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Biomedical subjects

M Finch

Publications and source records attributed to M Finch.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

Acute cholangitis and pancreatitis secondary to common duct stones: management update.

Gallstones are found within the main bile duct (MBD) of 7% to 20% of patients undergoing cholecystectomy. MBD stones are the commonest cause of acute cholangitis and acute pancreatitis. Acute cholangitis is the result of infection superimposed on an obstructed biliary system and carries a high mortality rate if left untreated. The mainstay of treatment is a regimen of broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotics followed by prompt decompression of the obstructed biliary tree. Decompression is best accomplished by the endoscopic route, although transhepatic approaches may also be employed. Gallstone pancreatitis may be associated with cholangitis but is also common as a separate entity. Initial treatment is supportive, although new agents designed to suppress the systemic inflammatory response are under development and have proved beneficial in clinical trials. Severe cases should be treated with systemic antibiotics and early removal of the obstructing stones by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic sphincterotomy. Prophylactic cholecystectomy is recommended to prevent further episodes of gallstone pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

Differences in valuation of functional status components among consumers and professionals in Europe and the United States.

The ratings of the importance of functional status items among geriatric experts and consumers in Europe and the United States differed in many cases between experts and consumers in both countries; the differences were more frequent among the U.S. samples. The overall correlation between consumer and expert rankings was .82 for both groups. In general consumers, rated instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) items more highly, whereas the experts rated the most dysfunctional activities of daily living (ADL) items higher than did consumers. This study suggests the gap in doctor-patient communication. As function is increasingly used as a clinical outcome, agreement is needed on how to weight the components. The differences uncovered in this study suggest a need for more dialogue about what ends are truly sought by various parties.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

Functional outcomes of posthospital care for stroke and hip fracture patients under medicare.

BACKGROUND: Medicare's introduction of the Prospective Payment System for hospitals has led to tremendous growth in ways of providing posthospital care. Despite substantial differences in costs per episode of care, the type of posthospital care that produces the best results for specific types of patients is not clear. This study analyzed the outcomes of different types of posthospital care for a cohort of older Medicare patients (who had diagnoses associated with the use of a range of posthospital care modalities) for up to a year after hospital discharge. METHODS: Medicare patients hospitalized with strokes and hip fractures were enrolled consecutively just before discharge from 52 hospitals in three cities in 1988-1989. These diagnosis-related groups were chosen because patients were discharged to all three major types of Medicare-supported posthospital care. Patients were interviewed in-person before discharge and again at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after discharge. The functional outcomes of posthospital care were evaluated by the instrumental variables estimation approach to correct for selection bias caused by nonrandom treatment assignment. The impacts of discharge locations on the functional outcomes were examined by one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA). RESULTS: In general, the more disabled patients went to nursing homes and rehabilitation, but the overlap in distribution was sufficient to conduct the analyses. Stroke patients discharged to nursing homes had the highest mortality rate (P<.01). Stroke patients discharged to home health had the lowest rehospitalization rates (P<.05). Hip fracture discharged to home health care had the highest adjusted rehospitalization rate, whereas those discharged to nursing homes had the lowest adjusted rehospitalization rate (P<.05). For stroke patients, posthospital care in rehabilitation facilities or home health care was associated with significantly better functional improvement compared with stroke patients discharged elsewhere. However, functional outcomes deteriorated by 1 year posthospitalization among stroke patients who received their posthospital care at nursing homes or received no formal posthospital care. For hip fracture patients, all four types of posthospital care were associated with functional improvement, but patients discharged to rehabilitation facilities experienced the most functional improvement. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of posthospital care can influence the course of Medicare patients. Careful attention should be paid to how hospital discharge decisions are made and to the financial incentives for different types of posthospital care provided under the current payment system. The current supply of nursing homes is not well suited to the demands of posthospital care.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1998

Acute pancreatitis: the substantial human and financial costs.

