race, education, insurance status, health status, type of delivery) explained only 2-3 percent of the variance in patient assessments, and adjusting scores for these factors had little effect on hospitals' scores. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that patient assessments of care may be a sensitive measure for discriminating among hospitals. In addition, hospital scores are reproducible and not substantially affected by case-mix differences. If our findings regarding patient assessments are generalizable to other patient populations and delivery settings, these measures may be a useful tool for consumers in selecting hospitals or other healthcare providers.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Impact of risk-adjusting cesarean delivery rates when reporting hospital performance.

CONTEXT: Hospitals and health plans are often ranked on rates of cesarean delivery, under the assumption that lower rates reflect more appropriate, more efficient care. However, most rankings do not account for patient factors that affect the likelihood of cesarean delivery. OBJECTIVE: To compare hospital cesarean delivery rates before and after adjusting for clinical risk factors that increase the likelihood of cesarean delivery. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Twenty-one hospitals in northeast Ohio. PATIENTS: A total of 26127 women without prior cesarean deliveries admitted for labor and delivery from January 1993 through June 1995. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hospital rankings based on observed and risk-adjusted cesarean delivery rates. RESULTS: The overall cesarean delivery rate was 15.9% and varied (P<.001) from 6.3% to 26.5% in individual hospitals. Adjusted rates varied from 8.4% to 22.0%. The correlation between unadjusted and adjusted hospital rankings (ie, 1-21) was only modest (R=0.35, P=.12). Whereas 7 hospitals were classified as outliers (ie, had rates higher or lower [P<.05] than overall rate) on the basis of both unadjusted and adjusted rates, outlier status changed for 5 hospitals (24%), including 2 that changed from outliers to nonoutliers, 2 that changed from nonoutliers to outliers, and 1 that changed from a high outlier to a low outlier. CONCLUSIONS: Cesarean delivery rates varied across hospitals in a single metropolitan region. However, rankings that fail to account for clinical factors that increase the risk of cesarean delivery may be methodologically biased and misleading to the public.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Use of intensive care units for patients with low severity of illness.

OBJECTIVE: To determine variations among hospitals in use of intensive care units (ICUs) for patients with low severity of illness. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Twenty-eight hospitals with 44 ICUs in a large metropolitan region. PATIENTS: Consecutive eligible patients (N=104,487) admitted to medical, surgical, neurological, or mixed medical-surgical ICUs from March 1, 1991, to March 31, 1995. OUTCOME MEASURES: The predicted risk of in-hospital death for each patient was assessed using a validated method that is based on age, ICU admission source, diagnosis, severe comorbid conditions, and abnormalities in 17 physiologic variables. Admissions were classified as low severity if the patient's predicted risk of death was less than 1%. In a subset of 12,929 consecutive patients, use of 19 specific interventions typically delivered in ICUs was examined. RESULTS: Twenty thousand four hundred fifty-one admissions (19.6%) were categorized as low severity, including 23.6% of postoperative and 16.9% of nonoperative admissions. Alcohol and other drug overdoses accounted for 40.2% of nonoperative low-severity admissions; laminectomy and carotid endarterectomy accounted for 52.3% of postoperative low-severity admissions. Mortality among patients with low-severity illness was 0.3%, and only 28.6% received an ICU-specific intervention during the first ICU day. Although mean ICU length of stay was shorter (P<.001) in low-severity admissions (2.2 vs 4.7 days in nonoperative and 2.4 vs 4.2 days in postoperative admissions), low-severity admissions accounted for 11.1% of total ICU bed days. Rates of low-severity admissions varied (P<.001) across hospitals, ranging from 5% to 27% for nonoperative and 9% to 68% for postoperative admissions. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of patients admitted to the ICU have a low probability of death and do not receive ICU-specific interventions. Rates of low-severity admissions varied among hospitals. The development and implementation of protocols to target ICU care to patients most likely to benefit may decrease the number of low-severity ICU admissions and improve the cost-effectiveness of ICU care.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Endoscopic practice for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: differences between major teaching and community-based hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Differences in endoscopic practice in major teaching and community hospitals are not known. METHODS: A total of 1031 consecutive patients discharged from 13 hospitals (4 major teaching, 9 others) in 1994 with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage were studied. Data obtained from chart abstraction included endoscopic findings and therapy and selected outcomes. Multivariable analyses adjusted for admission severity of illness and endoscopic findings. RESULTS: Rates of endoscopy were similar between patients admitted to major teaching and other hospitals, although procedures to control hemorrhage were used more often in major teaching hospitals (35% vs. 19%, p < 0.001). Use of endoscopic therapy was higher in major teaching hospitals for lesions in which therapy is recommended, as well as other lesions. Recurrent bleeding was also more common in major teaching hospitals (14.3% vs. 7.8%, p = 0.001), and the difference persisted in multivariable analysis (odds ratio 1.69: 95% CI [1.09 to 2.64], p = 0.02). Unadjusted and adjusted length of stay were somewhat shorter in major teaching hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: There was large variation in the use of endoscopic therapy, with higher rates observed in major teaching hospitals for lesions in which therapy is recommended, as well as other stigmata. Further studies are needed to better define the reasons for the practice variation and to assess the impact on other outcomes such as readmission and costs.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Using hospital performance data in quality improvement: the Cleveland Health Quality Choice experience.

