BackgroundIn this study, we sought to evaluate the efficacy of inpatient interventions on hospitalization-related complications in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Hospitalized patients with PD have an increased risk of complications. Although several interventions have been suggested in the literature, data-driven recommendations are limited.MethodsThis study was designed as a prospective cohort study. A hospital-wide alert system was incorporated into the electronic medical record (EMR) system. The alert was triggered when a patient with PD or on dopaminergic therapy was admitted prompting the inpatient pharmacy to confirm medication details. A warning was also triggered if antidopaminergic medications were ordered. In-services were performed for nursing staff and physicians regarding these measures. Charts of patients with PD admitted 6 months before and after the intervention were reviewed to serve as the 2 comparison groups.ResultsThere were 73 patients (mean 73.2 years) preintervention group and 103 patients (mean 72.3 years) postintervention group. There were no significant differences in reasons for admission, admission to neurologic vs non-neurologic floor, or admitting service between the groups. The percentage of patients for whom contraindicated medications were ordered decreased from 42.5% to 17.5% (p < 0.001). Medication administration with doses given over 30 minutes late decreased from 46% to 39% (p = 0.068). Medications ordered correctly were 42.9% vs 54.7% (p = 0.131) before and after the intervention. Length of stay was 5.3 vs 5.2 days (p = 0.896), and mean complications were 0.38 vs 0.37 (p = 0.864).ConclusionAn intervention involving EMR alerts and in-service didactics for nurses and physicians decreased the frequency of contraindicated medications ordered in hospitalized patients with PD, but it did not change other hospital outcomes or complications.

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Patients who require mechanical ventilation are at risk of emotional stress because of total dependence on a machine for breathing. The stress may negatively impact ventilator weaning and survival. The purpose of this study was to determine whether depressive disorders in patients being weaned from prolonged mechanical ventilation are linked to weaning failure and decreased survival. Accordingly, we undertook a prospective study of 478 consecutive patients transferred to a specialized facility for weaning from prolonged ventilation. A clinical psychologist conducted a psychiatric interview to assess for the presence of depressive disorders. Patients were classified as having depressive disorders if they met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) criteria for depressive disorders. Of the 478 patients, 142 had persistent coma or delirium and were unable to be evaluated for depressive disorders. Of the remaining 336 patients, 142 (42%) were diagnosed with depressive disorders. In multivariate analysis, co-morbidity score (odds ratio [OR], 1.23, p=0.007), functional dependence before the acute illness (OR, 1.70, p=0.03), and history of psychiatric disorders (OR, 3.04, p=0.0001) were independent predictors of depressive disorders. The rate of weaning failure was higher in patients with depressive disorders than in those without such disorders (61% versus 33%, p=0.0001), as was mortality (24% versus 10%, p=0.0008). The presence of depressive disorders was independently associated with mortality (OR, 4.3; p=0.0002); age (OR, 1.06; p=0.001) and co-morbidity score (OR, 1.24; p=0.02) also predicted mortality. In conclusion, depressive disorders were diagnosed in 42% of patients who are being weaned from prolonged ventilation. Patients with depressive disorders were more likely to experience weaning failure and death. Funded by:NIH-NINR and VA merit This abstract is funded by: NIH-NINR and VA merit Am J Respir Crit Care Med

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