A greater understanding of the natural history of acute pancreatitis combined with greatly improved radiological imaging has led to improvement in the hospital mortality from acute pancreatitis, from around 25-30% to 6-10% in the past 30 years. Moreover, it is now recognised that the first phase of severe acute phase pancreatitis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), during which multiple organ failure and death often supervene. Survival into the second phase may be accompanied by local complications, such as infected pancreatic necrosis, which may be prevented by prophylactic antibiotics and treated by judicious surgery. Intensive care unit costs can be substantial, but might be justified because of the excellent quality of life of survivors. Reduction in multiple organ failure by agents such as lexipafant, an antagonist of platelet activating factor (PAF) (which plays a critical role in generating the SIRS), may contribute to intensive care unit cost containment, as well as reducing the incidence of local complications and deaths from acute pancreatitis. A further improvement in the human and financial costs also requires the centralisation of the management of patients with severe acute pancreatitis, to single hospital units whose concentrated expertise equips them to intervene most effectively in what is still recognised as a highly complex disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Manipulation of individual viruses: friction and mechanical properties.

We present our results on the manipulation of individual viruses using an advanced interface for atomic force microscopes (AFMs). We show that the viruses can be dissected, rotated, and translated with great facility. We interpret the behavior of tobacco mosaic virus with a mechanical model that makes explicit the competition between sample-substrate lateral friction and the flexural rigidity of the manipulated object. The manipulation behavior of tobacco mosaic virus on graphite is shown to be consistent with values of lateral friction observed on similar interfaces and the flexural rigidity expected for macromolecular assemblies. The ability to manipulate individual samples broadens the scope of possible studies by providing a means for positioning samples at specific binding sites or predefined measuring devices. The mechanical model provides a framework for interpreting quantitative measurements of virus binding and mechanical properties and for understanding the constraints on the successful, nondestructive AFM manipulation of delicate samples.

Aluminum Silicates↗
PubMed1997

Choledocholithiasis and gallstone pancreatitis.

Gallstones are commonly found within the main bile duct (MBD) of patients undergoing cholecystectomy. Retained MBD stones are a common cause of obstructive symptoms and complications. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and sphincterotomy (ES) is the recommended modality for both the detection of such stones and their extraction. Recent trials of ERCP in conjunction with laparoscopic cholecystectomy suggest that it should be reserved for use post-operatively. Gallstones within the MBD are the most common single cause of acute pancreatitis. Initial treatment is supportive, although new agents designed to suppress the systemic inflammatory response are under development and have proved beneficial in clinical trials. Severe cases should be treated with systemic antibiotics and early removal of the obstructing stones by ERCP and ES. Prophylactic cholecystectomy is recommended to prevent further attacks of gallstone pancreatitis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Admission examination factors predicting cognitive improvement during acute brain injury rehabilitation.

In this study 46 brain-injured patients admitted to a brain injury inpatient rehabilitation programme after acute care were evaluated at the bedside with a comprehensive mental status examination and physical evaluation. Using multiple regression analysis, elements of the cognitive and physical examinations were studied to determine if any of these items, individually or collectively, had predictive value for discharge functional status. A principal-components analysis identified meaningful clusters of items. Factor I, Simple Cognitive Operations, consisted of word repetition, naming and comprehension of simple commands. Factor IV, Higher Cognitive Operations, consisted of interpretation of similarities and reverse digit span. Other items, including elements of the physical examination such as eye movements, hearing and ambulatory function, were also clustered into factors. Stepwise multiple regression analysis led to a conclusion that only factor IV was a significant predictor of Discharge Rancho Level, with the predictive power of factor I and Admission Rancho Level subsumed by factor IV. This model, using a few items from a bedside mental status examination, accounted for 27% of the variance in Discharge Rancho Level in patients admitted to a brain injury rehabilitation unit after injury. We conclude that a brief mental status examination in a rehabilitation inpatient setting can be useful in predicting outcome in patients with brain injuries. More research is needed to identify additional test items that will add prognostic power to the initial evaluation of patients with brain injuries admitted to a rehabilitation unit.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Variations in the performance of hip fracture procedures.

