Interviews were conducted with the co-resident supporters of 79 elderly subjects. Forty of these elderly subjects had been diagnosed as being demented (20 mildly, 12 moderately and eight severely) following psychiatric assessment. The supporters were screened for psychological well-being with the 60-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and the Relatives' Stress Scale (RSS). Supporters of demented relatives showed significantly raised levels of stress on the RSS, but no increase in psychiatric morbidity on the GHQ, when compared with the supporters of non-demented relatives. The implications of these findings are discussed.

An exploratory study was conducted to examine quality of life and pain experienced by pediatric cancer patients at home following discharge. Physical, cognitive, social, and emotional aspects of quality of life were measured, and how these may be affected by age, gender, diagnosis, and pain status. We also characterized intensity, location, and quality of pain experienced. A sample of 33 patients participating in a larger study was selected based on having pain on day of discharge, and having completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Generic, Cancer Module, Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, and the Adolescent Pediatric Pain Tool at home. Cancer diagnoses were leukemias/lymphomas (42.4%), brain/CNS tumors (27.3%), sarcomas (24.2%), or other (6.1%). More than half of patients reported pain (n=17; 51.5%). Patients with pain had more fatigue affecting quality of life (p=0.01), and lower physical and emotional functioning, leading to lower overall HRQOL scores (p=0.011). Females and adolescents reported worse emotional functioning (p=0.02 and p=0.05, respectively). Physical, cognitive, and social functioning was lowest among patients diagnosed with sarcomas (p=0.00, p=0.01, and p=0.04, respectively). It is important to understand the symptom experience of patients at home as a first step in moving towards optimal discharge teaching and treatment.

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Background Randomized trials found oral step-down therapy to be as effective as intravenous (IV) therapy for infective endocarditis and bone and joint infections. However, the comparative effectiveness of IV versus oral step-down therapy for deep seated Staphylococcus aureus infections outside of the clinical trial setting is unknown. The objectives of this study were to compare treatment adherence and clinical outcomes between these two approaches in clinical practice. Methods This was a retrospective comparative effectiveness study involving adults hospitalized at an academic, safety net hospital between January 2019 to June 2021 with bacteremia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, or septic arthritis due to S. aureus. Based on initial treatment plans, patients were categorized and analyzed in two groups: all IV or IV followed by oral step-down therapy. The co-primary outcomes were antibiotic adherence (percent of planned course received) and the proportion who completed therapy. The key secondary outcome of clinical failure was a composite of all-cause mortality, recurrent or new metastatic site of S. aureus infection, or requirement of an unplanned source control procedure. Results Of 249 patients included, 101 were in the all IV and 148 were in the oral step-down groups. Indications for treatment were osteomyelitis (72%), complicated bacteremia (25%), endocarditis (22%), septic arthritis (11%), and uncomplicated bacteremia (8%). Active substance abuse was observed in 43% of the IV group and 55% in the oral group. Between the all IV and oral step-down groups, antibiotic adherence rates did not differ significantly (Table); antibiotic therapy was completed by 93% vs 87% of patients (p = 0.13), respectively. Clinical failure occurred in 25% of the all IV group and 26% of the oral step-down group (p = 0.87). The frequency of other secondary outcomes was similar between groups; however, hospital length of stay was significantly longer in the IV group (Table). Table 1 Note: data presented as n (%) unless otherwise specified *within 6 months of hospital admission date for index infection Conclusion In clinical practice, oral step-down therapy for serious S. aureus infections was associated with similar rates of treatment adherence and completion, clinical outcomes and less health care resource utilization compared with IV therapy. Our findings support use of oral step-down therapy as an effective alternative to IV therapy. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures.