Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is strongly age-dependent, and with a growing geriatric population, the incidence and prevalence of AF is expected to increase in the United States. As a result, the number of patients at risk of a thromboembolic event due to AF is also expected to increase. Although bleeding associated with mechanical falls is [...]

Background: Hospital-acquired delirium is a common cause of increased morbidity and mortality. In an earlier pilot study, we identified through surveys that adult medicine inpatients slept an average of 4 hours. Also, multiple factors including environmental noise, vital sign checks, and lab draws were recognized as barriers to sleep. Based on this information and prior [...]

Background: Elderly patients have a higher risk of developing aspiration pneumonia and have a higher risk of death if hospitalized for aspiration pneumonia. This study was conducted to confirm the effectiveness of an aspiration prevention program using the Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) for elderly patients hospitalized with acute medical illness. Methods: Starting in April 2021, [...]

Background: The annual incidence of sepsis is about 1.7 million in the United States and about 270,000 Americans die as a result of sepsis each year. Atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia seen in hospitalized patients and has shown to unfavorably alter the cardiovascular hemodynamics in patients admitted with sepsis. However there are only [...]

Background: This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and characteristics of unplanned 30-day readmissions after an index hospitalization for heart failure in elderly patients. We also sought to identify factors that predict readmission. Methods: We analyzed the 2020 NRD, and non-elective hospitalizations for heart failure among elderly patients aged > 65 years were identified using [...]