OBJECTIVES: Hip replacement is the preferred treatment for displaced femoral neck fractures, whereas other less expensive procedures are preferred for nondisplaced fractures. The authors determined whether there was geographic variation in the use of hip replacement to treat displaced and nondisplaced fractures. METHODS: The authors studied 332 patients, age 65 years or older, hospitalized with a femoral neck fracture in three cities. RESULTS: The population was 55% over age 80, 80% female, and lived in Houston (17%), Pittsburgh (29%), and Minneapolis (54%). Rates of hip replacement varied by city (Houston-84%, Pittsburgh-77%, Minneapolis-63%; P = 0.002), with great variability among patients with nondisplaced fractures (Houston-88%, Pittsburgh-77%, and Minneapolis-56%; P = 0.0001), and no variation among those with displaced fractures (P = 0.72). Other factors associated with hip replacement are history of hip fracture (P = 0.003) and cerebrovascular disease (P < or = 0.10), APACHE II-APS score (P = 0.09), and impacted fracture (P = 0.001). Sociodemographic and functional status (perceived health; activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living dependencies) were not associated with hip replacement (P > 0.10). In a logistic model controlling for prior history, APACHE II-APS, and fracture characteristics, city remained a significant predictor of hip replacement (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite an absence of evidence supporting its appropriateness and a much higher cost, hip replacement is used to treat nondisplaced fractures much more frequently in Houston and Pittsburgh than in Minneapolis.

APACHE↗
PubMed1997

The relationship of patient satisfaction with care and clinical outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: The authors examine the relationship between three dimensions of patient satisfaction (quality of care, hospital care, and physician time) and two ways of looking at outcomes: absolute (status at 6 months after surgery) and relative (difference between baseline and follow-up status). METHODS: A total of 2,116 patients undergoing cholecystectomy were interviewed before surgery and again at 6 months. The baseline interview addressed health status (general functioning and specific symptoms) and risk factors. The follow-up interview included health status and a series of satisfaction questions. Outcomes included both overall health status and specific symptoms. Potential confounding factors, in addition to baseline status, such as demographics, casemix, and procedure type, were accounted for in the analysis. RESULTS: Each of the outcomes was related significantly to each of the satisfaction scales; however, the relative outcomes were related more strongly to satisfaction than were the absolute versions. Although the regression coefficients were highly significant, none of the outcomes measures accounted for more than 8% of the explained variance in the several satisfaction scores. CONCLUSIONS: Although outcomes and satisfaction are related, more goes into satisfaction than just outcomes. When determining their satisfaction with the care they have received, patients are more likely to focus on their present state of health than to consider the extent of improvement they have enjoyed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

The substitutability of adult foster care for nursing home care in Oregon.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the degree of substitutability of adult foster care for nursing home care in Oregon. METHODS: Using three tests, the authors determined (1) the extent to which an additional adult foster care resident in a county reduces the number of nursing home residents in that county, (2) which characteristics of residents and facilities are important in sorting residents into either nursing homes or adult foster care facilities, and (3) the price elasticity of demand for adult foster care, using the county as the unit of observation. RESULTS: It was found that for every additional foster care resident in a county, a nursing home loses 0.85 residents-almost a one-to-one substitution ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the high degree of substitutability, residents perceive important differences in the characteristics of the two forms of care. Indeed, private residents are, on average, willing to pay twice as much for nursing home care as for adult foster care, suggesting that these differences are important. Finally, private consumers are sensitive to price differences among adult foster care facilities. The implications for policy are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Outcomes for older men and women with congestive heart failure.

OBJECTIVES: To describe and compare outcomes for men and women discharged alive following a hospitalization for congestive heart failure (CHF). DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 519 patients, aged > or = 65, who were discharged alive after a hospitalization for CHF (DRG = 127). MEASUREMENTS: Outcomes (Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), shortness of breath when walking, perceived health, living situation, rehospitalization, and mortality) were measured at 3 times (6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year) post-discharge. RESULTS: The 205 men were, on average, younger (77 +/- 7 vs 80 +/- 8, P < .001), wealthier (46% vs 21% earned > or = $10,000, P < .001), and more often married (50% vs 19%, P < .001). Men were more likely than women to have a previous history of CHF (71% vs 63%, P = .052). Men also had higher 1-year mortality than women (48% vs 35%, P = .009), even after adjusting for age, comorbidity, physiological severity (APACHE II APS and RAND discharge instability), radiological evidence of CHF, prior ADLs, walking ability, living situation, and perceived health. Men and women survivors at 1-year had similar and substantial impairment for all non-fatal outcomes considered (all P values > or = .489). Their adjusted mean ADL scores were consistent with complete dependence on one essential activity (range 0-6 dependencies); 35% were short of breath walking less than 1 block; 62% had fair or poor perceived health; 32% received some formal care; and 46% were rehospitalized within 1 year of discharge. CONCLUSIONS: Men with CHF have a higher mortality than women with CHF. Men and women who survive have similar and substantial impairment for all non-fatal outcomes (ADLs, shortness of breath upon walking, perceived health, living situation, and rehospitalization).

