Biomedical subjects

F R Herrmann

Publications and source records attributed to F R Herrmann.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1992

Serum albumin level on admission as a predictor of death, length of stay, and readmission.

We studied the serum albumin level within 48 hours of hospitalization for acute illness to predict in-hospital death, length of stay, and readmission in 15,511 patients older than 40 years. Patients with low serum albumin levels (less than 34 g/L), who made up 21% of the population, were more likely to die, had longer hospital stays, and were readmitted sooner and more frequently than patients with normal albumin levels. The in-hospital mortality was 14% among patients with low albumin levels, as compared with 4% among patients with normal levels. Although the serum albumin level was a nonspecific marker, it was a stronger predictor of death, length of stay, and readmission than age. We conclude that the serum albumin level on admission is an important variable that should be incorporated in severity-of-illness measures based on physiologic indexes.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Exploring a hospital-wide database: integrating statistical functions with ClinQuery.

Routinely collected clinical data are a valuable source of information for clinical epidemiology, health services research, and outcomes research. To explore, graph, and analyze such a large amount of material easily, one needs three kind of tools: a database management system, graphic displays, and statistical software. Although commercial software packages with these three functions do exist, it may be difficult to find one that fulfills the multiple requirements of a large hospital, allowing researchers to use the hospital information system to study various hypotheses. To address this issue we have integrated new exploratory modules with ClinQuery, a user-friendly computer program for online searching of clinical data. In this paper we describe some of the newly implemented graphics and statistical functions, along with practical examples of the way they may be used.

Boston↗

PubMedDate not supplied

ClinQuery: searching a large clinical database.

We designed a user-friendly computer program that permits physicians to use clinical and demographic descriptors to search a hospital's clinical database for purposes of patient care, teaching, and research. For example, the user can identify all admissions in which diabetic ketoacidosis was diagnosed, the serum bicarbonate level was under 12 mmol/liter, and the length of stay exceeded 7 days. Once particular admissions have been identified, all data stored in the computerized record can be displayed. Authorized persons can also request the patient's complete medical record for further study. Over a 5-year period, 895 doctors, nurses, medical students, and hospital administrators used Clin-Query to search the clinical database of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital 3724 times. They displayed detailed information on 72,489 patients and requested the complete medical record 5477 times. Responses to a computer-based questionnaire indicated that 16% of the searches were performed for patient care, 38% for clinical research, 16% for teaching and education, 12% for hospital administration, and 18% for general exploration. We conclude that physicians and allied personnel will repeatedly examine and analyze aggregate clinical information when they are provided with the appropriate tools.

Hospital Information Systems↗