BACKGROUND: Cleveland Health Quality Choice is a regional initiative to assess hospital performance which was implemented in 1989. The project developed and validated CHOICE, a severity adjustment system that includes diagnosis-specific models for medical, surgical, and obstetrical patients which are based on clinical data abstracted from patients' medical records. METHODOLOGY: Since 1992 Cleveland Health Quality Choice has disseminated semi-annual reports that profile hospital mortality rates, lengths of stay, and cesarean section rates using the CHOICE severity adjustment models. Hospitals receive tabular and graphical representations of hospital outcomes and electronic patient-level data files that can be used to further examine outcomes in clinical subgroups. RESULTS: Four case studies illustrate how outcomes data derived from the CHOICE models led to the development of successful hospital programs to decrease lengths of stay, cesarean section rates, and hospital mortality rates. Although each case study reflected a unique approach to process improvement, several common characteristics were observed: (1) establishment of interdisciplinary process improvement teams with senior physician and nursing leadership; (2) detailed review of the process of care to identify modifiable clinical practices likely to affect outcomes; (3) development of practice guidelines based on group consensus or published recommendations that were designed to affect modifiable practices; and (4) aggressive sharing of serial data with individual practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: Although outcomes data can provide powerful insight on where to target quality improvement efforts, hospitals must identify influential and modifiable clinical practices. Such efforts are most likely to be successful if driven by interdisciplinary work groups, supported by senior clinicians and administrators, and based on locally accepted practice standards.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

The effectiveness of early endoscopy for upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage: a community-based analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The effectiveness of upper endoscopy in unselected patients with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage has not been well studied. This study was undertaken to identify factors associated with the performance of early endoscopy (ie, within 1 day of hospitalization) and, after adjusting for these factors, to determine associations between early endoscopy and in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and performance of surgery. METHODS: Subjects in this observational cohort study were 3,801 consecutive admissions with upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage to 30 hospitals in a large metropolitan region. Demographic and clinical data were abstracted from hospital records. A multivariable model based on factors that potentially could relate to the decision to perform endoscopy was developed to determine the propensity (0 to 100%) for early endoscopy in each patient. RESULTS: Early endoscopy was performed in 2,240 patients (59%), and although it was not associated with mortality after adjusting for severity of illness among all patients, it was associated with a higher risk of death for patients in the lowest propensity group. Early endoscopy was associated with a lower likelihood of upper gastrointestinal surgery in all patients and in the two highest propensity groups and with a shorter length of stay in the entire cohort and in all subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: In the absence of specific contraindications, early endoscopy should be considered because of associated reductions in length of stay and surgical intervention. Further studies are needed to identify subgroups in whom the procedure may be associated with adverse effects on survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Variations in standardized hospital mortality rates for six common medical diagnoses: implications for profiling hospital quality.

OBJECTIVES: The authors determined whether standardized hospital mortality rates varied for six common medical diagnoses. METHODS: The retrospective cohort study included 89,851 patients aged 18 years and older discharged from 30 hospitals in a large metropolitan area in 1991 to 1993 with a principal diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, pneumonia, stroke, obstructive lung disease, or gastrointestinal hemorrhage. For each hospital, standardized mortality ratios (observed/predicted mortality) were determined using validated risk-adjustment models that were based on clinical data elements abstracted from patients' hospital records. Hospitals also were categorized into quintiles on the basis of standardized mortality ratios. Correlations between standardized mortality ratios and agreement between quintile rankings were determined for each pair of diagnoses. RESULTS: Correlations between hospital-standardized mortality ratios for individual diagnoses were generally weak. For the 15 possible pairs of diagnoses, Pearson coefficients ranged from -0.10 to 0.43; only six were 0.30 or greater. Agreement between hospital quintile rankings was also generally low, with weighted kappa values ranging from -0.12 to 0.42. Three of 15 kappa values were less than 0 (ie, agreement lower than chance), and only four exceeded 0.20, the threshold for "fair" agreement. Although simulated analyses found that random variation and relatively low hospital volumes accounted for some of the difference in standardized mortality ratios for diagnoses, a large proportion of the difference remained unexplained. CONCLUSIONS: Standardized hospital mortality rates varied for six diagnoses that likely are managed by similar practitioners. Although variability may be decreased by restricting analyses to hospitals with large volumes, the findings indicate that for many hospitals, diagnosis-specific mortality rates may be an inconsistent measure of hospital quality, even when data are aggregated for multiple years.

Adolescent↗