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Everyday matters in the lives of nursing home residents: wish for and perception of choice and control.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the importance that nursing home residents and nursing assistants ascribed to control and choice over everyday issues, the satisfaction of residents with their control and choice over these issues, and the nursing assistants' impressions of the extent to which control and choice exist for nursing home residents on everyday matters. DESIGN: Cross-sectional in-person interviews with a stratified representative sample of nursing home residents and nursing assistants using semi-structured interview protocols with both fixed-choice and open-ended questions. SETTING: A random sample of 25 nursing homes in the Twin Cities, MN area; a random sample of five nursing homes in North Little Rock, AR; all five nursing homes in Sante Fe, NM; and five purposively selected nursing homes in each of New York City and Los Angeles, CA. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred thirty-five cognitively intact residents, three from each facility, were selected and included the resident council chair, one randomly selected short-stay resident, and one randomly selected long-stay resident from each facility. Also participating were 134 nursing assistants (1 selected randomly from each shift from those employed at least two-thirds time and who had worked in the facility for at least 3 months). MEASUREMENTS: The most important measurements were ordinal-level ratings of the importance of choice and control for nursing home residents over 10 selected areas of everyday life; ordinal measures of residents' satisfaction with their choice and control over these areas; and nursing assistants' ratings of the extent to which they thought it possible for residents to achieve choice and control. Open-ended comments were also elicited. Also measured were demographic data, ADL status, frequency of trips away from the nursing home, frequency of receiving visitors, and (for nursing assistants) length of employment, wages, job satisfaction, and extent to which they knew the residents under their care. MAJOR RESULTS: Cognitively intact nursing home residents attach importance to choice and control over matters such as bedtime, rising time, food, roommates, care routines, use of money, use of the telephone, trips out of the nursing home, and initiating contact with a physician. Nursing assistants view such control as important to residents. Residents and staff differ significantly in the importance attached to particular items, with staff placing lower importance than residents on use of the telephone and personal expenditures and higher importance on control and choice over visitors and formal nursing home activities. Residents were not very satisfied with their control and choice, and nursing assistants viewed them as unlikely to experience control and choice. Nursing home, resident, and staff characteristics were not associated with the patterns of results. CONCLUSIONS: A self-defeating cycle has been identified where neither resident nor staff are optimistic about achieving more resident control and choice, which both groups perceive as desirable. To end this cycle, suggestions are offered for structuring the role of the nursing assistant, physician and nurse leadership, changes in nursing home routines and practices, and public policy changes.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1996

Use of post-hospital care by Medicare patients.

BACKGROUND: Medicare's introduction of the Prospective Payment System for hospitals has shortened hospital stays and, as a consequence, has increased the use of post-hospital care. Medicare coverage provides for various types of post-hospital care. This paper examines the characteristics of patients, cities, and hospitals associated with discharge to these different types of post-hospital care. METHODS: A Total of 2248 consecutive Medicare patients having one of five diagnosis related groups (DRGs), who were about to be discharged from 52 hospitals in three cities in 1988-1989, were enrolled in the study. These DRGs comprised approximately one-eighth of all Medicare hospital discharges and 40% of all Medicare-paid post-hospital care. Patients were interviewed in person before discharge and again 6 weeks after discharge. Clinical severity measures were developed from information abstracted from each patient's medical record. For each DRG, multinomial logit regression equations were developed to identify factors associated with the choice of one of four possible discharge locations: home with no formal care, home health care, nursing home care, or rehabilitation. RESULTS: Discharge location could be predicted correctly in 52 to 71% of cases, depending on the DRG. This level of predictive accuracy was significantly greater than relying on the modal discharge location, which accounted for 33 to 62% of cases. Most of the predictive power came from information gathered at the discharge interview. The variables associated significantly with the discharge location varied with the DRG and location examined. Living alone and functional dependency at discharge were the significant predictors found most often. CONCLUSIONS: Rather than assuming that everyone is discharged to the modal location, patient discharge location can be predicted. Much of the explanation can be traced to a few variables such as functional status and living situation. The lack of greater accuracy suggests that factors other than those identified as important by clinical panels are involved in discharge planning for Medicare patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Capitated Medicaid and the process of care of elderly hypertensives and diabetics: results from a randomized trial.

