Background: Over the last few years, the USA has seen a sharp increase in the incidence and prevalence of substance use disorder (SUD) and related acute illnesses. The clinical course of many hospitalized patients is impacted by their diagnosis of SUD. At our institution, we put in place an inpatient addiction service where a physician [...]

Background: Assessing and treating pain in older adults is challenging. Although having patients self-report pain on a numeric scale is the recommended approach, age-associated conditions such as dementia, delirium, and impaired vision or hearing can prevent patients from effectively communicating their symptoms. Older patients are also at risk of adverse effects from commonly used analgesics [...]

Background: Although alcohol withdrawal (AW) is common in hospitalized patients, few studies describe contemporary alcohol withdrawal management in hospitalized settings or compare practices to recent guidelines published by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). We sought to describe patient characteristics and determine factors associated with complicated withdrawal and treatment duration in hospitalized patients with [...]

Background: While NT-proBNP has been known to predict mortality in heart failure patients and in hospitalized patients, its association with mortality in healthy adults without a history of cardiovascular disease is unknown. Further, it is unclear if a one-time measurement of NT-proBNP can predict distant mortality. Therefore, we examined the association between NT-proBNP with all-cause [...]

Background: Patient experience is an important outcome for hospitals. These outcomes impact insurer payments, hospital ratings, and perceived quality of care (1). Like many hospitals, our patient experience is measured using Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) surveys administered by Press Ganey (PG). Response rates to PG surveys are low, especially from [...]

Background: Although novel oral anticoagulants (NOAC) have been proven as effective alternatives to warfarin in patients with atrial fibrillation, the effectiveness of NOACs in patients with artificial (bioprosthetic and mechanical) heart valves is not known. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates multiple clinical outcomes between warfarin and NOACs in patients with artificial heart valves. Methods: [...]

Background: The key goals of HF therapy are to prevent progression of symptoms, improve quality of life, and prolong survival. Studies have attempted to study and improve post hospitalization outcomes among patients with HF. Social determinants of Health include a wide set of factors from daily life which are responsible for health inequity. Burden of [...]

Background: Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, are the leading causes of disability and death in New York State (NYS) and throughout the United States. County Health Rankings (CHR) is a program assessing the nation’s health on a county-by-county basis to provide a summary z-score for each county and determine county health [...]

Background: Lumbar puncture (LP) is commonly needed in hospitalized patients for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Traditional landmark identification by palpation of the lumbar spine and pelvis often has a low success rate. There is strong evidence showing that the use of ultrasound leads to higher success rates, along with other important patient-centered outcomes such [...]

Background: Epidemiological data across the USA show health disparities in COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and mortality by race/ethnicity. The state of New Mexico has the largest Hispanic and the third largest American Indian/Alaskan Natives (AI/AN) populations per capita in the United States. Complications from severe COVID-19 and mortality are largely unreported in diverse cohorts of hospitalized [...]