Background: The landmark adoption of the 80 hour work week by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), followed by shift-length restrictions has forced both hospitals and residency programs to restructure who provides acute medical care and in what fashion. Academic Medical Centers have increasingly relied on hospitalists as traditional teaching attendings, in the […]

Background: Hospitalists frequently prescribe ondansetron for nausea and vomiting. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved this agent only for prophylaxis of nausea and emesis related to chemotherapy or radiation therapy or for postoperative patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of off‐label ondansetron use in hospitalized […]

Background: Chronic opioid therapy has grown more prevalent over the last 2 decades, as have concerns about effectiveness and adverse events. Although a robust literature is emerging regarding outpatient management of pain conditions and chronic opioid therapy, there is little to guide management during hospitalization of patients on chronic opioid therapy. Some practitioners are concerned […]

Background: ST elevation MI is an acute event that mandates immediate intervention. Often, resources play a major role to enable prompt intervention. Our study aims to elaborate any differences that may exist between weekend and weekday outcomes at a national level. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS) database. Patients […]

Background: Pain management is a key quality indicator in hospital satisfaction surveys throughout the United States. Inadequate pain management contributes to longer inpatient length of stay, medical complications, inadequate healing, and dissatisfaction with the hospital experience. In the future, poor performance of the key quality indicators will translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars lost […]

Background: New Mexico has a long-standing history of implementing harm reduction strategies for the prevention of opioid overdose. Most recently, on June 14, 2019, SB221 added language to the New Mexico Pain Relief Act requiring health care providers prescribing opioid analgesics for 5 days or longer to co-prescribe an opioid antagonist along with written information […]

Case Presentation: A 57‐year‐old man with a history of tonsillar lymphoma and adrenal insufficiency (on home prednisone 10 mg and fludrocortisone) was transferred from an outside hospital for syncope. Patient had been hospitalized 3 times since February 2012 with prior workup negative for cardiac and neurocardiogenic etiology. In the past, patient had experienced dizziness and […]

Background: Quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS) is a major focus for hospitalists in both their day-to-day clinical care. In addition, many hospitalists have educational and administrative QI/PS duties, and salary support for them is highly sought after. As part of an ongoing effort to help identify opportunities to further support members of the Society […]

Background: Rest is critical to healing, yet a child’s sleep during an inpatient hospital admission is often disrupted. One such disruption is oral medication administration, which is commonly scheduled around the clock (q6h, q8h, q12h) by default, despite comparable efficacy during waking hours. Previous studies suggest that flexible medication times help inpatients sleep longer and […]

Case Presentation: A 61‐year‐old man developed acute renal failure and difficulty ambulating 2 days after radical perineal prostatectomy. He complained of bilateral lower leg pain, numbness, tingling in his toes, and shooting pains in his anterior thighs. He denied any upper‐extremity complaints. He noted normal urine output. His medical history was notable for chronic kidney […]