PURPOSE: To measure the quality of care for hypertensive and diabetic elderly Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in managed care versus fee-for-service (FFS) plans. METHODS: Individuals enrolled in the Medicaid Demonstration Project in Hennepin County, Minnesota, were randomly assigned to receive their care either in one of seven managed care health plans in which the Medicaid payment for their care was capitated or in an FFS plan. Two hundred ninety-one hypertensives and 96 diabetics who were aged 65 years or over at the beginning of the evaluation were interviewed at baseline and followed for 1 year. Drug and nondrug therapy, monitoring, monthly medication costs, and access to medications were assessed. RESULTS: The prepaid and FFS did not differ in drug or nondrug therapy, with the exception that slightly more FFS enrollees were on human insulin after 1 year. Mean monthly medication costs and access to medications were similar for both groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this randomized trial, we were unable to detect differences in the process of care for hypertensive and diabetic Medicaid enrollees.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Effect on physical functioning of care in adult foster homes and nursing homes.

This study tested the effects on physical functioning of substituting adult foster care (AFC) for nursing home care. Secondary data from Oregon's Medicaid agency were used to compare change in ADL functioning of 1,032 nursing home and 279 AFC residents. Maximum likelihood estimation was used to analyze selection of long-term care setting and change in functioning. One-third of surviving AFC residents would have been better off in a nursing home, whereas almost all nursing home residents were placed appropriately. Further research on outcomes that clients value most along with efforts to support functioning are needed.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1995

Developing a new metric for ADLs.

BACKGROUND: Most ADL summary measures add up the number of dependencies. They assume an equal weighting among items and require an arbitrary definition of dependency. METHODS: A panel of experts in geriatrics was asked to rate a set of ADL and IADL components in terms of the contribution of each to overall dependency using a magnitude estimation (ME) technique. The ratings were done for both domains and for levels of function within each domain. The resultant scores were compared with the usual dependency count approach. RESULTS: The distribution of weighted items appears to have face validity. The pattern of dependency traced by the ME model was intermediate between those created by simple counts with two different definitions of dependency. The ME approach has stronger statistical properties than the ordinal scoring approach. CONCLUSIONS: The ME approach appears to be a reasonable and workable method for creating a measure that permits meaningful statements about the mean value of functional dependencies. This result can be used for any comparison of means, such as across individuals, across aggregates of individuals, or across time.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1994

The effects of capitation on health and functional status of the Medicaid elderly. A randomized trial.

PURPOSE: To determine the effect on health and functional status outcomes of enrollment of noninstitutionalized elderly Medicaid recipients in prepaid plans compared with traditional fee-for-service Medicaid. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial. Beneficiaries were randomly assigned to prepaid care in one of seven capitated health plans compared with fee-for-service care. Only the Medicaid portion of their care was capitated. Patients were followed for 1 year. SETTING: The Medicaid Demonstration Project in Hennepin County, Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis. PATIENTS: 800 Medicaid beneficiaries who were 65 years or older at the beginning of the evaluation. Beneficiaries were interviewed at baseline (time 1) and 1 year later (time 2). Ninety-six percent of beneficiaries were available for follow-up interviews at time 2. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: General health status, physical functioning, mental health status, activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, corrected visual acuity, and blood pressure and glycosylated hemoglobin measurements for hypertensive and diabetic persons, respectively. RESULTS: There were no differences between prepaid and fee-for-service groups in the number of deaths (20 compared with 24, P > 0.2), the proportion in fair or poor health (56.5% compared with 59.7%, P > 0.2), physical functioning, activities of daily living, visual acuity, or blood pressure or diabetic control. Patients in the prepaid group reported a trend toward better general health rating scores (10.2 compared with 9.8, P = 0.06) and well-being scores (10.0 compared with 9.7, P = 0.07) than patients in the fee-for-service group. The difference in the likelihood of a patient in the prepaid group having a physician visit relative to the fee-for-service group was -16.5% (adjusted odds ratio, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.74) and for an inpatient visit was -11.2% (adjusted odds ratio, 0.55; CI, 0.32 to 0.94). CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence of harmful effects of enrolling elderly Medicaid patients in prepaid plans, at least in the short run. Whether these findings also apply to settings in which health maintenance organizations are formed exclusively for Medicaid patients should be studied further.

Activities of Daily Living↗