ITL: Physician Reviews of HM-Relevant Research

The Hospitalist. 2012 May;2012(05):

May 25, 2012 | The Hospitalist

Milda R. Saunders, MD, MPH ; Alan J. Jung, MD ; Cheng-Kai Kao, MD ; Elizabeth A. Paesch, MD ; Mai T. Pho, MD ; Nilam J. Soni, MD

Citation: Ng FH, Tunggal P, Chu WM, et al. Esomeprazole compared with famotidine in the prevention of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with acute coronary syndrome or myocardial infarction. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012;107:389-396.

Clinical Shorts

NURSE-PHARMACIST MEDICATION RECONCILIATION PREVENTS HARM

A prospective observational study demonstrated that nurse-pharmacist collaboration was a cost-effective intervention to reduce medication discrepancies that could have potentially caused moderate to severe harm on admission and discharge.

Citation: Feldman LS, Costa LL, Feroli ER, et al. Nurse-pharmacist collaboration on medication reconciliation prevents potential harm [published online ahead of print February 27, 2012]. J Hosp Med. doi:10.1002/jhm.1921.

SELF-HARMING PATIENTS NOT RECEIVING RECOMMENDED CARE IN ED

Most adult Medicare beneficiaries who present for emergency care for deliberate self-harm are discharged to the community (62.5%); about half received recommended mental health assessments in the ED (47.5%) or follow-up outpatient mental health treatment within 30 days (52.4%).

Citation: Olfson M, Marcus SC, Bridge JA. Emergency treatment of deliberate self-harm. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2012;69:80-88.

EARLY PALLIATIVE CARE IMPROVES QUALITY OF LIFE AND SURVIVAL IN PATIENTS WITH METASTATIC NON-SMALL-CELL LUNG CANCER

This study showed that introducing palliative care early led to significant improvements in patients’ quality of life and, compared with patients receiving standard care, these patients had less aggressive care at the end of life.

Citation: Greer JA, Pirl WF, Jackson VA, et al. Effect of early palliative care on chemotherapy use and end-of-life care in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30:394-400.