Background: Sepsis is a common and life-threatening complication of infection that disproportionately affects patients with chronic comorbidities. Timely fluid resuscitation is a key initial management strategy for reducing sepsis mortality; however, patients with serious comorbidities are often excluded from clinical trials. The Surviving Sepsis guidelines suggest that patients meeting severe sepsis criteria should be administered […]

Background: In 2016, the Sepsis-3 taskforce posited that acute organ failure is the defining feature of sepsis. Accordingly, they recommended that an acute rise in the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score by 2 points over baseline should replace the Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) score as the sepsis criteria (1). As a justification, they […]

Background: Sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock remain important contributors to hospital utilization, morbidity and mortality in the United States. Timely interventions including blood cultures, intravenous crystalloid infusions, and antibiotics make up the 3-hour sepsis bundle which represents current standard of practice, and the target of hospital quality reporting. Many aspects of sepsis care are […]

Background: Sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock remain important contributors to hospital utilization, morbidity and mortality in the United States. Timely interventions including blood cultures, intravenous crystalloid infusions, and antibiotics make up the 3-hour sepsis bundle which represents current standard of practice, and the target of hospital quality reporting. Many aspects of sepsis care are […]

Background: Prior exposure to antibiotics is associated with a subsequent risk for sepsis (Baggs et al., 2018). However, there are limited data on characteristics of patients readmitted with sepsis following previous antibiotic exposure during a non-sepsis related hospitalization. We sought to characterize factors associated with sepsis-related readmission (SRR) within 30 days of a non-sepsis index […]

Background: Upper‐extremity (UE) deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is increasingly diagnosed in hospitalized patients. High morbidity and mortality rates associated with UEDVT have been reported, suggesting that UEDVT may be a marker of severe illness. The objective of this study was to determine UEDVT incidence, identify associated risk factors and outcomes, and describe UEDVT management during […]

Background: Sepsis is associated with a six-fold greater risk of developing new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF). Patients with new onset AF demonstrate increased risk of stroke, vascular events, and death. However, the characteristics and management of new onset AF have not been well-described. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged ≥ 18 years […]

Background: Hospitals are among the most expensive and complex facilities to build and renovate. Patient‐ and family‐focused design is one of the key aspects of planning these constructions. There is an increasing trend toward designing hospitals and rooms with reduced noise, improved natural light, visitor‐friendly facilities, well‐appointed, well‐decorated rooms, and hotel‐like amenities. It has been […]

Background: For many patients, hospitalization involves substantial inactive time between provider visits, tests, and treatments. This time could be used to engage patients in discharge preparation by (1) learning about their health conditions and (2) learning to use their personal health record (PHR) to manage medications and postdischarge appointments. The ease of use of tablet […]

Background: In the United States, 32 million people have a documented penicillin allergy and up to 20% of hospitalized patients’ records describe a penicillin allergy (PcnA). Less than 10% of patients with reported penicillin allergy have true clinically relevant PcnA when objectively tested through rigorous skin testing (1-3). Clinicians subsequently avoid appropriate penicillin or penicillin […]