Background: There is a significant impact of influenza on the individuals, families, and societies, both economically and clinically, in terms of hospital admissions, medication expenses and side effects, secondary bacterial infections and more days off from work or other forms of reduced productivity for the patients or their caretakers. Our objective is to present the [...]

Background: There is literature to suggest there is a subtype of COPD patients in which eosinophils may play an important role. Data suggests that this subset of patient are more prone to develop exacerbations, but also have a higher likelihood of responding to inhaled corticosteroid therapy. The objective of this study is to determine if [...]

Background: Hospital discharge is a complex process that requires coordination from various parties. There still remains a significant rate of readmission, with a reported 30 day readmission of roughly 20% and annual cost of $18 Billion to Medicare. Patients with adequate discharge planning have a decreased readmission rate. Recent studies that demonstrated that high risk [...]

Background: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity among general population despite recent advancements in goal-directed therapies. The advent of mechanical circulatory devices, the increased availability and improvement in heart transplant techniques have improved some metrics; however, CHF patients continue to have multiple readmissions for acute exacerbations. The frequency of [...]

Background: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is among the top three leading causes of hospital readmissions in the United States. Acute Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(AECOPD) is associated with increased morbidity, mortality, and cost with AECOPD accounting for more than half of the 15.5 billion USD spent on COPD[1,2]. In this project, we aim [...]