Background: Despite effective treatments, many hospitals lack systems to facilitate treatment for substance use disorders after hospital discharge. We provided infrastructure to increase substance dependence treatment after hospital discharge and evaluated predictors of addiction treatment initiation. Methods: From March 31, 2004, through April 30, 2005, we performed a cohort study of non‐ICU patients at a […]

Background: Factor V Leiden (FVL) and prothrombin (PT20210A) gene mutations are common genetic polymorphisms that have been associated with first‐time venous thromboembolism (VTE). These mutations have been associated with recurrent thromboses in some but not all reported studies. We aimed to evaluate the clinical validity of these genetic markers for predicting recurrent VTE. Methods: As […]

Background: Hyponatremia is a commonly identified electrolyte abnormality. In general, the lower is the serum sodium, the greater is the likelihood of serious sequelae. Published data on profound hyponatremia is lacking. The goal of this study is to describe the initial symptoms, etiology, and outcome in patients presenting with severely depressed serum sodium. Methods: The […]

Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency is associated with variations in red blood cell and white blood cell morphologies. These changes are also reflected in automated red cell measures. Are such changes of sufficient strength to influence clinical decision‐making about suspected deficiency states? Prior studies and case series disagree about the utility of hematologic indices in predicting […]

Background: Obesity has been identified by the World Health Organization as a global epidemic of adults and children. In 2003–2004, the NHANES found that 17% of all children ages 2–9 years were overweight/obese (BMI ≥ 95%). Programs in smoking cessation provide a successful model for utilizing hospitalization as a time to initiate behavior modification. This […]

Background: Information is frequently lost during in‐hospital transitions of care. An effective and timely sign‐out between providers relaying critical information may reduce errors. However, little is known about provider preferences and practices (or sign‐out. We endeavored to determine the desired content and process for end‐of‐shift sign‐out. Methods: A 23‐question survey was e‐mailed once to practicing […]

Background: Medical errors commonly occur during patient handoffs. Discontinuous care results in medical complications, redundant testing, and prolonged hospital stays. Teaching of handoffs is underemphasized in most residency training programs, and few supervising physicians are formally trained in handoffs. We sought to educate internal medicine attending physicians about the importance of handoffs and the verbal […]

Background: There is an increase in opportunities for hospitalists to comanage hospitalized patients. The benefits in regard to LOS, costs, and utilization of manpower are still being evaluated. As the elderly population with multiple comorbidities continues to grow, the need for comanagement will continue to increase. In this retrospective study at our tertiary‐care hospital, we […]

Background: Bedside teaching is the ideal venue for teaching interpersonal skills and physical examination techniques and modeling professionalism. Hospitalists have an increasing influence on the inpatient education of internal medicine residents and medicine clerkship students but receive little formal training in this endeavor. We studied the effects of a faculty development program on time hospitalist […]

Background: Medication errors represent an important hospital safety issue, yet patients are largely excluded from active involvement in detecting and preventing these events. The magnitude of the problem is staggering, with 1 review finding almost 1 in every 5 medication doses in error. Administration errors are particularly difficult to prevent. The patient, as the last […]