Background: Hospital-acquired delirium is serious, leading to increased falls, pressure ulcers, length of stay (LOS), cost, patient institutionalization, and patient and caregiver distress. In addition, it is associated with mortality rates as high as 35-40% within one year in older patients who develop delirium. Because hospital-acquired delirium is often under-recognized and prevention and treatment involves [...]

Background: The prevalence of delirium among hospitalized patients ranges up to 56% and results in increased hospital mortality and duration of hospitalization. Symptoms of delirium may be subtle in early stages and may present clinically as hyperactive, hypoactive or mixed type. As such delirium often evades early detection. In addition, delirium in the hospital setting [...]

Background: The American healthcare system is focused on promoting value; providing high quality care while paying close attention to associated costs. Studies have shown that admission to a teaching hospital is associated with better outcomes, reduced mortality, compared to nonteaching hospitals. It is not known whether the value proposition at academic hospitals is worthwhile for [...]

Case Presentation: A 56-year-old male with history of alcohol abuse presented to the Emergency Room complaining of worsening abdominal pain for 2 weeks. Patient stated that he drinks half a pint of whiskey every day, and that the last drink was the day before presenting to the Emergency Room. He also reported that he had [...]